What a day!

2/13/2011
The Good, The Bad and The Writing

The Good

So I worked at a Client's office this morning, and then came home to my wife, son and house guest.  Then it became time to show said house guest around San Antonio.  Did I mention that this house guest is one of the best friends I have ever had, and I just realized yesterday that we will have known each other for twenty years this November.  At which time I started my first job and he was my boss. Here's where I tell everyone that the best first job for anyone is working at a movie theater.  I look back VERY fondly on those three years and six days!

So anyways, I came home from working and then we all went to Lulu's cafe.  A place that I never even knew existed, but our guest had seen it on the the Food Network.  As I learned today they are known for their cinnamon rolls.  Texas-sized cinnamon rolls.  Today was the first day I have actually seen any proof about the saying that "everything is bigger in Texas" (And I have lived here now for 2 years and 13 days).
First, as we were walking to our table (after a 15 minute wait outside the diner) we saw their chicken fried steak.  Can I just say that this CFS would have fed Paul Bunyan.  My wife and friend shared it and there was enough leftovers in my fridge now that will be a full meal for someone.  I am not exaggerating!   I don't like CFS, so I didn't indulge in this gravy drowned friedness.

After the meals were consumed we ordered dessert.  ONE CINNAMON ROLL.  Not each.  Let me repeat.  ONE CINNAMON ROLL.  For the whole table.  This three pound beast was easily 12" X 8".  With more frosting than your average birthday cake.  I cut it into quarters and dished it onto the serving plates.  It hung over the edge of each of them.  None of us finished our servings.  All four of us have breakfast tomorrow!

After this we drove downtown and toured the Alamo.  The full tour took about a half hour.  Again, no one knew how to find the basement.  One of these days!  Then up and down the Riverwalk.  We even took a River tour.  Which was my first time.  I thought I had been on one before, but I don't recall ever hearing any of the info that was given to us today.

All in all it was a good day!  Got my friend signed up on Facebook - FINALLY!

The Bad

no

The Writing

I got nuttin.








Stay scared my friends,
My Little Demon
myltldmn@gmail.com

Taxes, Writing Platforms and Writing Critique Groups

2/9/2011
The Good, The Bad and The Writing

I am completely abandoning the format of my blog for tonight.  I have a couple things I need to write about and I am curious if anyone is even reading this.  I see that only SEVEN people read my last post.  SEVEN.  That will not do!  I need to be more interesting.  I am going to reinvent this blog completely.  How?  Who the fuck knows!?!?!?!  Not me.  But I need to do it.  I need a traffic of about 1000 people a day to hit my page.  I'll get to why later.

First of all:  My taxes are DONE!!!!!!!!  February 9th is a new record for me.  I've been filing my taxes since 1992, and this year is the earliest I have ever gotten them submitted.  Ok that was a bit anticlimactic for anyone reading this, but I am pretty fucking jazzed about it!  I consider myself a professional procrastinator and I got my W-2 TODAY!  I don't know what the hell is wrong with me!

Ok, onto topic #2: Writing platforms!  I read this article last night and it scared the fuck out of me: http://www.andrewjackwriting.com/2011/02/what-the-word-platform-means-for-writers/.  Basically the article boils down to the simple rule of business: in order to get published you need to prove to the publisher that you have an audience.  How do you prove that?  Well, you have to have a platform.  I am pretty new to this whole writing thing.  Or at least trying to get published.  So WTF!? is a platform?  Let's use a metaphor shall we?  I know my wife isn't tired of me using those.  NOT!

Let's look at the word: PLATFORM!  What does that make you think of?  The initial image in my head is a gallows, but let's remove the sick fuckery that is in my head and move on to the second thing that comes to mind.  Which in this case is actually the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  Funny how my fucked up mind works isn't it?  I picture two presidential candidates standing on pedestals trying to convince a group of onlookers why they would be the better choice to represent them in the White House.  That analogy works better for the purposes of this one sided discussion.  These two candidates had a platform to stand on to reach a group of people.  Each town they stopped in gave them a platform to stand on in order for them to be heard.  The people that heard them, then got to decide which candidate was right for them.  A platform for a writer is similar.  Not quite as glamorous, but similar.  We need a group of individuals that are going to be predisposed to buy whatever slop we may be putting into print.  Or at least a group of people that are willing to listen to us pitch whatever it is we have to offer.  I can't say it any better than the article that I have linked to (mainly because I am drunk, tired and generally lack the motivation to try tonight when someone else has done a great job).  So, after you read the article (and come back to read my ramblings), leave me some feedback.  what do you think would be a good way to create a platform.  What type of blog would you like to read on a daily basis.  Or would you rather it be not that frequently?  I don't know.  I started this blog for mainly therapuetic purposes, and it has been mainly that since October.  Well, it is time to start playing like a grown-up.  I gotta play the publishers game until I prove to them that I am a great writer (sober at least).

And last but not least, I would like to know if there is anyone out there that would like to start a Horror Writers Critique Group with me.  I need semi-anonymous people to help me edit my work, until I have made the next couple steps into the realm of becoming a professional writer.  If anyone is interested, please send me an email.


Stay scared my friends,
My Little Demon
myltldmn@gmail.com

No Super Bowl for Me, It's Writing Time

2/6/2011
The Good, The Bad and The Writing

The Good

I don't know how to narrow this down to any particular thing today!  There is just a general good feeling in my being today.  I am happy with my day.  It was a pretty lazy day.  Aside from my Client no showing this morning.  But that's ok.  I got to return home and go back to bed for a few more hours.  I am well rested.  I am feeling close to the wifey.  I am writing now.  What more could a guy ask for?
Every day we get closer to closing on the house.  Then I will be a home owner again.  Yay!  This will be my wife's first home and my first in about seven years, since the divorce.  I have a self imposed deadline for my writing.  And a hard and fast goal to go along with it.  I need to get the second draft finished this month.  I am behind, but I am confident that I can catch up.  The plan for after the second is complete is to have someone else read it and rip it to shreds.  Then I recover my ego and rewrite it one more time before mid April.  I will then have something tangible to take to the World Horror Convention in Austin the last weekend in April.  There I will hopefully find an agent to sit with and try to begin the process of getting Just Another Zombie Love Story into print for the world to read.
Right now the rest of America is gearing up to watch the Super Bowl.  I am gearing up to tackle my rough draft.  I am sitting in the Starbucks inside the Barnes & Noble at La Cantera.  I seem to do my most productive writing here.  So I am going to breeze through this post and get down to the business at hand.

The Bad

I'm in a happy place right now and nothing is really bothering me that much at the moment.

The Writing

This is being reserved for JAZLS rewrite.  I'll work on some other story ideas here soon, I promise.


Stay scared my friends,

My Little Demon
myltldmn@gmail.com

367

Brrrr

2/2/2011
The Good, The Bad and The Writing

I'm calling tonight's blog on account of cold.   I love it.  It's 23 degrees outside.  I just stepped outside to feel it and I LOVE IT!  Snow flurries possible tomorrow.  Let's see if the weather channel or NOAA or the local weather guys are right?  The local weather guys want us to believe we might get 1-2 inches of accumulation tomorrow.  NOAA says chance of flurries.  Weather channel says only 10-20% chance.  I am not going to get my hopes up.


Stay scared my friends,

My Little Demon
myltldmn@gmail.com