Month: July 2004

Rocky, is that you?

Writer guy

Here’s what I learned about writing this week:

1) The hotter it gets outside, the harder it is to concentrate.
2) Provided I’ve eaten and loaded up on coffee, I can hit my mark in 2 seconds. Hitting the mark is a term lifted from acting. When an actor hits their mark it means the director is about to call Action! and they have their game face on.
3)There is a point each day to walk away from the PC. When the eyes start twitching, it is past that point.

Check for a special letter to Buddhapuss next Tuesday.

We call him Mister B Part II

Writer guy

This is part 2 of the 2 part blog promised yesterday. Oh, did I mention the blogs are only related by title?

So my father-in-law is an uber RC ( remote control ) master. Few could love flying model airplanes more than this guy. He belongs to a RC club that has an arrangement with the parks system that allows every member access to one of the fields. If you want to fly your plane in that field, you need to be a member of the club.

This is for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important one is so that each remote is set to a different frequency. Otherwise one guy could take over another guy’s plane. And that would not be cool, since most airplanes require a lot of time and money to build.

Weeks ago there was a guy and a kid flying a plane in the field, standing far off the main course. Apparently, they were novice pilots and wound up losing their plane in the woods. By sheer coincidence, the president of the RC club was there as well as a park ranger as witnesses to this violation of the policy. Recognizing this stranger was not a RC member, both the president and the park ranger stormed over to inform him of the situation.

Yes, they had a plan. Only drawing closer, they discovered the interlopers were Bruce Springsteen and his son. In the end, the park ranger helped THE BOSS find the missing plane in the trees and wished him a nice day.

We call him Mister B Part I

Writer guy

Consider this is Part 1 of a 2 part blog. The second half will run Thursday. I’ll swear right now on a stack of religious books of your choice, Thursday’s blog will be both funny and entertaining.

On the writing front, I met with Editor person and reviewed the query letter for the Ridge Runner. That conversation went something like thus…

sam: It’s good on the sales pitch side, but it lacks personality.
Editor Person: There’s only so much personality you can cram in 350 words.
sam: I need something that makes mine stand out just that extra bit.
Editor Person: Let’s see, you have zero publishing credentials. You’re a novice on the subject matter. You still don’t know how to use commas consistently. I think you stand out.
sam: This query has got to look different from the others, or it’s getting tossed.
Editor Person ( reads ): You got one shot at distinguishing yourself. Go for one laugh and hope for the best.
sam: Suggestions?
Editor Person: For you to be funny? Look in a mirror, perhaps?
sam: Anything else?
Editor Person: 2 words, Harry Potter. Play the JK Rowling angle. Publishing loves the underdog forced into a career change.

So the new query letter does just that.

Where we at Rock, where we at?

Writer guy

Another day, another 7 pages. 12-14 more days like this and the 6th draft should be in a good place.

Think writing is an exciting job? Here’s what a full writing day ( when a full one is available ) looks like in my apartment:

Each writing day starts with a review of the first 50 pages and about 1/2 hour of tweaks. A review of the last 3 days worth of work follows immediately after, lasting about an 1 hour. This provide focus and preserves continuity, mostly by keeping me in touch with what actually is on the page. Most writers think they are a lot more skilled than they are until confronted with their recent work. The next 5 hours are reserved for all new material. Somewhere in there there’s some snacking and lunch. After dinner there its time to review the days work.

And then it’s blogging time.

One thing I’ve learned through the revision process is that Hemingway was right. First drafts are s***. Or in my case, the first 3 sucked wind.