Balticon--I'll be in the bar.

First off, I'm heading to Balticon this weekend where . . . they did not feel I was famous enough to put on programming. *sigh* Or something anyway, because I'm not on the programming. I did check and verify that I did send in my completely filled-out questionnaire, but alas. But in any case, if you're going to Balticon and would like to say hi, you'll most likely find me at the bar. I'll be the one passed out wearing green glasses. And since pbray will be there, I'll probably have shaving cream sprayed on my face with a cherry sitting on top.

In other news, I was in such an emotionally crappy mood yesterday that I didn't do any writing. I sat at the computer for hours, but ended up playing Ticket To Ride Online. I'm happy to report that I kicked ass, winning almost every game I played, usually a significant number of points ahead of the other players. That improved my mood somewhat, but not enough to switch to writing. I did get some writerly things done though (guilt does set in eventually). I updated some things here and there, but nothing significant. Did some collection of material I need to take with me to Balticon, printed out more promo stuff, etc. You know. The usual.

Then I discovered that my brand new car comes with . . . luggage. I got a package from Chrysler yesterday and it contained 3 very nice pieces of luggage that are designed specifially for the Crossfire, meaning they have Chrysler logos all over them. But they ARE really nice. So I may try to use them for the trip to Balticon. A test run, you see.

And lastly, even though I didn't write yesterday, I did get some writing done today. I'm not sure how good it is (at one point my characters are talking about stockings, so . . .) but it felt good. I ended it on a good mid-action sentence, so should be able to pick things up quickly tomorrow and finish off the chapter. Varis, Varis, Varis . . . Why do you keep coming back to me? I torture you so.

4,275 / 100,000 (4.3%)

The Vacant Throne

Writer's Block (It's not what you think)

So this afternoon I was invited by Rachel Faulks to talk to a group of high school writers who call themselves the Writer's Block. I had alot of fun, talking about how I write, how I got published, the process of getting published. They also asked alot of good questions, alot of fun questions, and in general I had a good time.

They did ask how I handled writer's block . . . and I told them you just have to keep writing. Either keep pounding on the wall on the story you're currently working on, or switch to a new story, whatever is currently on fire in your head. And if nothing is on fire in your head, write whatever comes when you sit down at the computer or typewriter or whatever.

I think the group had alot of fun as well. I'm hoping they ask me back next year. It was obvious some of them had read the book and enjoyed the characters and were looking forward to book 2. It's nice to get some fan feedback (one of them asked how I felt about fan fiction . . . a question I've never had before and that caught me off guard), ACTUAL fan feedback, as opposed to fan reviews or critic reviews, etc.

Yes, I admit it, I bathed in the fandom.

Ok, that just sounded too weird. I'm stopping now, before it gets even weirder.