Finally got the first few words down on the short story I planned to work on at the end of last year. Went back and forth on setting (science fiction versus fantasy), which influenced how much information I would present about the main character's differences (autistic ( Read more... )

One week of workouts under my belt at the gym, but so far the scale doesn't want to reward my efforts. I'm not discouraged. Four weight sessions, each followed by one-mile to three-mile walks, are an improvement over my exercise regimen before the new year, and while the scale doesn't show much I dropped one pant size at the beginning of last week ( Read more... )

A while back I started to track how many books I read throughout the year. The goal was 52 books in a year, one a week. Beyond recording the numbers, I tracked reading patterns; sometimes I'm in the mood for lighter fare, and at others I'm interested in heavier works ( Read more... )

It's a while since I posted here. More than month's passed since World Fantasy in Columbus. Thankfully, I didn't experience any con crud, and I'll credit the good meals I ate with friends in various restaurants around the convention center, as well as the copious amounts of Blue Moon that I consumed in the hotel bar. I think I've avoided posting ( Read more... )

I don't know whether this post will run longer than the flash fiction piece I just submitted to New Scientist for its Forgotten Futures contest. It's likely, since I tend toward wordiness, but I'm OK if it happens as I wanted to note that (a) I had finished and revised the piece and (b) I wanted to talk about the process of writing and revising a ( Read more... )

I'm finally coming down from the rush that was the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio, last week. Enough to provide a coherent report of my impressions and what I gained from the time and money spent hanging out with friends in bars and restaurants (and attending the odd panel or two ( Read more... )

Another highlight from yesterday's yard work (beyond the muse trashing the current book outline) was the work she put into examining flash fiction ideas for the New Scientist contest and her determination to have me write a story about an autistic boy and zeppelins ( Read more... )

One of the few advantages of mowing the lawn is that it allows my mind to drop into autopilot; all it's got to do is keep me walking in straight lines and avoid debris that might shoot out from under the mower. Consequently, my muse moves into the front and starts playing with scenes and story ideas.

I worked through a lot of problems with ( Read more... )

Thirty days remain until World Fantasy and the month started off with a literal death march ( Read more... )

My wife and I watched Parenthood on NBC last year, sharing those moments married couples experience where they recognize bits from their own lives. The first episode from the second season offered a scene that explains how my imagination works, however, and I feel it's worth sharing, if only because it illustrates something of my process ( Read more... )