Why yes, I really should be working instead of blogging

Found while nosing around over on Grizz's blog:

Otherland MMO? Being a huge fan of Tad Williams' I can only say... Yeah, I'd probably give that a spin. As the reviewer points out, it's way too early to determine if anything will really come of this. But the concept is cool.

No word count updates yesterday, but I have been working. I have printed out what I have written for acts I & II and have been busily scribbling in the margins and on looseleaf paper to fill out missing threads and scenes. Two things will come of this: I will have lovely scribbly pages to bring to the desk and make the first two acts much better, and I will have a better idea about how the last act comes together. (I think I answered some of the most puzzling aspects of that Most Important Question, "And uh... how does this all work out at the end, again?")

So, progress, even if the progress wears red ink at the moment. And it's funny, I used to loathe red pen marks on my papers--it screamed at me about something I'd done wrong. I just this second realized that I no longer hate it. Now it's more like... jumping and yelling and showing me places I can make my story even better.

Yeah, I agree. I probably need to be more awake before I write blog entries.

In other news, "Wings" has visited F&SF and sent back another classic "Alas" note for my files. I have never been rejected more politely than I get rejected by these guys. I regrouped and sent the story to Strange Horizons last night.

Even dog posts need titles

"Wings" has been tweaked, polished, printed in final contest-ready format, and tucked neatly into a 9"x12" with its companion SASE. Monday morning it will travel to the post office and then out into the great unknown. I'd had the task on my schedule for Monday-Tuesday, but I was able to accomplish the marvel of actual writing productivity over the weekend because the kids were seriously burned out after the sleepover. Joey took a two-hour nap and has nodded off on the couch again as we speak. This left only the husbandly distraction, and he ran a couple of errands and tinkered around in the garage for just long enough to get a final proofread done. After that, it was just a matter of formatting and printing everything. That part can be done while answering random questions every few minutes, thankfully, since that's how it happened. I celebrated with a fudgesicle (sugar-free), which made the dog very happy since she gets to lick the last layer of chocolate off the stick.

"The dog" does have a name, which is Avie. It's pronounced with a long "a" and a long "e" and was inherited from her former owner--we got her from a shelter when she was two. Sometimes, however, under circumstances you can likely imagine, her name becomes "Dogbutt." ("Get your dog butt OFF the table, please!) She doesn't seem to mind.