Vampire ballet and an unfinished story

I just got back from seeing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company performing Dracula. It was based on the original Bram Stoker novel.
The dancing was wonderful and they told the story very well. I had already read the book so I knew the story but they gave sufficient back ground information in the program, a narrator started the show by telling you what was going on and after intermission they did a hilarious quick dance that was the whole story but told in a very funny way. So if you didn't know the story already it was okay. The lighting and stage settings looked so creepy. I just loved it. It was a one time performance in Lansing but if you ever get the chance, check it out.

There were a few young guys that were probably sci-fi/fantasy geeks (not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm one of them). However, they complained about how it wasn't just like the book. It's a ballet, how can it be exactly like the book? And please stop complaining about the costumes. If you go to a ballet and expect guys not to be in tights that's your fault. They so reminded me of being at a first showing of a comic book movie.

Anyway, I know this seems more like an entry that I would put in my live journal because it really has nothing to do with writing. I wanted to keep my AIDS Walk entry up on my live journal (see previous blog entry) and I can actually tie my ballet story in with writing.

I haven't really written any short stories in a long time because I've been focused on writing Behind the Naugahyde and I've been a little obsessed with sending out submissions of my previous short stories. In fact I haven't written any new short stories since my last creative writing class. I actually have a half finished story from my last writing class. What's it about you ask? Vampires.
It's actually a story I had an idea for about the time I started blogging. I came up with it in hopes of getting a job writing a vampire comic. When that didn't turn out I kind of left it until I needed a story for class. Then I had a rough time with my last writing class, for a lot of different reasons, and I never ended up finishing that story.
Now that I've seen Dracula and realized that I haven't written any short stories in a while,
I guess I will set a goal of finishing it.

One Step Toward A Solution

A quick but very important non-writing blog post:

On Sunday, October 1, I will be walking in AIDS Walk Michigan. The money raised goes to HIV/AIDS prevention, education and services.

If anyone would like to sponsor me by making a donation you can send a check payable to Lansing Are AIDS Network. (Please comment or e-mail for address). I know it's a lot of hassle to mail a check so if you would still like to help, LAAN accepts credit card donations on their website. Or you can also join me in the walk. Feel free to leave me a comment or send an e-mail if you have any questions regarding donations or joining the walk.

This cause is very important to me and I appreciate the support. I realize not every one has money to donate.

Please get tested, stay informed and pass on the message.

Thank you.

www.laanonline.org
www.aids.org
www.aegis.org

Is changing good?

In an earlier post I mentioned getting a rejection notice with critiques and the opportunity to resubmit. After re-reading the letter I started to think there was a slight chance that this wasn't something they did for everybody. That's when I decided I should get my butt in gear.
Once I read through the critiques and then back through my story, I became a little frustrated.
A lot of the suggestions were good and I immediately realized that they were valid points. I struggled with how to fix them but I think in the end I did okay.
There were a few things that I didn't understand. One of the things that I think makes the story truly unique is one of the things that they seemed to not like. I was really worried about what to do.
I didn't want to change it and not because I refuse to be wrong. The other suggestion were great suggestions and I went a long with them happily. I know that I'm not a great writer and even if I was, nothing is going to be flawless. Writing can always be improved on is some way. I know this.
My reason for not wanting to change it is that I really wanted the story to be funny and unusual. I think the character's ridiculous thoughts make the story unique but the critique mentioned focusing on a different train of thought.
I wanted to explain why I didn't change it in my cover letter but I also didn't want to seem defensive.
Getting published would be wonderful but I can't talk myself into changing what I love best about a story just to see it in print.
Who knows? Maybe I read way too much into the comment. Maybe they won't even notice that I didn't fix it. Maybe they send everyone these letters to make them feel special and I'm stressing over nothing as usual.
Oh well, I did the best I could and what I thought was best. And now if this story doesn't get published I can make a huge post about how I was robbed of being published because I didn't sell out to the man!

Just saw: Little Miss Sunshine
Just watched: Dancing with the Stars ( what did I tell you about me and cheesy dancing?)

Jump and pop ups

This probably sounds really crazy. When I get really excited about something I'm writing my fingers can not type fast enough. My head is way ahead of my body and I have to jump out of my chair and move. Last night I was really on a role with what I was writing. I just loved every thought in my head and it just filled me with energy. It's awesome. I know, weird but I wanted to share because there really wasn't anything else to say.

Behindthenaughayde.com is still really cool to me, especially now that we have people signing the guest book. I'm a little bummed. We agreed to have ads on the sight. It's the cheaper version and we're poor artist here. Anyway, for a while there were no pop-ups or banners and I thought that we were having some good luck. Well the pop-ups and banners are there now so I'm bummed that our luck ran out or was never there really. But the site is still awesome. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll upgrade.

After hours of fumbling with HTML I finally got the guest book working at www.behindthenaugahyde.com .

I was going to work on more submissions now that I finally purchased stamps but my great flyer escapade of 2006 left my printer empty of paper. Better paper than ink. I'll have to get some tomorrow.

An exciting reject notice came for one of my short stories today. They sent me notes on how to improve my story and a note saying that if I make the corrections I can send it back for reconsideration.
I have tomorrow off from work. Hopefully, I can get that done.

It's been a crazy weeks so not much else got done.

Flyers and the fest.

I forgot to update yesterday and give details of the 'Reading, writing, and rockin' fest'.
I made a flyer using the "about the book" section of our website and then put the sample pages from the book that I had previously posted here. Then I wrote a little blurb(featured below) about why we we're handing out flyers and had a website before the book was published.
Fortunately for me, Jenni caught that I had one minor and one major typo after I had printed all of the flyers. So that was not so good. That's okay because I went through all the flyers, crossed out the typo and wrote "obviously we need an editor too,' hopefully adding to the attempted funniness of the paragraph.

As for the show itself. It was cold, it was windy. Few people were set up to sell and promote things, even fewer people came to the show. So the flyers that were given out are probably still blowing around downtown.

Don't worry, we're not giving up. We're going to stick with the flyers. There is a huge college campus not far from here and several other places to promote the site.

Two struggling writers are creating a hilarious novel, Behind the Naugahyde, and all they want is to get it published so that their moms can buy it. They've sent out letters to agents and publishers from all around and while a few have been interested, they've mostly just acquired a stack of 'Dear Author' letters. To help their publishing plans along, Ashley and Jenni came up with an idea.

They made a website for their book, Behind the Naugahyde. This site features details about the book, its authors and notes from the characters. Now all they need are people to stop by, enjoy the website and tell the world about it. Then publishers and agents will check it out and say " Wow! So many people love this book, we have to publish it!"

visit: www.behindthenaugahyde.com

NEW WEBSITE!

The big news has finally arrived! Behindthenaugahyde.com is here! Jenni and I have set up a website devoted to our novel. Even though we haven't gotten it published yet, we thought it would be really cool if we had a website. Then we could send the website address to publishers and they could see what are book is about.
Tomorrow I'll be going to the 'Reading, Writing, and Rockin' fest' in downtown Lansing. I've made flyers featuring information about our book and the website. I'll be handing them out at the event. Hopefully, we'll get some people to check out our website!

Those are the crazy promo ideas I've been talking about. Once the RWR fest is over and we've put a few finishing touches on the website, it will be back to the business of writing and submissions.

Soon to be announced?

The promos are in the works and if all goes as planned I should be announcing them by Saturday!
Jenni and I also came up with an awesome surprise ending for the book. I can't wait!

Nothing else really exciting happening. I worked on submissions since my new business cards arrived. Tomorrow is pay day so I'll be able to buy stamps and send them out.

Listening to: The Bee Gees
Just watched: Maria Full Of Grace

Dead pens and burnt popcorn

Finally, I heard from Jenni. She liked the promo ideas. We're working out a few details but hopefully they'll get done super soon. That's my plan anyway but who knows.

Other than that, I've just been working on the promos for when we do decide to get them going.

My favorite pen died tonight, then my two back up pens went. I'm sad.

And in case you're wondering, burnt, lite popcorn that my grandma accidentally ordered from a fundraiser, that's what poor writers eat for dinner while they wait for pay day. Yum!

Possible promos?

The past few days I have been working non-stop on "Behind the Naugahyde". I got stuck on chapter six because it took me a while to figure out how three different characters would each react to seeing a giant picture of.... well, I can't give too much away so let's just say it's not a pretty picture. Anyway, I got a little stuck so I took the time to develop some possible promotional ideas.
I know it sounds crazy to promote the book before it's even finished but the concepts are cool and I think in a way they might even help us get the book published. I'm not sure if Jenni agrees because I haven't heard from her yet, but I think the work I've been doing this weekend may help convince my partner that these unconventional promos might just make our book a minor success.
Other than that I did go to a few websites that feature blogs by writers. I applied to have "Ink On Paper" added to the lists so hopefully I get a few more visitors. It's also been interesting reading other writer's blogs.

Currently watching: Going back and forth between the CSI marathon on Spike and the That 70's Show marathon on FX.
Just read: A ton of comics. I got really far behind and I haven't even got last weeks books yet.

Just wait

It's amazing how the week has went from chaotic to stifling.

Right now I feel like I'm just waiting. I haven't heard from Jenni since we opened our e-mail. I know she's busy so it's okay but I miss hearing from her.
I'm also waiting to see if any of the artists who responded to my ad will write me back after I sent sample pages.
I check my mailbox waiting for rejection notices.
I've even been waiting to send out submissions. A lot of the university published magazine don't except submissions until September 1.
Of course, I've been waiting for my September issue of Writer's Post Journal!

The waiting will probably end and I'll get bombarded all at once.

The only thing I haven't been waiting to do this week is writing. It's writing that I love the most so if I have that, waiting for everything else isn't so bad.

QUIRKY but not in a good way!

After sending out the first pages of our novel to the possible agent, I sat by my computer checking my e-mail every second. Just as I was getting ready to go to work an e-mail arrived. I was too nervous to open it so I went to work.
Then I called Jenni later to tell her I was dying to know what it said and she thought I was nuts for not opening it. So we agreed that she would call me or have her internet hooked up by the time I got home and we would open it together.

All night I kept thinking that I wished we had gotten a chance to edit it and it would probably say the same thing as the Writer's House letter.

Jenni kept me waiting six minutes past scheduled time, which nearly killed me.
I finally opened it and this is what it said.

"....I took a look; it's hilarious and the fragmented structure works really well. But it's a tad quirky and I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to secure a publisher."

Now you can see how reading the first part can get your heart going a mile a minute only to have it smashed the next second. But it was better than the last response so it's encouraging and it made me feel way better about not having edited it.
The Writer's House letter had said they didn't think the fragmented style worked, which makes it clear that writing is very subjective. And I almost fell out of chair laughing when he said quirky after last night's post. Although he used quirky kind of negatively and it was actually the positive choice for my question.
I considered begging him to reconsider and just try to find a publisher but instead Jenni's going to send a nice thank you note.

Now our plans are to finish editing chapter 5 and then we'll go back and read through 1-5. We hope to make a list of notes and questions that we can give to a few samples readers and get some feedback, seeing as Liza Dawson Associates thought it was pretty good and Writer's House was more toward the not-so-great side. We're a little confused about what we should be fixing.

That's the plan for now.

Quirky not crazy, right?

Today has been CRAZY!

To start everything off I hadn't heard from Jenni in a while. I figured that she was moving and starting her new teaching job so she was probably just busy. Part of me also thought maybe she was mad at me for saying that perhaps she was overly intelligent in my comments on chapter 5.
Since I was assuming she was just busy I tried not to stress that we were suppose to be editing chapters 1-5 and then sending them to a sample audience. After all there was no rush.

I woke up today and I felt like hell. I tried getting out of bed but when I threw up while showering I figured I'd better get some bed rest. (Sorry I'm sure that's more than anyone wanted to know).
I'm resting peacefully when I'm woken up by the phone ringing. I almost didn't get the phone call because they asked for Jennifer, not Ashley, but luck was on my side. It was an agent calling that I had sent a query to last week, he wanted to see our first 50-100 pages. I felt like a moron because he had to call since I forgot to put an e-mail address on the letter. Not to mention I got busted screening my calls.

You'd think now I'd be happy but I'm in serious distress. After our Writer's House rejection we decided to edit our first chapters. That hasn't been done and I have to get the e-mail out to the agent right away. I'm thinking I could wait until tomorrow morning but would that be enough time to edit? Of course, it was Jenni's first day at her new job (Yay Jenni!) so I left a few messages and she got a hold of me later at work. We decided to just send what we had and not try to rush edit it. After all writing's a subjective business; one person may like it and another may not.

Once I got home from work I hopped on-line and typed a nice cordial e-mail. When I went to put the book title in the subject line it occurred to me that I had not changed the book title, to "Behind the Naugahyde", when I sent out the last batch of query letters. So rather than confuse the guy, since he was already thinking I was nuts after the phone call fiasco earlier, I just stuck with Shoe Crew for now.
I send it off and ten seconds later I get a note saying the mail can't be sent because the address doesn't exist. I double check and find I had typed it in wrong. Okay. I re-type the address and send it off....without the attachment. Once I realized what I had done I kept hoping I would get another e-mail saying I had put in the wrong address but not this time. Now I had to send another e-mail apologizing for my incompetence and with the file attached.
Hopefully, he thinks I'm quirky rather than insane.

That's my crazy day folks.

E-mails from artists

My javascript is not functioning so my e-mail account is not working. Also this blog page looks a little weird.

Anyway, before my e-mail started acting all funny I was able to open up the three responses I got from my digiweb ad. Two of them, I'm going to guess, were not fluent in English because I'm not exactly sure what they were trying to say. I feel bad but I don't know how to communicate my visions without words. Unless I draw a picture, which I can't do. That's why I need the artist. It's too bad because one of them had amazing art but they were all superheroes in poses so I'm not sure how action scenes would have went. Also the little bit I did get from his e-mail led me to believe he thinks he's getting paid.

I did send sample pages to the one that seemed to be fluent in English. I feel a little stupid showing my work to people I don't know. It's odd, but I'm neurotic like that. I'm also afraid that my crappy synopsis is not going to persuade him to work with me. I think the best part of the story is the surprise ending, which I don't want to give away because we all know that I'm paranoid. Anyway, I hope it works out.

Just saw: Step Up (because we know I'm a sucker for cheesy dance movies!)
Currently watching: CSI re-runs

My day off!

I have been working my butt off today. It's my day off from work so I went into my office at 1:00 and I have been here since then. I took a few breaks to eat and watch the news but I have been cranking out the stuff.

First off, I got a ton of submissions set and ready to go once I get some stamps tomorrow.
Then I tore through chapter 5 of "Behind the Naugahyde". It took me a lot longer this time. Now that we've had rejection I am really trying hard to pay attention. Hopefully it will help.
The other thing I did was come up with a really neat idea. Now that I had a story published, I have to let the other publishers I sent it to know that it's been accepted since it was sent out simultaneously. I feel like a whole letter for this is a bit much. So I thought of postcards but what kind of post card do you send. Then it occurred to me that I had read that if you have a book signing or want to promote a story that it's a good idea to send postcards to those who may not have e-mail. That's when I got the brilliant idea to have my own postcards made. I checked the company that I get my business cards through and they had these really cool layouts. I already designed them and I am going to order them when I get my new business cards. I'll have to start a mailing list for mail now. Of course, I don't really have one for e-mail, so perhaps I'll start one of those too. And both the postcards and business cards promote this awesome blog!
Other than that I filed away the stack of papers on my desk that were higher than me and put an ad on digital webbing for a comic book artist. The ad says female hero and no pay which pretty much means no one will respond but I had to try. I tried it before that's when I found the artist that could draw characters but not backgrounds and the guy whose work was phenomenal but he couldn't read English.
I also put a post on my live journal and myspace blog about my story being published. I tried to do a myspace bulletin but there was an error so I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

I had a lot of fun just working on writing and writing related stuff, even if it did use up my whole day off. I really wish I could quit my job and do this all the time. It's a beautiful dream, isn't it?

Now I'm off to watch my recording of 'Who wants to be a superhero?"

No stamps, no envelopes, no business cards, no magazine, no money!

I decided to take a quick break from editing chapter 5 and writing chapter 6 so last night I thought I'd work on submissions. Only to find I was completely out of stamps and only had a few of my overly sticky envelopes. Then I began to realize that I am almost out of my lovely business cards that have the hand written sticker updates. None of these things I can afford until Friday.
I also haven't been able to order my own copy of Writer's Post Journal because of lack of money. While I do get a free sample copy, I can only receive it once I have sent in a self-addressed stamped envelope, which brings me back to having no postage.

And to think I really wanted to quit my job. Good thing I didn't just dive into that.

Currently watching: 30 Days

Now available!

What a day!
I finished my part of chapter 5. Now I'm working on the first part of chapter 6. The reason that we're only doing part is because 5 kind of ends in a mini-cliff hanger.
I'm real excited about working on this. I keep thinking of hilarious things to put in. One of them is inspired by a Pussycat Dolls' video. It involves stripper moves and what else, a Naugahyde curtain. Yep! It's just that wacky!
The part that I'm writing for chapter six will involve a lot of superhero inspired maneuvers, a battle between a smart woman and an arrogant boy, plus a poster of a naked body part.
I hope I'm getting some suspense built up.

Okay onto my other big news. It is now available. The September 2006 Issue of Writer's Post Journal is now available through LBF books. I will be adding the link to my side bar. A few words of warning to anyone who may want to actually by it. First is that it's not my typical kind of story. It's funny( I think) but it's not superheroes, action, adventure, sci-fi. The next is that the magazine cost $9 plus $2.50 postage and the story is flash fiction. While I would love for many to buy it I realize it's quite pricey for such a short story so I won't be mad if no one buys it. Of course just because my story is short it is filled with lots of other fabulous stories and it will help support a small literary magazine that makes dreams come true for writers.

Currently watching: The Jaws marathon on AMC. Not 1, 2, or 3 but 4 Jaws movies, in a row.

Mouse=trash

I just want to say that my mouse sucks. Most of the time it doesn't move at all. I've tried cleaning it and throwing it across the room, neither has worked. I really want one of those way cool laser mouses but seeing as how I have negative money I don't think it will be happening.
My computer has also been sucking lately but I think it's because AIM and yahoo are constantly running. I've also had just about every file related to "Behind the Naugahyde" open and that's a lot of huge files.
Finally my computer just went down closing all the files with it. Only minor temper tantrums will occur since everything was saved.
On the bright side since my mouse has decided to not function, it makes wasting time on the internet very annoying so I'm doing it a lot less, thus giving me more time to write, in theory.

About to watch: Real World/Road Rules Challenge-Fresh Meat(I know I need help, I really shouldn't watch it but it is so addictive. Yikes!)

Tedious task of typing

Works been so slow lately that I find myself having a lot of time to read and write(Shh..don't tell the boss, I could get written up). Anyway, I've written a lot of chapter 5 in long hand and now I have the tedious task of typing it in to my computer. While it is a chance to edit what I wrote, it's boring when you're not on a roll with a new idea but rather rewriting what you just wrote. Plus, the time I take typing the story takes away from my time of writing new stuff.
Oh well, enough complaining.

Hopefully, I'll get chapter 5 and the beginning of 6 done tomorrow.

They want more?

I'm sitting here trying not to fall asleep while I continue to write chapters five and six of "Behind the Naugahyde". Well obviously I'm not currently writing it because I'm writing in this blog. Anyway, I was attempting to write it but drowsiness caused me to stop. That's when I decided that I really don't write in my blog enough. After all I do want to be a writer so perhaps I should write more. I get really annoyed when I go to J.K. Rowling's website and she hasn't posted anything new about book 7. I can't help but dream that perhaps my two fans(more like the two people who feel obligated to read this because no one else does, rather than fans) are sitting at home angry at me for not posting more often.
Besides posting more often will get me more next blog hits which could lead to the third person that feels obligated to read this because no one else does! Speaking of next blog hits, I went through and edited some typos in a few past entries. Every time I fixed an entry I republished the blog which caused me to get a spree of next blog hits.

I got a chance to read the transcripts of John Irving, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling's Radio City Music Hall events. They answered questions from the audience and I was happy that they weren't all for J.K. Rowling. There were a lot of questions about how they write and get their ideas. It was quite interesting, at least for me.

As far as writing goes, I'm still working on chapters 5 and 6. Jenni is moving and getting a new job so she doesn't have a ton of time to get her part done either. Once we get done with the chapters and edits we're going to have some people read it and answer some questions.

Currently listening to: "The Road I'm On"-Three Doors Down
Just watched: Edward Scissor Hands
Currently Reading: 52 #14, Ultimate Spider-man #08 and Outsiders #39

A funny thing happened

Jenni and I decided to get together today and plan the next chapters of our book. Originally, I was going to drive to her house but since my accelerator decided it would like to get stuck and give me a heart attack while I nearly rear end several cars, we decided it would be best if she stopped by my house.

I have to say I think these chapters will be the best yet. One idea we had was so funny that I burst out into laughter before I could even manage to tell Jenni what it was. It was just that good. Hopefully, we can tell the story as well as we picture it in our crazy heads because we were laughing so much while we were outlining it.

Since Jenni and I were at my house and it seemed as if fate had stepped in to get us both at my house rather than hers, I was almost certain a letter would come from Writer's House today. By the time Jenni left, the mail had not arrived. Even though the mail had missed Jenni the letter came today.

I called Jen and opened it while we were on the phone. I'm sure everyone has assumed that I would not have taken this long to get around to telling you the awesome news had it been good news at all. The assumption was correct. It was an "unfortunately" letter. They did give us some good feedback, making it slightly more bearable than a "Dear Author" letter.

Now our plan is to write out the chapters we planned today and then go back and work on the first chapters. We'll also be working on getting out more submissions. If all else fails, "We'll publish through a vanity press then get it on Oprah."

Just saw: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Sweaty Palms are not so bad!

Normally the horrible heat and the not-so-happy moments in my life would be really keeping me down. I've been trying to keep a positive attitude and tonight I just started complaining about how things suck.
Then I checked my e-mail. It was not a rejection notice my friends, it said "accepted". My work has been selected to appear in the September issue of Writer's Post Journal.
I submitted my job interview gone bad story, Sweaty Palms, for the September issue that had a theme of jobs/work/opportunities.
The magazine can only be purchased on-line but it is a real magazine, not an e-zine. The issue will be out in September and I'll post a link then.

I actually wrote the story as a short-short for a creative writing class assignment. And it's written in second person. Crazy, I know. I was inspired by my job interview for the job I have now. It was in September so it was still hot and I remember my palms were sweating like mad when I had to shake my bosses' hand. Then in the interview he made a comment about what not to wear and I was wearing it. I really didn't think I would get the job. I did but I thought about what else could have gone wrong and then kept elaborating until I had this story. When my creative writing teacher didn't put a bunch of horrible comments on it I thought it might be worth sending out.

I'm so excited!

Upside down

My world is turning upside down lately. Jenni is no longer working at the store. She has left the wonderful world of footwear. Not that it matters much because I'm not really sure how much longer the store will be there. Aside from work sucking I've had some other problems in life that I don't really feel like sharing.

I wanted to have my untitled, realistic hero comic finished by tomorrow. Sometimes I think weird coincidences occur. A while back in an April entry "Good from the Bad", I wrote about how I had gotten my idea for this story and how a crazy situation in my life turned a good character into a great story.
My intention for that great story was a one issue comic that would raise awareness about an important issue, be a sort-of-tribute to someone and point out what an ass someone else was. I had the outline. All I had to do was finish the script. Then this weekend the crappy situation reoccured and I realized that there is more to this story. There are more characters more plot and more than one issue. Of course once again it's good from horrible. Anyway, I don't think I'll get it finished by tomorrow night.
I know it was vague and everyone's like "what the hell?". All I can say is sorry. I don't really want to talk about it.

I did send in a Harry Potter fan fiction story. It was a little unexpected for me because I wrote it an hour before the deadline and I didn't proof read it a hundred times and pick it apart. Normally I would just give up and tell myself 'here are a hundred reasons not to finish'. This time I figured I just had to try. I've got nothing to lose. I doubt anyone's gonna be saying "Wow remember that writer that wrote the really crappy HP fan-fic". Besides I had some cool ideas and when will I ever have a reason to use them in my writing? And it was fun to write.

Fan-fic, finish script, goodbye store, go see RENT

I came up with a pretty interesting idea for some Harry Potter fan fiction. I'm hoping to get that written up and sent in on time.
Inspiration didn't really hit until I was in bed trying to sleep. I didn't feel like getting out of bed to write. Since I use my cell phone as an alarm clock (actually that's all I use it for) I picked it up and typed my ideas into several different "reminders".

I set a goal for myself to finish my realistic hero story by the end of Monday. It shouldn't be hard since I have a good outline I just have to break it down into script.

A few things not necessarily related to comics. The book store down the street from my house is closing tomorrow. While I was very excited to stock up on books for cheap I was also sad. I used to walk there with my grandpa when I was little and he would buy me a book or a comic. It contributed greatly to my love for reading. It's also unhappy to see another business bite the dust because it could be my job next.

On a happier note, I got my Wharton Center tickets today! I love local theater and I do actually go to performances but it's really awesome to see some big productions. I'll be going to see the Dracula Ballet ( I love both ballet and Dracula so this should be cool) and six days before my birthday I will be in the grand terrace seeing, you guessed it, RENT! YAY!

Just watched : Who wants to be a Superhero?!
Currently reading: 52 #12, Daredevil #87, Nightwing #122, Batman #655, Supergirl #8, Teen Titans Go #33

Someone else's character

I just read that Leaky Cauldron, a Harry Potter fansite, is holding a competition for best fan fiction. But not just any fan fiction. It has to be set in Las Vegas or the wizarding equivalent of and can only be 750- 1500 words. The contest is limited to three entries per person but since the deadline is Friday at midnight I'm sure I don't have to worry about it. The contest will have two winners funniest and most creative.

I've never written fan fiction although I have been known to come up with ideas from time to time. Mostly with comic books because I like to think there is a miniscule chance I could be writing them one day. It's a field where writing storylines for someone else's characters is very common where as novel writers very rarely write sequels for something they did not originally create.

I'm thinking about giving it a shot. If for no better a reason than to practice working with already developed characters and ideas rather than coming up with my own.
If I do try it, I'll post it here since I have nothing to lose.

Just watched: 30 Days (the t.v. show on FX)
Currently listening to: Fall Out Boy

Rejection rips!

The past few weeks I have gotten quite a few rejection letters. I've had a problem with a few. When I open them the sticky part of the envelope that you would lick, is stuck to the letter inside. It seems to be that the sticky part goes higher than where the edge is . It sticks to the paper and requires me to rip the letter to get it out. If the self-addressed stamped envelopes I've been sending out are messed up than that means that it's likely a few submissions that I have sent have been ripped to shreds before the editor can read it.
Not only have they been getting my lovely business cards where I have hand-written my new address on stickers and posted it over the old one but they are also getting cheap, defective envelopes. I think I'm definitely making a good impression.

Just saw: Clerks II

naugahyde(SP?)

Jenni and I worked out the details for the next chapter so now we just have to write it.

And yes, I know I spelled naugahyde incorrectly in the last entry. I went back and fixed it but I also wanted to point out that both Jenni and spell check did not know how to spell naugahyde so I'm not the only one. I actually had to check the glorious green shreds that curtain the "employees only" section of our store.

What is naugahyde? (Jenni you'll love this!)

Currently reading: 52 #11, Robin #152, Ultimate X-Men #72, Superman/Batman #28, Justice League of America #0 and Occult Crimes Taskforce #1

The first glimpse

My intention for the past few days was to post a preview of the sample chapters Jenni and I had written.
The whole thing has been a lot harder than I planned. How much do I post? What part can I post that people will understand and what part is the most entertaining? These things were hard to decide.
After a little discussion with Jen, here's what we came up with. There are two little parts. We decided not to put our most dramatic parts out because they give away too much.
Here is a quick synopsis of the novel. It's about a shoe store and the crazy things that happen there.

So here's a little bit of it. Keep in mind these are both e-mails between characters so much like dialogue they are written the way a real person would say something and are not necessarily grammatically correct. And there is a small chunk missing between the two that's why there are quotations and the ...'s.

"...Andre was supposed to open the Earlton store today. Neil got there and the store was closed. Neil called him and Andre said he was there. I guess Neil kept insisting that he was not there while he searched the store looking for Andre. On the phone Andre said he was in the bathroom. Neil got to the bathroom and the door was closed. Apparently the toilet was running, so Neil waited while talking to Andre on his phone. Neil asked Andre to hang up the phone and talk to him through the door and Andre's reply was "no I'm in the bathroom, that would just be weird." WTF?! I know! So Neil kept waiting, the toilet kept running and Andre was on the phone. Finally Neil tried the door and it was locked. All the time Andre is on the phone and Neil can't hear if he's in the bathroom because the toilet's running.
So I guess Neil dropped to the ground and tried to peer under the door. The lights were on but he couldn't see feet. Of course he could only see about two inches into the bathroom. Neil became seriously more pissed when he realized that a Milk Dud was squished on the pants of his best suit. Neil demands Andre has to come out of the bathroom in two minutes or at least give him some sign he's in there..."

"...Too bad he didn't burn the place down on his way. As if the people from Earlton can even afford Sole Comfort shoes. And I know Sandra would have been first in line to tan by the light of the fire. Seriously, how dumb is she? She wanted to fire Andre after he already quit? Yeah, she was definitely a perfect choice to manage the Earlton store. She's probably the smartest, tannest, best-dressed person in that town (uh, village?) and that's not saying much.
Anyway, I know you could hardly wait for this, so I hereby present you with the lurid details of My Day With Fred. I got to the store at 9:30 and did all of the opening procedures while Neil sat playing solitaire in his office. By 9:45, Fred still hadn't arrived. The security cameras will clearly document that he strolled in at 9:57, only 3 minutes before opening. As I was unlocking the front doors, Fred took his time to mix up a glass of Metamucil and V8 in the back. I understand the necessity for such things (I surely wouldn't want the poor guy to be irregular), and maybe when you're 78 you just don't care but why not just have your drink at home with your breakfast?!...

From "Behind the Naugahyde" by Jennifer Lamb and Ashley Shaffier

Wrinkles

Oh wow! If I had realized there was going to be a link made to my blog yesterday I would have written about something more interesting. What's more exciting than an entry that goes "I'm bored and soon to be unemployed"?

And since the link was comic book related I should post about comics. And since this blog's about writing I should post about writing comic books. Yet, there's nothing to say except I still have no artist. That is all,

Just finished reading: Dr. Blink Superhero Shrink #3
Currently watching: Firefly marathon on Sci-fi

What to do?

I've spent the past week or so scrambling to get the first three chapters done. It seemed like nearly every second went to that. Now that it's done I don't know what to do with myself. I know I should start working on the next part but since Jenni and I are partners we have to come up with what's next together. So until we get a chance to meet and come up with an outline for the next chapters, they really isn't much to do.
I do have other projects to work on. My comic story I was working on came to halt when the three chapter demand rolled in so I should get back to that.

Aside from what to write next my mind is kind of cluttered. I just read my bosses live journal and it seems like I might be needing a new job soon. It would be great to get something in the publishing field but their just isn't much of that around here. Maybe I can go back to bartending. That's always a great way to meet crazy characters and my boss did say that the only thing people are buying right now is booze.

Well if Jenni and I lose our jobs at least we'll have plenty of time to write our novel. There's always a bright side, I think.