Recent Posts
rambling.effluvium
Return To Blog Listing
You could call this my "professional" blog - where I write about being a journalist, struggling to become a novelist, and at times the issues of being a gay author writing (sometimes) gay-themed fiction. I can't promise I'll always sta
Recent Posts Tagged With 'writing blather'
So now “mainstream” = “white?”
The other day I read a feature spot on a new author (who shall remain nameless because he seems like a nice guy, a good writer, and he can’t be blamed for what’s written about him). In this spot he was described as a “writer of col...
I think this one’s only worth about 273 words and some change.
This is what I do when I can’t sleep, work has broken my brain, and I need to wind down. I don’t know if I hate it or if I’m proud of it, but it’s good to sink into some mindless drawing for a while. Helps to loosen up...
Random and brief.
We so need to get the pictures from our trip to Canada developed. Niagara Falls is a beautiful natural wonder. You don’t really appreciate the power of that much water succumbing to gravity until you’re standing at the prow of a boat wi...
Not a zombie!
Guess who isn’t dead? Oi, where in hell have I been? Well, to put it shortly… 1. Tooth pain. Bad tooth pain. One of my molars is now nothing but an L-shaped shell that has blessedly been numbed entirely until I can get it pulled out. 2...
Swing about.
Looks like Shadow’s Breath is getting a rewrite and a complete concept change. Last night I got some amazing feedback that really nailed down and concretely defined the problem areas in the story. While thinking over how to fix those issues, ...
Finding North.
Compasses exist for one purpose: finding magnetic north, so we know where we are and where we’re going in relation to the rest of the world. The compass metaphor has always had easy parallels in life, love, a dozen other aspects of our existen...
Snozzberries taste like wha?
Life lesson: If you’re too tired to do something right, all the sworn avowals in the world don’t matter a damn when you just have to redo it the next day after gaping in horror at the rotten fruits of your own labor. Yesterday I had a whi...
Dear technology: don’t be hatin’, yo.
Last night Hikaru got to deal with one of the fun perks of living with a writer: tolerating said writer’s late-night spaz-fits as he hops in and out of bed, running to the computer over and over again to jot down a few inspired lines of ‘...
That time of the year again.
Yep, shaved him again. We keep bursting into giggles every time we see him. We’re pretty much officially in the new place now. It’s still made of awesome. There’s a loose wire on the hot water heater, but that’s so, so mino...
Don’t try this at home.
Problem is about halfway solved, and should be 99% gone by the end of the weekend. Thanks to everyone who offered feedback and advice. You were immeasurably helpful. Now back to packing. ~groans~ The movers will be here in four hours....
Green as can be.
Hikaru and I are looking into adopting an adult cat from the local no-kill shelter; the more cats they find homes for, the more room they have to take animals from the kill shelters so they won’t be euthanized. There are three that are just lu...
Vagaries.
The writing and publishing industry is an odd one. It’s full of fluctuations, many triumphs, and even more disappointments. The most important thing to remember when dealing with disappointment, though? Never let it make you bitter. No matter...
“You’ve got a rainbow in your mouth! Open it for the world!”
“An Insurrection” is done, and only needs 220 words trimmed off (minimum, I’m sure more will come out in edits). It makes me snicker with glee, if only because look! I can play straight! Or at least write straight. Or something....
Might just be a milestone.
I’m almost done with “An Insurrection.” I figure I need about an hour of unbroken time after work to wrap up the last 500-odd words of it, filling in the little gaps I left during last night’s flurry to get the basic chain of...
Insurrection.
Despite my previous growling on the subject, I may be willing to buy into the personification of a muse if only because mine, if he or she exists, is a contrary little cow who doesn’t like to let me sleep. I’ve been turning over a short ...
Stranger than fiction.
I really need to start sleeping with the Eee next to the bed, because sometimes my nightmares are more bizarre, imaginative, and downright creepy than any story I could come up with - and I need to start writing this crap down while it’s still ...
This probably needs a title.
It’s amazing and sad that major news sources are taking this long to say anything about the June 2nd death of fantasy author David Eddings. I am having a terrible time focusing on work this morning. Part of that is because I’m trying to ...
Hrn? Hrn.
Ever notice that many writers have a morbid fascination with death? Why do you think that is? About half done with the SB synopsis. May finish it after work today, or may do it tomorrow; off work tomorrow (mmm-mmm, the sweet sound of me sleeping in...
Bleargh.
So I was bad this weekend. I didn’t write the Shadow’s Breath synopsis, but I did have a marvelous time going to Mitsuwa and Terminator: Salvation with Hikaru. The movie was a bit of a letdown, but I still had a great time; considering ...
Suki ja nai yo!
Pet peeve time again. Ohhhh is this a huge pet peeve. Big. Enormous. Gigantic. Totemo ookii. Writers: if you decide to write a character who speaks a language other than your native language when you don’t possess even the remotest fluency, ...
Also–
On a completely different topic: sent out two more queries, this time to agents whose submission guidelines and social media style made me feel comfortable in using my shorter, more informal query with supporting pages. We’ll see how these two...
Observations of interest.
Well, of interest to me, anyway. I’ve been thinking about style in general, and reader reception to changes in style based on personal preference and one’s own writing endeavors. This started weeks ago when a friend from the main writing ...
Diarrhea of the mouth.
Okay. So. Waking Magic. Chapter one. I just ask one thing of you: don’t go into this with high expectations. This is what happens when I write fluff for fun - when I don’t worry about good writing, don’t worry about in-depth cha...
Muse Musing.
I may get flamed for saying this, but…a major pet peeve of mine is when authors personify their inspiration, creativity, and work ethic (and lack thereof) as a muse. It doesn’t bother me when it’s just used as a general saying, but...
Hrm.
It always weirds me out when my Sitemeter tells me that people get here by Googling my name. I don’t know why it weirds me out; it just does. Finished chapter one of Waking Magic yesterday; I was starting to think I’d never get to a clos...
The things I think about when I’ve only had an hour’s sleep.
There are days when I wonder if an erratic pantser, no matter how productive, can ever be successful in a process-oriented world....
Son of a–
So I’ve been pecking at Waking Magic in what little free time I have lately, right? Every day I write at least a few paragraphs and refuse to put it down. Kind of an exercise in discipline, plus it makes me happy. But I wonder if I have a thr...
All hail the Queen of Hip-Pop. (Hush, Namie’s stuck in my head.)
I used to love William Gibson’s Idoru as a teenager. Now I can barely struggle through it - possibly from tripping over commas every step of the way, but also because the writing and characterization aren’t doing jack for me. In fact, it...
Into the Abyss.
So no word on the Knight Agency’s Book in a Nutshell contest; according to the contest FAQ, that basically means “no go.” They received over 1200 entries and, considering their existing workload, could understandably only spare the...
Not your Man Friday.
Question: Why the hell don’t more non-Caucasian American authors write science fiction and fantasy? Seriously, I would love to know this. I love my sci-fi and fantasy authors regardless of their skin color, upbringing, what the hell ever, but...
