Ever Been in a Cockpit, Jimmy?
"Where to, sailor?"

Being in the driver's seat of one's life must feel great. Before then though, I'd just like to get a rein on and a direction in the creative work I've been doing. (Getting paid...well...getting paid consistently for it would be the next big milestone.)

Anyhow, my contract with Southern California has been renewed for a least another six months. Now the question is how to make that count.

I've spent the last week gathering together my materials to start making submissions to literary agents on my second novel. Now that's not to say that I don't hope to sell the first or the third one, I just think that No. 2 is the most accessible, well written, and potentially marketable. (The first one's an enormous beast, and the third's a prequel of sorts to a much larger book I plan to write at some point.) It's been a bit of labor to get all the various elements together for what each of these agencies want for submissions, and I've about got all of them written up. My only concern (as I'm more than a little on the impatient side) is that while my query letter might get a response in as little as a week, once I send them the book, it could be several months before they side if they want to sign me up and push this thing.

Also, while I consider the book more of a satire than anything, it does take place in "the future"...sort of. A lot of the places that sound like they might go for my kind of material often state that they don't do science fiction. Well, Kurt Vonnegut never considered himself a science fiction writer despite the sci-fi elements in many of his books...but unfortunately, I'm not Kurt...or one of his kids...or the guy that mowed his lawn. So we shall see...

Next, I'm still wrestling with what to do with my fiction blog. I've decided to try to do another 100 entries, and come up with a short serialized novel. The problem is that I've got so many other projects swirling around in my head, I haven't had time to come up with a concept for it. Lately, though, I've been missing the discipline of sitting down and either warming up or cooling down after a day of working on other stuff by writing my one new page of fiction. That's one thing I've learned about blogging, like most things extra-curricular (exercise, painting, etc.) from career: It's easy to maintain if you keep yourself doing it, but the minute you fall off, it can be really hard to get back on the horse.

I will, however, be trying to pull together that anthology of the first 100 entries. After all, it's nice to print something out and hold it in your hands...even if it's not got a price tag and a glossy cover at the corner Borders.

Ok, ok, I'll also admit that I do miss writing the occasional poem...haha...something I never thought I'd feel. And call me aggro, but I can't remember the last person I met who called themselves a poet that I didn't want to punch in the face. Of course that leads me onto a whole thing about how it's mostly the rich and/or in some ways privileged who actually get to make a living at playing artist these days.

Anyhow feel free to send in any comments and suggestions about what you think you might like to see.

I've got one idea for the serialized novel...but I'm a little worried that it's a little too "dirty" to be out there in the open on a bright screen. And I thought about playing down the more shocking elements...but...haha...suppressed filth, especially half decently written suppressed filth tends to be oh so much dirtier than just out and out filth.

What a wonderful world.

Cheers.

Crises Nearly Complete...Film At Eleven...
I'm trying to...uh...be more...uh...sheesh...uh...Assertive...

So...

How is everybody today? That's good to hear...Aww, I didn't know that...Congratulations...Oh, tell her 'hi' for me...I hope Jimmy gets his leg back, those bites can be nasty...

Now that we've gotten past the preliminaries....

I think I'm nearly over my crises concerning my life, where it's going, and what the hell I'm going to do with it. I've started looking for some regular jobby-jobs (any help is well appreciated...resumés available upon request)...but I've realized that what I really like to do is write stories (not necessarily movies...but I like doing them too) and paint pretty pictures. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that even if you're really good that anyone's going to pay you for that...but I'm seeing what I can do. (Anyone know any publishers...?)

You probably don't remember, and I don't blame you, that a few months ago...in fact, probably at least a year ago now, I may have mentioned that I had a little experiment I was going to try. It basically entailed me trying to write a novel in 100 days, and all of you could read along as I went. Well, in case I never mentioned it, I wrote that novel...it's just that you didn't get to read along.

See, I was thinking like a cartoonist. I wanted to get ahead first so that in case things came up, I'd still be able to post industry. A li'l cushion before the pushin' if you will. Well, I got things planned out, and I wrote the first couple of entries...and one thing led to another and I finished it. So anyhow...one day I might still share it...in fact, I really want to...just not that way...("It's called With Friends Like These, Junior..."...by the way)

Anyhow, for those of you who may have been excited...and I know that that's probably all of you...I'm going ahead with the experiment, but I'm going to do something a little different. Each day I'm going to write at least one 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper's worth of material for at least four days out of every week. When I get to 100 entries, I'm going to make an anthology that I'll be all too thrilled to try and sell...potentially I'm going to try for 300.

As for content...well, it might be whole short stories, it might be fragments, it might be really random dribbeldy-poop, it might be half-baked bad jokes...come to think of it, the whole thing might be a half-baked bad joke. I'm hoping that it makes some sort of cosmic sense even in the potential chaos and nonsense. So I suppose if you like my bulletin entries...you'll might just love this...

So whattya think? Sound like fun?

I'm setting up the space for it now, and will probably begin in a week or so....or so I hope. I'll post the link once the madness gets well underway. (I'm also entertaining the thought of making podcasts or something of me reading the choicer entries...we'll see...)

Tell your friends. Bring it to the streets. Shout it from the hills.

Here I come baby...I'm comin' to GETCHA!

Cheers.

Bring on the Groupies!

This was the date on which the blog originally launched. The post, however, has been taken down to keep me from looking like a nincompoop. 

Friendster was mentioned. Ah to be young and foolish again.