Progress! (after a fashion)

I think my book has turned something of a corner.  Last night, as I started writing, I was having trouble getting going, couldn't focus, didn't know where to take the plot. That might have had something to do with the fact that I was trying to write in the living room while the family was watching Kung Fu Panda.  Maybe.

I took myself back into the office, put on some music, and got to work.

And things started to flow.  I thought I was going to have a hard time finishing my 1700 words.  I got down over 3000.  I'm looking forward to sitting down with it tonight and moving the plot further forward.  I have no idea what obstacles are about to come down.  There have been a few things that surprised me already. 

The weird thing - the music I put on? Hymns. Not typically the kind of music you write a sci-fi/fantasy Hong Kong Kung-Fu action epic to, eh? 

So, current word count is at 17640.  And it is still published here.

Congratulations, Mr. President-Elect

It's a historic night.  To those who supported Barack Obama for President, I offer my sincere congratulations.  I don't think many people would have predicted this a year ago.  It was a well-run campaign, and your man won.  I'll raise a can of Cherry Coke Zero to his health tomorrow. 

To those who may be disappointed or dismayed at this outcome, realize two things. First, no matter how you slice it, you have to admit it's a pretty impressive thing. And we can be proud of a country where we've come so far past slavery and segregation that we can elect this man to the highest office in the land.

Second, Conservatives have to walk their talk.  We talk a great game, but when a purported conservative introduces such things as prescription drug benefits and willy-nilly bailout packages, all the talk in the world can't justify those kinds of actions as truly conservative, but our opposition will hang it around our necks like a noose. We must actually be the kind of people we claim to be. Government, I believe, is best when it is out of the way.  All I ask is roads and national defense.

For the next four years, we've got to find better candidates.  Maybe some of those regular, Joe-Sixpack kind of people will get motivated, get educated, and get into a race themselves.  We've got to get behind good, sharp people, and make our case.

Tomorrow, I celebrate what an impressive country we have.

And then... well, though I realize this little corner of the internet gets little attention from pretty much anyone... I suppose I'll try my best to articulate what I think is right, improve my game as best I can, and make my case.
God Bless America!

NaNoWriMo cruises right along

Four days in, 7367 words.  I'm not removing anything, but I've marked some things for later excision.  Also, I've gone back and added some more language early on.  I've got to admit - at this point my main character doesn't seem very compelling.  I'm not exactly sure what to do about that.  I've got to make sure he's got interesting flaws, but that he's also sympathetic.

Anyway, as always, it's posted. I'd love to get feedback, but let's give it to the fifteenth. 

Taking a Twitter-cation

I'll be off Twitter for at least the next week.

If anyone needs me, a DM will send me an e-mail, as well as a text to my cell phone.

Also, you can hit me via Skype. My profile name is zricks.

Rockin' and Rollin' on the NaNoWriMo so far...

Two days in, and I'm over 4,000 words. I still don't have a title, I'm hoping it comes together.  I'm pretty happy with it so far. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's definitely a first draft, and will need some significant re-writing, but at least it's getting down.  So... if anyone wants to follow along, I'm posting it as a google doc, and it's available here.