30 posts tagged “news”

Changed the name and layout of that other blog. Take a look and tell me what you think, here or there, doesn't matter.

I totally love that picture. Makes me laugh every time.

What? How is it possible that I can declare hiatus on a project that I frequently ignore simply because I don't feel like working on it?

Well, I'll tell you!

See, the reason why I'm declaring this an official hiatus from this blog is because my online writing is currently going into my other project, which is a writer's blog for my university composition class. The reason why I'm telling you this is because I'm posting a lot on that site (I get graded for it, which proves that I can commit to just about anything given the proper incentive!).

If you'd like to check it out just to get a taste of more of my random, vague, incoherent thoughts, head over to Matt's Exciting Placeholder Blog Title! and have a read. I can't promise that what you'll find will be any different than what I post here, or even any good, for that matter, but at least it's getting updated five days a week.

-Matt

So, as I have been whining about on Twitter the last few days (which is ironic, considering my problem), my laptop is slowly dying. It still -sort- of works right now, but not well enough that it's usable so it's pretty much remained powered off, a relic of a better era, an artifact from a time when I had mobile computing power. A bygone age... at least until I shell out the money to fix it in a few weeks.

Because I firmly believe that every tragedy is really just an opportunity to procure a fancy new gadget for myself (seriously, the next funeral I go to = Zune HD, because damn it, I'm going to be grieving!) so while I will be fixing the laptop somewhere down the road (having it fixed, rather) I decided now was a good time to invest in a proper desktop, since I've essentially used the laptop for everything during the past, uh, almost six years and it was really starting to show its age.

The original plan was to just replace the laptop, but since my computer tech guy (yeah, I have my own tech guy, because damn it Jim, I'm a writer, not an engineer) recommended I could get more machine for my money and still repair the original laptop which doesn't need to be as powerful since it won't be my main machine, I decided that was a good idea.

So, sometime next week, I'll be receiving a new PC. Which makes me very happy when I think about it. Until then, though, I'm miserable. Well, not really. I've got books I can read. And I need to write a paper. Which is going to be difficult without a computer. Sentence fragments are fun!

Just got back from a backpacking trip, pictures are posted on my Facebook. I might migrate them over here later, if I feel up to it. At the moment, I just want to ice my knee, lie down and pass out watching a movie.

Sounds good. I'm going to go do that.

It happened a few days ago, but the semester ended and summer is here. Totally sweet. I've got a list of goals and things I hope to accomplish this summer, essentially just good habits that I want to start cultivating now that I don't have anything on my plate except for work.

Hmm. Internet seems kind of boring today. No interesting news or links to share. Ah well. Time to go back into my hole.

Woke up early to write a paper, which was a very weird experience for me. Not sure if I like it better than the classic "stay up until 4 am" approach.

Anyway, I have two links for you. First, this is why I can't go to Australia. Ever.

Second, an announcement about a new movie that makes me happy. Here's hoping it's handled well.

So, that's it for today. So you in a month, probably.

This article had me thinking this morning. I recommend that you read it and spend some time, as I did, pondering the mysteries of the human brain, consciousness and the nature of thoughts.

Been thinking about moving my little blog to a different site so I can have a fresh start; this is a ritual I have repeated a few times in the past when I feel that the mental clutter of my current blog has built up to a critical mass. I'll let you know if I decide to move suddenly.

So, podcasts. I'm a big fan of them; I have my little collection of shows that I listen to and it's great.

But lately I've been thinking, because I sometimes do that, what it would be like to try recording my own. I have two ideas in particular. The first would be a "Thoughts of a Writer" type recording, inspired by the Diary of a Cartoonist podcast done by Scott Johnson, who also hosts two of my other favorite shows, incidentally.

The other idea would just involve grabbing whichever of my friends has the best back-and-forth conversations that demonstrate our incisive wit and seeing what develops.

Hmm.

So, the NaNoWriMo project was officially a bust. I got off to a great start, had a solid week of writing roughly 1000 words a day and I was well on my merry way... and then I just sort of hit a wall. I skipped a few days because of the convention, and then I just never picked up the project again and the enthusiasm for it died. I cannot help but blame part of this on the fact that Wrath of the Lich King had to come out this month, which completely sucked me under for a while (though I hope now that I've hit 80 with my first character, the overwhelming desire to log on and level every single free moment will taper off some.)

I'm really not sure why somebody decided to have this writing month in November. It seems inconvenient. All of the year's best games are usually released in November, college students are finishing up the last month of the semester and finals and essays are usually raining down on us in droves. And then there's all the holiday stuff that normal people have to deal with. Why not have the national novel month in, say, June? Nothing happens in June.

I'm not sure whether to post what I did manage to write; it was a pretty sizeable chunk of story (I think around 10,000 words or so) but it is -extremely- messy, and because I was trying to write quickly, without stopping, there's a great chance that the story totally sucks. Maybe if somebody really tries to convince me, I'll unearth it. We'll see.

So, at this point, I'm trying to put together some short stories to send off to that publisher I met at the con, since his deadline is coming up and I don't want to blow this opportunity. I've got two ideas for horror stories so far... here's hoping I can find the juice to polish them off.

I'm exhausted (though not from the convention) so my ability to be coherent, funny or even interesting is likely seriously diminished, but I felt it was necessary to record for all time the events of the past weekend. Also, I'm writing this from memory, and I'm horrible with names, so I'm sure I misspelled some names here (I'll attempt to correct this when I get back home).

In no particular order: The con was wonderful. We ended up sitting at the same table as the guest of honor, Diana Gabaldon, who you might be familiar with. Note: my requirement for a person to be considered famous is whether or not he or she has a wikipedia page. If you do, congratulations! I also had the pleasure of meeting (through the wonderful networking skills of my mom, who came with me as a guest) met a number of excellent authors, including Weston Ochse, Yvonne Navarro and Dennis McKiernan, all of whom were absolutely wonderful and awesome people. We ended up talking late into the night about fiction, about my story, about writing in general. I should have had a notebook and tape recorder out; there was so much information and advice, so freely given, that I was all but overwhelmed.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Liz Danforth as well, the wonderful person who organized the short story contest and also ended up pulling the strings that led to an unscheduled reading of my short story the next day, but more on that in a bit.

So, the short story contest: second place! It was a great honor and I was very gratified to have made the effort to come out to the convention, although I have to admit, the real prize was the way these established, published authors who reviewed my work took the time to discuss my story and ask what my plans were; everybody who'd read it urged me to look into publication. The short story I submitted, by the way, was a rewritten version of December, an early draft of which appears on this blog if you're interested.

The short story reading was a real surprise. I'd been attending the panels at the con, after the short story contest was over, and I learned a lot of great tips about the world of small press publishing and just what the sci-fi/fantasy world looks like at the moment. Reading my story aloud was an interesting experience, although I had a tiny audience of two people, I'm told that this is actually pretty common unless you happen to be, say, the guest of honor. But! It was still a great experience, especially because one of the listeners was a rep from a small horror fiction press, who said he was quite interested in my work and asked me to have a submission to him in six weeks. I've already started working on some ideas for my submission!

So, all in all, it was a wonderful, amazing experience. The people I met, the advice I was given, and the interest my work received, as well as the words of encouragement, the support and the warmth... it was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I don't know if I've ever been this pumped about the direction I want to take my life, the goals I've set for myself. Weston and Yvonne... your words really inspired me this weekend. I am exceedingly grateful for all that you guys did for me this weekend and I'm extremely eager for the day when I'll be able to show you that your advice and wisdom did not fall on deaf ears.

Also, the photos from the wine and cheese party are uploaded to my computer. And they are very, very hilarious. Nobody else will be able to understand until you've watched a man attempt to eat a candy skull made entirely of sugar, a skull equal in size and density to the man's own head.

Good times.