October 2006

Ever since it first began, I’ve known at least one person who participated in National Novel Writing Month. I’ve done it twice myself. Lord help me, but I’m thinking of doing it again.

For the last few weeks I’ve had the urge but kept denying it, and kept telling myself that this is a very bad time in my life to do something like this. But when I really look at it, all my reasons not to try don’t hold water. My job and life situation is very much up in the air. Big changes are taking place.

On the other hand, so what if I start and end up not being able to finish? What do I have to lose? At the very least it might jump start my writing again, which has been languishing due to a recent bout of writer’s block.

I haven’t made a final decision yet.

Well, actually, I guess I have… 

I’ve noticed an increasing amount of bile filtering up from professional journalists towards bloggers and blogs in general.  Derisive remarks in published articles are common, especially in major newspapers.  Then a denigrating article appeared in WikiHow.com entitled:  How To Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger. It typifies the general attitude I’ve noticed.

It’s obvious to me that these professional writers are feeling threatened.  What disappoints me is that they’re not professional enough to keep it to themselves.  When I read things like this, I wonder if they have any idea they’re engaging in exactly the behavior they say they dislike about bloggers.

Here are some points that blog critics are missing:

• If blogs were all horrible, no one would read them and they wouldn’t exist.  Yet, they are thriving and many are making a very good living at it.
• Personal blogs (the ones most derided by professional journalists) are not intended for wide audiences, but for small groups of like-minded people to share in this thing called life.
• People are interested in other people.  Real people.  That’s why reality shows are so popular.  And many blogs are like reality shows but in serialized literary format.

Personally, I find cruising blogs and reading life experiences of real people far more interesting than most “professional” articles in “professional” publications.  While I don’t care for MySpace, I do surf Xanga.com daily, paying closer attention to “blogrings” which do a good job of clustering journals with common interests.  And yes, I do shy away from blogs where they tYpeZ liKeS THiz.

Wow. When I started actually writing I couldn’t stop. It was like a dam burst. I was up way too late last night and slept through my alarm this morning. I got a lot done!

A quiet and relaxing Sunday, and it does seem I’ve managed to break through the writer’s block.  I managed to put several new pages on one of my projects.  I also spent a lot of time blog surfing.

I am making the first tentative steps in breaking through my writer’s block.

I have an ongoing project that I’ve found I can work on, and now have much more insight on.  I also have a new project that is formulating in my mind, something very new and different and hopefully funny.

I’m rocking out with Luscious Jackson…  damn I wish these girls didn’t break up!  Great writing music. 

So, what are you working on?

She walks, she talks, she attracts hoards of young Japanese men… she’s a real “live” fembot!

Actroid DER2

What’s she saying?  “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, yeah…”

I’ve received fan mail before, but this morning I received my very first hate mail.

Some guy named Richard decided to take precious time out of his important day to tell me how illiterate I am and that buying my books is a waste of money and an insult to his intelligence.

Books? I only have one published so far. WTF?

I remember reading a quote somewhere by Harlan Ellison, saying that you haven’t really made it as a writer until you start receiving hate mail.

Success here I come!