Monday, February 16, 2015

Monday Morning This and That

-I continue to do battle with Windows. Each night, my computer automatically installs that one critical update that borks my fonts; each morning, I uninstall it. Hey, Microsoft, I want this update! I believe in your updates! Just give me one that doesn't make my documents an unreadable mess--I've got that part taken care of!

-Speaking of unreadable messes, this weekend has largely been a disaster from a writing perspective. I made almost zero progress this weekend, and this after telling two awesome beta readers that I should have it for them by the end of the month. Performance anxiety? I think part of the issue is I've found a rather thin spot in the narrative that I'm having trouble filling. Or it's a timeline issue. I'll figure it out.

-Whoa TV: my wife and I recently burned through the first two seasons of Orphan Black. Have you watched this? Very, very good show, and Tatiana Maslany is fantastic in her multiple roles. The concern I had rolling through season 2 is how will the show not collapse under its own weight? Convoluted conspiracies can be tough to maintain over the long haul, and they already started losing me a bit during season 2. I definitely recommend it.

-Frustration. Last night I was looking for a paragraph or two I had written with the intention of sticking somewhere in my manuscript. I couldn't find it, not in my notebook, not in any of the (too) many files devoted to the project on my computer. I know I wrote it; I just can't find it. It might actually be in one of my older notebooks. Time to dig.


-Oh, oh, oh! In case you're not aware, Elephant's Bookshelf Press has announced their next anthology. Can you write horror? If so, go check out their guidelines and get writing. Deadline is 6/8/15 for September publication. Go! Go!

That's it for me; how are you all?




6 comments:

  1. Okay, now you're making me REALLY glad I bought a new computer when I did. My old one has Vista. I'd hate to think what the updates will do to that (and the next person who turns it on will find out). Whew. Feel like I dodged a bullet.

    I'm feeling a little disorganized right now. Don't know why. It's like my brain is all over the place. Maybe I need to write a list or something. Something to prioritize my day. Start it with "drink coffee" and follow it with "take a shower." Of course, while I'm on the computer visiting blogs, my coffee is getting cold and I'm not getting any cleaner (or awake). Ahhhh, Mondays. Don't you love 'em?

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  2. Best of luck! I shall have to consider that anthology, even though for me horror is one of the toughest genres to write.

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  3. Have you reported your font problems? Has anyone else talked about it on one of the forums? That has to be so frustrating!

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  4. That update would be sending me off the deep end!! Hope it resolves itself soon!
    I watched a few of the first Orphan Black episodes and really enjoyed them. Have to catch up one of these days!

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  5. Good luck! Seems like Windows is on a mission to annoy. I also need to up my progress, things have slowed down for some reason.

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  6. -Stacy--I know that feeling, of brain all over the place--hope yours settles down a little!

    -Patrick--I find I can do horror reasonably in short stories, though maybe not good enough to publish. Good luck if you decide to go for it--always good to stretch your boundaries!

    -Donna--Windows is apparently aware of it, though to my knowledge, they've failed to fix it yet. I've got automatic updates turned off now, which I don't like, but I'll be reading the notes on the updates and waiting for them to perhaps upgrade the update.

    -Jemi--I feel much better since turning off the auto update, now I'm not fighting with the computer every day. I definitely recommend continuing Orphan Black--good stuff!

    -Nick--Thanks. As for progress, I think we hit natural peaks and valleys. I had a good day yesterday, and a good week overall.

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