Camp NaNo July 2021 Results

Short take: I couldn't finish the project again.

Long take: Every time I tried to sit myself down to write, I couldn't do it. I felt no inspiration, no spark, could not find the words to commit to the story even though I *know* where I want that story - and several others I've left in limbo - to go.

I even took a few days off from work to see about getting a lot of the rough first draft done. Barely got a chapter out of it, and I'm not impressed with what I made.

I've been looking at myself in the mirror a lot lately, coming to terms with a few things, and at the top of the list is the realization that my depressive moods have returned. The pandemic anxiety, general loss of contact with friends in real life, and other unhappy truths about my lack of a social life seem to have left me drained.

So I am going back to the psychiatrists/psychologists to see what I can do to get myself out of this funk (again).

Just in case, if anybody's got a link to a Muse of inspiration, let me know what the arcane rituals are to summon one.

Alas.

 

Updating My Wittylibrarian Art

Still working on getting this definition / logo updated for self-merch and stuff.

So now I need to add this to a coffee mug somewhere... brb.

Update 7/25/21: Okay, got the coffee mug made at VistaPrint, and it got shipped in solid condition, which was way better than CafePress' delivery.

Gonna show this off at work, krewe!!!

I think I got some neat giveaway items for the next comic-con I'll be attending...

Starting To Get a Little Worried About Them Submissions...

Usually by this time I'd be hearing from the Royal Palm Literary Award judges if my submissions passed the Semifinalist status. I put in five items - four blog articles and one short story - so the odds should favor at least ONE of those submissions reaching this stage. 

They've at least emailed back with a "sorry, your submission couldn't qualify" the few times I didn't reach that stage, so I'm still clinging to the hope that the judges this year were probably overwhelmed by local writers catching up during the pandemic stay-at-home months with their works.

Still... I'd like to know if my Murder Hornet story is wowing the critics...

Camp NaNo July 2021

One more summer of Camp NaNoWriMo to see if I can keep to my personal goal of finishing an honest-to-God novel.

No more self-doubt. No more delays, no more distractions. Who cares if I succumbed to nostalgia and got an Atari VCS this month? I will not play with it until I get the damn novel done.

I have the basics of it, I've got the beginning and the middle and the end. I need to fill the gaps, give my main characters better motivation, describe some of the fight scenes a little better and GET ER DONE.

I will update here when I can on my status.

Good luck, writers!

How I Write: Interview by Writers 4 All Seasons

In honor of getting "War of the Murder Hornets" published in volume 8 of Strangely Funny, my local critique group Writers 4 All Seasons offered to interview me about my process. Here's the clip:

 

Excerpt:

4. Who are some of your favorite short story writers, living or deceased?

I loved reading Ray Bradbury when I was in my pre-teens. I've found compared to some of the other short story writers that I enjoy Bradbury's character developments. He had an economy of style, as though he used exactly the right words to describe scenery and people. He had a rather vivid and also macabre imagination: Bradbury may have been classed as a fantasy/science fiction author but a lot of his short stories were darker and more horrific than anything Stephen King produced...

I also wanted to meet Bradbury to tell him about how when I was younger I was in a middle school story contest where the Second Place winner had plagiarized one of his stories, so I wanted to let him know he only got Second Place among eighth graders, alas... ;-)

Keep writing, people, and PLEASE buy Strangely Funny VIII now available in Print and Kindle eBook!

Just Released: Strangely Funny VIII Available in Print and Kindle!

Ahhh yeah, volume VIII is officially released!

You can purchase a print copy or you can purchase the eBook Kindle version!

MANY THANKS to the editors Sarah and Gwen for choosing a line from my "War of the Murder Hornets" story as the quote blurb to help sell the anthology! 

"Just want to let you know, so far we’ve got two of the drafted volunteers reporting sick to the base doctor with severe cases of Aw Hell Naw."

-- Paul Wartenberg, "War of the Murder Hornets"

Squeeeee!!!

PLEASE do get a copy, the stories from this series are worth the read, and PLEASE leave a good review for us, I do hope you enjoy our twisted tales.

If I'm Going To Podcast, I'm Going To Need to Learn

A project in the planning at my workplace, still hush-hush, requires knowing how things like podcasts get made.

So if I gotta learn about podcasts, then I gotta listen to podcasts.

So I'm out here looking at a few worth following, and one of the earliest ones I've spotted is this Drunk Librarians, who seem to do book discussions while... um... encouraged by the finest libations a librarian can liberate from a winery.

(I have known many a librarian appreciate a fine wine or twelve. Just not me, I never developed a smell for wine, apologies)

Anyway, I'll be checking that one out, and I'll mention other podcasts of interest when I find them.

When I start up a podcast to see how I'm faring, I'll share the link here.