Word Count Fail

Okay, so when I agreed to do the novel critique workshop I figured I could get 30-45,000 words out by the time of my extended deadline (and then finish before the event). And given my progress at the beginning, I was pretty confident I would make it. That I would get somewhere in the middle of the second act (story "feels" like it needs 90,000 words or so, a descent size for a first novel) was doable. And then the whole day thing went pear shaped. Currently I have 13500 words out and in at least first draft form (although not completely edited let alone scrubbed to the point that I would normally have a story critiqued). And I'm on my way to another 1500 or so words that I should have ready for tomorrow. So only 15,000 words, half my lower level (insert cussing and kicking dirt over home-plate and on the shoes of the umpire).

And as you can see my word count here (and an Genre Bender) has been lacking.

On other news, why is it with the online application processes I have to have a loggin and account with each employer's site, agree to their terms, and all that other stuff. Really gosh-darn-annoying people. This is like having to have an account to get basic information about companies that you've bought their stuff. I shouldn't have to register. I appreciate that you feel you need to have "security," but there is a point where the security works because you keep people from using whatever you're securing. Like you keep a stadium secure by not letting anybody in the gates.

No Clearer Picture

We had the meeting today. It was interesting, but I have no clearer picture of who is going to do what. There were some surprises, a few people asked questions I didn't expect from them. I get the feeling that the retirement packages may have been slightly better than some people expected. If they're good enough, I don't know.

I got some answers on my questions. Going to work in a graphic design studio would be considered "in the business" for the union. If the shop is not union I could continue in the union as an associate member with lower dues, but still be able to participate in the retirement plans. These would be paid by myself. The retirement plan is one of the best I've been a part of (as long as the payouts remain similar), so I'd really like to continue in it. From the time of layoff I have two years to either take a lump sum payout (no interest, just what I've paid in), continue in the plan, or receive a certificate of completion. There are then various rules that come into effect especially if I "retire" early. I can restart the plan and then there are more rules. I'm one year away from being vested in the second, national, retirement plan. But even now, with four years of contributions in, if I could retire I would qualify for a little more than $265.

Maybe this week things will shake out. The company wants to have answers on volunteers by the end of the week.

Saturday Nerves

Tomorrow is the Union Meeting where I'll hopefully have a better idea just what's going to happen in a few weeks. On Thursday the boss gave me a pep talk. I'm going from paranoia to hope as I try and parse out what he was trying to tell me. Of course I'm making myself insane attempting to read the entrails of the conversation and seeing meaning where there probably isn't any. He could have just been being a good manager by trying to head me off from diving over a cliff.

So today I ruined my body raking up the sticks, sawdust and chips left by the tree people. Raking leaves is enough of a chore in my yard. Add twigs and ripping up sod and moss, well, it wasn't fun. I used some of the dirt/chips left from the stump grinding (the trees in front we had built flower beds around them) to fill in some low areas in the yard. I'm going to have to buy some grass seed this week and spread it around. I didn't get up all the leaves (I still have the side yards to do), but I gave some hope to my beleaguered lawn. I'm not looking forward to the first mowing. By mid-summer I'm going to need a new blade.

Spending the rest of the day getting in some blog catching up and adding to the word count. In the middle of chapter six. About to compromise the hacker. Our guy has found himself trapped in the hacker's computer room and will be doing some quick thinking really soon. Or at least that's the plan. He might just skewer the hacker. Never can tell with characters. The writing is a bit more fluid than when I started. Listening to all those hard-boiled detective stories must be wearing off. But then that means I need to redo the first few chapters. Oh well. Nobody said this would be easy.

Pretending like I know what all these little flashing lights mean

I've been toying with this for almost a year, but with the extra incentive, I've just sent it off to be printed. Again, sometimes I can stun myself with my design. Here, let me stun you. My business card.

Rollercoaster of something or other

This week has been up and down. I'm trying to see the path forward and have been unable to see it. This Sunday we have a Union meeting, things might be clearer after that.

I've been lobbied to beg for my job, but I haven't come up with an argument that convinces myself (if they haven't seen that it's leveled off, and the highs they're comparing to had the massive overtime in them). Until today talking with a coworker. They had a good angle that I'm going to try if I get the chance.

One of the main problems I have with arguing for my job is that I'd be screwing another coworker out of their job, and I don't think I'm that kind of guy. Okay, I'm pretty sure I'm not that guy. I don't have it bad, it could be a lot worse. But I'm not sure just how many months I can hold out. The best news I found was that I'll be eligible for the recovery plan help with COBRA premiums (we pay only 35%). We'll see.

I keep reminding myself that I need to keep positive. It appears the the economy (as relative to DJI Index and orders coming it) had hit bottom last week. Now if only it turns around fast enough. According to the news, durable goods orders have gone up, what was a parts oversupply in November has flipped, and there seems to be an actual plan that might have an actual effect on the economy in place. Here's hoping.

Reading the Entrails

So, there is some possibility of avoiding axes in the near future. A distant possibility, and I'll know more after the weekend, but I'd place the possibility higher than the 1% Doctrine. Not that I'd lay money on it.

So now I just need to get over myself and get some other things done. Like I should get new glasses. Priced just lenses today. For the bifocals to be placed in existing frames (I have some older larger ones than the German Proctologist's glass I wear daily) is $221 (includes 30% AAA discount, these would be bifocals with line). Lenses without the bifocal for the GP glasses is $161. Granted I need high-tech lenses. Glasses would require rigging to haul around and I can't wear polycarbonate lenses. They clash. Well, actually I'm a part of that minority that see rainbows with polycarbonate lenses. It's like those LSD, I mean, rainbow glasses they used to sell as novelties. You don't want that as your normal view on life. And again, any frame I really felt looked okay on me was north of the $200 mark.

Didn't do any word count these past two days. However I did UPR and actually have one sent off. Not much out there, but I'm just starting my search. Most things are either the kinds of positions I've avoided (because I like having half a brain and I don't miss the stress involved) or basic entry "start a fabulous career in the wonderful world of design, and we'll let you get a start by not paying you much" kinds of positions. Either that or they're the mix of "receptionist/designer" or "more mad internet skillz than my friends who do this for a living have / designer" jobs. If all else fails there's the Wal-Mart in Middlefield or going back to school to get my Class A driver's license.

Where we stand

As a part of the total weekend output I also started to organize the project.

Currently we stand at 12,000 words, in order, and out in phosphors. Add in about another 2000 words of things slightly out of order. With about 1600 words that had been existing that were completely rewritten. Also about 800 words of outline and cast of characters (yes, I needed one so I created one, that took some time).

We're looking at some stimie time coming up, but hopefully I'll get back in the saddle again.

That clacking noise is the car going up the roller-coaster hill

On the way home tonight I debated this post. A lot. Still not sure about it. Finally I decided that I had promised to be as open as possible (I hope you all understand that I don't share everything) and this is something that will be major. And about those things I was going to be open about I was also going to be truthful. So there.

The day thing is still experiencing issues. edited decided I should be circumspect, somewhat end A future event that might happen will be dependent on seniority and I'm low man on the totem-pole in the way of seniority. We have a union meeting this weekend to discuss (I'm all perclumped, discuss amongst yourselves) options and various situations.

Right now I'm still in a little bit of denial. I'm also in the "gritty determination" stage.

If it does happen it'll break a streak I had. Each time this has happened before there had been a Bush in the White House and we were at war with Iraq. Granted we're still at war in a Iraq and experiencing the economy a Bush left us.

Of course it has sucked the wind out of the word-count sails. Tonight's bandwidth will be used on searches.

Let us sit on the ground and tell sad tales of newspapers past

Sam Butler had a post about the demise of newspapers and print (journalism and other printed materials). And just like I am I had to comment. With his encouragement I'm going to make it a post here.

So some background. Sam was discussing this post by Clay Shirky about the death of newspapers and print journalism. Sam pulled this quote, and I think it is the main argument being made here.

"With the old economics destroyed, organizational forms perfected for industrial production have to be replaced with structures optimized for digital data. It makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing industry, because the core problem publishing solves — the incredible difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the public — has stopped being a problem."

This is the same argument about how digital books will replace printed books, the death of music (live performances are still up), the death of TVs, Movies, etc. Digital delivery of books will eventually replace most hard copy (my guess is in about 40 years although there will still be hard copy). While music is delivered differently, it isn't essentially made any differently (although the tools now exist to bypass the music publishing industry, those tools just democratized the function they didn't alter it in any real sense). The same can be said for TV and movies. Made the same basic way, just delivered differently.

Let's just say that since the early 90s I've listened to how the "internet"/"digital revolution" was going to replace print media and give us the paperless office. Since then I've seen print increase to the point that most paper mills churn out cubic miles of laser grade paper at the expense of "real" paper (copy bond just ain't it, you know) which can still be had, but for anything other than "house papers" (the paper print houses buy in bulk for when the client doesn't know how to spec paper, which leads to it's lower cost, which leads more people to select those papers... it's like why most barns are red, because that's the cheapest paint. Why? Because they sell a lot of it to paint barns) you're looking at special orders. Most highly specialized paper is no longer manufactured in the US, you have to ship it from former East Block countries or Asia (which ups the price, which furthers our drive to cheap white copy bond papers). But over all we produce more tons of paper now than we did in the late 80s. So much for the paperless office.

IMHO, if you want to see the real future of newspapers, google the term "hyperlocal." The national and international news are covered by other businesses. I don't watch local TV news anymore. Why? Because it's become a foreshadowing of the National News broadcast that I would watch in just a half an hour. If my local news is covering the fires in Australia, something is wrong. But hyperlocal requires manpower, which is expensive. So most news organizations reprint AP bulletins and rely on phone calls to cover local sports, add in syndicated columns, decrease the very thing people wanted from their paper (including my former local paper the Canton Repository decimating the obituaries page, of which the found out very quickly just how much of a bad idea that was, they changed it back - my opinion, very stupid of them, obituaries are PAID placements, normally not written by in-house staff - although some of them are - WTF were they thinking?).

So without making this a dissertation, here's my comment.

(full disclosure, I work in printing)

So, back when I was doing real design many clients kept on talking about how this "internet thing" was going to replace all catalogs/brochures/business cards (whatever). Those clients that did go all the way saw their businesses stagnate. Those that went halfway, "we'll not print next year's catalog," always ended up printing next year's catalog.

He's cherry-picking points in history and post hoc ergo prompter hocing all the way to his conclusions which explain absolutely nothing except, "The world has changed, we're all going to have to get used to it." Moveable type presses in Europe (and I'm being specific here) came at a time when lots of other movements were coming together. The Renaissance had already begun, the feudal system was collapsing with the rise of guilds, power was shifting from Spain, Germany and Italy to France, England, and Turkey. The enlightenment was a powder keg just waiting for a match, which Martin Luther provided. All of which drove and were driven by printing and the new found wealth of Africa, Asia and the New World (and here I'm limiting myself to Western/European Culture and ignoring most of the rest of the world because he also did in his post).

Newspapers are dying because of a number of factors. While the "Bagdad Bureau" was a part of it, it was only because everybody had to have one, and they did so at the expense of other reporting (like the local council meetings). People want the local news. When that "local news" reports things in Florida, New Zealand and Somalia, it's not as valuable. There are other organs that can do that. Decimating city desks in favor of "glamor" positions and AP reprints also leads to their own demise. Our local newspaper can't spare someone to cover our town's events. Guess what we did when it came time to appoint a paper of record, we went with the lowest cost, highest circulation press. Local sales have gone down, and the newspaper now focuses on communities east of us, all the while bewailing the loss of their subscriptions and revenue from our town.

Advertising dollars are way down. Everywhere. That the "internet" isn't suffering as much from the drop is because there wasn't much there to begin with (internet advertising nearly died six years ago). More money is flowing that way only because the ad execs have to be hip and sexy and the internet is hip and sexy. It's a contact high. Once the businesses start realizing that they can use old metrics to measure the "new media" they'll find out just what their money bought them.

The internet is fabulous when you know what you are looking for. It's horrible when you don't know what you don't know but need to find it. And I've heard the "old economics" arguments before. His view of what "publishing solves" is also very surface. It's like an NPR report I heard on the way home about a non-profit company providing coaches to poorer schools to structure recess for the kids. The reporter gave one of those truisms, "You may not remember it, but somebody taught you how to jump a rope, play kickball, tag, hopscotch, all the games of youth."

Today's catch of writing

Finished Chapter Four, but didn't go over it more than once. Have parts of chapter five and something that may end up as the start of Act II that was a bunch of back-story that came flooding out and I had to get rid of to think about what I was doing. So probably around 2000 words so far. I want to continue as long as I can with Chapter five before going to bed (although I am almost done with Brust's Jhegaala and want to get through that this weekend, it's calling to me form the bedroom).

So as a boon to all those who are still wondering just what the heck I'm writing. Here is a sample that just came out.

"When Mr. Hernandez asks you to work on a weekend you say, 'Yes, sir.'," she said back. "Besides, Kevin has the kids out at the zoo, so other than a sunburn I'm not missing much." She reached over and pressed the button that called the elevator and waved me passed.

"You have something against zoos?" I said as I walked passed her desk.

She sighed, "One broke my heart when I was a young girl."

The elevator's bell sounded louder in the almost empty lobby as the doors opened. "You aren't still a young girl? I'm disillusioned," I teased.

"Younger than you, maybe," she said before the doors closed.

"Ouch," I said to the closed doors and the elevators lifted my sunken esteem to the fourth floor.

Writerly Roundup

It's been a while, and this will take some time, but I'm slowly catching up with the bloggeroll. There's been lots of interesting stuff out there, and I'm probably the last one to know these things, but here we go anyway.

The wonderful Camille continues on her publishing roll. There's been so many posts with sales I just can't keep track of them all. She's on a tear through the publishing world. And she has also offered writerly days, Friday movie nights, and some other things. Unfortunately most of these are going on haitus as she works toward the grand event of a retreat in Vermont.

Fabutronic Mer Haskell is starting her agent hunt search and hitting a good stride right out of the box going from query, to partial, to full request in the space of a few days. Mer rocks, and I am so stoked that I get to read this novel before most of you will. (bwahahaha, oh, wait, I also have to critique it, in a month, along with five other novels as well as finishing up my own? Of curse you twisted fate! wanhahaha!)

Arguably evil monkey's better dressed alter ego Jeff VanderMeer, was recently turned into a stuffed marmot and the only way back to his human form is to gnaw the nut of empathy. Whoops, I mean he has to answer all of your writerly questions, yeah. So speaketh the wily witches of Penguin. So he does so here and here.

The ever spot-on and knowledgeable Justine Larbalestier makes a longer argument for "stop the whinging and just do it" to her writerly friends. This is something pro writers tell newbies all the time, and yet, in the heart of the dark night with the winds of economy raging around their sand castles, they too have doubts. Isn't that good to know as a beginning author? I think it is as I currently deal with germ of "all my writing is crap" feelings about the novel project. The end argument of the whole thing (which you should read) is "write what you love to write and do it because you love to write it." Yeah, what she said.

Fantastic fantasist Joshua Palmateir give his first person views on writing in the first person POV. Since the current novel project is First Person POV, I'll need to reread this one to distill it all. He also has some post on men writing as and about women, which I need to go back and read at some point.

There have been lots of other good posts lately (it's like you all are feeding into my procrastination need) and I've only highlighted some that made me laugh or think out loud (yeah, I do that sometimes). And I'm not even a third of the way through my bloggeroll, but I have to get back to writing. So maybe more later.

Delayed Submission

(those Kegels are working)

Last night I sent A History of Lightning off to Strange Horizons. Good luck little story.

And I just remembered, with all the funness of yesterday afternoon I completely forgot to send my thank you note to Cat Rambo. (taken care of) That's a whoops.

Just finished up things today. Didn't get much new wordage out. I can't afford many of these days. But I did work through the problem I was having. I knew that this chapter should have been a "slower" chapter, but I was trying to turn it into an "action" chapter. Plus I had forgotten that I needed to add in some things to advance the story line (and foreshadow some things at the end of Act II). Now that I have my head on straight, Gary shouldn't wander around so much in the rewrite.