Well, I broke down and joined the Twitter sensation. I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it, but so far I’ve found it to be fascinating. I’m not the kind of person who likes to give constant updates, and I’m not sure anyone cares if I went to the bathroom, or what I had for lunch.  And, I don’t really care if what other people eat or when they need to take care of bodily functions…  At least I have the option to stop following people who insist on reporting everything they are feeling, doing, or thinking about doing. I can see how there’d be a lot of TMI on something like Twitter.  Having said that though….

I see many uses for Twitter. I’ve focused my following on mainly literary agents, authors and publishers. I feel it keeps me in the loop, makes me feel like I’m part of the industry–even though I’m still an unknown and outsider. Seeing the updates keeps me focused and is a constant reminder that I’m involved in writing, that I am writer.

Along with Twitter, I obviously have my website and blog to keep people informed. If I ever manage to attract a following other than my fiance’ and the furry feline congregation at home, they will come in handy. So Twitter will be for announcements and other nonsense, and the website and blog will be for much larger ideas and updates. I like the setup, it makes sense to me now, and I’m somewhat annoyed at myself for not joining Twitter earlier. Oh well.

On another note, this weekend I’ll be heading up to North Jersey to spend time with family and friends. I’m looking forward to spending Saturday evening eating, drinking, and talking with my old high school buddies.  One of which, is also a writer, but much further along in the process than me.  His blog can be checked out here:  Traveler’s Tales. I’m looking forward to seeing him and discussing writing and what’s been going on the past eight years or so since I last saw him.

And one last thing:  I’ve completed the edits on the short story which now has a name: Shadowsphere. I’ll be submitting it soon and hoping for the best!  In a very general sense, Shadowsphere is a story of loss, loss of faith, and the restoration of faith in a science fiction setting.

Until next time–happy writing and happy living!

Alistair

It’s been a while since I last posted, but quite a few things have been happening!  First off, before I went on vacation to Novia Scotia, I finished the first draft of the fantasy novel and a first draft of a science fiction short story.

The short story I intend to enter into the Writers of the Future contest.  It’s actually the first short story I’ve ever written.  I wasn’t sure if I’d like to write short stories, but I have to say, it was quite enjoyable.  So, I’m polishing that story in order to submit it by the end of August. I intend to keep writing short stories while in revision mode on the fantasy novel.  I may just end up with a short story that begs to be turned into a novel.

Vacation was great. That trip to Nova Scotia was the first time I’d been to a foreign country since 1988 I think.  Quite a long drought huh?  Canada was a lot of fun, and during the course of the trip I got engaged to the most wonderful, intelligent, caring, and beautiful woman.  I was very lucky she said yes.  :)

It was hell coming back from Canada though…I had to be back in Virginia for the movers the morning after we got back, but the flight was delayed.  It was beginning to feel a lot like the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles for a while.  In the end I made it home, but only had a few hours to sleep before the movers showed up.  But it all worked out.  I am now in an even better townhouse, in a better neighborhood.  My fiance’ (what a wonderful thing to be able to write) will be joining me Virginia in early October.  So for now I continue to be looked after by my two furry little friends Juniper and Woobie.

Anyhow, it’s great to be back, and there will be more updates soon!

Alistair

Last week began with the shocking news that I’d have to vacate the place I am renting.  A day or two of being down was followed by a busy weekend of looking for a new place to hang my hat until I move from the DC for much greener pastures. 

I found a nice place, close to where I live now, but overall I believe this is a nicer neighborhood. 

Despite the problems of last week I still managed to get some quality writing done on the book.  I finished a pivotal chapter that fought me every step of the way.  That chapter needed to be written and forced me to do some difficult things to my characters. 

That brings us to this week.

Monday night:  I’m happily BIC HOK TAM (butt-in-chair hands-on-keyboard typing-away-madly) for those not in the know, when at 11pm, I hear voices that sound as if they are right outside my townhouse.  Some neighbors that are close by have been known to throw some parties while hanging out in their driveway, but on Monday night, the racket was coming from a different place.

I decided to go to bed around 12am, but I hardly ever get to bed before then and I usually read before I go to sleep.  The noise level from these buffoons made it impossible for me to concentrate on the book I was reading.  I looked outside, and it definitely was not coming from my neighborhood; the apocolypse was coming from a different neighborhood!

Around 12:30am the police must have shown up, because it got very quiet all of the sudden, and I thought I’d have a respite.  Wrong.  About ten minutes later it started up again, and it sounded as if I was in the middle of some ritualistic sacrifice to Kong, punctuated by a scream—then a few seconds later, there was more yelling and hollering. 

I turned on the air conditioning and the TV for some homegrown noise (its funny isn’t it that if I’m responsible for the noise I can sleep through it), and I think I finally fell asleep around 3:30 am.  The alarm went off immediately, or so it seemed, and I was up at 5:55am.  I’m shocked I was able to make it through the whole day at work and then got some writing done once I got home! 

Tuesday:  I settle in for a night of writing and what do you know, right at 11pm the party starts up again.  This time I figure out where the noise is coming from.  Through the woods in the adjoining neighborhood, I see a bunch of people out on a deck yelling and screaming.  This wasn’t next door, the other neighborhood is separated by a lot of trees, and this house was probably about an 1/8 of a mile away from my townhouse.

I hop in my car and drive to the road this house sits on so I can get the address.  As I’m driving by, I can hear the savages (my windows were up).   I call the police and explain to the dispatcher the situation and how this is night #2 and they are just getting started and will probably go until 2am.  They send an officer, and at about midnight I see a light go out and the noise ceased.   Ahhhh.  It was still not a great night of sleep, but better than the previous night.

Wednesday night:  I go to bed early since I’m so exhausted from the other nights, and there was no party!  It felt so good to fall asleep, but when I woke up my neck would not bend to the right.  It hurts so bad right now.  I wish I knew why and how I could sleep in such a way that causes so much pain during my waking hours.  Damn!

Luckily, my day job didn’t have too many stressful or taxing moments this past week.  I will be getting out a little early today and do not have to go to work tomorrow!  I am planning on getting a nice jog in after work and then I’m going to settle in and write, write, write! 

Tomorrow I’ll be heading up to Pennsylvania to spend the 4th of July weekend with my girlfriend, so the writing time will be limited until Sunday evening.  It’ll be great to chill out and be with her though.  She’s been reading the chapters as I’ve been writing them providing me with advice, insight and all sorts of helpful suggestions. 

So….Thank goodness it’s thursday!

Alistair

This has been a tough week for me.  My writing suffered this week.  I may have produced a fair amount of pages, but it didn’t feel particularly inspired.  To put it bluntly, I think it was because I was busy, then got news that threw me into a funk. 

I was told I have to vacate where I’m living, since the owner wants to move back into the residence.  My lease is up July 31st, but there was never an indication that this would happen.  In fact, I was led to believe I’d be able to stay there as long as I needed.  If I had known I could only stay there a year I would never have chosen this place.  Oh well.

So, I was down about that for a couple of days, and it still affects me.  A new place doesn’t bother me, it’s all the $ and planning and work that really makes me anxious.  I didn’t think I’d be dealing with this, so it’s a total shock to me.

Well, my writing suffered for it this week.  I may have put out 2 to 3 pages a day this week.  I’d feel much better if I were able to do anywhere from 6 to 10 pages a day.  I guess those weeks will happen when things just fall apart.

It’s hard trying to juggle a day job, working out, writing, and normal everyday responsibilities.  Throw in a curve ball like having to move and a little depression and it’s easy to lose motivation to write.  Maybe for some people those stressors would help them pump out some fine writing.  Not for me.  Creativity leaves me as if I were a sieve. 

Maybe I can make up for all of it this weekend and get a lot of writing done (of course I’ll be house hunting on Saturday). 

Alistair

My vision for this online journal is to document all the joys, trials, frustration, and rewards of writing and just being alive!  I may write of other things from time to time that reflect my interests, but the focus will definitely be on writing.  :)

Alistair