Man, I'm just about caught up from last week! It's been a crazy time, with lots of commitments here and there to keep, all of which was keeping me hopping and unable to get much writing done other than the little bit I was able to do on the collab with Jay. Verrrry frustrating.

I'll spare ya the gory details. Suffice to say, I am finally ready to embark on the next chunk of novel revisions, for the middle section of the novel, leading up to the new portion, the end.

I had time today to sit down and type in the new Prologue, 2 Interludes, and Epilogue that I wrote in longhand while we were on vacation. Man, that's some tedious shit, doing that. I hated it. I'm spoiled by word processing. But the stuff I came up with was pretty fun, and should add a nice perspective to the novel.

I have to admit, I was encouraged by the use of Interludes and the like while reading Mieville's The Scar, which I WILL finish today, if it kills me. I like doing all those extra things like Prologues and Epilogues. Who cares if folks say "don't do them!"

In other news, Elizabeth and I watched "The Two Towers" last night on DVD, and I liked it much better on second viewing. So much awesome eye candy! And the battle scenes were so very kick-ass. I also enjoyed the extra bits, and I stayed up past midnight watching them all while Elizabeth hit the hay. They had stuff from "Return of the King" on there, and man, that movie could be quite awesome. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but the scene between Gandalf on Shadowfax against the Nazgul on its dragon-mount is going to be quite cool...

Hard to believe that I've "lived with" Frodo and the gang for over two decades now, inside my head. I have huge nostalgia for The Lord of the Rings, and while some folks may sniff at Tolkien's writing and all the dreck/ripoffs it has spawned, I'll always have a special place in my heart for these books about hobbits.

Ever since reading The Hobbit in 5th grade, I feel like another world of creativity has been opened up for me. A world I'm still exploring today, and one in which I feel fortunate enough to be adding to, in my own way, with my own writing. An imagination is a wonderful thing to cultivate. And it's a never-ending process. That's the beauty of it. Later...

Now Playing:
"Live," Ben Folds

Now Reading:
The Scar, China Mieville

Stories out to Publishers:
15

Today's Words:
2,000

Words for '03:
113,000

Today's Quote:
When the first cool breezes at last begin to blow across the flatlands around our walled city, I feel called by my brethren. The Elders are gathering, combining their energy and knowledge in an attempt to stop the epidemic ravaging the People, harvesting them like the crops of this black-earthed land, without allowing the proper dispersal of their precious energy and essence. The sick succumb to the violence of the wretched excesses of the Blur, or the angry eruption of the soul-sickness carried with us from our old home and what we had to leave behind. Many suffer from a combination of both.

I am old, my tentacles stunted and weak from lack of use, and my own odors have begun to fade, but I have no choice: I am to join the young and become a runaway.

For me, unlike the young who simply climb the walls or tunnel out to an uncertain location, my destination is clear. I will not be content to simply free myself from inside these walls. I am needed at the Ship. The Mother Ship.