The Seventeenth Letter

Yet another idea for my novel: A novel about a man writing a novel that never uses the letter Q. Why the letter Q? Because I think that I could write a great deal without ever using the letter Q. And so whenever I had trouble writing about the guy writing the novel, I could switch into an except from his novel where the only rule is no Qs. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but I sure did enjoy Michael J. Nelson's Death Rat, which is another novel about a man writing a novel, so I think this idea could work.

More novel ideas

I thought I should get a few more ideas for my novel down, so that I have more to consult when the writer's block hits. First off, I was thinking that something in a Fallout-type setting might be interesting. Fallout is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game for the PC, where you are a person who grew up in an underground shelter and leaves for the first time in order to find a part that is needed to fix the water purification system and save the lives of everyone in the shelter. The game is very open ended, allowing at least two different ways to complete the game, including one in which you can play as a pacifist without ever killing anyone.
When I thought of this, I remembered this old idea I have had for the structure of a story that might be an effective defence against the writer's block. Essentially, I would radically change the setting every so often, a la Time Bandits. It might start in the real world, and then become a fantasy in the style of Tolkien, or at least in the style of Weis and Hickman. Next, it could become a space opera or my post-apocalyptic setting. I don't know what kind of plot would lend itself to this, but my main guide for writing this thing will be No Plot, No Problem, an handbook for novel writing in a month, writ en by the founder of National Novel Writing Month. Wish me luck!

NaNoWriMo ideas

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Are you happy now, Anna?

I haven't posted in quite a while. I may have even forgotten that I have a blog. But then Anna asked me about why I haven't posted anything, so I felt that I should. Not just because she asked about it, but because I have a snazzy new computer with a snazzy high-speed internet connection, so there is really no good reason not to post. So here is a post. Hopefully, I will be better about posting in the future. Thank you.

Why can't I post more often?

I don't know why I can't get myself to post to this thing more often. When I have had plenty of time to post things, I never even think about it. It is only when there is something more important that I should be doing that I post things. Take right now, for instance. I should be using my time to shorten a paper that I have to present at an History Conference. Instead, I am frittering away my time posting to my blog. I am so pathetic. And so full of caffine that I am twitchy. Actually, that is probably why I can't focus on my paper. Heck, I can barely sit still enough to write this. Why, oh why, do you have to be two for two dollars, Snake Eyes Energy Drink? I'm higher than a something that is really really high above the ground...DAMN YOU CAFFINE! I can't even metaphor good, thanks to you. And yes, I know that I should say "metaphor well" and I also know that metaphor is not generally considered to be a verb in the first place. I also have an almost overpowering urge to say "an" every time that I am using the word "a", so that the previous sentence would have had the phrase "an verb". Clearly I should not be editing anything that other people will hear or read in this state. Time to put my clothes in the dryer.

Friday Afternoon

Well, I ended up going several days without posting. I admit I didn't even think of it for a few days. In case you are curious, the decision about Lady in the Water was an easy one. The only show times available were at 7:00 and 9:40, so I could not go because of my book club. Perhaps I should mention that we read Davita's Harp, by Chaim Potok. I ended up watching some Rurouni Kenshin that I had gotten from Netflix, and then I went to Barnes & Noble several hours before my book club was to meet and just browsed. I ended up buying The Philosophy of History, by Hegel, which is rather ponderous reading, but I have always been interested in Hegel's way of thinking, and I am trained as an Historian, so the subject matter is interesting to me as well. Also, it was a B&N Classics edition, so it was under $10.
Since then I have worked everyday, and will still be working everyday until next Friday, when I will be going to the Minnesota State Fair. It should be fun, because it is MPR day. In the meantime, I have to revise a paper that I am presenting at an History conference. It is too long, so I will need to shorten it by about a third in order to meet the submission requirements. Well, I will try not to go this long without writing again, but the fact that no one has commented is a little discouraging. Oh well.

The Day-off Problem

I have a problem-I don't know what to do with myself on my day off today. I have a book I need to finish reading before my book club meets at 7:00 tonight, but I don't think it will take more than an hour or two. The problem I have is that I cannot decide whether to stay at home and watch some of my Netflix movies that are piling up, or if I should go and see Lady in the Water, which I have been meaning to go to for some time, but haven't gotten around to it just yet. I am a huge fan of both M.Night Shyamalan and Paul Giamatti, but I have had three netflix movies all weekend and haven't had a chance to view any of them because of the Twins game. The weird thing is that I am never so indecisive about things that actually matter, but Stupid little things like this trip me up. I guess the best I can do right now is to finish the book first, and then if it is getting to hot in my un-air-conditioned apartment, I will go to the movie. If it is still bearable to be here, then I will stick with the Netflix. Man, if I make to many entries like this, I will get bored and stop. Oh, well.

Twins Win

I will probibly find the time today for a more detailed post later today, but I just wanted to share that the Twins beat the White Sox 7-3 at the game I was at.

Saturday Morning

It's Saturday morning. I am just killing time on my girlfriend's computer while she showers and shaves her legs. I don't really have much to tell right now. I have been reading the newest Superman/Batman graphic novel, Vengeance, which I have already read as individual comic books, but I thought I would also buy the graphic novel since I have the first three volumes of the series. Actually, the cover of the third issue in the Vengeance story arc was what first made me notice the series. It has Bizzaro #1 and Batzarro on the cover and the Superman/Batman logo was altered into a combination of Bizzaro and Batzarro's logos. If I can find a picture on-line I will link to it...just a second. I think this will link to an image of the cover of Superman/Batman #22 [This link doesn't work, but I don't have time to fix it right now]. It doesn't have the variation on the Superman/Batman logo, but it is still an eye catching image. I guess the downside is that Jeph Loeb now has an exclusive contract with Marvel comics, so the series may go in the wrong direction for me. I will stick with it for now, but hopefully it will not suffer too much in the hands of Mark Verheiden.
Well, it sounds like that shower is wrapping up, so I had better end this before I get any complaints. "Don't you do anything but use the Internet?"

With Girlfriend--She Pretty

I am visiting my girlfriend this weekend. She lives about 90 minutes away from me in a small town. We are going to go see the Minnesota Twins play against the White Sox on Sunday. I thought that I should post something to try to stay in the habit of posting (also, she has better Internet access than I do). However, I should wrap this up because she was already commenting that I am addicted to her Internet access.

My First Post

Today is my second attempt at beginning an on-going blog. One that I attempted about a year an a half ago petered out after a couple of weeks. I hope that I can do better this time. I have always wanted to keep a blog or journal of some kind because it is good practice for writing. Someday I hope to write a novel or book of some kind, but it is hard for me to make myself sit and type for extended periods of time. Hopefully, I will be able to get used to sitting down and writing something more often if I can start to maintain a blog. Well, this is about all the writing ambition I can muster for today. I know right now that I will probably not have time to make another entry until Monday, so if you happen to stumble on this before then and have any pointers for a beginning blogger, feel free to let me know.