tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82810006680366197272024-03-12T14:10:45.743-04:00The Doubting WriterWhere I angst over my inadequacy as a writer.JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.comBlogger615125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-27578666330132071992022-03-27T10:39:00.003-04:002022-03-27T10:39:55.260-04:00Next Time You See Me<p></p><blockquote>"Next time you see me<br />things won't be the same" – Earl Forest/William G.
Harvey</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This song typically runs through my head when I'm leaving to
go get my hair cut, meaning I haven't had it running through my head since
about 2016. Yes, it's time I updated my photo. It's appropriate thought here, as next
time I post, things won't be the same.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I started this blog in May of 2011 mainly because that was
what you <i>did</i> in 2011 if you were a writer—you blogged. As I recall the
main idea behind it was to connect with the readers who would eventually buy
your books, as they would want to know what was on your mind, peek behind the
curtain, get to know you as a person. Blogging was the way to do that, though I
suppose it was already in its death spiral when I started doing it. I am cursed
to be forever and always be behind the trends, though I suppose if I stick with
it long enough, it will become popular again.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem, of course, is that unpublished writers have no
readers. Instead of connecting with readers we end up connecting with other writers
who are all in the same boat, and we end up swapping war stories from the query
trenches, hopes and dreams, and gripes about all the flaming hoops we have to
jump through to get <i>there</i>. Not only did I learn wasn't alone, I was also
able to adjust my expectations, gain some perspective, and gain beta readers,
critics, commiserators (I think I just made up a new word) and cheerleaders.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the people I met in the early days of the blog is <a href="https://lisaregan.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Regan</a>. I don't remember who found whom, but we became frequent commenters on
each other's blogs and then beta readers for each other, even though we really
don't write in the same genre at all. Lisa has read every one of my manuscripts
and given excellent feedback on them, and I've read several of hers and tried
to do the same. Lisa has offered encouragement at every step of the way, and
though we've never met in person, we've become friends. Many years ago, Lisa
left the treadmill of agents and queries and submissions and struck out on her
own. She is now a best-selling author with--good gosh, is it 20???--books to
her name. Boy, howdy, that decision worked out!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">About a year and a half ago, Lisa reached out to tell me she
had formed <a href="http://www.breakingnightpress.com/" target="_blank">Breaking Night Press</a>, a small publishing house dedicated to
#ownvoices and niche genres and that she wanted to publish me—was I interested?
The short answer is I said yes, and that means that in August of this year I
will have my debut novel published by Breaking Night Press! Am I excited? Yes.
Am I petrified? Oh, you betcha. I have five months to wait for final copies and
reviews and blurbs, five months to worry myself into knots. But before that, I
have a cover and a description and I hope that you will join me at my new
website, <a href="http://jeffohandley.com">jeffohandley.com</a>. There isn't much visible yet but a big ticker clock
counting down the hours to the cover reveal, which will be on March 31. <a href="http://jeffohandley.com">jeffohandley.com</a>
will be the new base of operations for me. The blog will not be going away, all
the posts have been archived and will be viewable over there (and, presumably,
here), but new posts will be happening over there. So yes, next time you see
me, things WON'T be the same.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I feel like I should say a lot more about all of this right
now, but as always, this post is way too long, so I'll stop it there. However,
as I prepare for this next phase of the journey and the move to new digs, I
need to say "Thank you" to each and every one of you who has come
here to spend some time and share some thoughts. Despite the long droughts and
disappearances it has been fun, and I hope you will meet me next week at the
new place. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-27665319632743786392022-03-20T15:27:00.000-04:002022-03-20T15:27:12.422-04:00Where Have I Been?<p> It's been quite some time since I've posted anything of
substance. When I stepped away in April of 2019 I honestly believed that my
hiatus would be pretty much like others I'd taken previously, that I'd be back
in a month or so. Instead, it spun on and on and on, so where have I been?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>To be truthful, I've been right here all along, doing the
same things you have been doing. The question isn't so much where I have been,
but <i>why</i>: why did I disappear? By way of explanation, let me tell you a
story. That's what we do, right?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> W</o:p>hen my father died (13 years ago, holy crap) it kicked off about
a five month period where I was seemingly in constant contact with people. My brother,
sister, and I (and my ex-brother-in-law, have to give him credit) spent long
periods of time at the house. There was funeral week, of course, and then lots
of time sorting through 40+ years of life in that house. There were repairs and
renovation and meetings with lawyers and realtors. We also saw a lot of neighborhood
folks, friends, and aunts, uncles and cousins. I was very grateful to spend so
much time with all of them, it not only eased the work, it eased the heartache,
but when the house was sold and everything was settled I was like a deep sea
diver coming to the surface: I needed to decompress. After all that time around
so many people I pulled back, withdrew from just about everyone except my wife
and my kids. I needed that time to process things and come to grips with new
reality. It was an important time for me, and we'll just ignore that it
stretched on far too long for now.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>That need for time away, for decompression is very much what
hit me three years ago. If you recall, 2018 started with me losing my agent of
four years, which was rough. At the time, however, I was immersed in what I
really, really thought would be The One, the manuscript that would be a book,
and never mind that I've thought that about every project since PARALLEL LIVES
all those years ago. I was able to kind of put my head down and keep working
and revising and blogging. When the calendar turned to 2019 I was just about
ready to start querying, and that's what I did.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>And nothing happened.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Now let's be clear, I did not query properly. I did do the
research: I dutifully searched far and wide to see who was new, who had left
the business, who might accept what I was peddling. But I did not send out
hundreds of queries to hundreds of agents. I did not finely tune my query
letter or adjust my opening pages with each set of rejections and that is
because I pretty much heard NOTHING. No requests for pages, no personalized
rejections, not even form rejections. It weighed on me, dragged me down, and it
did not help at all that I had no new project to work on, that nothing had kicked
open the door to the Back Room shouting, "HERE I AM!" After writing constantly
for almost ten years and blogging pretty consistently for about eight I had
nothing to write, nothing to say. I think, just as I needed to get away from it
all after the frenetic period after my father's death, I just needed to decompress.
So out I went. And the longer I was away, the easier it became to stay away.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Am I back? Time will tell. I'm sorry to say that I still
don't have a new project, though I have tried resurrecting something that just
never took off but seemed timely at the beginning of Obama's second term and
seems even more so in a post-January 6 world. Time is circular, after all. But
I do have some news and as this post is already too long, I'll just leave that
for next time.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-48992171786587422022-02-05T07:50:00.000-05:002022-02-05T07:50:05.020-05:00I'm Still Here, Are You?Well, folks, has it really been 2-1/2 years since my last post? Looks like...yes. Wow. <div><br /></div><div>It was never my intention to be gone so long. I think when I checked out on April 1, 2019--a whole pandemic ago!--I figured I would take a month, recharge my batteries a little, and get right back to it. Didn't quite work out that way, did it? Instead, this blog was like the relatives you lose touch with. Maybe you poke each other on social media once in a while but you don't call. "I'll do it next week," you tell yourself, but you don't. And then when you realize months have gone by it becomes easier not to call, because then you have to deal with the guilt about why you haven't called, and on and on it goes (Yes, the blog is not the only thing I have neglected in my life, hah ha).</div><div><br /></div><div>The good thing is I am well. My family is well. We have thus far survived what is two years of COVID without getting COVID (as far as any of us know, anyway), a pretty good trick considering the Catbird spent the first year-and-a-half of the pandemic working in a nursing home. I've been officially working from home since March 12, 2020 and I will continue working from home for the foreseeable future because, a) my boss is a decent human being; b) we have proven as an organization that we are collectively capable of working remotely; and c) as much as we want to believe otherwise, we're still in a pandemic, people are still getting spectacularly sick, and people are still dying in large numbers. I am thankful that I have a job that allows me to work remotely AND that I've also been able to continue the outdoor portions of my job with minor alterations all along, despite never falling into the category of "essential worker." Many others were not so fortunate. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is about all I've got for now. I have to say, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the guilt. There will be more coming from me, I promise I won't let it be so long next time, really! In the meantime, I hope all of you are doing well. Let me know if you're still around (and getting notifications about this blog, hah ha) by leaving a comment below. Until next time, be safe, be smart, be well.
Cheers.</div>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-84736243863730339652019-08-26T07:19:00.001-04:002019-08-26T07:19:48.913-04:00At Last: A Sequel I Can Get BehindIt finally happened.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, Netflix announced that <i>El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie</i> will air on the the streaming service on October 11.<br />
<br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lZKqMVPlDg8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman on the original show for five seasons and reprises his role for this sequel, summed up my feelings pretty well:
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
"It's a chapter of <i>Breaking Bad</i> that I didn't realize I wanted. And now that I have it, I’m so happy that it’s there."</blockquote>
I've long been funny about sequels and prequels and even second+ seasons of very good TV shows. Our entertainment industry has a long tradition of not knowing when the horse is dead, or they don't care if the horse is dead so long as there's a critical mass that will pay to see it (though their motivation could also be like that of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in <i>The Producers</i>). We end up with too many sequels or too many seasons of a tired TV show limping along, and we either forget what made it so good in the first place, or we just <i>hope</i> it will recapture some of the original magic, or we still somehow care about characters despite what second and third and fourth teams of writers/directors/creators turn them into.<br />
<br />
But I have hope for this one. Not only because <i>Breaking Bad</i> creator, Vince Gilligan is really good at what he does, but also because the track record for television seems to be improving. After season two of <i>The Good Place</i>, I really didn't see how they could keep that premise rolling. They have. <i>The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt</i> has rolled right on. Season two of <i>The OA</i> was very good. And my most anticipated (and feared) sequel season, HBO's <i>Barry</i>, somehow managed to equal--and even exceed, at times--an excellent first season.<br />
<br />
So, on October 11 I think I'll plunk myself down in front of the TV and see what happened to Jesse Pinkman. I'll be rooting for him, too, hoping he can find a way to shed the horrors he endured through five seasons of <i>Breaking Bad</i>.<br />
<br />
How are you all doing?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-38686618761180854182019-04-01T06:23:00.002-04:002019-04-01T06:23:32.602-04:00Reading List 2019 Part IPrepare to be underwhelmed.<br />
<br />
<b>The Crossing</b> (2018), Jason Mott<br />
<br />
<b>Family Trust </b>(2018), Kathy Wang<br />
<br />
<b>Unsheltered</b> (2018), Barbara Kingsolver<br />
<br />
It doesn't seem possible that I've only read three books. On my list, I note that <i>The Crossing</i> was finished on February 13, which means I read nothing at all in January??? I feel like I'm missing at least one book in there, maybe two, but I can't remember. I don't think I've had such a down cycle of reading, well, ever. Except maybe when I was a college student or the kids were very small. I actually am reading a book right now but it's not grabbing me all that much and there's virtually no pull on me.<br />
<br />
And with that, I think it's also time to announce a break from the blog. I think of things I want to say here, but I don't put the work in until I wake up Monday morning and then? I just have no energy for it. So, we'll see if a month off gives me some new energy. Have a good month!JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-61610458505117478052019-03-25T20:31:00.000-04:002019-03-25T20:31:26.359-04:00A trip to the pastQuite often, when we face an uncertain future or an uncomfortable present, we retreat into the safety of the past. Perhaps we look at old pictures or videos, listen to favorite music, pay a visit to an old haunt. We loll about in warmth and golden light, bathed in the memories of good friends, good fun, good food, good times. It can be nice to get away from the pressures of today and the gnawing fear of that space on the calendar marked 'tomorrow.'<br />
<br />
But sometimes, even a trip to the past is not the sanctuary we're looking for. On a drive through the old neighborhood, you find the new owner of the house you grew up in has painted it a different color, built a garage on top of the garden, or cut down the tree you used to climb. The empty lot you used to play hide-and-seek on has a strip mall on it. The old elementary school is now a community center, an office complex, a senior citizen complex. Even the past can get run over.<br />
<br />
This was illustrated clearly this past weekend when I took advantage of an offer from Blizzard Entertainment and dropped in to check on the world of the <i>World of Warcraft,</i> the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) that took our world by storm. My wife and I played over the course of about five years, from the mid- to late stages of the game's first expansion, <i>The Burning Crusade </i>up until about halfway through the <i>Cataclysm</i> expansion. I dropped out due to a combination of factors (I may have blogged about this before, but I don't remember): waning interest in the game, rising interest in writing, and technical problems on Blizzard's end that for a time made loading in and out of different zones frustrating at best, impossible at worst. To my surprise, I didn't miss the game as much as I thought I would (I missed the people, though; I was fortunate to fall in with a good bunch), which in itself says it was a good time to get out.<br />
<br />
But I <i>did </i>miss it, and would find myself thinking about it with the hazy glow of nostalgia. So, when I saw Blizzard was offering a free weekend of play to inactive players (including a free upgrade* to just short of the most recent expansion, <i>Battle for Azeroth,</i> released last year), I decided, why not? It might be fun to peek in, get the lay of the land, and maybe have a little fun.<br />
<br />
As you can gather, it was not all rosy glows and warm fuzzies. The game has changed, which I knew. The abilities I had gotten used to over the course of seven years of playing my paladin (and my warlock; can't forget <i>him</i>) were...there? Sort of? Some of them? I had to spend time rearranging the location of all my spells and abilities on my toolbar because some things were gone (Hammer of Wrath? Exorcism? Holy Wrath? Where are you?) and there were new things that I didn't even have a clue about how to use.<br />
<br />
But that wasn't the worst of it. Heck, every expansion brings changes. The paladin I left alone in Stormwind was very different from the one who started out swinging a wooden mallet in Elwynn Forest five years before. No, the worst of it, the most disappointing of all was losing my name. Blizzard seems to have a policy that they'll keep your character forever, but after 2 expansions of inactivity? They'll release your name. And it was gone, just like that. I was surprised at how much it bugs me, even though I was there for a weekend, nothing more.<br />
<br />
Actually, there was one other thing that bugged me.<br />
<br />
When I left the game, I was in a guild. An active, chatty guild. Log into the game, and there would be a bunch of greetings in guild chat, a constant conversation running as background text like a CNN chyron, only instead of the news of the day, it was the news of the guild. Jokes, snippets of personal information, in-game accomplishments, requests and stories. More than the other people running around you in the game world, that guild chat let you know you were part of a community, not alone. And it was gone.<br />
<br />
I know that some of the people I played with way back when are still in game, but I have no idea if they're still on the same realm or moved off, or if they switched factions or started playing other characters. I do know the guild has been disbanded, and no one I knew was around, and that even if I did figure out how to play my character again, it wouldn't be the same.<br />
<br />
At least I've got my memories.<br />
<br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-33300939114146646022019-03-18T07:36:00.000-04:002019-03-18T07:36:32.879-04:00Opportunity stolen<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
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When I was a kid, I was spoon-fed the Myth of America. You
know the one. It tells us that America is the land of
opportunity. The land of the free. The place where <i>anyone</i> could become <i>anything</i>. Where a boy could be born in poverty in a log cabin, where he was so poor he had to walk
to school barefoot, but where could still rise to be the leader of the nation if only
he worked hard enough. <i>That</i> Myth. America was not perfect, we knew. We made some mistakes—slavery,
for example. The long, dark period where women couldn't vote, for another. But
given time, we always righted the wrongs, both here and abroad. Maybe it took
time. Maybe it wasn't easy. But it got done. And anyone could be anything, if they were willing to work hard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a deleted scene from my currently on-query project, a
character argues that America has become less a meritocracy and more of a
feudal society, where wealth and opportunity is increasingly handed down from
generation to generation, and people are more likely to become rags-to-riches
stories by hitting the lottery or going viral (not always for the right
reasons) than they are by studying and working hard. He points out the increasing entry of dynasties into politics (Kennedys, Bushes and, maybe, Clintons), sports (Hulls, Bonds, Mannings) and entertainment (Smiths, Coppolas), where wealth and power gained by parents have allowed the children to either pursue their dreams free of the fear of failure, or provide them with the leg up needed to succeed. Meanwhile, he notes, it becomes harder for others to gain entry into the club. Mobility, he says, is dead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This idea seems to be in evidence all over. Statistics have suggested mobility in America has decreased
over time. In his 2017 book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dream Hoarders, </i>Richard Reeves suggests that not only has upward mobility been stifled, so has downward mobility. Reeves argues that the top-most economic classes (in this case,
the top 20%, not the fabled 1%) have constructed a glass floor to keep
themselves—and their children—from falling out of the upper classes.That they are using their money and status and connections to engage in 'opportunity hoarding.'</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After watching the 'college cheating scandal' blow up last week,
this seems more evident than ever. If you have not been paying attention, a
federal investigation turned up an operation in which parents paid a middleman to
get their children into top colleges, either by cheating on college entrance
exams or by bribing coaches into falsely recruiting the kids for their athletic
teams. Said the mastermind of the operation, "I created a side door."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What boggles my mind in all this are two things: first, that
the parents did not apparently trust in their own children's abilities to get
into these schools (though after seeing the video made by daughter of
privilege, Olivia Jade, maybe they were right not to trust her). Second, <b>couldn't
the gobs and gobs of money spent on getting their kids into school be better
spent</b> on, I don't know, tutors? Better prep schools? Test prep classes? According to a
story in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, parents were paying between $15,000 and $75,000
per cheated test. Another paid $1.2 million—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">million!</i>—to get their kid into Yale. Are these schools
really that good? If you have that kind of money to drop on faking your way into school, does your kid <i>really </i>need that kind of education? Hell, if you're dropping a mil on Yale, why not set
up an endowment or use it as seed money to outfit a residence hall with
geothermal or something? Why not at least let that money benefit others as well as your own kid?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a parent, I want my kids to have a better
life than I had growing up (and mine was pretty good), and to be well-positioned
for success as they enter adulthood. It is, really, what any parent wants. This
cheating scandal, however, is a direct example of what Reeves called
opportunity hoarding, taken to the extreme. We all recognize that wealth has its
privileges. This is not a simple privilege. This is not just stacking the deck.
This is outright thievery, thievery that denied actual deserving students of opportunity, an opportunity to be anything.<br />
<br /></div>
JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-79215778901052714062019-03-11T07:32:00.000-04:002019-03-11T07:32:30.490-04:00Yet another query postAnd just like that we're back in the dark.<br />
<br />
Among the many things to not like about the return of Daylight Saving Time is that, as I write this, sunrise is still 21 minutes away. Yes, it will not be dark when I start my drive to work. Yes, it will be lighter in the evening when I make my way home from work, but it was still light when most people were driving home, anyway. I can take solace, I guess, from the fact that the sun rises one to two minutes earlier each day, so by the time March is over, it will be light at this time. And I guess the other benefit to Daylight Saving Time is that we don't have the sun rising at 4:30 in the morning. But if they can do it in Alaska, I guess we could do it here.<br />
<br />
Ah, well, I come not to gripe about Daylight Saving Time but to talk once more about queries. After the last two weeks of talking about querying, I'm finally querying. Hurrah! Querying is a funny beast. Right now, I have over 100 agents on my list, a mere drop in the bucket in terms of actual number of agents out there, but a good number to start with. My list includes BIG STAR agents at BIG STAR AGENCIES as well as just starting out people working for themselves and all manner of folks in between. All of them, however, have a track record, actual real clients, and a reputation that is <i>not </i>"Watch out for this scam artist!" or "I signed with them and sent my finished manuscript and heard nothing for two and a half years."All of them are people that, based on reputation at least, I can see myself working with.<br />
<br />
The tough part now is figuring out the query strategy. Carpet bombing the agent world, aside from being exhausting (seriously--I did five yesterday and was shot for the afternoon), can be counterproductive. The simple truth is, though I've polished my manuscript, though I've vetted my query with people I trust, I really don't know <i>how good</i> either of them are. If either the query or the opening pages is flawed, what then? If I blast my entire list, I'm sunk (most agents don't like getting the same project a second time unless they ask for it or it's really, really revised).<br />
<br />
My solution is to try to send out small batches of queries equally divided between agents who like pages included and agents who don't. I figure if I get requests for pages then the query is pretty solid, and if I get requests for additional pages/fulls from the ones who ask for pages included, then the query and the opening pages are pretty solid.<br />
<br />
The only flaw with this plan? Well, two, actually. The first is small sample size. You can argue that three queries in each category is not really enough to draw conclusions from, especially when there are so many other variables involved. Maybe, despite their website, the agent has decided they don't want what I'm selling right now, or they have another client with a similar project. Or the dog eats their slush pile. Or they closed to queries right before I hit "Send." There are a lot of things that can skew the results when you're dealing with small numbers.<br />
<br />
The second thing is the wait times. Publishing is a slow game. Odds are good that I won't hear anything from any of these agents for at least a week. Looking at Query Tracker, most of the agents I queried yesterday have at least a three week wait time between queries and responses. So we're back to the waiting game.<br />
<br />
Hey, look at that, the sun is up! Time to get on with my day. <b>How about you? Any particular strategies for querying that you employ?</b><br />
<br />
<b> </b> JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-24293301632722776702019-03-04T06:58:00.000-05:002019-03-04T06:58:29.650-05:00Gearing for battleIt seems like almost every movie that includes some sort of battle--be it epic fantasy, war, even a sports film--features a scene in which Our Heroes prepare for the coming fight. We see Our Heroes gearing up for battle: sharpening swords, fletching arrows, shining armor, taping up sticks, lacing up the cleats, all while looking strong and determined and ready to carry the day. You've probably seen it so many times you don't even think about it!<br />
<br />
Some time this week, maybe as early as tonight, I will step into the fray and fire my opening salvo in my latest battle to break into the world of the published. It will be a long fight, with many battles. How have I been preparing myself for this battle?<br />
<br />
<u><b>The manuscript</b></u><b>: </b>Like the armor Our Heroes wear, this has been polished to a high shine. Holes have been patched and repaired. Excessive bits that add unnecessary weight or could get in the way have been trimmed and removed. (Of course, me being me, i.e., a writer, just yesterday I thought of something I could easily add somewhere in the first thirty pages of the manuscript that would add <i>just the right touch</i> to the scene. This could go on forever.)<br />
<br />
<u><b>The query</b></u><b>: </b>Like the unending supply of arrows Legolas fires into unending legions of Orcs, my query is straight to the point.<br />
<br />
<u><b>The list</b></u><b>:</b> There are thousands of literary agents out there in the world. As of right now, I have over 150 on my list that could be a match. Almost every day, I learn of a new one. Good thing I have a <a href="https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Quiver_of_Endless_Arrows_(5e_Equipment)" target="_blank">Quiver of Endless Arrows</a>!<br />
<br />
<u><b>Synopsis</b></u><b>: </b>What can be harder than boiling your story down into a 250-word query? A synopsis! It doesn't seem right, but the query letter is really just the hook--WHO is the protagonist, WHAT is her problem, WHAT happens if she doesn't solve it? The query needs to make the agent want to read. The synopsis, on the other hand, is the condensed version of the whole book, a reduced outline. I have somehow managed to create a single-page synopsis for my nearly 400-page manuscript, in case anyone asks. And speaking of things agents ask for:<br />
<br />
<u><b>Excerpts</b></u><b>: </b>Some agents ask for the first five pages of your manuscript when you query. Some want to see the first ten. Some want thirty, some want fifty. Some want 'the first few chapters.' Some agents want sample pages embedded in the e-mail, others want them attached as a word or pdf. To prepare for any and all eventualities, I have created multiple files with titles like PROJECT NAME--10, PROJECT NAME--20, etc. That way, I can just grab the right file whenever needed instead of having to go back into the massive manuscript and cutting and pasting (every time I select a large block of text in my manuscript, I have the near-paralyzing fear I'm going to inadvertently delete it all and not be able to get it back).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8NElJRuUPspoXCIuWV6yQmBqqYQnVNBXiH-1FcOC2FYUdRHK-W0m4NUON26HJVd6BfIFujoQ4ZIkx6IrUqtW7S0FUAlAsq8wQ5P1faU2N-Wq8Zl5vLFcOux9qaCy9738N_Ql1ktE8nk/s1600/martini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8NElJRuUPspoXCIuWV6yQmBqqYQnVNBXiH-1FcOC2FYUdRHK-W0m4NUON26HJVd6BfIFujoQ4ZIkx6IrUqtW7S0FUAlAsq8wQ5P1faU2N-Wq8Zl5vLFcOux9qaCy9738N_Ql1ktE8nk/s1600/martini.jpg" /></a><u><b>And finally</b></u><b>: </b>Something to help me forget I'm querying. <br />
<br />
Actually, this is ideally the time to be working on The Next Thing. Usually, I've had the idea of The Next Thing right around the time I'm wrapping up The Last One. This time around, The Next Thing is not presenting itself. Maybe I've had too many of those martinis.<br />
<br />
So, that's it, that's how I've prepared myself for this latest round of the publishing wars. Many of you have elected to skip this step in favor of doing it yourselves. For anyone out there who reads this blog that isn't self-publishing, are there any items in your arsenal that aren't in mine? <b>How do you prepare yourself for this battle?</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-59936290923293874872019-02-25T06:45:00.000-05:002019-02-25T06:45:10.443-05:00And still another wall (and still not THAT one)I thought I would be done.<br />
<br />
When I posted last week, I thought I would be done by now. My brief wall notwithstanding, I was pretty certain I would put a bow on it and be finished by the time this post rolled around. I was wrong. You see, I hit another wall.<br />
<br />
After finishing my post last week, I had to work despite the holiday, co-leading a snowshoe walk at a state park in the afternoon. It was cold, in the upper teens, and though it wasn't windy, there was enough of a breeze that, when we stopped in an open area, you could really feel the breeze cutting in. Still, everyone seemed to enjoy it. That night, I managed to work through about eight manuscript pages, crossed the 300-page mark. At the end of the evening, I had under 90 pages remaining.<br />
<br />
I made the mistake, perhaps, of staying up to watch the Bruins on Monday. They were in the midst of a 5-game road trip and played in San Jose, 10pm start. The wild game (a Bruins 6-5 overtime win) ended around 1am, leaving me with five-ish hours of sleep before going in to work the next day. In general, I am not one who believes that being cold and/or tired makes you sick--germs make you sick. Viruses make you sick. On the other hand, perhaps cold and tired can suppress your immune system and <i>help </i>you get sick. It certainly seems possible. It might explain what happened next.<br />
<br />
On Tuesday night, after work, after dinner, I sat down, opened the manuscript, and...nothing. I picked at a paragraph, rearranged a couple of sentences, felt so tired I could not concentrate at all. Unlike the previous week, this was not a case of me being befuddled by what I had written. I literally could not summon the energy to think properly about what I was looking at. For the first time in I don't know how long, I went to bed before 11pm. Theoretically rested, I went to work the next day. By afternoon, my throat was sore, my back was sore, and I had to face the facts: I was sick. No Bruins for me on Wednesday (another late game, this one in Vegas), no editing work, no nothing. I might have actually been in bed before ten that night, I don't remember.<br />
<br />
I stayed home on Thursday. While a sick day can sometimes be an opportunity to make some progress, I didn't even bother. Sometimes, the body knows best.<br />
<br />
The good news for me is that I recovered fairly fast. On Friday I was back at work--both the job and the manuscript. And over the weekend, I steamed through the manuscript. Last night, though I tried to make the last push to finish, I had to call it a night, just 14 pages short of the end. Tantalizingly close.<br />
<br />
It's important to listen to your body. As much as we want to push on, there are times when the thing to do is to shut it down, give in, and get some rest. There will be another day.<br />
<br />
MUSIC:<br />
<br />
Love this song. The chorus kind of sums up how I felt in the middle of this week!<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nin-fiNz50M" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-54288467630379508312019-02-18T08:07:00.002-05:002019-02-18T08:07:41.684-05:00A wall, but not that wallWay back in school--and I'm talking elementary school, mostly, so it was a long time ago--our teachers tried to impose a certain degree of structure on how we wrote. Whether it was an essay or a short story, we were introduced to the concept of writing and revision. We would write up a 'rough draft', get it back from the teacher with notes and corrections (a LOT of spelling and punctuation, and confusing of things like 'your' and 'you're', 'their' and 'there', and 'then' and 'than'), and then turn in the 'final copy'. At that level, I recall that 'final copy' was pretty much presented as 'copy your paper over but correct those mistakes when you do'.<br />
<br />
Even back then, I was a bit of a wingman. I recall how I would sit at my desk, first draft to my left, fresh sheet of paper to my write. But instead of straight copying the first draft (with corrections, of course), I would rewrite almost straight out of my head. I was generally a pretty good speller back in elementary school, probably better than I am now, so I didn't make a lot of mistakes of that type. I did always have crummy handwriting, though, so maybe I had to write a second final copy to make sure it was legible, I don't know.<br />
<br />
I can't say for sure why I did it that way. I guess it always felt write to just go from brain to page instead of from paper to paper. There's often a better way to say something than the way you just wrote it, right? It never really caused a problem. I don't remember getting any 'final copy' back from my teachers with the 1970s and 80s equivalent of 'WTF???' scrawled across it in bright red ink (we also used to have to staple our rough drafts to our final copy when we turned it in), so I presumably never changed things all that much, and maybe my teachers were just glad that I was embracing the concept of multiple drafts, I don't know.<br />
<br />
I still do things this way. I'm on what is probably technically the fourth draft of my WiP. It went through two drafts before it went out to beta readers, then it went through another, and now it's going through a fourth and (hopefully) final revision before it meets the cold, cruel world of querying. It's gone well, and after a slow start, it's picked up speed. In the last week I've gotten through 95 pages and cut about 1800 words of excess verbiage. Yay, me. <br />
<br />
<b>Last Wednesday, I hit a wall</b>. On opening the manuscript to where I had left off the day before, I encountered a 500-word section that brought me to a screeching halt. Unlike most of the rest of the manuscript, which has been through three revisions, this was something new, created by my head while I was supposed to be lightly revising the last time. In essence, I was looking at a 500-word 'rough draft' stuck in the middle of something that is third, fourth draft, maybe even 'final copy', and, like many 'rough draft' level items, it needed work. Badly. I know exactly what the passage is <i>supposed </i>to do, but after 30 minutes of trying to figure out how to make it <i>do </i>what I wanted it to do, I just cut the whole thing and called it a day. After close to a week of advancing 30 pages a day, I stopped on the same page I started on.*<br />
<br />
I suspect this is what makes editing and revision so difficult for many people, including yours truly. There <i>always</i> something you can add, some better way to say something, some subtle alteration that can really make your writing pop. But every time you add something new to a manuscript, you're adding something raw, wild, unpolished, something that needs to be looked at again and fixed up to match its setting. I'd say one of these days, I'll figure out how to do this writing thing right, but I've been doing it this way since grade school. Seems like a bit of a habit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">*Oh, by the way, after dismantling the wall, I buzzed through 77 more pages that week, so it wasn't much of an obstacle once I decided it didn't need to be there.</span>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-50282082433754239002019-02-11T06:53:00.000-05:002019-02-11T06:53:08.158-05:00One of those momentsMy boss is smart.<br />
<br />
She has a Ph.D. She's done research in aquatic biology, conducted wetland restoration work, taught at the university level, and now she's running the premier environmental organization in my region. She's got a quick mind, strong opinions, and makes friends easily. Because she works in a field that has been traditionally dominated by men, and because she worked in a hypermasculine environment (the Department of Defense) where she was not only "the only girl" but also younger by 20 years than most everyone, she developed a thick skin. She's not one to cry "sexism" or "misogyny" at ever turn.<br />
<br />
But she has her limits.<br />
<br />
Last year, she was asked by the director of one of our region's chambers of commerce to serve on a committee that would look at the energy needs of our county and try to come up with some solutions. She came back from her first meeting knowing she was up against it: most of the business leaders who were on the community have no love for environmental organizations, even one like ours, which is generally not a lawsuit-happy, jump up and down and scream, anti-progress, trees are more important than people kind of organization. Over the course of 50 years, my organization has been pretty good at being reasonable and finding ways to work with all sorts of people.<br />
<br />
Anyway, she started coming back from these meetings increasingly frustrated. She was not being listened to. She was not being taken seriously. Her ideas were repeatedly shot down. She was being patronized. The committee chairman said, "You're like my crazy little sister." My boss, who is not one to see sexism everywhere and has worked in hypermasculine environments, takes it as a compliment. Meanwhile, the other women on the committee, including the chamber's executive director, sit back and say nothing and contribute little to the conversation.<br />
<br />
After a series of increasingly frustrating interactions with this committee, my boss told our board last week that she wanted off. She was backed up by a 20-year-old intern of ours, who attended a couple of the meetings and said she couldn't believe the way my boss had been treated. One person on the board suggested it was because she's from an environmental organization, but it was pointed out, by the intern, that the committee several times accepted and applauded ideas that were put forward by a man on the committee (one who is actually working as a subcontractor....for us!) right after they shot down the same ideas. From my boss.<br />
<br />
This young lady was shocked and outraged by the behavior she witnessed. Good for her, and I hope she keeps that outrage whenever she encounters it. My board? Not so much. "Welcome to our county," said more than one--including several women.<br />
<br />
It was a real eye opening moment for me. Not to hear about the crap my boss has been taking--I've been hearing about it for the last eight months or so. No, it was the way it was shrugged off so casually by men and women on my board. Men and women who should know better. Men and women who should not accept this with a shrug and an easy comment. "That's the way it is," as Bruce Hornsby sang so many years ago.<br />
<br />
It's funny how it hits home that much more when it's someone you know, isn't it? We can read all the stories we want about casual or institutional misogyny, sexism, racism, every -ism out there, but until we see it in action, until we see it bite someone we know, until we see how it is so casually embraced, I don't think it's possible for many men to really understand it on a gut level. Those of us who think we are enlightened, who wonder how this sort of thing gets perpetuated in modern times only have to look at that "Welcome to our county" comment to understand how it continues. I can only hope our young, outraged intern isn't having this same conversation with her board when she's my boss's age 25 years down the road.<br />
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<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-11510663786960438812019-02-04T08:39:00.002-05:002019-02-04T08:39:41.975-05:00A thought on my return from Washington, DCThis weekend, we visited family in Washington, DC. Aside from a few hours almost thirty years ago where my soon-to-be wife and I visited the National Zoo, I have never been there. On Saturday, we were fortunate to have good weather for our visit to the monuments. We started at Lincoln, worked our way through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to the Word War II Memorial, and circled the Washington Monument (it's closed for repairs, so you can't get closer than the path that encircles it). From there, we went over to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where we took a tour with a knowledgeable and personable docent (I recommend this; the museum is so big, it can be a bit overwhelming, as there's so much to see. What helped is we were the only people on the tour, so it was almost like a personal tour).<br />
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If you haven't toured the monuments before, I recommend it. DC is a funny place. To borrow a phrase from Jerry Garcia, "It's one of those places we've all been." (Though he was talking about Egypt) What I mean is that we see it on TV almost daily, as the backdrop to a talking head in the newsroom, in countless photo ops as Congresspeople stake their positions on issues. It's all over movies and TV shows. It's familiar, more so for me than places like Chicago or Seattle or Tucson. Those cities, I might recognize a landmark or two (well, maybe not from Tucson), but no city has been imprinted on my brain the way Washington, DC, has been.<br />
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What is most surprising to me is how <i>big </i>some of it is. Walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, I was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer <i>size</i> of it, and the number of people who were there to visit. And, in truth, I was nearly overwhelmed with emotion as I stepped through the columns and found myself in front of Lincoln in his massive chair. I wasn't the only one. Though there was a lot of cheerful voices and some goofy posing, there were also a number of people tearing up, looking somber, almost grim. I was one of them. What I thought was, "We could use you today, Mr. Lincoln."<br />
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Indeed, that was the thought that ran through my head multiple times as we visited the monuments and museums. I found myself wondering if there is anyone in American politics today -- certainly not the man residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- who could inspire and lead in the way of a Roosevelt, or Lincoln, or Washington. And I am, quite frankly, embarrassed at the way we are abdicating our role as the world's leader, abandoning our allies, and ceding pretty much any claim (even if it was always tenuous) to the moral high ground. We've done a lot wrong as a nation over the years, but we've also done an awful lot right. I hope it's not too late for us to really be great again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entry to WWII Memorial; photo by me</td></tr>
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<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-69586710604460994402019-01-28T07:07:00.000-05:002019-01-28T07:07:01.461-05:00Glow Puck is back!Twenty-two years ago, the National Hockey League's broadcasting partner, Fox, broke out a technology that would revolutionize the game. After much work with the league to be sure puck integrity wasn't harmed, a micro-chip was embedded in the puck, allowing the puck's speed and (almost) exact path to be tracked; further, it allowed the guys in the control room to add effects: a hazy blue glow, a trail, a comet trail. This was FoxTrax. Or, as it has come to be known, Glow Puck.<br />
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The idea behind FoxTrax was, I guess, a good one. One of the chief complaints leveled against hockey since pretty much forever is that it's hard to follow the puck on TV. It moves too fast! It's too small! There are too many players! In truth, I can kind of understand this, and I try to be understanding. Just because have no problem following the action doesn't mean it's easy, it just means I've been doing it for as long as I can remember; I grew up in a hockey family, after all. Surely, this revolutionary technology would bring new fans flocking to the game?<br />
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It was panned.<br />
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Well, it was panned by hockey fans, anyway. Frankly, it looked stupid, added clutter, and was a distraction. Instead of being able to follow the wider play, the Glow Puck made it hard to watch anything BUT the puck. It reduced the game to a cartoon, or a video game. And it didn't lead to new fans flocking to the game. After Fox lost the broadcast rights to the NHL, the Glow Puck faded away, never to return (sadly, the <i>other</i> Fox innovation, the 18-minute intermission which merely allowed for three extra minutes of commercials, didn't).<br />
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And now it's back.<br />
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This weekend, the NHL introduced its much ballyhooed player tracking technology. Pucks and player shoulder pads have a chip embedded in them that allow sensors to know exactly where everything is on the ice at all times, how far apart players are, how fast everything is moving--and will allow the wonks in the control room to add effects: a blue trail to the puck, lines connecting players, bubbles over the players' heads. It will revolutionize the game, and bring in new fans by the thousands!<br />
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Or, not.<br />
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Now, there are some interesting things about this. It's interesting to see how fast players move. It will be interesting to see if Alexander Ovechkin can break 100 mph on his slap shot in game situations. It will be interesting--and sobering--when someone calculates the force of a Radko Gudas shoulder to the head of an unsuspecting player. But keep it off the ice, please. Keep it out of live play.<br />
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The funny thing about some of this, of course, is that it's less necessary than it was 22 years ago. We're living in the age of high definition television, where everything is rendered in exquisite detail. My smart phone has a better picture than the TV set I watched the 1996 All Star game on! We don't need puck trails, we can see it now! What we might need is better arena lighting and better camera angles, not more graphics.<br />
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Maybe this is just me being a cranky old man yelling "Get off my lawn!" at the clouds. Maybe the League and its broadcast partners will employ this judiciously, or make it available on special, 'enhanced broadcasts' that you can pay extra for (hah, I might pay extra to get rid of it!). Maybe I'll get used to it, the way I've gotten used to advertisements on the boards, and all players wearing helmets and visors. Time will tell.<br />
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<b>Do you like computer enhancements for your sport?</b><br />
<b> </b>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-35277023648628067652019-01-21T09:15:00.001-05:002019-01-21T09:15:36.425-05:00Word Nerd Monday: RuggedizedLast week, while reading through a Request for Applications for grant funds put forth by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, I came across something completely unexpected. In a section describing what grant funds could be spent on, there was a line that read "...such as tablets that have been ruggedized."<br />
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Ruggedized?<br />
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<i>Ruggedized?</i><br />
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I understood immediately what the word meant. Tablet devices are often used in the field by technicians to capture important data, but tablets are fragile things. A tablet with a hard plastic or rubber case, and maybe some kind of screen protector, would be able to withstand the rigors of the field. It would be able to get wet. And dropped. And bumped. In short, it would have been made to be rugged. Or, as they said, ruggedized.<br />
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But really, <i>ruggedized</i>? Not all that long ago, I think they would have described it as 'armored.'<br />
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The word made me laugh, because it sounded like the kind of word my friends would make up back when we were in high school. Ruggedized. According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, the first known usage goes back to 1947, so it is a relatively new word, but a valid one. It just struck me as an odd thing to see in a grant application. Which is funny, because if I had seen the word <i>rubberized</i>, I would not have blinked.<br />
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On a side note, when we talked about it at home later, The Magpie suggested that Viggo Mortensen had gotten ruggedized to play Aragorn in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>.<br />
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Yeah, I think she's right.<br />
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<b>That's all for me for today. What about you? What are some of your favorite, odd words?</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>NOTE:</b> Image is totally borrowed from Pinterest. I have no idea how Pinterest works, how to attribute to a creator, or even <i>who</i> the creator is. If it's yours, I will happily give you credit. Or take it down, if that's what you want. Just let me know.</span><b> </b><br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-27959029829166565192019-01-14T07:17:00.002-05:002019-01-14T07:17:35.784-05:00SlumpingDavid Pastrnak is a talented, All-Star right winger for the Boston Bruins who won over the fans in Boston from day one for moments like this:<br />
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...and for moments like this:<br />
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Pastrnak has developed into a tremendous hockey player. After joining the Bruins as an 18-year-old, he had two modest seasons, then broke out for two consecutive 30-goal seasons. This year, Pasta started out like a house afire, scoring seven goals in Boston's first five games of the season. He reached the ten goal mark after nine games, and had 17 goals in the first 18 games of the season. Pretty astounding!<br />
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But Pasta cooled off. The next ten games saw him score just three goals. It took another ten games to get his next three goals. And it's taken seven to get the next three. Currently, Pastrnak has 26 goals in 45 games on the year, an impressive total that has Pastrnak tied for 7th in the League in goals, out of almost 600 players.<br />
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Three goals in a 10-game span is an impressive stretch for the vast majority of NHL players; to do so over the course of a season leads to a solid, respectable 20+ goal season. While Bruins fans know Pasta is not going to score every single game, the hope that Pasta would provide Boston with its first 50-goal player since the days of Cam Neely dim a little with each game--though we also know that Pasta is capable of going on a hot streak and scoring, say, seven goals in five games, or 17 in 18.<br />
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<b>Slumps happen.</b> Top-tier goal scorers go through periods where, to paraphrase the late, great Bill Chadwick, they couldn't shoot the puck in the ocean from the end of a dock. Goaltenders spring leaks. It happens. The players keep working, and if the slump gets bad enough, they do crazy things, like change how they tape their sticks, or find a new pre-game meal or stop shaving or start shaving or wash the lucky socks. Eventually, the puck starts (or stops, if you're a goalie) going in, and everyone: the player, his teammates, the fans, are happy again.<br />
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I write about this because I am, perhaps for the first time since I started seriously writing, going through a slump. Yeah, I'm sure if I dug through the archives of this blog, I could find posts where I whine and moan about being in a slump, but this one feels different. <b>Way different.</b> I think I wrote somewhere around Thanksgiving that I had resurrected an old project, and it was kind of, sort of going well. Now, it's not. While I was home for 2+ weeks at Christmas, I wrote almost nothing. I would sit at the computer, stare at the screen, and type around things, if you know what I mean. No scenes. No characters. No sense of what comes next from where I was in the story. And in the two weeks since I've been back at work? I've written absolutely nothing, at least on this story (I did go back last week and rewrote an opening scene from some other, long-dead project of mine, but that, too, seems to be going nowhere).<br />
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Back when I used to participate in the Absolute Write forums, <b>I would generally respond to people who would complain of slumps or block or uncertainty to "write through it" or "just write it."</b> Got a scene that is really sticky? Write through it. Not sure if your hero should use the gun or not? Just write it--both ways. You'll figure it out. I still think it's generally good advice. The act of writing, of pulling words, sentences, scenes out of your head and onto a page, though it feels draining, also leads to <i>filling</i>. It leaves room for more ideas.The problem is, when I sit at the keyboard these last few weeks, there just doesn't seem to be anything there at all to work with. It's a bit disheartening, to say the least.<br />
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David Pastrnak might try to bust a slump by changing the color of tape on his stick, or finding a new lucky sweater. Maybe I need to try an outline. Or different writing music (or none at all). Or clean up my workstation. I'm willing to take ideas. <b>What do you do to bust out of a writing slump?</b><br />
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<b> </b>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-25528739181361207592019-01-07T07:16:00.001-05:002019-01-07T07:16:13.401-05:00Reading List, 2018, Part FinalHello again! A week later, happy 2019. I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday season. I was fortunate to have two plus weeks off at the holidays, owing to the fact that I needed to burn a bunch of vacation time before the end of the year, and that my boss, in recognition of all the extra hours we put in throughout the year, closes the office for the Christmas week. The downside of all that down time is that it's very hard to go back to work and get back in that groove. It was nice that last week was a three-day week, since we get New Year's Day as a holiday.<br />
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Well, like work last week, I'm going to ease back into the blogging thing by finishing off my 2018 reading list. To see what else I read last year, visit <a href="https://doubtingwriter.blogspot.com/2018/04/reading-list-2018-part-i.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://doubtingwriter.blogspot.com/2018/07/reading-list-2018-part-ii.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="https://doubtingwriter.blogspot.com/2018/10/reading-list-2018-part-iii.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Onward! (Or, actually, backward!):<br />
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<u><b>Reading List, 2018, Part IV (October-December)</b></u><b>: </b><br />
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<b>Olive Kitteridge<i> </i></b>(2008), Elizabeth Strout. I get why this won the Pulitzer. Great book.<br />
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<b>Full Dark, No Stars</b> (2010), Stephen King. Whenever I have nothing new to read, I grab some King off the shelf. Haven't read this one since it came out, and it's pretty good.<br />
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<b>The Bartender's Tale</b> (2012), Ivan Doig. This was one of these books I saw on a list, like "20 books everyone must read by the time they're 50" or something like that. I was underwhelmed.<br />
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<b>Elevation</b> (2018), Stephen King. Surprisingly optimistic homage to Richard Matheson, though it wears it's politics like a MAGA hat. Or an "I'm With Her" shirt.<br />
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<b>The Unconsoled </b>(1995), Kazuo Ishiguro. I nearly put this down ten pages in following a three-page monologue by an old baggage carrier. I'm glad I stuck with it. Absurdist? Surreal? Yes and yes, and ultimately rewarding.<br />
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<b>Capital</b> (2012), John Lanchester. Also on one of those lists, and also underwhelming.<br />
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<b>The Flicker of Old Dreams</b> (2018), Susan Henderson. A mortician's daughter in a dying town in Montana. Very nicely done.<br />
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<b>The Rooster Bar</b> (2017), John Grisham. Way back when, I read <i>The Firm</i>, <i>A Time to Kill</i>, <i>The Client</i> and (probably) <i>The Pelican Brief.</i> Like everyone else. I don't know if Grisham's books were always like <i>The Rooster Bar</i> or if he just swung and missed with this one. Protagonists are not especially likable, and every character sounds pretty much the same.<br />
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Looking at the year overall, I read 34 books, which feels a little short. I went through a couple of periods where I didn't read at all for a couple of weeks, for reasons I can't remember. Of the books, 31 were fiction, 3 were non-fiction. Eighteen were written by male authors, 15 by females, and one by I-don't-know-they-used-initials. If pressed, I would say my favorite book of the year was <i>American War</i>, by Omar El Akkad, followed closely by <i>Olive Kitteridge</i>, by Elizabeth Strout; my least favorite book was <i>Catskill</i>, by John Hayes, with <i>The Rooster Bar</i> a close second; and the most important book I read was <i>Oops: Tales from a Sexpert</i>, by Vivian Peters.<br />
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Quote of the Year: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Nativism being a pyramid scheme, I found myself contemptuous of the refugees' presence in a city already overburdened. At the foot of the docks, we yelled at them to go home, even though we knew home to be a pestilence field. We carried signs calling them terrorists and criminals and we vandalized the homes that would take them in. It made me feel good to do it, it made me feel rooted; their unbelonging was proof of my belonging." From <i>American War</i>, Omar El Akkad.</blockquote>
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On to 2019!<br />
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<b>What about you? Did you have a good reading year in 2018? What were some of your favorite books?</b><br />
<b> </b> JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-28608871804100503592018-12-17T08:32:00.001-05:002018-12-17T08:32:12.513-05:00Time off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Friday, we went and picked up the Catbird at college for her college recess. It's nice to have her home. My wife figured it out, we're down to four more round trips to do this, maybe as little as two or three if we can get her to take the bus (taking the bus cuts more than half the time from our trip, turning ten hours of traveling in a day into maybe three). Four years goes fast. At any rate, I thought I'd take this opportunity to take a couple of weeks...off! My next post will either be on December 31 or January 7, depending on how I feel. Or, I could post next week. You never know. Whatever I choose to do, I hope all of you have a lovely couple of weeks and enjoy the holidays!JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-3008963802702326972018-12-10T07:00:00.000-05:002018-12-10T07:00:40.289-05:00"I think there's a play there!"Monty Python's Flying Circus <a href="https://youtu.be/rQDeU6dHX-c" target="_blank">once featured a skit</a> in which a well-dressed, professional looking young man named Ken (Eric Idle) returns to the home of his parents, where he receives a warm welcome from his mother (Terry Jones), but hostility from his father (Graham Chapman). What starts out looking like a tale of a college boy coming home to his working-class parents is quickly turned on its head, as Ken is a coal miner, while his father is an award-winning playwright and novelist. "There's nowt wrong with gala luncheons, lad!" sneers the father. "I've had more gala luncheons than you've had hot dinners!" The father suffers an attack of writer's cramp and kicks his disgrace of a son out, and then--the punch line: "I think there's a play there!"<br />
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<b>It's the blessing and the curse of writers to see 'the play there' in all kinds of situations.</b> A few years back, while driving through a hurricane to pick the Magpie up at a friend's house, I watched a normally placid creek boil through a culvert, and I asked myself, "What if I couldn't get to the house to pick the Magpie up?" This question was followed by opposite, but equally compelling thoughts: "That would be horrible!" and "Ooh, that might make a good story!"<br />
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Since I was actually able to pick up the Magpie and get her home safely, it was a case of 'no harm, no foul' and I was able to let my imagination run wild over the scenario I had imagined. And it was a good story. But sometimes, it's not always 'no harm, no foul.' One of the first ideas I ever had, though one I did not see to completion, as I wasn't seriously writing then, came about after hearing about two different, but related stories: one was a radio interview with the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center about the rise of hate groups, and the other was a particularly chilling story of a midwestern militia group that was planning on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30militia.html" target="_blank">killing a state trooper, then ambushing the funeral</a>. Pretty horrible stuff, but potentially the basis of a good story (and one that keeps coming back to me).<br />
<br />
At the end of last week, I learned that a local man, someone I know through the school system, someone who was the Catbird's track coach for two years in middle school, someone about whom I would say, "He's a good guy!" was accused of a pretty nasty crime. You don't want to believe it when it's someone you know, when it's someone you think of as "a good guy." Hoping that it was some kind of mistake or misunderstanding, I found the criminal complaint attached to an online story. Innocent until proven guilty, yes, but this seemed pretty damning, and disgusting. And yet.<br />
<br />
And yet, even in all of that, I find that Monty Python punch line coming back to me. "I think there's a play there!" There is, of course. There's a story there, in this man's crime; in its impact on his family, on the community. There's also the story of the victims, and the detective who discovered it. I don't know if I'd ever use this local man's crime as the basis of a
story or not. It might never feel right, either due to the nature of the crime or because it's too
close to home, but the story's there, just as there's a story in pretty much everything we see around us: the mother and child at the bus stop. The old woman who meticulously rakes her lawn every morning. The fender bender at the gas station. There's a story there. In fact, there are myriad stories in every instance, it's just a matter of which part of it we choose to tell.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-82804439990399753532018-12-03T20:20:00.000-05:002018-12-03T20:20:56.587-05:00Elevation: A quasi reviewWell, a little late today, but better late than never, right? Let's hope so, anyway.<br />
<br />
I actually had some partially-written posts going, but when my alarm went off this morning I turned it off--then woke up forty minutes later and ended up short of time. I've had my alarm clock for probably twenty-five years (seriously!), maybe more, and I still never hit the snooze button. I always swear I'll get up in a few minutes, and usually, I do. I must have been a little tired. Anyway, on to today's post. Be warned, there may be mild spoilers for Stephen King's <i>Elevation</i> ahead. Not like I give away the ending or anything.<br />
<br />
I don't know what surprised me more: Finding out in early October that Stephen King had yet <i>another</i> book coming out in 2018, or finding out how very small it is. Seriously, when my librarian handed it over to me last week (first one to read it, too!), I almost asked, "Is that all there is?" King's last two books, <i>Sleeping Beauties</i>, co-written with his son, Owen, and <i>The Outsider</i> clocked in at 702 and 576 pages, respectively. <i>Elevation</i> is, by contrast, a slip of a book, a novella, really, of just 146 pages, a book that can fit in one hand and is barely thicker than that hand (pretty cover, though).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbhkb8PaZTiZF3_su3J2vF42pgmY_zGZIyA3QBDkPFmSk4haOBVw8lqOrtWdbxnjCE_qLnT-EN8N8d_MGEaCpp8Pr7eYe2cX14p9Cadsdga7zLtunmPafPiRJOoGLOSZouO1ZHm0M-QM/s1600/Elevation+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbhkb8PaZTiZF3_su3J2vF42pgmY_zGZIyA3QBDkPFmSk4haOBVw8lqOrtWdbxnjCE_qLnT-EN8N8d_MGEaCpp8Pr7eYe2cX14p9Cadsdga7zLtunmPafPiRJOoGLOSZouO1ZHm0M-QM/s320/Elevation+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's like a little notebook!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>Elevation</i> is the story of a middle-aged man who finds himself inexplicably losing weight--with a catch. When the story opens, he's already dropped 28 pounds, but he looks exactly as he did when he was weighed 240. As his weight continues to drop, at about two pounds a day, there is no change to his outward appearance. The book hearkens back to King's 1984 novel, <i>Thinner</i> (written under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, in which an obese lawyer loses weight uncontrollably after being cursed) and Richard Matheson's <i>The Shrinking Man</i>, in which a man shrinks by 1/7" a day. In fact, <i>Elevation's</i> protagonist shares the same name, Scott Carey, with the hero of Matheson's book, and the dedication for <i>Elevation </i>reads "Thinking of Richard Matheson." King wears his influences on his sleeve. (NOTE: I now find myself wanting to re-read both <i>Thinner</i> and <i>The Shrinking Man</i>)<br />
<br />
It took me about a day to read, and the surprises kept coming, though. For the first time in a long time, I found myself wishing that the book was longer. That's not something I've said about a King book in a while. Now, for the record, I like long books--when they're good. King has put out some really long books (1138 pages for <i>It</i>; 1074 pages for <i>Under the Dome</i>), and I mostly really enjoy them. But both <i>Sleeping Beauties </i>and <i>The Outsider</i> felt way too long for me, full of extraneous characters and too much...well, something. <i>Elevation</i> has none of the bloat, but I found myself wanting more backstory for our main characters, more of the sketches of small-town Maine and the quirky folks who live there. Not this time.*<br />
<br />
<b>But the thing that surprised me the most?</b> Unlike <i>Thinner</i>, or even <i>The Shrinking Man</i>, <i>Elevation </i>is suprisingly optimistic. King is well-known for torturing his characters, for putting them through the wringer, for always asking himself, "How can I make things worse for them?" Here, however, <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">the worst thing happens in the first ten pages. King's version of Scott Carey quickly accepts what he thinks his fate will be, and unlike <i>Thinner's </i>Billy Halleck and <i>The Shrinking Man's</i> Scott Carey, King's Carey actually seems to gain from losing: he gains perspective on his own life, and on that of his beloved town</span></span> of Castle Rock.<br />
<br />
Over at Stacy's blog last week, Stacy asked me what genre I thought <i>Elevation</i> fit into. It's clearly not horror. Nor does it fit quite into fantasy. The phrase that came to my mind was "magical realism," even though there's no magic in the traditional sense. Thinking about it some more, it almost has the feel of a fable to me, so that's what I'll go with.<br />
<br />
I'm kind of lacking a concluding paragraph here, so I'll turn it over to you: Have you read <i>Elevation</i>? What did you think of it? Have you ever been surprised by something an author did in a book the way I was surprised by <i>Elevation?</i> Please share, and thanks for reading! <br />
<br />
*In hindsight, given the style of book, its length is probably a good thing. If King started coloring in the back pages in his typical King way, it might have shifted the narrative in a direction he didn't want to go, maybe even turned this into more of a horror or science fiction novel. Keep true to your vision, Stephen!JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-41375981313180280602018-11-26T06:33:00.002-05:002018-11-26T06:33:49.664-05:00Gone FishingWe're still picking at the remains of Thanksgiving dinner here at my house, still delighting in turkey and stuffing (a once a year thing), sweet potato casserole and apple crisp. Thanksgiving is, in many ways, the loveliest of holidays, both because of the sentiment and the fact that you never have to ask, "What're we eating tonight?"<br />
<br />
We had a nice time here, though we were bothered with the coldest weather of the year on Thanksgiving morning--the thermometer on the backside of my house registered about -18F at 6am, and I don't think it ever got into double digits on the day. Brr. So much for making that new tank of oil last! On Saturday, we went to see <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>. Good film from a film's perspective, though I'm not sure how accurate a biography it is, and it had a curious way of dealing with Freddie Mercury's homosexuality, but more on that next week, perhaps. I also read (in a day) Stephen King's newest book, <i>Elevation</i>. I enjoyed it, wished there was a little <i>more</i> of it (something I haven't said about King in a while), but also more on that in another post.<br />
<br />
<b>I haven't spent much time writing this past week</b>. Of course, part of that is just being busy. Picking up and dropping off the Catbird burns two days out of the week, Thanksgiving itself can be hard to write on, going to movies, etc. (oh, the Bruins had a couple of games this week, too). There's not a lot of time. But the other issue is I haven't quite found my way in to the next project yet. Over the course of the week, I've been dropping a hook in the water and jigging it around, looking for a bite. I've written 3200 words, but there's nothing cohesive there, not yet: a single paragraph description of the overall plot, a couple of scattered ideas for scenes, with dialogue between nameless characters. I'm waiting for something to really grab the hook and run: the right <i>voice</i> to tell the story in, the character who will assert themself as the hero (or Great Enemy), the scene that will really kick the whole thing off. So far, only the barest ripple on the water, the slightest movement of the hook to indicate that something might be nibbling. But I think there's something there, just beneath the water. I hope it's a big one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6ktfbKF2eQyCfv1N8GXGXucoVjsqlmxtQcOcswaSbo-jXXh8I3rpFywskWEtBaqtKY3PeUwIHTVr9UHzWL3j_eq1Zzt98YLwvZ5NBirL-EvLRjjIoVL31kvWCk2NXY0R3NN55rvsS4U/s1600/gone-fishin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6ktfbKF2eQyCfv1N8GXGXucoVjsqlmxtQcOcswaSbo-jXXh8I3rpFywskWEtBaqtKY3PeUwIHTVr9UHzWL3j_eq1Zzt98YLwvZ5NBirL-EvLRjjIoVL31kvWCk2NXY0R3NN55rvsS4U/s320/gone-fishin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>How do you get yourself into a new writing project?</b><br />
<br />
<b> </b>JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-9720658324852652922018-11-19T08:50:00.000-05:002018-11-19T08:50:06.824-05:00FinallyIt finally happened.<br />
<br />
On Saturday morning, after inserting and feathering in an 810-word sequence, I sent off my manuscript to that "one more reader." I kind of wanted to feel like Rocky running up the steps while training; I felt more like these two guys:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymcuhePYmicA1DJ44DcYrq0bTk2kl6kBbU_xR1uviCUdO3ejHYisZLUy-9YrLW6HNvw8rQd4ohpLKZZHWwOPNW7fgRpJFGrxUTU5IPVUq5UtoVbVct97NP5_64wSliSvuzso-RLzmlQE/s1600/Rocky-Apollo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymcuhePYmicA1DJ44DcYrq0bTk2kl6kBbU_xR1uviCUdO3ejHYisZLUy-9YrLW6HNvw8rQd4ohpLKZZHWwOPNW7fgRpJFGrxUTU5IPVUq5UtoVbVct97NP5_64wSliSvuzso-RLzmlQE/s320/Rocky-Apollo.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure which one's the manuscript and which one's me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It's amazing how tiring it is, isn't it?<br />
<br />
So, for reasons I can't explain, I do keep stats on this sort of thing. As I have stated, when I started the revision process way too long ago, I had a 138,000-word, 426-page monster on my hands. My revision process this time was to start with a blank page on the screen, and marked-up, printed pages on the desk in front of me. I copied off the printed pages. When I finished that version, I was down to 124,000 words, 415 pages. Better. Not ideal, but I thought I might be able to live with it. My spell check run through netted six words cut, but added two pages. Location is everything. Over the next three weeks, I went back through and tightened and trimmed (and added). The result is what I hope is a sufficiently-sleek beast, standing in at 119,500 words and 'just' 402 pages. I am happy with it right now.<br />
<br />
On Sunday, I started noodling a bit, chewing a little over an old idea that might just be able to have new life. I opened a new document, asked myself some story questions, even wrote something of a scene. Will it go anywhere? I don't know yet. I hope so. Also on Sunday, I spent some time resurrecting the query letter for my now out-of-my-hands manuscript. Query lettering is hard. Ugh. The good news is I'm off all week, so I might have time to make some headway on both.<br />
<br />
<b>This and that</b><br />
<br />
*John Oliver's <i>Last Week Tonight</i> continues to be one of the best things on television. Last night's piece on authoritarianism, like the best segments on that show, is funny, timely, and scary. The world has been shifting in an uncomfortable direction for some time. It used to be, America at least made a show of standing up to strongmen and standing up for freedom (when we weren't selling them arms or propping them up in the name of strategic interests, that is).<b> </b>That time now seems to be over. If you haven't seen the segment, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ximgPmJ9A5s" target="_blank">you can find it here</a>.<br />
<br />
*I'm not sure what it is, but over the last week or so I've had unusually vivid dreams, and been remembering them more than usual (or remembering that I had them; aside from one in which I was being chased around a lake by a small snapping turtle, most of the rest are really kind of fuzzy). At least they're not nightmares.<br />
<br />
*The Catbird comes home tomorrow. It will be nice to have everyone here for a short time.<br />
<br />
*At the grocery store yesterday, while wandering up the cereal aisle, I realized they were playing Peter Frampton's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7rFYbMhcG8" target="_blank">"Do You Feel Like We Do?"</a> I thought, "This is grocery store music now???" Especially because I'm pretty sure he says, "I want to fuck you" through his guitar talk box at one point. If you're a certain age, that album was pretty inescapable. Still is, on a lot of classic rock stations (and, apparently, in grocery stores).<br />
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*Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the States. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans, have a great week to all!<br />
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<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-7588907632895922112018-11-12T07:11:00.002-05:002018-11-12T07:11:38.680-05:00Almost thereI'll admit it, I'm a little disappointed in myself.<br />
<br />
I was hoping to be done by now, but when I finished working on The Weighty Tome yesterday, I was on page 376 of what is now just 400 manuscript pages. So close! But I had put probably close to four hours in over the course of the day (it occurs to me I might want to log my hours on these projects, because why not?), and when last night's Bruins game was over, I couldn't go back to it, even though there were still a couple of hours left in the day. I just didn't have anything left in the tank, and I've learned not to force it when that's the case.<br />
<br />
It's funny how you get to a point in the day when you're just done, isn't it? When I'm running hot on writing, I can interrupt myself to go to the bathroom or get something to eat, but rarely does that interruption really break my flow. I can come back a few minutes later and get back into it pretty easily. But when I'm done, I'm done, and walking away for a few hours doesn't do the trick. There's just nothing there until the next day.<br />
<br />
So, I sit on the cusp of 'finishing' this manuscript again (though I know I have to go back to a point somewhere in the middle and add a tiny bit), but am just not quite there. And November is half over which means it's really WAY to late, because I'm getting to a point where I would have to average over 2500 words a day to 'win', and that's too much. And that's also okay. As much as it would be nice to join the NaNo masses, everything has its own time and the next project will come about on the schedule it needs.<br />
<br />
Disappointed? A little. But I also know enough to listen to myself.<br />
<br />
<b>How about you? Can you push through those moments when you're 'done', and how does that work for you?</b><br />
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<b>***</b><br />
<br />
One note: the Bruins had a good weekend, winning both games after turning in a horrible performance against Vancouver. The fans are very skittish this year, which I think is a product of the team being unexpectedly good last year. Funny how that happens.<b> </b><br />
<br />
Second note: I really screwed myself by posting that "McCafferty's Bib" song by They Might Be Giants last week. I can't get it out of my head! I think it's because I can't get the melody and lyrics to match up quite right, no matter how many times I listen to it. Help!<br />
<br />
Third note: Yesterday was Veterans Day here in the US, so let me take this moment to express my gratitude and appreciation to all our veterans. <b>Thank you for what you do.</b><br />
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***JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-6225444103158892672018-11-05T07:43:00.000-05:002018-11-05T07:43:08.703-05:00More RevisingHoorah, hoorah! Two weeks ago, I finally reached the last page of my
WiP! When I pushed back
from my desk two Mondays ago, I had cut some 14,000 words from my bloated epic. Perhaps more important than pure word and page count, I was also able, I think, to shorten the 'ramp up' time in my story. Two of my trusted readers told me they didn't get <i>really</i> interested in things until between 40 and 60% of the way in, and that's way too far in to make readers wait.<br />
<br />
At the time I 'finished,' I had been thinking I'd send it out to another couple of readers by the end of the month. During the time they have it, I'd get back to work on the query and redo my synopsis, with the goal of sending it out either late this year or early next. Also, I thought I just might actually be able to ~gasp~ do another NaNoWriMo. An old idea of mine has been starting to kick up a bit of a fuss in the back room lately, and, given the way things are in the world right now, it seems topical. For the first time in a few years, the timing for NaNo looked like it might actually work out.<br />
<br />
Three days after 'finishing,' I had the day off of work and sat down with the manuscript and ran spellcheck. Rather
than use features like 'Change all' or
'Ignore All' (the grammar checker in particular has no understanding of
nuance, artistic license, or even grammar), I looked at each highlighted
word, each flagged sentence, even though my eyes wanted to roll up in
my head. Miracle of miracles, when I was done, I had managed to reduce
six words from the total (but, strangely enough, I had added two
manuscript pages--location is everything).<br />
<br />
<b>And, of course, I discovered a bunch of things that needed to be fixed.</b><br />
<br />
This is how it goes, isn't it? We tell ourselves we're ready, and then we find something else that needs fixing. On October 27 I went back to page one and started fast reading. I was aiming to do that sort of sentence-level tightening to pull extraneous words ('that' and 'just' tend to be big on extraneous usage), but I've also found enough 'big stuff' to fix that it makes me call into question my entire process! So, now I'm waiting to send this out to readers once again, my dream of having it off my plate by Halloween gone, and NaNo definitively on hold. The good news? I've already cut over 3000 words, which has shaved about ten manuscript pages off the whole thing, and I'm more than halfway through. <br />
<br />
A
recurring theme for me, indeed for any writer, is how hard it is to
wait, and how often we have to do it. We're always waiting: for betas, for agents, for editors. We want
to get on with it. We want our works out there in the world, to sink or
swim on their own merits. But I've stayed my hand. Frankly, I was
embarrassed when I saw the hot mess I subjected my betas to. They don't expect perfection, but they deserve better
than what I gave them, and agents will need better.<br />
<br />
<b>Do you give in to the temptation to 'send,' or do you force yourself to make 'one more pass'?</b><br />
<br />
<b>***</b><br />
<br />
<b>Fun stuff</b><br />
<br />
The same day I ran my fateful spellcheck, the Magpie and I drove a couple of hours to Ithaca to see They Might Be Giants in concert at the State Theater. My kids loved They Might Be Giants when they were little--really, why wouldn't any kid? They're quirky. They employ clever wordplay in their lyrics. They sing funny. And they use odd instrumentation. They are also far from a novelty act. The two hour plus show was a treat. TMBG is an energetic band on stage, with lots of funny banter and lots of great music. I was a little nervous about not knowing any of the songs (I only actually have the one album myself, 1990s <i>Flood</i>), they played widely from across their 30-year catalog, and I knew more than I thought. I recommend catching them if they come to your town on this tour (It's also nice to see a band in a 1600-seat theater as opposed to a hockey rink or football stadium). So, here are two selections from TMBG for your listening pleasure: 1990's "Whistling in the Dark" (which seems appropriate to our current times) and "McCafferty's Bib" from their newest album, <i>I Like Fun</i>.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YyhGtKAkNTo" width="560"></iframe>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RLGG4JYJ1BU" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8281000668036619727.post-13754385905479801562018-10-29T07:18:00.003-04:002018-10-29T07:18:53.664-04:00A noteThis morning, I quick wrote a post about writing. At the close of it, I wanted to acknowledge the terrible events of the last week (pipe bombs, synagogue shooting), but I did not wish to relegate them to a footnote to a post about something as trivial as writing. At the same time, I really just don't know how to express my anger and frustration with what is happening to this country. I honestly fear for the future of this country more than ever, when we have politicians whose first impulse to the news of pipe bombs is to raise the specter of 'false flag operations,' or to immediately insist (yet again), that guns have nothing to do with a shooting in a synagogue, or that words don't matter. <b>Words matter.</b> They matter a lot. The President, the Vice President, and the lackeys in Congress are either flat-out lying when they say they don't, or are too stupid to see the connection between what they say and what people do. Either way, it's clear they are not people who should be running this country. My heart goes out to the people who lost family and friends in Pittsburgh, and I hope we can get through this time without worse.<br />
<br />
*** JeffOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com6