A Few Thoughts Before Midnight
First off, the obligatory "Underworld" progress update:
74,645 / 80,000
(93.3%)
I'm probably going to go a little over this word count, mainly because I seem to be getting a little wordy these days in my books. I'm going to blame this on reading the "Dune" prequel trilogy, those books being "The Butlerian Jihad" (eh, it was okay), "The Machine Crusade" (much better but still not swimmingly great) and "The Battle Of Corrin" (which I have yet to start but should be good). Writing, contrary to popular belief, does not take place in a vacuum and whatever you read is going to, in some way or another, end up bleeding into what you produce. This should have a very odd effect on "The Final Nine" when I start that project, so I guess I better lay in a stock on sports books to tide me over through October.
Week One of the NFL season, for all intents and purposes, ended today. I know that tomorrow night the Baltimore Ravens play the Cincy Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals lock horns with the San Francisco 49ers, but for me the true benchmark of the opening of the year is always that first NFL Sunday. For the record, while my Oakland Raiders lost to the Detroit Lions today, I saw many things that I can bring out of the game as positives. Finally, I think our franchise may be on the right track.
Thing is, I got spoiled as a fan of the Oakland Athletics in my youth. From when I was 13 until about age 17, the A's fielded killer teams and I sort of came to expect this kind of performance from my athletes. They were professionals, so I reasoned; why couldn't they get the job done every year? After all, did not the A's yearly contend for the World Series ring and make it pretty far in the playoffs, breaking through against the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series? It was only later, as I watched the A's trying to rebuild themselves in the late 1990's that I realized exactly how thin the line is between winning it all and falling flat on your face.
Believe it or not, this is actually going somewhere.
When I go to write "The Final Nine," I will have ample opportunity to climb all my favorite sports-related soapboxes and I'm looking forward to this. I know that on Livejournal it's the standard form to sneer down your electronic nose at the box scores in the newspapers, to shake your head in disbelieving wonder at the people who paint themselves before going to games in the team colors and most of all, to just plain wonder what all the fuss is about.
Here's one of those things: it's the only thing in your life that you are asked to make a decision about at age ten and then stick to your guns on it for the rest of your life, come hell or high water. In a way, it is eternal childhood that is rebirthed every year, and I'm damn happy this day has come again.
I'll have "Underworld" done by the end of the month, and then, Dear Readers... maybe you'll buy what I have to sell and see it the way I do. I hope so; from where I stand, it's a beautiful world that lies ahead.
Peace.
74,645 / 80,000
(93.3%)
I'm probably going to go a little over this word count, mainly because I seem to be getting a little wordy these days in my books. I'm going to blame this on reading the "Dune" prequel trilogy, those books being "The Butlerian Jihad" (eh, it was okay), "The Machine Crusade" (much better but still not swimmingly great) and "The Battle Of Corrin" (which I have yet to start but should be good). Writing, contrary to popular belief, does not take place in a vacuum and whatever you read is going to, in some way or another, end up bleeding into what you produce. This should have a very odd effect on "The Final Nine" when I start that project, so I guess I better lay in a stock on sports books to tide me over through October.
Week One of the NFL season, for all intents and purposes, ended today. I know that tomorrow night the Baltimore Ravens play the Cincy Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals lock horns with the San Francisco 49ers, but for me the true benchmark of the opening of the year is always that first NFL Sunday. For the record, while my Oakland Raiders lost to the Detroit Lions today, I saw many things that I can bring out of the game as positives. Finally, I think our franchise may be on the right track.
Thing is, I got spoiled as a fan of the Oakland Athletics in my youth. From when I was 13 until about age 17, the A's fielded killer teams and I sort of came to expect this kind of performance from my athletes. They were professionals, so I reasoned; why couldn't they get the job done every year? After all, did not the A's yearly contend for the World Series ring and make it pretty far in the playoffs, breaking through against the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series? It was only later, as I watched the A's trying to rebuild themselves in the late 1990's that I realized exactly how thin the line is between winning it all and falling flat on your face.
Believe it or not, this is actually going somewhere.
When I go to write "The Final Nine," I will have ample opportunity to climb all my favorite sports-related soapboxes and I'm looking forward to this. I know that on Livejournal it's the standard form to sneer down your electronic nose at the box scores in the newspapers, to shake your head in disbelieving wonder at the people who paint themselves before going to games in the team colors and most of all, to just plain wonder what all the fuss is about.
Here's one of those things: it's the only thing in your life that you are asked to make a decision about at age ten and then stick to your guns on it for the rest of your life, come hell or high water. In a way, it is eternal childhood that is rebirthed every year, and I'm damn happy this day has come again.
I'll have "Underworld" done by the end of the month, and then, Dear Readers... maybe you'll buy what I have to sell and see it the way I do. I hope so; from where I stand, it's a beautiful world that lies ahead.
Peace.