Had insomnia bad last night, got maybe two hours of sleep total. So this morning I have these options: 1. Hook up a caffeine IV and court heart palpitations or 2. Do a face plant at my desk. Hmm.
Caffeine it is.
New words: 1K on “Mortal Clay, Stone Heart.”
It’s at zero draft. Win! But it’s 1.5K over the max length. Fail.
Lessee how much can be cut in a revise-n-cull pass or two.
Forgot to mention that the Mind Meld I was invited to participate in went up last week at SF Signal: “The Perfect SF/F/H Books to Give to People Who Don’t Read SF/F/H.”
Something about my home office configuration is egregiously unergonomic. Under an hour of writing and my wingstubs ache. Very not good.
Woke up before my alarm yesterday so turned it off before it sounded and, of course, forgot to turn it back on last night—resulting in me oversleeping today. Woke up this morning at about the time I usually leave the house and had a mad scramble getting ready for work. I was actually still buttoning my shirt and putting on my second shoe as I dashed out the door.
Speeding my way to 400, I debated whether I should take MARTA in (which would make me late) or drive myself in (which I figured would probably get me in on time). My decision making abilities are not at their best before I’ve had my coffee, so after a not-small amount of waffling and dithering, I decided to take my car.
Wow.
I switched my hours to a 4×10 workweek after the ’09 legislative session adjourned, so I set out pretty early in the morning. Early enough that the worst Atlanta traffic congestion hasn’t started yet.
I didn’t arrive at work on time; I was early. As in 15 minutes early. (And actually, my co-editors were all late, so it’s not like they would’ve cared or noticed if I’d been late anyway. I mentioned my poor decision making abilities sans coffee, right?)
Makes me wonder whether I should drive to work instead of taking the train during the non-session times of the year. Except I am going to hit Atlanta’s rush hour traffic going home, not to mention the increased fuel expense, vehicle wear, and carbon footprint yadda ya that driving would mean. And I do get work done on my laptop on the train. So I suspect I’ll keep taking MARTA. But it does make me raise an eyebrow, again, at how awful Atlanta’s traffic situation is. A drive that ought to take no more than 30 minutes regularly becomes a grueling hour+ long ordeal because of it. Hmph.
Also, I must remember NOT to take the train home and leave my car at work.
As most folks know who’ve talked to me about writing, the Writers Workshop taught by Ann Crispin at Dragon*Con 2000 played a pivotal role in my becoming a published, professional writer. Ann conducts these two-day workshops every year at Dragon*Con, and I highly recommend them to aspiring writers looking to improve their craft and learn about the publishing industry. Also, I do a guest lecture at them on marketing short fiction.
This year, in addition to her workshop, Ann has proposed to the Dragon*Con Powers That Be* that she teach a “How to Get a Real Literary Agent” class on Saturday (9/5) or Sunday (9/6) . This free, two-hour mini-workshop will go over essential information about the agent acquisition process and provide an opportunity to have your agent query letters reviewed by Ann.
Space will be limited to ten students, and registration will be required, so if you want in, be sure to sign up.
[*”How to Get a Real Literary Agent” still needs to go through the official new programming channels, so please wait for it to be announced on the Dragon*Con website before calling or emailing the D*C office about signing up. Ann also said that she’ll drop me a line when she gets the official a-ok from the convention, and I’ll make a follow-up post at that time.]
400 words on “Mortal Clay, Stone Heart.” In the homestretch. I think.
New words: 200 on the WiP. 34-page bill to edit kyboshed the afternoon’s writing. The nerve, the day job wanting me to do work! ;p But I did come up with a new title, I think: “Mortal Clay, Stone Heart.”
Once upon a time, I fulfilled my assorted writing commitments before their deadlines. Now, it’s always an 11th-hour scramble. WHY??
The 2nd Dragon*Con 2009 all-staff meeting is today at the Marriott. (Directors at 3:00; all staff at 4:00.) Trying to remember what I need to bring.
