Freelance work is inherently cyclical. Colleagues in corporate jobs often ask if the cycles make me crazy. The answer is no, but that answer has come with time and experience. Rather than fight the cycles and worry about when they will start or end, I’ve learned to relax and ride it out.
January is a mad [...]
Clarifying Complex Ideas
Tag Archive: writing
All or Nothing
A Science Geek In a Liberal Arts World (Or is it the other way around?)
In spite of my natural inclinations toward science, math and all things that public school kids deem to be geeky, I somehow ended up as a professional writer and editor. It was as much of a shock to me as it was to anyone. I went to college thinking that I’d be a [...]
The Pen That I Love
I’ve seen lots of ads for the Uni-Ball 207 pen, all focused on prevention of check fraud. What they never seem to mention is that these pens are really great to write with. The ink flows nicely without smearing, and the specialty colors are vibrant and fun.
The orange pen, in particular, is fantastic. It’s as [...]
Another 40: Days 22-32
Yes, I’ve been terrible about following through on the documentation of this 40-day challenge. Since we last spoke, I went on vacation. For anyone who wonders if they should skip the hoopla of the holidays and head for the tropics, my answer is an unequivocal yes.
In the course of a week, I read a 500-page [...]
Giving 128%
I crossed the NaNoWriMo finish line with flying colors — 128% of quota — and yet the win has never been less satisfying. I ended with approximately 528 words of quality fiction, but I certainly didn’t end with anything close to what you might call a novel.
As I think about it, the 528 words might [...]
Managing Growth
This year, something extraordinary and quite unexpected happened to me, something that all conventional wisdom said was impossible: My 2009 earnings will equal 2008.
The recession came with all sorts of dire predictions about failure, how businesses like mine wouldn’t be able to survive this downturn. I’ll admit that even I had my doubts. Four clients [...]
Blowing Past the Halfway Point
I have amazing time management skills when I’m crazy busy. Only 20 minutes between the completion of this revision and my next conference call? Fill the gap with NaNoWriMo! Using this method of zero down time, I’ve plowed ahead with random fictional passages, jumping across that mythical halfway point and ending up at 67% by [...]
36.9% and Stalling
So here’s the thing: if your plot abandons you, it’s really hard to do NaNoWriMo. Oh sure, I could write 30 different short stories of 1,667 words each, but it’s hard. Really hard. Even lengthy and detailed characterizations — like the one about the woman who scoops the foam out of her cappuccino and feeds [...]
34% of What?
I’ve reached 17,011 words and I think, to be fair, I should stop calling it a novel. This is little more than a random effort of disjointed fiction. And while my feelings about it may change down the road, I think I’m ok with that.
Even without a coherent plot and discernible character arcs, it’s still [...]
Progress Meter: 23.7%
Somehow, 11,880 words doesn’t sound nearly as impressive as 23.7%. Don’t ask me why.
This is, without a doubt, the most disjointed excuse for a novel that I’ve ever written. There are flashbacks. There are parallels to current events. There’s a guest appearance by Anderson Cooper. (Anderson, I apologize for dragging you into this.) And the [...]
