Sunday, May 6


Another rambling journal entry . . .

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I wrote 408 words today. I'm planning on doing more after I mow the lawn. I need to hand in a story on Tuesday and I can't be much more than six hundred words from finishing.

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Summertime feelings. The weather has been warm, the sun has been shining. The days (meaning light) last longer. I'm feeling productive and good. I've been listening to the new Dave Matthew's Band (I've never heard a DMB CD I didn't like. Never.). I've been using my Bowflex and all I need to do is get a cardio vascular workout as well. I could row by using the Bowflex, but I don't feel like sitting there rowing for twenty minutes. Running feels much better, so I need to start jogging or using a stairmaster where I work.

Things start to get better here on out.

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I missed the last Tuesday night workshop. I had the crud. Sore throat, stuffy head. I feel better now. Felt better on Wednesday, actually.

I have a workshop on the coast to look forward to next weekend. Dean and Kris are having the second of three workshops this year. I'm revising a Trek story for that one. Might as well get some feedback from the editor before I send it. Should be a beautiful weekend to go to the coast!

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Have I forgotten about the pursuit of the Mad Marvin?

No. I've been avoiding talking about it. And I'm sorry, you'll have to wait awhile longer before I talk about it again. :-)

I am working on a couple of stories and trying to write everyday. The Mad Marvin will come.



Tuesday, May 29

Finally! An update!

I handed in "After The Sky Fell" to the workshop tonight. It's about time I got that one done. I lost the power of that story by working on it irregularily. With the help of a critique next week, I might be able to make it stronger.

I also had a story critiqued tonight. Last week I brought in "Strange Phone." 500 words. I had sat down to see if I could write a 500 word story in one sitting. I did it in under an hour and it was a lot of fun. I was able to immerse myself in the setting. My mind worked fast, making connections in that little story.

It does need to be rewritten both on the macro and micro level. Great comments tonight at the workshop.

The workshop is on steroids! We've had seven new faces in the last month. Another one tonight. And we now stretch five tables across the back room of the bookstore, from the piano to the refreshment counter. That's two round tables, a small square table (probably adds two, maybe four people), one formica table slightly longer than the last, and one long rectangular table. We had over twenty people. Probably twenty five. Also, three or four regulars were missing.

This growth is making me nervous. Can we maintain the integrity of the workshop? The critiques still move quickly and smoothly. That's good.

It cost me seventeen dollars to make 17 copies of a twenty page story and I still didn't have enough to go around. This is going to get expensive as I hand in a story each week.

I don't write about the workshop growth here to brag. It's because I'm really scared!

And I have more stuff to write about. I could write about the workshop on the coast at Kris and Dean's earlier this month. Hey, that had less than fifteen people. But you know what, I think I'll save that for tomorrow night's journal entry.

More later, I promise.