May 31, 2005
I'm not overwhelmed, nor am I underwhelmed, so I guess I'm just plain whelmed. I don't think "whelmed" will ever replace "busy," especially in my vocabulary. Today I'm trying to actually finish some things--unsuccessfully, I might add. I've got all the interviews in place to write three, maybe four articles, and I need to just apply ass to chair and get them done, but "busy work" gets in the way--things like running to the credit union, transcribing an interview, answering e-mail,(ahem, blogging).

Here's a little version of Writer's Hell. Being contacted by an editor to do a technical article on a subject you know nothing about with a tight deadline just before a holiday, then after the holiday you discover that the editor no longer works for that publication, but has passed you on to another editor, and you ask about the slant on the topic and they say, "Give me some ideas by Thursday and we'll discuss them." Meanwhile, the deadline gets tighter and tighter... Yeah, but they pay 85 cents a word and these are not short articles, so you deal with it.

I've got a promo gig tomorrow night--damn, I just realized it's Tuesday and I've got karate tonight--and I've got some prepping to do for that, and...

What the hell am I blogging for? I've got work to do.

Best,
Mark Terry