Category Archives: Blog

After the unscheduled downage of LJ, I decided the prudent thing would be to back up my entries, considering I’ve been writing in this blog for years now (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) So I downloaded LJArchive, which is a nifty shareware application. It even saves everyone’s comments and stuff. And it comes with some amusing plug-ins. Very nice.

On the backing up front, Mr. Computer has gotten pokey in the last few weeks, and we think some Adware got through his firewall and virus checker. Ergo, Matthew is going to reload Mr. Computer, an undertaking I personally find terrifying. I spent several hours going through my data, deleting redundant ones and backing up the rest to CD-ROM. Actually, I’ve got my writing files backed up to no less than five places, so I think I’m set for anything shy of a huge magnetic storm. Matthew’s taking his turn to clean up his stuff, and then he’s going to give Mr. Computer a lobotomy.

I can’t look.

Writing Stuff:
For those not aware, Tangent, the ‘zine I write reviews for, is losing its current Editor-in-Chief. Chris Markwyn is stepping down and has been looking for a replacement. Since my duties for the Daily Dragon are largely seasonal in nature, I thought this might be a good opportunity to stretch my editor muscles. So, after some waffling and much dithering, I volunteered to take over. I do believe I’ve gone mad.

Chris and I are still emailing to discuss the particulars. If it sounds like more than I can handle or has other heretofore issues that I don’t want to contend with, I may still bow out. Or if someone more qualified and more experienced than I offers to helm her instead, I will undoubtedly bow out (or get booted out) of consideration. So it’s not finalized yet. But if all goes as it looks likely it will, I’ll be Tangent‘s new Editor-in-Chief.

Glurk.

Words: -400 words on the huli jing story in two passes. Chop chop.

Matthew had few comments to make on it. As I suspected, it’s just not his sort of thing. My hubby isn’t a big fairy tale guy. It’s unfortunate as that seems to be where my passion lies. Or at least what I seem to be capable of selling. Going to poke it a few more times and then send it up to Critters . . . although it probably won’t go live for another couple weeks as I’ve still got the SF story in the queue this week. Erm. Well, as long as it goes up in time for me to do a rewrite before mroctorber‘s deadline . . .

I’m also engrossed in Story by Robert McKee (thanks again teflaime). It’s intended for screenwriters, but everything McKee says is equally applicable to prose writers. So far, it’s covered basics like setting, hook, and the nature of the protagonist which haven’t really been all that edifying, but it’s beginning to go into story structure and pacing. I’m actually taking notes. I feel like a student. Whee. Almost makes me want to undertake an MFA. Almost.

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Wow. LiveJournal totally fubared itself, didn’t it? Hoping it’s all better now.

Writing Stuff:
I did something I’ve never done before. I’m not sure if I should call it a new milestone, or sheer stupidity and/or arrogance.

I declined a sale.

I submitted a story to a market last year, and since that time, this market’s pay scale dropped significantly (about a quarter of what I expected initially which was already what I consider the minimum of what I will submit fiction to) and the editor, in her email to me accepting the story, apologized for it citing low sales and went on to say how she might not print the next issue in any case because of a dearth of good submissions. After some waffling–it goes utterly against instinct to refuse money for a story–I decided that I believed this story was worth more than what she was offering me. Plus, I’m not really keen on the idea of jumping aboard a sinking ship–low sales, uncertain future of the publication and all.

So, yeah. I can walk away from a sale.

Words: -500 on various rewriting between the huli jing and the SF story in the Critters queue. Chop chop chop. One of my regulars did indeed nail me with all the typos I left in it, and then found several that I missed. I’m well and duly mortified. But aside from my sloppiness, I’m getting a good reaction so far.

Time to get Matthew to first reader my fox story.

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My shiny 2005 skunk calendar informs me that today is “St. Knut’s Day.” A quick Google search informed me that “King Knut . . . declared that Christmas should be celebrated for twenty days, officially ending the season on January 13th . . . After this day, trees are taken down to mark the official close of the season.”

I think that means we’re supposed to take down our Christmas decorations now. That seems unlikely.

Writing Stuff:
My SF story is up at Critters. I meant to give it another once over before it went live, but I’ve been so wrapped up in working on my huli jing story that I forgot. Went in and looked at it, and immediately found a few typos. Dagnabit!

120-days to a rewrite request from the Razor-edged Arcanum anthology. Not as good as an acceptance, but better than a kick in the teeth. The editor was extremely complementary and encouraging. His main concern was that my story was “too tangled” for average readers to grok. This was a more experimental work for me, stylistically and structurally, so I sympathize with his comments. But that meant I had to go in and do some carving. Actually, less carving and more shoring up. Ended up adding around another three-hundred words after several passes, and un-experimentalizing some of the structure. Sent it back to the editor. *crosses fingers*

Words: 300 on the rewrite. 600 on the huli jing story and it’s done! Well, it’s at zero draft. Going to do another pass (or three) on it, and then have Matthew first-reader it.

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This morning, driving into work, it was foggy outside. I love the fog. It makes the world soft and mysterious, magical. It’s like there’s a secret just beyond the mist and if I didn’t have to go to work, I could go looking for it and discover something wonderful.

Of course, I had to go to work . . .

Writing Stuff:
198-days to a you-weren’t-a-winner-but-please-play-again from Neo-opsis after a query.

Words: 1000. Chug-a-chug-a. Into the climax with part of the denouement written. The story is clear in my mind. Less than 1K to go. Perhaps I can finish it tomorrow?

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Debbie, Hobkin’s godmother, has regaled us with stories of how every time he goes there for skunk camp, her power goes out. At first, Matthew and I attributed this to coincidence. We did, after all, have a hurricane pass through the area during Dragon*Con, and other such weather patterns have likewise been timed to coincide with various skunk camp dates. But now I’m beginning to suspect that Hobkin is a Magical Electric Skunk. The electrical system in our house is . . . whimsical upon occasion, a state of affairs that began only after we acquired a baby skunk. (The fact that we hadn’t lived for very long in the house before that point is, of course, irrelevant.)

The light in the master bathroom switches off at random times–typically when I set Hobkin down so I can use the facilities–and the light in our entertainment center is likewise arbitrary with its illuminative cause-and-effect. Some mornings I come out into the living room and the lights are on even though Matthew swears he turned them off. And other times no matter how you punch the switch (it’s touch activated), the lights won’t go on. Then there’s the fluorescent overhead in the kitchen. When one flips the toggle from the off position to the on, the light usually flickers to life, but not always (and it has nothing to do with the bulb).

Upon further consideration, it all makes sense. The light in the bathroom goes out when I’ve had the audacity to be away from my prescribed, skunk-cuddling spot on the couch. The skunky wrath I have incited can be observed in how he digs at the door outside in protest. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the gimpy, cheap-ass switch, or the fact that Hobkin’s not allowed into our master suite or that usually when I leave him to use the bathroom, he wakes up.

The kitchen light is an obvious target because the kitchen is where we make food, and food is a rather important life-event according to Hobkin’s world view. And the entertainment center is synonymous with freedom and companionship. When it’s on, we’re there, he’s free to roam around, and the world is good. When we turn things in it off, it usually means we’re leaving the house for a while and he has to be locked away in his area. (Naturally, the peculiar lighting behavior can’t possibly have anything to do with the hyper-sensitive switch which can be triggered by the rumbling of passing semis.) As far as skunk camp goes, he’s probably feeling rather mischievous or inclined to show off, being in a new place and all. Ergo, he engages in small pranks.

Magical Electric Skunk. Yup.

Writing Stuff:
Words: 800. Just about at the climax. Stopped mid-paragraph as I was going into the end, blasted between the eyes by the realization that I needed an additional, key scene in order to explain the protag’s central motivation. So I backtracked to the middle and then ground my gears uselessly for a while. In order to jostle some ideas loose, I started doing some research on Buddhism. Voila! Enlightenment struck and the new scene essentially wrote itself.

Maybe a couple more days and I’ll be able to type “the end” on it. Currently it’s at a little over 5.5K. Doesn’t look like keeping it at or under 7.5K is going to be an issue. Whew. It will require a lot of clean-up before it’s ready for Matthew to first-reader, though.

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The first 2005 Dragon*Con directors meeting was yesterday. Sounds like there will be many logistical changes to streamline the organization process, which is all good. It also sounds like we will need to clone dire_epiphany. I’m thinking three clones might be enough–nah, better make it four to be safe. Wonder if that expense counts as a “reimbursement” or a “requisition”? Hmm.

One outcome of these changes is that I shall need a burly, load-bearing staffer or two (glances hopefully at arkamrefugee, glenn5, and lord_darkseid) to help me lug the office supplies from the registration area to the DD office, pre-convention (btw, I got some banter from Registration at the meeting, pagmatic. I think you’re definitively going to need to do another Registration cartoon.) At least the hotel will provide us with a wheeled conveyance, so that shouldn’t be too onerous. Also going to split the graveyard shifts between my staff and the Signage staff, which will make things less red-eyed for all concerned.

Reminder to self: Email a note out to solicit early staff commitments and determine whether I have any gaps that need filling.

Got a chance to chat with the director of the YA Literature Track, and I’ll be doing panels again for her. I’ll actually be able to bring an issue of Cricket with a story of mine in it this year to show off! I assume I’ll also be doing Writers Track panels again too. Will send in my guest application nice and early this year. Really.

The convention fed us. Free meal, rah! I snagged bell peppers for Hobkin from the buffet to try to mollify the little beastie, but he was pretty unhappy at being abandoned for so long. There were suggestions that we bring him to the convention, but that immediately evoked chaotic images of fiery destruction and doom. So, no.

Also had a chance to touch base and gab with both fingerman and ghostgrrl whereupon I was reminded that Fantasm is only two months away. Gleep. Having a hard time wrapping my mind around the progression of time.

Writing Stuff:
Words: 500. Minimal progress, but still progress. Connected up some of the free-floating scenes in the huli jing story and did some clean-up. Changed my mind a couple times about minor details. Oddly enough, this far into it, I still don’t have a good feel for how long this is going to end up being. I’m either close to wrapping it up, or I’ve still got a couple thousand words left. My control on this one’s looser than usual. Oh well, everything can be fixed in editing . . . *lather, rinse, repeat*

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The spiffy skunk calendar Matthew made for me for Christmas informs me that today is “Old Rock Day.” I’m not quite sure how to properly observe that. Should I anoint an old rock with rare oils and lavish it with attention? Throw it, maybe? Offer it a cookie? How does one venerate aged petrologic entities?

Writing Stuff:
I am officially sedentary (perhaps that’s how one celebrates “Old Rock Day,” by mimicking their behavior?) One of my preferred writing spots has, among other reference books, a dictionary within reach of the computer. I was typing along, and a word popped into my head that I was uncertain about, but wanted to use (this is not an isolated occurrence–my lexical storage and retrieval processes are a total mystery to me). I decide to look up its definition to verify it did mean what I thought it meant. Instead of stretching my arm out and flipping open the Webster’s, I launched a web browser and surfed to Merriam-Webster Online because I was too lazy to reach the dictionary.

Sloth, thy name is Eugie.

In other news, I saw that Tangent is back up. It’s still terribly unwell as the site is full of errors, but at least it’s exhibiting signs of life. Hm, that probably means I should get to writing a review of this week’s Sci-Fiction story.

Words: 1100 The huli jing story continues apace. I got stuck but hadn’t gotten my 500 words for the day yet, so forced myself to keep at it. Decided to stop writing linearly and just skip scenes that weren’t coming. By doing that I managed to crank out nearly 800 more words before running aground again. And I think I have a better idea of where the story’s going. I still need to link the scenes I did write (and I shall probably end up not using all of them), but I managed to force my way through a stuckage. Rah.

Also came up with a good title (as opposed to the working title of “Fox Spirit”) in the wee hours of the morning. It’s been a day for mysterious subconscious brain functions.

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I’m sick of being sick, and I’m sick of posting about how sick everyone here is, so instead I’ll say: “Happy Twelfth Night!”

*snog*

Writing Stuff:
Passed the second round of readings at Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, woohoo! That much closer to a juicy sale. *crosses fingers*

Switched gears on the kitsune story. Instead of Japanese fox spirits, I decided to make them Chinese fox spirits, huli jing. The characters have more of a Chinese flavor than a Japanese one. Plus, I’ve done the Japanese fox thing. So now I’m doing research to cement in my mind the differences. For some reason, I can’t find my notes from “When Shakko Did Not Lie.” No biggie, but irritating. I wonder if that was one of the files that got eaten in the Hard Drive Cataclysm of last year . . .

Words: 500

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Everyone is sick. I’m holding steady, and Matthew and Hobkin are starting on the upswing towards recovery. There is much sniffling and coughing in our house. Need. More. Soup.

Writing Stuff:
Saw another review of The 3rd Alternative #40, this one from SFRevu.com:

“‘The Cajun Knot’ by Melanie Fazi is . . . one of the two really excellent stories in this magazine . . .The other excellent story in the issue is ‘Running on Two Legs’ by Eugie Foster . . . a delightful positive tale”
–Sam Tomaino

Rah!

Realized that this Critters batch doesn’t close out this week, but next. Coolness. That gives me a chance to do another pass on the SF story I tossed up the queue, plus gives me an extra week to do the critiques I’ve got on my “to do” list.

Picked up the strands of a kitsune story I started last year. If it goes where I want it to, I think it’ll be a good story to submit to mroctober‘s So Fey anthology. Of course I really should know better by now than to count my stories before I type “the end,” but at least the muse gears are grinding.

Words: 700

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