Okay, so with a couple tweaks to my new story-in-progress today over lunch, I've hit the 100,000-word mark for 2003!

Not bad, considering it took me until September last year to get that many words banged out, and at this time last year I was at about 66,000 words or so. So if you use output as a measuring stick, I'm doing all right. Of course, I'm not sure how much of those words are actually worth a crap, though I have sold a couple stories already that I've written just this year.

It's been an interesting mix of stories and novel work that's gotten me to this point in the year -- I've written or co-written six stories so far, collaborated on a screenplay version of one of my stories, and done some major work on two novels. I hope to do about five more stories and revise two novels before the year is up, plus write the entire first draft of the YA SF novel idea I've got percolating, and with that I should easily hit 200,000 words for '03. That's a lot of time sitting on my ass in front of the computer.

I did a lot of that yesterday, writing, that is. Add a whole new scene to an earlier chapter of the Wannoshay novel, revised the next chapter, and now I'm ready to dive into reworking the middle section of the novel, which -- I hope -- won't be as time-consuming as the first section was. And then there's that new ending that needs writing...

I'm having a lot of fun with the new story. I trashed my old idea for the medusa story, so that idea is freely available -- a fighter who has poor vision battles a medusa, and while medusa turns the fighter's comrades to stone, the fighter herself can't see well enough to be petrified, but she does end up with partial petrification, making her to be essentially immortal, and she goes out over the course of many centuries to save her "stoned" friends. Yeah, it sounds goofy, I know. I've got a file full of stalled story ideas like that. I could easily make an entire journal entry out of them!

And speaking of journal entries, it seems like I'm not alone in feeling a sort of apathy about journaling lately. Especially this past week, I've felt like the only interesting things I've done worth journaling about is write fiction, but that I'm sure gets dull to read (unless maybe if you're a writer).

Here's some non-writing content: We went to see "Chicago" on Wednesday (part of our new plan to make Wednesdays more fun, to help get through the week -- Wednesday is now Movie Night) and I liked it much more than I'd planned. I think "Moulin Rouge" helped prep me for this one. I liked the way the story was told, and the humor in it, more than I'd planned on liking. I'm not a Renee Z fan, and I thought Catherine Z-J really outshone lil' Renee.

That's about all the excitement in my week, other than Day Job stuff, which is definitely not exciting journal material. Maybe summers are just good times to get caught up on relaxing and not journaling about every second of life. Or maybe I'm just dull. That is quite possible. ;)

Later!

Now Playing:
"The Essential Clash," The Clash (can't stop playing it, actually)

Now Reading:
Years Best Science Fiction, 20th edition, ed. by Gardner Dozois

Stories out to Publishers:
15

Today's Words:
500, plus 3,000 yesterday

Words for '03:
100,100!

Today's Quote:
“Okay... So there were no traps.” Andy disappeared behind his DM screen, and Mark could hear the mad flipping of pages. Andy wrote all his campaigns himself, unable to lower himself to actually buy an already-written module at the Dubuque Waldenbooks.

“But,” Andy continued with a sudden burst of drama the made his voice crack, stopping Lucas before he could reach a skinny arm toward the volume lever on the old radio, “you have awakened something.”

“Oh shit,” Mark said, a wide grin crossing his round face. “Here we go!”

The two Chrises grabbed for their character sheets and dice, sending half-painted pewter figurines in the middle of the table flying. Andy ignored the chaos and waited until all movement stopped, and even Lucas’ Men at Work cassette cooperated, at the end of Side One. Andy inhaled.