Much longer post incoming... but, no I have not been in the Caribbean snorkeling these past 5 months.
I now find myself involved in three things, outside of my busy family life and my writing hobby.
* Co-founding a startup
* Helping out the good folks at M13
* Producing RHS Jamboree '2026
so how did I get here?
well thats the longer post.
Hello friends, autumn has arrived. As you may recall, I had planned to take the summer to scratch some creative itches before heading back into the workforce. I am pleased to announce that those itches still need scratching. I have a few story ideas in their infancy, and although I have felt a bit stuck over the last month or two, I am getting motivated to write again. Fingers crossed.
I can also share the story I entered in part 2 of the NYC Midnight 1000-word challenge. The prompt was Romance, Mountain Stream, and a Thorn. The Legend of the Fire Lily. Reading it now, there are so many things I would change, but aint that the way it works?
I have also been reading (and listening to audiobooks) more than normal (where normal = not at all). This has been both inspirational and demotivating, as it is obvious I have a lot of work to do to raise my game and find my voice.
First, two re-reads. Let's get those out of the way (though they were not what I read first, actually, but that hardly matters).
I decided to give the Amazon audiobook a try. I originally read the book in high school, but I felt that as I pursue my SF journey this year, I would give it a re-read. I gotta say I did not love the audiobook. They over-dramatized the story. I want to go back and look at the original text again, as there were sections that just did not work for me, and I am curious if that was how the book flowed. Anyway, irrespective of the delivery of the story, man, it is depressing.
Also a book I had read previously but mainly had forgotten. I had recently given a copy to my sister, so I decided to re-read it so we could talk about it. Anyway, after getting through it a second time, I remembered how I felt the first time. I really like the first 2/3 of the book, and don't like the last third at all. I am going to take this off the recommended list. Sorry Arthur. Even if I were to buy into the ending's premise and/or treat it as an allegory about parent's relationship with their children (which I dont), I think the execution is laborious at best.
Ok, on to the new stuff (for me).
I first learned of Kate through the #vss365 challenges. She has two characters who show up every day to entertain. This book is her first novel and tells the backstory of these characters. I had the privilege of getting an early copy from Kate. It's a fun little romp about pixies and the mischief they can get into. Recommended for folks that like that world (pixes, ...) and want to support a new author.
Banks has written 10 "Culture" novels. These are SF stories, where one of the races/societies is called The Culture. This is the first of the 10 that we wrote. It is also the only one I have read. Booktube is split on whether to read them in published order or start with some of the others that introduce you to The Culture in, perhaps, more accessible ways. Anyway, I liked the world-building quite a bit, but I think the book had too many "side quests" that were not necessary and really bogged the story down; or alternatively, those side quests maybe were required, as they introduced ideas, but the ideas were then not incorporated into the ending of the book. The ending also really felt rushed and unsatisfying. And the afterword amplified that feeling. I will give The Culture one more shot, maybe Player of Games, but not anytime soon.
I very much enjoyed this novel. It has an interesting premise, good pacing, and good characters. I especially like the progressive disclosure approach. The authors don't explain things to the reader that the protagonist clearly already knows; they slowly fill in the details over time. And things that the protagonist never knows—well, they are still mysteries to you, too. I also enjoyed the afterward, where they talked about the challenges of publishing stories in the Soviet Union.
I really enjoyed this novella and can not recommend it enough. We listened to it in the car (but also had a copy of the book to thumb back over). The audiobook is excellent, and the reader's style adds spunk to a protagonist who is already overflowing with charm. I knew nothing about the story or the author ahead of time, which made it all the more rewarding. I am definitely seeking out her other works.
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I have just started reading Children of Time. I'll let you know how it goes later this year.
A lot happened in July.
Well, my submission to the NYC Midnight 100-word story competition was not in the top 5 for my group, so I will not be advancing in this challenge.
I was tasked with writing a Historical Fiction story that included "sunbathing" and the word "edge." You can read it here: The Summer of 41
Although I did not advance, I did receive some AMAZING feedback from three judges (mostly suggestions on improving the last line). Anyway, I am very happy I participated and will definitely try again next time.
Next up is round two of the 1000-word challenge later in July.
I should hear about that first NYC Midnight 100-word story TOMORROW. The suspense is killing me.
In celebration, I whipped up my first 100-word Suspense story.
Yippee!
48 hours and 1000 words is pretty interesting. I got the prompt (genre, location, object) at midnight (friday night/saturday AM). noodled it for maybe 20 minutes--nothing felt good--and went to sleep, hoping my background brain would get to work. Saturday morning I fussed around with a few ideas in my head, but still mostly hemming and hawing. As I was on the clock, I forced myself to think through a basic plot and characters, expecting to hate it. But I knew that until I wrote the first story I would not be able to write the second, hopefully proper, one. And so I labored through a story for a few hours, trying not to re-write too much along the way. I then handed it off to my three beta readers, only one of whom knew it was coming. I set it down, grabbed some dinner, thought about making some edits but was really pretty drained. So, I loaded up brain with all the things I did not like about the first story, and the few things I did like. I then went to bed.
I got some feedback back from my first reader, and from my background brain, and did a major revision. I started with a clean sheet of paper and basically wrote the same story again, but cutting out the parts I did not like from before, and adding more detail to the bits I liked.
Sent it back out. And too my surprise I got mixed results! One person liked the first story much better, and someone else the second one. Oh dear.
But this was a blessing, actually. Each version had a good part, and a bad part. I was able then to make a third version of the story, now much more focused on the bits that were working for my early readers.
I then showed it to my daughter (she had been out all day), and she liked it. She also pointed out one last sentence that was a little odd. Fixed that up, and submitted it.
I highly recommend people doing these challenges; they are fun and make you stretch your brain.
Ok, I am registered for NYC Midnight/1K word challenge, which starts on May 31. So good heavens, I better start writing again.
Fortunately, I am heading up to our cabin (see picture upper right on blog) this weekend and should have some quiet time and, hopefully, inspiration. I have started two different stories this past week, but I am still stuck in the gate with both of them. Neil Gaiman says you have to finish things. Fingers crossed.
I am also committing to reading more. I am currently half-way through Huck Finn, which is obviously amazing. I just picked up four books printed on actual paper, which I hope to tackle this summer: Siddhartha, Roadside Picnic, Children of Time, and A Fire Upon the Deep. I also ordered Consider Phlebas, which should arrive tomorrow. Based on my reading speed, this will be very ambitious, and maybe a more realistic EOY goal.
If anyone wants to do a read along on any of these, let me know!
On the game dev front I have been experimenting in Unity (as opposed to following a course), and trying out a number of packages from the asset store. I am gaining confidence and despair at the same time. Everything is easy and hard at the same time. And I am not artistic! (though I do have a very skilled daughter I will deploy once her school year wraps up :-))
peace, greg
Today I finished getting the new MBP set up, including re-installing Unity, Visual Studio Code, and Sourcetree. I also figured out how to remap some of my keys on the Ducky keyboard thanks to this video from KeebNews.
With that done, I then spent a few hours working through the first half of the Simple Driving game course, which is part two of the Unity Mobile C# Developer course I had started a while ago.
Not done yet, but progress!
As timestamps clearly show I have not blogged in a few weeks, and this accurately represents my activity on the creative front. I have been away from the keyboard. I have not even added anything new to #vss365.
It's hard to explain why, actually? Yes, I did spend time popping down to Washington, DC, to help my son wrap up his first year of college and move back to NJ for the summer. And allergies have been a bugger. And I have dealt with several car issues, and it's hockey playoffs, and my wife's birthday... but really I think it's just been a dip in my energy and confidence. I started building a plot timeline for my larger story idea and then narrowed in on a scene in the story and tried to write it. And that produced all sorts of issues. My descriptions were stilted, and I was unsure it's all that interesting. So I paused and then the pause gained momentum. Grrr!
But I also think this is normal. I need to push through and just keep writing. I already have new ideas because of the struggles. And I will only learn to write good descriptions through practice -- and reading more Mark Twain and Michael Chabon.
So ebbs and flows.
My daughter says, "just get back to it."
indeed.
Hello! I had an excellent trip to Pittsburg with my Son. We visited the Pitt campus and took in two Red Sox games at PNC Park. It was a little chilly-- but such a lovely stadium. And excellent food (looking at you pirogies).
More importantly, I submitted my NYC Midnight/100 story. I was tasked with the following:
Good thing I practiced my historical fiction earlier in the week. :-)
Unfortunately I am not able to share the story until after it has been judged, but then, I will surely post it here.
In the meantime, to help hold you over, I offer you a 100-word SciFi story: A New Beginning
Now I need to start working on some 1000 word fiction, and get back to writing that mobile game.
peace, greg
Fial tune up before NYC Midnight/100.
My first 100-word historical fiction. :-)
feedback always welcome
peace, greg
Hey folks --
The past few weeks have been travel heavy, with trips to Wisconsin and Massachusetts. I will be heading to Pennsylvania this weekend as well. The MA trip included a stop at the cabin in the woods that my family has had since the early 60s (predates me). The picture in the upper right of the blog is from that cabin. I expect to spend a decent amount of time there this summer. It's a good spot to ponder and write.
I attended the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County's monthly meeting last weekend. We (I am now a member...) had a guest speaker, author Aimee Pokwatka. She was a fabulous speaker and had lots of interesting advice for aspiring authors (how she outlines, does drafts, reverse outlines, ...). She also had a handout collecting her thoughts and suggestions on finding a literary agent and writing query letters (a term I had not heard before). I purchased her two novels but have not had a chance to open them yet.
Tomorrow night, mindnight, kicks off nycmidnight/100. I am very excited. It's a bit of a drag that I won't be able to dedicate the full 24 hours to the contest as I will be on the road to PA and at a baseball game. I should be able to scratch out some notes in the car, and hopefully get something decent submitted. My expectations on advancing are quite low, but I absolutely am looking forward to the feedback they will provide back on the story I submit.
What else?
Met with my accountant and financial advisor this morning. We talked a fair bit about S-Corps and LLCs, and the benefits and downsides of both. Clear next steps for me -- make sure I capture expenses accurately, and go talk to an attorney about starting an LLC. They also teased me a fair bit, which I probably deserved.
I am enjoying my new keyboard, but there is one downside so far. I can't use my fingerprint to unlock stuff, like you can on the native apple keyboard. Not that big a deal, but it was convenient way to unlock 1password.
Lastly, head over to my Stories page for 4 stories and links to 32 vss365s.
peace, Greg
I am so excited. My lovely wife pointed me to NYC Midnight - which runs a series of writing challenges during the year. I had no idea! Coming up later this month is a "100-word story" challenge. You get the genre and prompt at midnight and have 24 hours to submit an original story. I am totally doing it. Unfortunately, you can not share your story on social media (or self-publish it) until 10 days after the judging is done. Although the challenge is on April 19/20, the judging takes a few months as I think they get a LOT of stories. So, I won't be able to share what I submit until June.
There are many genres I have not written (or really red). I need to practice.
Over the last week (while I also had an amazing adventure to Madison, Wisconsin, and Boston, Massachusetts), I put together two 100-word stories.
Productive day!
I sorted out my getting the game on to the phone problem from last night. Turned out to have nothing to do with joining the Apple developers program (which I am still waiting for approval for) - but rather a setting on the phone allowing developer mode. It would have been really handy if the error message had said anything about this...
Anyway -- it's not a complete game, but it does run on an iPhone, it does capture touch input, and it works better than the version in the course (IMO). So I am feeling pretty happy. Baby steps.
I went to my first writer's group meeting. Virtually, but it counts. We had a guest speaker, Esme Addison, who discussed her books and fielded questions from the audience. For me, her process and experiences were more interesting than the specific details of her novels. I am not sure I am in the majority there (meaning a few people were into discussing the novels). I did like how the moderator of the group brought it back around, and I think everyone (including Esme) got something out of the session. I'll go a few more times for sure.
It is definitely different than the Apple external keyboard. As I said earlier, I will wait a few weeks before giving the final review.
today's vss365:
I collected and uploaded all my tax info to my accountant. No extension needed this year. Phew!
And we are going to discuss whether I should make an LLC in a few weeks, which interestingly was a question someone asked Esme. (she did make one).
A few hours ago I was really expecting to post an update about my first mobile game with screen shots and excitement. I am taking Unity Mobile C# Developer Course from gamedev.tv, and it has been both fun and frustrating. I managed to get Unity updated (its been a few years) and then update visual studio code, and get it connected, and then get SourceTree and Github working again, all so I could make the first game in the course. I got the game working in the simulator, and that was fun. It's labeled beginner+ and actually the instructor goes at a really good pace. I don't know Unity or C#, but I do know programming, and he found a good sweet spot. I could follow along and then elaborate.
Anyway the first game is not that exciting, but I got it working in the simulator. But am I now a few hours in to trying to get it working on a real mobile device. I had an old version of Xcode, but I can't upgrade it in the AppStore because I am still running MacOS Ventura and apparently it does not work. I can't upgrade this laptop to Sonoma (or whatever the next version is) becuase it is too old, apparently. So I then figured out how to download a newer version of Xcode but not the latest (apparently 15.2 still works...). I was thus able to build the application, but I can't seem to sign it correctly. The error message suggests I need to register the device with the apple developer program... which I am not a member of. So I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to do that. This requires ID verification. A photo of my drivers license did not cut it... go find the passport. that seems to maybe have worked. But they wont approve it until tomorrow I think.
Anyway so much yak shaving. My sympathy for all of my previous temas is so high right now!
So hopefully something to share later in the week.
latest vss365s:
Well, well, well.
Last weekend's travels for soccer are done. My daughter's team scored three wins! But, boy was the weather lousy. We had pouring rain for both games on Saturday, and frigid temps on Sunday. Looking back on it, it wasn't so bad, but during the tournament, we were hard-pressed not to talk about the weather.
Back in NJ on Monday, I kicked off another infrastructure week. I did not think I would spend all week, but one of the benefits of not having a full-time job is you can take your time to fix some things that you can't really do in the few hours (if you are lucky) you get on nights and weekends when working.
I got to take my time, finally, to fix the network at the house.
The previous owners of the house had run cables to many rooms and terminated everything at a switch in the basement. The FIOS modem went to a wireless router, and the router had a cable to the above switch. I never took the time to understand how this all worked (there is a lot going on in the basement) and simply used the wifi network when we moved in. It worked ok. Then a year and half ago I decided we needed to improve the network, so I bought an Orbi mesh router and a few satellites. But I still did not sort everything out properly. I just turned off the old wireless network and daisy chained the Orbi router to the existing router keeping the same SSID/PWD as the old network. This worked ok. Then Verizon, around the same time, sent me a new Router. That new router sat in its box for over a year gathering dust. It's never a good time to monkey with the network, right?
I finally bit the bullet. I swapped out the routers. I replaced the old switch with a new gigabit switch and sorted out the hardwired topology. I then put each of the satellites onto the hardwired network. This should dramatically improve the wifi performance on the upper floors of the house.
I also bought a UPS for the NAS (yes I should I have done that initially).
I only had to go to the Apple Store, BestBuy and MicroCenter. :-) I also went to Staples (well actually two of them) in search of another small desk (which I found!).
So lots of driving, investigating, experimenting, and not much blogging.
I did keep my daily VSS365s going. I tried to tie several together into a thread of action:
Hey Folks
I won't be doing much writing (or blogging) this weekend, as I am off with my family at a soccer tournament. See you all next week.
peace, greg
I am proud to offer up my first story. Please send me your thoughts and comments- what you liked and what you didn't. Don't hold back. :-)
(and here is today's vss365 - force)
Just a quick update.
I did my Jamboree pitch session. I think it went pretty well. I don't think I will share all the details, though, as I would like the producers to have whatever privacy they might want in selecting the theme. Once they have made their choice I can give you the rundown. I wrote a silly skit and curated a playlist.
I sent my short story out to the people who joined the mailing list. So far the responses have been positive. As such, I'll likely post it here on the blog on Friday. I still need to figure out the best way to do that.
And today's #vss365 - rose
Tomorrow's plan...more research on how best to host PDFs for public consumption. (I do welcome suggestions). And take the car in for service. And talk to my long-lost colleague Matt R.
I'm pretty gassed. Turns out sharing your work (the pitch and the story) takes a lot out of you emotionally. Even though all the feedback has been supportive, I'm wiped. Also still recovering from the weekend's cold.
(UPDATE: I have figured out how to host the story. See there is a TAB at the top called "Stories", and I know how to host and link to a PDF. Stay tuned folks! )
Hey folks, I have been under the weather these past few days so I apologize for the lack of updates. If you were worried I had died, I have not. However, I did manage to kill a whole box of tissues and several DayQuil.
When I am stuck in bed (alternating between too hot and too cold) unable to actually fall asleep, even though I desperately want to, YouTube can be my only solace. Thankfully I found Hello Future Me. Some very engaging videos on writing, with solid examples, and ample Dr Who references. Highly recommended!
I did manage to do my prep work for the Jamboree pitch meeting (tomorrow). I'll share the skit I wrote after the meeting, as I surely don't want anyone who might be there to see it in advance. If I am selected I might have to keep it a secret, now that I think about it. Anyway. I'll give you all an update on how it went, on Thursday.
I also have a version of my first short story almost ready to send out. I want to give it one more quick edit and then I will e-mail it to those who joined the mailing list (hint hint), and then a few days later post it here. (though I think I need a better strategy for hosting the stories than a blog. Suggestions??)
I have managed to re-start my #vss365 stories:
And last but not least, I have joined The Writers of The Weird, a writers group here in Northern New Jersey. They have several meetups a month so I am excited to get to know some other aspiring authors. I also expect the energy of the group will help keep me motivated.
