Sunday, June 21, 2009

Hermit Crabs and Brain Meat

First off - 28,000 words of the first draft in the bag. The sound you hear in the background would be my balls dragging on the ground. By the end of the year, I'll be done and ass-deep in rewrites/revisions.

So, the wife thoroughly surprised me today (you would never know that I *always* misspell the word 'surprise' the first time around - thank you auto-spellcheck feature). She built me a website on WordPress. I know, right? Freakin' sweet! So yeah, 'll be updating both there and here for a while. (www.malleablereality.com)

Why both blogs, do you ask? Blogspot seems easier to use and frankly, I'm kinda slow when it comes to certain things. I need to get somewhat used to this. Seriously, I can speak some Chinese, Japanese and Russian, can be yelled at in the most mutilated French you can manage, and keep myself from being shot in the face during a botched robbery in any romance language. But, tell me to figure out the current state of computer web programming languages and I'm gonna give you the sad bottom lip until you stop torturing me. So, I'll be hacking through WordPress and I'll figure it out eventually (yay for youtube tutorials!) .

Stuff like this has made me more and more aware of my personal intelligence these days. It's been questioned by several people. For good or ill, I'll take it for what it is - the universe asking me what's going on with all that.

In short, I'm not really sure. Sometimes I feel dumb, real dumb. It comes from being a jock that hangs around geeks. I have degree in International Politics with extensive experience in so-called 'critical languages', so I'm not exactly hurting for brainmeats - but I had trouble following the directions to put an IKEA bookshelf together properly. A credit to the Sweds, though, the damned Frankenstein thing is 4 years old and still holds true.

So, I've spent like an hour trying to type and re-type all kinds of theories and responses about questioning myself, but in short, I basically seem to be trying to justify my own intelligence or lack there of. That isn't healthy. I'll think on the subject and post a better response sometime.

Also, it's Father's Day. I'm the proud birth father of one cute little boy and one cute little girl. We adopted out for various reasons, but it's an open situation and we'll definitely be a part of their lives. In fact, me and the wife will be visiting them this summer. Yay!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Update

The convention went well. Buddha Belly managed to do some good business but, more importantly, we got our name out there and made a few new friends.

The Steampunk rendition of 'The Tempest' was absolutely awesome. We're hoping it moves forward into full production one day. We'll be in the front row on opening night. I think it's kind of neat that it went over so well. Especially, considering the fact that I wear a quote from the original play around my neck on a pendant.

My panel on Steampunk in Literature went well. I hoped so. I stayed up until after 3am the night before making sure I had enough notes. In the end, like I tend to, I ended up bouncing around subjects. I got compliments, though. I'll take them all with a smile.

Today, I broke the 24,000 word mark. I'm proud of myself. The KinkyHausFrau is proud, too. Of course, as soon as she said that I'm a writer well into my 1st draft, I tell her I want 25,000 words before I buy into myself being a real writer. Maybe 30,000. Artists are their own toughest critics.

I have absolutely no idea how many words this story will end up being, but the pieces are working together. I'm enjoying fostering the growth of my characters. I've already watched some of them come and go, I've added and subtracted a lot. I've even killed particular story arcs. It was worth it, because it gave other branches more room to grow.

Thus far, someone who was originally a type of lackey has become the main antagonist. I'll enjoy showing a villain in deeper shades of gray. It's not all cut and dry - good guy, bad guy. There are people who are doing things you don't mind and people doing things that you do mind. If you mind, you get involved. Plain and simple, but it doesn't make them bad.

I'm digging the fae character I have. And I'm trying not to let the species of the characters overshadow the story or the characters themselves. Their supernatural natures are a part of them, but not their focus. Even the Alpha Wolf has a mortgage to attend to.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Atlanta Steampunk Steamfest


Atlanta Steamfest 2009

Kay, so the Steamfest is on for this weekend at the Academy Theater in Atlanta. You know you want to be there. There will be two readings of a steampunk rendition of Shakespeare's The Tempest, we'll be doing high tea, a steampunk parade, basic corset-making, improv, steam-music, and everything else a mini-fest can manage to pull off in two days.

The wife will be pushing all kinds of steampunk books as a vendor. I'll be running a panel on Steampunk in Literature from 3-4pm. It will be a fairly in depth historical synopsis of the movement from it's basis in the 'Edisonades' of the mid to late 19th century on through the actual movement beginning in the 70s. It will also include a discussion of noteworthy and contemporary authors along with their writings in how they've all come to, and continue to, shape the genre. It'll be riveting, I assure you.

After the event, I'll list whatever inventory we may have remaining to see if anyone might be interested in it. I'll also probably end up posting a synopsis of what I go over in the panel; 'cuz honestly, can you ever really know enough about niche little subculture literary movements? I think not.

Also - 20,000 words of my first novel in the bag. Base.