Post 130

Well, the e-mail came out with the 2007 Three Day Novel Winners.

I am happy with what I submitted.

I did no win.

Nor did I even make it onto the short list.

Or the honorable mentions.

But I am happy with it anyway. The last time I went through this, I was more upset with the verdict. And then I read my submission and was mortified that I had let anybody else read it.

I guess I can't say I'm happy that I didn't win, because I'm not. But I have to remember that I didn't read any of the other submissions. Nor should I, at least not with an eye for judgement. It's hard to stay impartial, really. Only, no, I can tell when a work of fiction is a better one than I turned out.

Oh well. This just means that I can actually discuss it a little more freely now. So look forward to some of that.

Well, school is starting up for me tomorrow. Well, it started today, but I don't have any Monday classes until after spring break, so it officially starts for me tomorrow morning at 8:30. Media Literacy, here I come!

Well, folks, that about wraps it up for now. I'ma go crawl into bed.

Work work work, work work work work, work work work work work. Oh, and school.

I have not fallen off the face of the Earth. I am just busy. All day with work and school, except for Friday when it's just work, and then the weekends when it's homework for school and spending time with Kathy, friends, family, softball, bike races (but it's the off season now), more homework, and other such stuff.

I warned you at the end of the summer, that my blogging would become scarce as the school year stepped up. And after fall break, I'll be doing CSO Tuesday nights (come to our concerts, I will post about them).

All that having been said, I need to write more for myself, while not letting up on the writing for school. I wrote some great stuff for school, but I don't want to post it yet, or some of it, at all.

I do need to go and pick up some more copies of Currents at Meramec. There have been some people asking for copies, and I find that I have either handed all of mine out or (as is the case with one copy I found recently) spilled coffee (tea? Coke?) on them.

I want more people to check out my blog, too, but I don't have much product to talk up at the moment.

Alright, I will make a concerted effort to blog more consistently. I can't promise a return to the bloggin' golden age of three months ago, but I can promise more than one update every week and a half.

I received word from the Three Day Novel Contest that they have my manuscript. Four months or so until they announce the winners. And while I know I produced a manuscript that was twice as long and at least ten times the quality of my 2004 offering, I wish they'd give me feedback very soon as opposed to never. I don't know. Anybody want to read it? Let me know, I'll, I don't know...pdf it somehow and e-mail it? I can't post it, that violates contest rules. Let me know if you want to read it, I'll try and get it to you. Should be easy for most people. No, I will not print it out and mail it to you, though. It's 101 pages. I already mailed it to Canada once, the last thing I need is to mail it to, oh, I don't know...just out of the blue, New Zealand or some place. Sorry to any of my readers in that part of the world.

Current score at school:

Webster University Eleventy Billion, Elliot 915.2 x 10^-i

Just a little math humor that I don't get but that should give one or two readers a chuckle. Oh wait, I don't think any of my calculus-joking friends read my blog. Hm.

Oh well.

Added a new poll to replace my appallingly stone-aged poll I paid little to no attention to.

YesNoYesNoYes

I'm done I'm done i'm done im done imdone im don omdin edhe. aehdah?

Good ness Grashe Iss.

Final tally of 101 pages. One more than my goal. More of a plot than The Wednesday Night Movie Club, which was 2004's three day offering.

My fingers hurt when I type.

Somebody tell me that I have a nice long time to write my next novel.

I now have some neglected homework I must attend to. No sleep tonight either...

NO! I AM NOT BLOGGING THE REST OF THE WEEK! I AM NEARLY CREATIVELY BURNT OUT AND NEED WHATEVER IS LEFT FOR PLAYWRITING!

Three Day Novel Update Number 3, and Your Questions Answered Volume 3

Eighteen hours in, 22 pages. On pace for an 88 page novel. Target is 100, so that's looking doable. YAY!

After that rum and coke, it was back to business as usual. Cajun Party Mix and regular coke. Except I haven't actually had a regular coke. Or anything, really, I've just been sitting here writing, aside from the short break I took to call my father.

It just occured to me that I should eat something substantial, but that would require taking a real amount of time off. It would be one thing if I had a frozen pizza or something I could just throw in and forget about for a little while, but unfortunately, being the enthusiastic cook that I am, we really have nothing of a substantial nature in the house that doesn't involve intensive preparation. Stir Fry? Can't just let it sit. Pizza? Oh sure, once it's in the oven it's a nice long wait, but first I gotta prepare the toppings, grate the cheese, put together a sauce, etc. And pasta? Yeah, like that's a "Set-it-and-forget-it" type of meal.

I am fairly happy at this point that I have so very few friends in the St. Louis area. Not that I don't value the ones I have, but I can convince myself that everybody else is busy, which is easy to do when there are only about five people on your call list. If all of my Minnesota friends, plus all of my out of town high school friends were here...I could easily find somebody to spend time with, away from what I should be doing.

I wish I had kept a tally like this for the first time I did the contest, just so I could do a better comparison. But, alas! I do know that I am doing much better.

Well, as I am somewhat stuck at the moment, I thought I would take the opportunity to do my usual First Weekend of the Month Feature: Your Questions, Answered!

From the post Your Questoins Answered, Volume 2 on Sunday, August 5th:

Becca asked:

Also, do you think I should start using some sort of blog alias? Everyone else has a cool little nickname, but I'm just Becca. Not very exciting, is it?

Nah, no alias. Unless you start a show like Alias...that was a good show. It was very exciting.

From the post Tuesday Excerpts on Tuesday, August 7th:

Becca asked:

I know that wasn't based on real life events, but why does all of your writing remind me of college - more specifically, living in Bailey?

Because it was a very interesting time of life. Lots of good stories came out of that time. In a couple years, I can start writing about what happens at Webster U, once it's all been processed by my mind a little better. That processing is getting faster as I learn to detatch myself better as a writer. Good question!

The Wife asked:

When are you coming to visit?

I live with you! Oh, you were asking Becca...

From Advice from Todd Zuniga on Wednesday, August 8:

The Wife asked:

What, no quote for today... well lets see are we still trying to find out why Sam was late?

That's right, no quote for the day. Only on Tuesday excerpts, silly. And when I feel like it. And no, we are not trying to figure that out, I am trying to figure it out. But we've moved on.

From Free Write Friday on Friday, August 10:

marty/bridget said:

Did you say the next 24 hours?

Shut it, you.

From Free Write...Wednesday? on Wednesday, August 15:

mGk asked:

Did you really say "drop it like it's hot"? Could you BE any whiter?

Yes, I did, and yes, I could. Nobody I ever dated went through a Eminem/Real Slim Shady phase. Yes, that's right, I'm talking about the twin, and NOBODY ever could be any whiter than he was that year.

From School Week 1 Recap on Thursday, August 23:

Gerald asked:

so wait. you're suggesting that kucinich isn't ripped and tan normally?

Um...we're talking about Dennis Kucinich, right? The man who was characterized by Conan as a Hobbit back in 2004? Yes, I am suggesting he is certainly not ripped. He could possibly have a nice tan, though. I will give him that one along with the single payer health care plan.

From the post Kinda Late, I Know... on Tuesday, August 28th:

John asked:

Is that the Capt'n that has kitty passed out dreaming of BBQ mouse?

Absolutely it is, although what he's dreaming about is fried chicken. Trust me on that one, it's his all-time favorite.

Becca asked:

I love being a college student!!! Don't you, Elliot?

Sure. It would be nice to not be one for a while again, but next time I am not a college student I will have a degree to accompany my non-studenthood. Seven years of being an on-again, off-again college student has taken its toll on my sanity, along with this three day novel.

what exactly is the point of The Tinderbox? Isn't there supposed to be a moral to the story or something...?

Becca, I do not even know what The Tinderbox is. And the moral of the story is that you never, ever ever want to have found five dollars. It's sad.

From Three Day Novel Update Number 1 on Saturday, September 1:

Molly asked:

Right?

Just to be argumentative, Mom, no. Not right! HA! But secretly, after all the friends I'm trying to impress leave the blog, yes. You are right.

From Three Day Novel Update Number 2 on Saturday, September 1:

mGk asked:

Can I have a rum and coke?

If this is Kevin then yes, you can do whatever you want. If this is Madeline, no. No you can't. If this is Maureen, only you know the answer to that one. I have no authority over you. This you know. So why are you asking me?

Okay, back to work!

Three Day Novel Update Number 2

Roughly fifteen and a half hours in. Fifteen pages, on pace for a 72 page novel.

Fifteen pages, yes. Going well, but the first bad sign has arrived.

That's right, the first drink of the contest.

Actually, I lasted a good seventeen hours longer without drinking than the last time I did this. And yes, that does mean I was drinking for two hours before the contest started last time. I was young and naive.

Kathy is gone for the day. Not ten minutes after she left, I got hit with a craving, the worst kind of craving...the kind of craving that can't be sated with what you have on hand, no, it's a specific craving for freakin' Archer Farms Cajun Party Mix from Target, and you wonder, "Why the hell do I want anything from Target?" And it's because for almost four years, it was part of your life to get stuff from Target on almost a daily basis and it turns out, hey, I kinda miss some of that. Specifically, the Archer Farms Cajun Party Mix.

It's like a freaking Archer Farms Cajun Party Mix commercial over here!

I would like to thank my sister for taking the time to run to Target to pick some of the aforementioned salty snack concoction for my munching pleasure. I raise this rum and coke to you, Mo!

I can't help but wonder if my father went to scope out a spot from which to watch the Tour of Missouri stage into St. Charles. I wanted to go help, but I have a higher purpose this weekend.

Did everybody hear about the clash between cyclists and police officers in Minneapolis last night? I'm referring to it as the "Critical Massacre of 2007" myself. I was on the City Pages website last night and saw a little bulletin about it. It sickens me, but what sickens me more is that somebody actually commented on the story with "Serves them right, bikes aren't cars, get off the damn roads." Or something like that. I want to hit that person with a bike lock over his head. Hmm. Good thing I have to write a novel.

No more stalling! Onward I must go!

Three Day Novel Update Number 1

Two hours and seven pages in. I'm on pace to write 252 pages, but I do actually have to sleep. And also, there are the occasional updates, for which there will be reason.

So, update #1, meet reason #1. I am currently stuck just a little bit.

Now, originally, the plan was to post some short excerpts from the novel-in-progress, but it turns out that disqualifies me from the competition if they ever find out, and chances are, if you give a mouse a three day novel, they might go snooping after your writing blog. Or something like that.

Sorry, I did sneak in a little bit about cycling already in the first seven pages. But not to worry, it is not about cycling. There's just a bit in there. That is all I will give away. For real. No, the reason is I am stuck, right. The problem is that I have points A and B, and what I thought were points C, D, E and F at the very least, with likely points G, H, and I, but it turns out I need to bump everything, because what I have now is Points A, B, something new, and C, and D and E are ready to go but...not yet. They need something to bridge the gap. So, revised, points A, B, C (new), I need something in here to be point D, then E (which was the original point C). See? I have dots, just not all of them...do I want this line to go straight? Do I want it to curve? What?

Sorry I can't share any more details with you folks, but, well, you know how it is. Or maybe you don't.

Only 70 more hours until this competition is over! Ah!

T Minus...

Eight minutes and counting.

I am currently sitting in the kitchen, at the counter, but that will change before long. It smells like really nice coffee beans and buffalo chicken tenders. My wife is microwaving one of those things.

In 2004, I spent three days writing the worst thing I have ever put on paper. Seriously. The worst. It was called The Wednesday Night Movie Club and it was so terrible, fire wouldn't even catch on it because it would have been an insult to flames everywhere.

T Minus five minutes and counting.

This year, I am prepared.

This year, I will not stare at a blank screen for eight hours straight.

This year, I am not ready, because you never are, how can you be? How can one person sit down and wrie an entire novel in three days? It is, some would argue, patently impossible.

In T minus three minutes, I will begin to make the attempt to prove the impossible to be possible.

Let's Go.

Kinda Late, I Know...

It is two thirty in the morning on this fine Tuesday, August 28th, 2007, and I have just finished my homework for the day. I still have four chapters of my photography book to read, plus whatever Erickson gives me to do before Thursday, and then I am done doing homework for this week and can start looking at the increasingly large mound of homework for next week (Webster 99, Elliot 7), but with the holiday next Monday my media reasearch Literature Review is not due for two weeks (Webster 99, Elliot 8, with a further ninety points awarded upon early completion of said Literature Review, wherein "early" is defined as being more than 48 hours prior to deadline).

I once again have a camera collection. I had lightened the load a bit, with the sale of the old Canon, and throwing out the busted Kodak digital, and for a little bit all we had in the house was the Canon digital, the Nikon N55, the busted Yashica TL Electro, and Kathy's point and shoot Olympus. Then I had to go and buy a Fuji digital, and before my Target discount ran out we bought Kathy a Digital Rebel, and with my photography class I am encourage, for the instructor's peace of mind, to not use my N55 but to find a camera that is fully manual, and with my TL Electro out of commission, I find myself beset with both my father's Yashica TL Electro (so there's a familiarity about it I like, plus a 180 mm lens to boot) and my sister's Nikon FE2. Add that to the video camera, and we once again have almost enough cameras for Kathy and all her siblings.

Now, even with this plethora of cameras, there is still uncertainty. It is possible that my father's TL Electro will not advance film, as his Yashica FR has stopped doing so (otherwise, I would have borrowed that one instead of the TL Electro). It is not advisable to use my Yashica, which will definitely advance the film, because the light seals do not do their job, so the film gets all ruined, even if it will advance. My sister's Nikon, also, might still have mirrors misaligned, as that was an issue a few years ago and nobody can remember if it has been corrected. My N55 is, as stated above, out of the question because it is all new-fangled and automatic. And if the N55 is out, at least it still takes film, which is more than can be said for the Digital Rebel. Nor can I use the Olympus because it's not an SLR. Bottom line is, Wednesday night I am going to be heading to class with a camera still to be determined to start taking pictures that I am not sure will come out. I guess I could run a couple rolls of film through the cameras, but that costs money and so forth. And it takes time. A whole lot of precious time. It's going to take patience and time. To do it right, child.

Wow, still no brevity to my posts. But, let's just make this clear (and if you catch the reference, you might win a prize): To me, he is El Duderino.

New features to the blog: a picture, an updated link list (sort of, I just rearranged them and retitled some) and a poll. Please answer by the end of the week. I figure, if I can't actually update as much as I used to, the least I can do is give you all something to do/look at every once in a while.

Three Day Novel coming up this weekend. Get Ready!

"Nobody calls me Lebowski. You got the wrong guy. I'm The Dude, man."

A Reason...

...I find that I am actually getting a little creatively burnt out, which is no good as the school year starts in a week and I have the three day novel contest looming on the horizon. But, I do apologize for leaving everybody hanging, and in suspense. That was not my intention, these things just happen. There will be no Tuesday excerpt, and tomorrow I will finish last week's free write. Tomorrow, after I finish the free write, I will solicit suggestions for one last Free Write Friday...because I do not foresee myself having enough time to blog consistently during the school year. Rest assured you will get excerpts from works in progress, and updates on school. Also, the three day contest will be a live blog feature, in that I will periodically post during the contest. More details on that later.

Again, look for completion tomorrow. Promise.