Metal Shoppe

Back To Bidness

2012-01-19T07:45:00.001-08:00

Blackout is over. End message.

-Cary

Dentist (NAKED CELEBRITIES)

2012-01-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have a dental appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I expect to attend. I expect to leave the dentist's office with an eye patch and a limp. Probably some bruises.

Anyway, work is going well. Thanks for asking. I did some editing/polishing this evening, and then I did some organizational crap. I have about a week's worth of work mapped out.

If you came here for naked celebrities, just refresh the page. Also, greetings to all my new European, Asian, and South American readers.

-Cary

Fog

2011-12-30T02:43:00.000-08:00

My part of San Diego is hidden in fog. I can hear the foghorn sounding from the pier.

I got a lot done tonight.

-Cary

Writing, Not Writing

2011-12-28T19:42:00.001-08:00

This evening, I took care of some red ink. Not a lot, but some. Mostly, I made notes in preparation for tomorrow evening.

-Cary

Christmas Break

2011-12-27T01:58:00.000-08:00

Most of the Christmas break has passed and I am pretty much back to work. I have a couple of nights ahead wherein the potential for working seems slight, but that's not a big deal.
Tonight, I accomplished more than I had expected. I began my assault on one of the manuscript's major outstanding issues.

-Cary

Late Start

2011-12-15T03:58:00.000-08:00

After dinner, I slept longer than I intended to. That said, I accomplished much more than I imagined I would. I resolved the problem I mentioned in my last post and I saw to several others.

Tomorrow's plan mostly involves printing, transcribing, and shredding. And the arrival of an Englishman.

-Cary

Night Job

2011-12-14T00:12:00.000-08:00

This evening, I accomplished twice as much as I had planned to accomplish. Tomorrow, I will reach a resolution regarding the use of the word "the" in three or four key sentences. I assure you, most of my editing issues are of much more significant natures, but these specific sentences are thematic and their structures are not insignificant (as opposed, for example, to the structure of this sentence, for which I obviously have no respect).

I did not attend the Batman thing.

-Cary

Day Job

2011-12-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

I just finished an impromptu session of work. I accomplished a lot and I'm completely set up for my next burst of inspiration.-Cary

BatmanBatmanBatmanBatmanBatman

2011-12-10T11:08:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the invaluable assistance of Katie, we will be attending a screening of the prologue for The Dark Knight Rises. I'll let you know how it goes.-Cary

I'm Here

2011-12-05T00:36:00.001-08:00

I'm working.-Cary

I Read a Book

2011-11-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

I finished reading and marking up the manuscript. My timing is good because we will be hosting guests for the next few nights and I wouldn't be able to concentrate with guests in the house. That said, a lot of the red ink requires very little concentration to fix, so I plan to continue working despite the presence of guests. I must take care of the self-inflicted red ink and then I will pass the manuscript on to Katie, who will read and mark it up, and then I will attend to her red ink, and then I will read it again and mark it up, and then...you know all this.-Cary

Prepared

2011-11-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

Giving titles to blog posts is not a strength which can be attributed to me. I have just finished printing the manuscript and the check list. The list is made up of four items, which are, broadly: don't overuse a specific character's name, the landscapes are worthy of a bit more description, check usage of italics and of ellipses, one character needs to be built up a little more. I plan to attend to these matters as I read the manuscript. I plan to initiate this plan tomorrow evening.-Cary

Printing Plan

2011-11-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

My plan for tomorrow is to print the manuscript. Then I'm going to take a few days to clear my head before I read it again. I'm going to finish the book I'm currently reading and I'm going to work on another manuscript. Then, I will return to the manuscript, red pen in hand.-Cary

Palmer and Gaiman

2011-11-01T02:37:00.000-07:00

Katie and I saw Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman perform in Los Angeles this evening. It has been a long time since I've attended a spoken word thing because I don't really care much for spoken word performances, but that part was cool enough. As always, Palmer was on fire. It was an interesting evening.-Cary

Two Scenes

2011-10-31T01:39:00.001-07:00

The two scenes I needed to write have been written. By me. I wrote the two scenes which I need to write.-Cary

Narrowing

2011-10-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

The list of what remains:1. the poem is still somewhat messy2. (essentially) four scenes require beefing up3. two medium-sized scenes have yet to be written4. one character's name may be overused5. issues regarding the use of italics6. issues regarding the use of ellipses7. slight beefing up of one character (truly a minor thing, this)8. a little more attention should be paid to the descriptions of a specific setting9. two chapter titles might require tweakingAfter this list obviated, I'll read the manuscript again and mark it up as I go, I'll make those corrections, Katie will read it and mark it up, discussions will be had, I'll make corrections, I'll send it to publishers, a publisher will buy it, and then you will buy it.-Cary

Key West

2011-10-27T02:40:00.000-07:00

I was distracted for a few days, during which time I learned that I cannot breathe through a snorkel.I have attended to most of the red ink of the manuscript. All of the simple corrections have been made. Now I have a few scenes to write and polish, and there are a few miscellaneous notes which remain.-Cary

Safety Measures

2011-10-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

I had a good idea. I believe I am going to start accusing the people I encounter in public of sorcery. I've thought this over and I have been unable to see a down side.-Cary

Compound Sentences

2011-10-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am quite the fan of compound sentences. I'm reasonably close to finishing this run through the marked up manuscript.-Cary

Book Report

2011-10-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

I decided that I should finish reading the book I was reading before I started reading my manuscript, so that is what I did. I read As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Damn, that is a good book. I'm not going to summarize it or tell you anything about the story itself, but I do recommend it. I think it's going to stick with me for a while.-Cary

Poem

2011-10-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

I allocated much more time than I needed. I don't know that the poem will go unrevised from here on out, but it's in good enough shape for now. Tomorrow, with red pen in hand, I will start reading the manuscript.-Cary

Eight

2011-10-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

The title of this post may be somewhat misleading. I do, as I assume you have assumed, have eight items which remain on the list. Unlike previous items, however, these can only be seen to while reading the manuscript as a whole. Therefore, this step is effectively complete. Before I start reading the manuscript, though, I plan to spend a few nights polishing the poem I mentioned a few posts back. The poem is, as you should recall, part of the story, so I'm not moving on to anything new. I just want this part of things to be complete before I go any farther.-Cary

Fourteen

2011-10-07T03:22:00.001-07:00

You understand.-Cary

Eighteen

2011-10-06T02:15:00.000-07:00

That's how many items remain on my list. I have a pretty good idea of the order in which I wish to tackle them, although this is a flexible notion. Like your mother.-Cary

Book Report

2011-10-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I finished reading Dollar Cotton by John Faulkner. This is the story of a man who is, in many ways, not unlike Jason Voorhees. The man in Dollar Cotton, Otis Town, isn't really a savage killing machine, but that's the only basic difference. The story is filled with many other colorful characters any reader is sure to enjoy: Wee Boy (Is he white? Is he black? Who knows his secret?), Mammy (an honest, upright, supernaturally wise, and joyfully rotund black woman who takes care of everyone), Van (a scamp who loves racing cars), and an array of wise-cracking, fun-loving local yokels. As the reader follows the ups and downs of the Town family, the reader is also treated to an edifying view of the depression! In conclusion, I think if you like light-hearted family dramas which sizzle with regional flavor, you could do a lot worse than to read Dollar Cotton. The last few chapters are some fucked up shit.-Cary

Thirty-one

2011-10-04T00:49:00.001-07:00

That's how many items remain on my check list. I have the next nine items selected for tomorrow night.-Cary

The List

2011-10-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

This evening, I attended to over a dozen items on my list. My plan for tomorrow night is to attend to eight items.Also, I've been looking at publishers.-Cary

Completions

2011-10-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have completed the big-ass proofreading thing. It's done. All of the drunken bullshit I wrote in the first draft has been fixed, polished, or removed. The story is tight. It is coherent. It is good.I have also gone through the check list and removed everything which has been obviated through the natural course of polishing. I have seen to a handful of items which were on the list. For the next little while, I will be working my way through the list, so my blogging will mostly be related to that. There are fifty-nine items on the list. Tonight, I shall endeavor to cross off seven of them.-Cary

Red Ink Vacation

2011-09-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

The final chapter is free of red ink. Tomorrow, I will print the current revision and then I will begin the process of tinkering with it line by line and so forth until it is complete. My guess is that this will take five nights.-Cary

One Scene

2011-09-28T01:11:00.001-07:00

This evening, I worked in...well, you know. This chapter is in really good shape. I did some stuff to it, took some stuff out of it, moved some stuff around. It's good. I have one scene to write, which I will do tomorrow evening, and then I expect to have two or three nights of polish and that will be that.-Cary

The Final Chapter/Reminder

2011-09-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

Jesus Christ, I am exhausted. I slept about three hours last night and then another hour this afternoon, and I did a lot of light labor in the interim. I wasn't digging ditches, but I stayed busy and now I am barely awake.I completed the chapter about which I have most recently been blogging. I am now at work on the final chapter. For those of you who actually are keeping up with things, I'd like to issue this reminder: there is still work to do. After I complete the proofreading/polishing of this final chapter, I will move on to my list of outstanding notes. After I have seen to those, I will read the manuscript again, again with a red pen in hand. After I have cleared up any problems noted during that reading, I will pass the manuscript on to Katie. Katie will read it, with red pen in hand, and then return it to me. I will clear up whatever problems Katie points out and then, my friends, then, I tell you, then we will have a finished manuscript available for rejection.Or publication.-Cary

Book Report: Imperial Bedrooms

2011-09-26T01:40:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, I have recently read all of Bret Easton Ellis's books, some for the second time and some for the third, as a way of getting into the right frame of mind for Ellis's most recent book, Imperial Bedrooms. I started reading the book, but then I was sidetracked. I started it again a few nights ago and I finished it, so now I'm going to share my thoughts.First, Imperial Bedrooms is not really like any of Ellis's other stories. It is, as I understand it, intended to be something of a sequel to Less Than Zero, and it is that, but it is much more straightforward than his other work. It is also more specifically part of a genre. Imperial Bedrooms does have a lot of what Ellis readers will find familiar, but it is more than anything else an American detective story.Second, Imperial Bedrooms might be my favorite Ellis story. The way he weaves his new reality into his old reality and into reality itself is amazing. The tension of the story is strong and the characterizations are sharp, pointed, and surprising.Third, I don't know if this book would have any meaning at all for someone who has not read Less Than Zero.Now a note about work. I will complete the current active chapter tomorrow night.-Cary

Hey

2011-09-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

This evening, I worked on the current active chapter. I'm very please with it and I expect to be finished in one or two nights. That will leave only one chapter.Look for a book report in an upcoming post.-Cary

The Current Active Chapter

2011-09-23T02:27:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted.This evening, I worked on the current active chapter. I have one red ink note left and it is a broad instruction regarding the general tone of the chapter and its relationship to a previous chapter. I am inclined to tell you that I have one or two more nights left on the chapter, but that may be a minor case of wishful thinking. The chapter is in really good shape, but I honestly don't know how long completion will take. Maybe as many as four more nights. Maybe five.Maybe two.-Cary

A Tale of Three Chapters

2011-09-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

Last night, I completed the chapter upon which I have been working and about which I have most recently been blogging. This leaves only two chapters to be polished.Tonight, I worked in both of those chapters. That is something of an exaggeration, in that I made one correction in the final chapter. I did a hell of a lot of work in the current active chapter. The current active chapter is, in places, rather complicated, but I think the complicated parts are in pretty good shape. I need to give myself another couple of nights of work before I can estimate how much longer it will take for me to complete the chapter.The final chapter is also in pretty good shape. It is not particularly complicated and I don't anticipate having to put a lot of work into it.-Cary

Poem

2011-09-20T02:14:00.000-07:00

This evening, I wrote a poem. I took a few nights off because, in each instance, sleep got the best of me, so I have not completed the chapter upon which I was working when last I posted. I did, however, work on the aforementioned chapter and I am pleased to tell you that I believe I shall complete my relevant work tomorrow evening.Now, about the poem. It is short and it is important to the story. It is, now that it exists, a part of the manuscript. I did not intend to write the whole poem in one sitting. I made some notes earlier today and I intended to merely go through those notes and discard any bad ideas I had had. Instead, I wrote the fucker. I'm not 100% in love with it, but I don't think it's too shabby. I'll let it sit for a while, maybe, and then take another look.-Cary

The Best Post Ever

2011-09-15T01:35:00.000-07:00

This is not the best post ever.This evening, I did something cool with the current active chapter. I reached a point in my editing where I realized that the chapter is mostly coherent. See, this was one of the chapters where, at the start, I had a pretty good broad idea of what needed to happen in the chapter, so I threw into the chapter every kind of supporting idea which came to me. It was like (this is an exaggeration) an astronaut and a scientist create a giant telepathic worm which causes nuclear war and then escapes in the astronaut's spacecraft, but then Obama cancelled NASA but the Russians had planted a bomb on the spacecraft and they detonated the bomb and then a tribute concert was held and Bono sang a song which caused God to cry and then these plants grew were poisonous to the giant telepathic worm and it never came back but it didn't matter because everyone killed themselves because Bono sucks. The chapter has now been streamlined and cobbled into pretty good shape. It's not as exciting as the tale of the giant telepathic worm, but it's pretty good. It should be complete in another three or four nights.-Cary

Pushing Onward

2011-09-14T00:44:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on the same chapter I spoke of in my last post. While I worked this evening, through the open window in the office, I heard something rustling around in our squash. I think it knows.-Cary

Another Stellar Night

2011-09-07T01:08:00.000-07:00

This evening, I performed a lot of major improvements to the current active chapter. I read it and I covered it in red ink, and then I saw to many of those corrections. Still, though, there remains much to do.-Cary

On Red Ink

2011-09-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

This evening, I did so much work on the current active chapter that there is now no red ink on any page of said chapter. I did not expect things to go this well so soon. Now, I must read the chapter once more and I expect to litter the pages with new red ink, but whatever new notes I make will not be as complicated as those to which I have just attended. You see, a lot happens in this chapter, but the action is mostly simple. We are near the end of the story, after all. (Then again, the next chapter is rather complicated, so whatever.)-Cary

Sons of Tucson/Work

2011-09-03T03:25:00.001-07:00

I watched the full run of Sons of Tucson thanks to Netflix's streaming thingy. Boy, was that a waste of time.This evening, I continued to toil in the current active chapter.-Cary

Big Work

2011-09-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

This evening, I did big work in the current active chapter. This is a big chapter and it was covered in red ink. I have greened out a lot of the red ink (a lot remains) which, in the case, means I cut a lot of words. I did, however, set things up so that I can expand part of a scene in a way which is both necessary and awesome, so I'm not terribly worried about the word count. I still have a lot of work to do in this chapter, but it's in much better shape than it was yesterday at this time.-CaryAge 43

Another One Down

2011-09-01T00:28:00.001-07:00

Three chapters remain. The new current active chapter is a big, hairy beast.-Cary

Blogger Problems

2011-08-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

Okay, so Blogger and Youtube aren't working together the way I wish them to. Also, Blogger keeps throwing in a url every time I paste anything into a post. I probably sent several versions of the previous post to some of you, so I apologize for that. Pray to God this doesn't happen again, you fools.

-Cary

Prison Break Review

2011-08-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Netflix, I have been watching a lot of crap lately. Prison Break is an example of this. I did not watch Prison Break when it was on the air because I thought it had a stupid premise which, even if it had potential, would be ruined by network jerks. When I make a decision like this, it is somewhat inevitable that I will watch the show after its cancellation and I will become fanatical about it. (Notable examples: The Practice and E.R.)
I have spent the last few weeks watching every season of Prison Break and today I watched an episode of Breakout Kings which featured the main character from Prison Break. I am now ready to give you my review.

Prison Break is the story of Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell, an inmate at Fox River State Penitentiary, and what happens when he befriends a new inmate who is planning to escape. Bagwell is a misunderstood genius who has been forced by circumstance into a life of crime (rape, pedophilia, etc.), but who sees an opportunity to make things right for himself and for the people he has wronged when he learns of the new inmate's escape plan. Bagwell is invited to join the escape plan when he makes himself invaluable to the new inmate. He works alongside a bunch of dangerous and worthless losers who can't be trusted and it quickly becomes apparent that although Bagwell did not come up with the escape plan, he is the driving force behind everything and he holds the group together.
Once the group has escaped, they turn against Bagwell and in an act of unbelievable betrayal and savage cruelty, they cut off his hand. Bagwell survives and spends the rest of the second season seeking revenge. The end of the second season shows us Bagwell's success, in that he has most of the turncoats incarcerated in a Panamanian prison, but his victory comes at the cost of his own freedom.
The third season focuses on Bagwell's rise to power inside the Panamanian prison.
The fourth season is the basic conclusion to Bagwell's story. Bagwell's services are sought out by a shadowy agency to fight against his former allies. Bagwell really shines in this season. He is like James Bond, only sexier.
Note: the fourth season also gives us this gem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZELaWIvAqg

There are a couple of epilogues to Bagwell's story. The first comes in a two-part episode which shows us how his enemies are destroyed. The second is an episode of Breakout Kings in which the heroic Bagwell escapes from prison so that he punish those who have hurt his ailing mother.
Overall, Prison Break is a tremendously satisfying tale about the triumph of the human spirit.

-Cary

Tonight, Two Nights (Stolen Title)

2011-08-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

I've used this post's title before.

(A very loud car...never mind.)

Last night, I completed the chapter which had been the subject of my most recent posts. Tonight, I really went to work on the new current active chapter. This chapter is much less complicated than the previous chapter and it's already in pretty good shape. My plan is to spend a major part of the day thinking about it and then tear into it hard when night falls once again. That should, I believe, leave me with one or two night of minor polish and this chapter will be complete.

Now, a note on a future post. If all goes according to plan, tomorrow, I will post my review of Prison Break. This will include the whole television series as well as one episode of Breakout Kings which features a character from Prison Break. I have not yet watched the episode of Breakout Kings.

-Cary

Tease

2011-08-27T02:51:00.000-07:00

This evening, I did not complete a chapter. That said, I have the current active chapter in good enough shape so that I feel comfortable in saying that it shall be complete given one, maybe two more nights.

-Cary

Feelin' It, Baby

2011-08-26T02:39:00.001-07:00

There are many grades of "ready" for a manuscript. There are for me, anyway. They range from "perfect" (which, let's face it, will never happen) to "if someone pointed a gun to my head and demanded that I submit this for publication, I would not die of shame to see it published". This evening, I reached the latter stage. Plenty of work remains, but the hard shit is over.

--Cary

Division

2011-08-22T02:46:00.001-07:00

The current active chapter could be easily seen as taking place in three acts. This evening, I completed the first act. This act is a very small part of the chapter, but it is significant and it is complete.

-Cary

Another Chapter

2011-08-19T01:58:00.000-07:00

This evening, I worked in chapter which is not the current active chapter. I increased my word count (by a few hundred words) by expanding a (hopefully) sad and terrifying part of the story. The events of the current active chapter tie directly into the events of this other chapter and by working in this other chapter, my vision of the events in the current active chapter is made clearer. Something like that, anyway.

-Cary

Word Count

2011-08-18T01:28:00.000-07:00

This evening, I greened out all of the red ink of the currently active chapter. I then drew red lines through almost half of the following chapter. I finished by mildly tinkering with the chapter after that. I lost close to one thousand words.

I'm thinking things of a geometrical nature.

Unrelated: I watched the first season of Prison Break and I can not advise you to watch it.

Also unrelated: I've started the second season.

-Cary

Process

2011-08-17T02:43:00.000-07:00

This post is about process. Believe me, I'm as unhappy about it as you are.
I have eliminated most of the active chapter's red ink. Only two notes remain. A reasonable person might reasonably assume that once those notes are eliminated, a brief run through the chapter for basic grammar and anything which catches the eye would be all that remained before the chapter could be considered complete. That person would be wrong. Once those two notes are eliminated, I will go through the chapter word by word, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph and I will examine everything.
The two notes are worthy of further mention as well. Sometimes my notes are very specific, like a red line with no explanation means whatever the red line covers should be removed. Easy enough, right? Sometimes my notes are less specific, like a circle around a couple of sentences with the note "more Christ allusions". This requires some creativity, but it's still a fairly straightforward exercise. Sometimes my notes are broad and vague, like a circle around three paragraphs with the note "make this better". Those can be challenging, as I'm sure you can imagine. The two remaining notes in this chapter are along the lines of "make this spectacular" and "explore this character more in this section and make it insightful and complex, yet subtle and touching".

-Cary

Transcription

2011-08-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

Because these final chapters had become a mess of red ink and green ink, I printed them all again and I transcribed what notes remained. This sucked because it ate up a lot of time and it made my neck hurt. It did, however, give me a very clear view of the work I have ahead of me, so it was worth it.
This evening, I worked on the currently active chapter. I greened out a lot of red ink and I performed some intensive detail work. I don't feel as though I accomplished a lot, but I think that's probably because the story didn't really change.

As a wholly unrelated matter, I feel I should say something about the death of Jani Lane. I don't know what caused his death and I don't really know anything about his personal life. He was not any kind of hero to me and I am not changed because of his death. I say this because I want to be clear about my desire to not overstate things. I am, for several reasons, quite sad that he died. First, I met him once after a concert in Birmingham and he was extraordinarily cool. (This was after Warrant's popularity had really faded.) Second, I have, for a very long time now, been an outspoken fan of Lane's vocal work and his songwriting ability. It is my contention that Warrant (with Lane) was a terribly underrated band whose work improved with solid significance on each successive album. Warrant never really lived up to what I believed to be their potential, but I think any fan of hard rock would do well to revisit the Warrant discography. Third, while I was not the typical Warrant fan, and while Jani Lane was a few years older than me, he was young enough and rocked hard enough for me to think of him as one of "us". I always believed him to be a guy who had a lot of the same albums and cassettes that I had. I always believed him to be a guy who saw a lot of the same bands I saw and who had a lot the same experiences. I believe a lot of the stories we could have told about our teenage years would have been very similar, both in content and in tone. Like I said, I'm not changed, not devastated, but I am sad.

-Cary

Butchery

2011-08-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

This evening, I read most of the chapter at hand and I removed two pages' worth of text. I took care of a lot of the red ink as well. There is still some significant red ink and I'm pretty sure that I will be, over the next couple of nights, adding quite a bit of text. All told, I guess this chapter will take me another week to complete.

-Cary

Red/Green

2011-08-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

The time I've spent working over the last twenty-four hours has been dominated by a red pen and a green highlighter. My word count has decreased by several hundred. Three chapters are significantly tighter than they were at this time yesterday. I feel very good about things.

-Cary

V

2011-08-11T02:32:00.000-07:00

This evening, I completed a chapter. Five chapters remain. Five. The remaining chapters, of which there are only five, are coated in red ink. Much work remains, but the bulk of it is pretty straightforward stuff. There will be printing and there will be transcribing, but the end is in sight.
As a reminder, though, I should point out that after these chapters are completed, I will still have to attend to the checklist of other remaining items, and I will still have to read the manuscript again and I will probably make one final set of corrections as I read. I will not be ready to send official query letters for a while, but that time is coming. Oh, yes it is.

-Cary

Fine Tuning

2011-08-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

I'm totally running out of titles for these posts.

This evening, I took care of the remainder of the major corrections and changes to be made to the currently active chapter. There is still a bit of fine tuning to be done, but I think the hard stuff is behind me.

-Cary

Crazy

2011-08-09T01:37:00.000-07:00

Long story short: illness and unpleasant family issues.

This evening, I returned to work and I made a significant contribution to my word count.

-Cary

Good

2011-07-31T04:06:00.001-07:00

I completed another chapter. Dudes.

-Cary

Tonight, Things Went Well

2011-07-27T02:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight, things went well. I have a much better vision for how to connect the chapter upon which I'm currently working with the chapter which follows it, as well as how to connect that chapter with the one which follows it. Their connections are currently kind of bulky and vague (a disturbing combination), big picture stuff, but I see now how I can smooth the one into the other and so forth. I feel very good about where this is going.

-Cary

2011-07-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

I've realized that the chapter upon which I have been most recently working has a lot more potential than I...er...previously realized. Given this realization, I believe I will be spending a few more nights working on it. That said, the first paragraph of the chapter is in tremendously better shape than it was when I began working tonight.

-Cary

Tonight, Two Nights

2011-07-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the last two nights, I have completed a chapter, begun operations on the next chapter, and added a significant scene to the final chapter of the manuscript. I have also lost a couple of hundred words.

-Cary

Las Vegas

2011-07-20T02:37:00.001-07:00

My work was recently interrupted by a trip to Las Vegas. I have returned to work and I am pleased to say that I expect to complete several chapters over the next few nights.

-Cary

Yeah, Yeah

2011-07-19T02:34:00.001-07:00

I'm working.

-Cary

Surprise

2011-07-06T01:51:00.000-07:00

This evening, I did something horrible to one of the characters in my story. As if things were not bad enough for this person, I went and made things fucked. Just fucked.

-Cary

Addition

2011-07-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of nights, I've worked on parts of various chapters and I have caused the word count to rise by a couple of thousand words.

-Cary

1,000

2011-07-02T02:58:00.000-07:00

This evening, I added one thousand words to the manuscript. I will probably add (net gain) another several thousand.

-Cary

One More Down

2011-06-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

I have placed another chapter on the stack of completed chapters. The next chapter, in my mind, truly marks the beginning of the final act of the story. It requires a little bit of creative work, but it shouldn't take more than a few nights to complete.
I have just looked through all eight of the remaining chapters and I feel pretty good about the work which lies ahead. I just have to knock those out, take care of the check list (more and more of which is growing obsolete), and then give it a truly cursory read for anything glaring and erroneous, and then it will be in the bag.

-Cary

Last Night Does Not Count

2011-06-28T02:15:00.000-07:00

I did not work last night. I did work this evening, though, and I accomplished what I had predicted I would accomplish last night.

-Cary

Polish and Finish

2011-06-26T00:46:00.001-07:00

I need one more night (which I intend to spend polishing the chapter upon which I have been working) and then I should be able to put this chapter in the pile of complete chapters.
I'm tired.

-Cary

Expansion

2011-06-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

The chapter which is the current focus of my attention has grown. It started out as something which I recently deemed unnecessary and which I shortly thereafter scrapped and replaced with the basic chapter I have now. The replacement was, I have to admit, basically a placeholder. I didn't know what to do with the chapter, so I wrote some crap just to have some crap until I could think of other crap to write. Now, I have allowed it grow. It has become a part of the story and I am pleased.

-Cary

X

2011-06-24T01:53:00.000-07:00

I have ten chapters left to polish and this round will be finished.

-Cary

Another Chapter Close to Completion

2011-06-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

The title mostly tells the story. I will take another glance at it tomorrow, make whatever corrections I see fit to make, and then I will print it and place on the stack of complete chapters.

-Cary

RIP Clarence Clemons

2011-06-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

There are probably hundreds of musicians who have had a very strong and very positive impact upon my life. Clarence Clemons was one of them. I don't know anything about the man's personal life, but he always struck me as a pretty decent fellow who was happy to be alive and happy to play good music for appreciative audiences.
I grew up in Alabama, surrounded by a most amazing array of dipshit redneck racists. After I grew old enough to seek out my own entertainment, I discovered Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. For a very long time after that discovery, I would frequently think of Clarence Clemons when people around me would go off on ignorant rants about "niggers". I didn't know anyone of color at the time, but he, Clemons, was nothing like what these people described, at least in my mind. Of course, there were many factors which contributed to my rejection of southern racism, but Clemons was one of the first who had a name, a shape, and a face.
I don't mean to overstate things, as is easy to do when someone dies, but the man gave me some beautiful, awesome music, and, in retrospect, he was one of the few lights who, to whatever degree I have been, led me out of darkness.

-Cary

Eleven

2011-06-15T02:31:00.000-07:00

I have apparently used this title before.

I have eleven incomplete chapters.

-Cary

More Of The Same

2011-06-14T02:03:00.001-07:00

This evening, I worked exclusively on the same chapter on which I worked last evening. It, the chapter, is very close to being complete. Tomorrow night (or whenever I write again) will see this happen.

-Cary

Beef

2011-06-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

This evening, I worked mostly with the earliest incomplete chapter, but I also took care of some fairly important business which spans several of the remaining incomplete chapters. As for the earliest incomplete chapter, I'm guessing two more nights before it is complete.
I added over one thousand words to the manuscript.

-Cary

Chapter Down

2011-06-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

One more chapter has gone onto the stack of completed chapters.
The next chapter is short and, ideally, its completion should not take me long, but it is a little more complicated than the last one, so it may take me an extra night.

-Cary

Yes

2011-06-11T02:50:00.001-07:00

I lack whatever talent is required to create a better title for this post.

I worked mostly on one chapter this evening. I dabbled in two or three other chapters, but this one had the strongest hold on my attention. I fixed a few outstanding parts of an obsolete subplot, which gave me a tremendous sense of relief.
This will probably turn out to be bullshit, but I don't think it's unreasonable to predict that I will complete this chapter tomorrow night, and then, for a short while, another chapter every two or three nights.

--Cary

Thirteen

2011-06-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

This evening, I did some pretty reasonable work in two chapters. I knew a time would come when I would feel the need to beef up some of the latter chapters and, I tell you, that time has come. This wasn't the most exciting of writing nights, nor was the work done the most excellent storytelling ever done by a mammal, but it was a good night and I'm largely happy with the work I did.
There are thirteen chapters remaining.

-Cary

The Unique And The Complete

2011-06-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

The unique chapter is now complete. The next few chapters are short, but they need a lot of improvement. At this point, I am beginning to close subplots, move the major plot into the final act, and generally tie together those things which I feel should be tied together. Those are the major functions of these chapters and a lot of that stuff deals with personal issues for a major character, so it's not as mechanical as I may make it seem. As I mentioned, these chapters are also homes to a lot of creepy shit, so I'm looking forward to tackling that aspect of things as well.

-Cary

This Unique Chapter

2011-06-08T02:18:00.000-07:00

The chapter which was the subject of my most recent blog post was also the focus of this evening's work. The chapter is in surprisingly good shape and I believe it will be complete by this time tomorrow. After the chapter is complete, I'm in for a big chunk of creepy shit.

-Cary

Unique

2011-06-07T02:13:00.000-07:00

I would like to lie to you. I would like to tell you I've been too busy writing to update you, but I have not. I have only been working the past couple of nights.
The chapter on which I am currently working is not unique. This too is a lie I'd like for you to believe. It is, however, unlike most of the chapters in the manuscript. A lot happens in a short period (some of which is very important) and the main functions of the chapter are to build major tension going into the next chapter, establish the countdown (a metaphor) for the climax, and to abruptly give the reader a reason to feel something unexpected for a character. The chapter is, because of the functions it serves, heavily reliant upon style rather than substance, so where substance is required, it must be delivered subtly.
I believe I will spend no more than three more nights on this chapter.

-Cary

Book Report/Work

2011-05-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I finished reading Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. This is, as with all of the previous Ellis book upon which I have recently reported, the second time I have read Lunar Park. I enjoyed it the first time, but I found parts of it, some of those areas where Ellis really put his shoulder into writing horror, to be silly and lacking. Specifically, I had problems with Terby. Mostly, I enjoyed it. This time around, I had absolutely no problems with Terby. I had no problems with any part or parts of the story. I found it to be genuinely interesting, engaging, compelling, moving, and frightening. I don't know that I would say Lunar Park is my favorite of Ellis's works, but I think it is the best told of his works. I think it is the most well written of his works and the most sleekly delivered.
By now you are aware that I have been reading all off the works of Bret Easton Ellis in the order in which they were published. I am not one to read books a second time, for the most part, but I have done this as a way to prepare myself to read Imperial Bedrooms, a book about which I am greatly excited. I started it tonight and I expect to finish it Thursday and I am totally digging it so far.

Tonight, I completed a chapter which ended up being something much more impressive than I could have ever anticipated. This was, in a very recent incarnation, a very short chapter. Its two brief paragraphs, just a few lines, were designed to be a sharp stab of culmination of the events in some of the previous chapters. It was supposed to be a flash of lightning which tied things up so the story could progress into another phase.
The chapter in its completed form still serves the purpose of wrapping some things up so the story can roll on, but it is much more elaborate than those two brief paragraphs. This chapter is, and I write this with absolute sincerity, the scariest thing I have ever written. It relies to a large degree on the context of the greater story, so I don't know how well it would play outside of that context, but I do know that I am now, after having completed the chapter and printed it, sitting in a very well lit room and I am still absolutely terrified.

-Cary

Chicago

2011-05-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post an entry a few days ago, but Blogger had problems and then I had to go to Chicago for a funeral.

I have put to bed a major chapter and I am exceedingly proud of my work. I will put to bed another chapter tomorrow night, and very possibly another the following night.

-Cary

Book Report

2011-05-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

I recently read Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis. This was the second time I've read the book and I think I enjoyed it, to whatever degree I did enjoy it, just as much as I did the first time around. It's well written, beautiful in parts, but it has some problems. I don't know much about Ellis, so I have no idea what his motivations were, but I suspect that by the time he started writing Glamorama, he had come to hate his readers and desperately wanted revenge. There are many places throughout the story where I felt that Ellis was deliberately fucking with me by omitting key parts or by including ridiculously irrelevant and ethereal parts. I was very pleased by much of the continuity, as the story exists in the larger Ellis universe previously discussed on this blog, but then even that satisfaction was twisted into something warped and intangible. It's a good story (with, in my estimation, a much more accessible narrator than any of Ellis's previous works), but it left me feeling punished.

-Cary

Trapeze

2011-04-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, Katie signed us up for a cool crash course in circus training. You can see me on the trapeze here.

Lately, I have delayed dealing with a problem with the manuscript, a problem which presents itself at the end of an unexpectedly significant chapter. Tonight, I began to deal with that problem.

-Cary

More Red Ink

2011-04-24T01:17:00.000-07:00

This evening, I removed a lot of words from the manuscript. This surgery was done on latter chapters and I feel confident that most of what was removed will be replaced. I still have a few pages which are covered by red ink, but that number (whatever it actually is) is dwindling.

-Cary

I Was Right

2011-04-22T02:52:00.000-07:00

My assertion that I was in good shape going into work this evening proved to be correct. I took care of some scary shit and I saw to some outstanding red ink as well. Mostly, I removed some incredibly dead end shit from a chapter and replaced it with some incredibly right on shit.
In the very near future, my posts will include notifications of having completed more chapters.

-Cary

Killing It

2011-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of the morning getting my literary shit together. I printed most of the remaining chapters, transcribed the remaining notes, and took another semi-detached look at the basic story which remains. I think I'm in pretty good shape for working tonight.

There is another manuscript which needs work. I believe I've mentioned this manuscript before, but in case I haven't, I'll briefly catch you up. It's a werewolf story and it's very long. I completed the first draft a few years ago and I started to proofread it and to mark it up, but I didn't get very far before I abandoned work on that manuscript in favor of starting another (the one I'm working on now). Ever since I moved to San Diego, this manuscript has been sitting on a shelf beside my desk. After my morning's work on the active manuscript, I pulled the older manuscript of the shelf and took a look at it. I did not return it to the shelf and I hope this is my way of making a commitment to it. I'd really like to polish it up and put it to bed, but I have another story which has been lighting my fires lately and I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of letting this new story sit any longer than it absolutely has to and I am no good at working on multiple projects at the same time. So I have this in the back of my mind, this knowledge that a decision must soon be made. (Maybe I'll write the first draft of the new story and then return to the werewolf story. It's just a thought.)

I would love to work some more today, right now, but it's getting noisy outside and the sun is shining and I can wait until tonight because I'm a patient man.

-Cary

Red Ink

2011-04-21T02:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight I focused on red ink. Notes I had made, corrections yet to be implemented, dirty limericks, etc., were all I dealt with.

I just killed a spider.

-Cary

Skipping Ahead

2011-04-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

I worked in the final two chapters this evening. I made some significant adjustments and it was all very substantial.

For the last twenty minutes, people have been loudly speaking a few houses down.

-Cary

Thinking/Working

2011-04-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

I took a few days away from the manuscript to think about it. This was a good move. I'm pretty close to being finished with the editing/proofreading/polishing thing I've been doing, and I want to make absolutely sure of where this is all leading. (I also had some extremely fucked up, scary, violent shit to add and I wanted my shit together before I tackled that.) As I said, this was a good move. I accomplished a lot tonight. I have sixteen chapters remaining and a respectable portion of those are complete.

"Time is fleeting; madness takes its toll."

-Cary

Grinder

2011-04-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have just finished an intense working session. There is a place in the manuscript where the events of three chapters work together in an intricate fashion. The actions which take place in these chapters are delivered like drum beats, if you will. I completed the first of these chapters yesterday. I completed the third some time ago. The second one, consequently, has been the focus of my attention as of late. As with so much of the manuscript, the actual flow of the words is critical and I think I have been working at this thing with parts of my brain I didn't know I had. Anyway, I have just finished working on this chapter. The first few pages of it are complete. I have a dozen or so pages left. I'm at a point in the process where I feel like I'm not so much sculpting as I'm grinding the fuck out of something and forcing it to be what I want. It's really good, in my opinion. I continue to honestly surprise myself.

-Cary

Good Neighbors

2011-04-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that he started playing guitar just before I was going to try to get some work done this afternoon, I still think my neighbor is a right on dude. See how much I've grown?

I got major work done this afternoon after my neighbor quit playing his guitar. I'm much farther along than I had thought. I've been stressed about how much of the second half of the book has been changing, but this afternoon I went through what's left, took a really good look at the plot points which had caused me stress, and I think I'm actually in excellent shape. There are two or three chapters which will require a pretty intense amount of work, but I know what has to be done. I see everything clearly. I rule, motherfuckers. I fucking rule.

-Cary

Creative

2011-04-06T01:13:00.000-07:00

I wrote tonight. Real writing. I added about a thousand words to the manuscript. I've missed this part of things.

-Cary

A Change Of Heart

2011-04-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

I've decided against the cool experimental thing I told you about. I wish it would work, I truly do, but it won't.

Tonight I worked on a part of the story which was mostly a dead end thing from the beginning. The dead end thing has been turned into a good and necessary thing.

-Cary

Book Report

2011-04-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

I will now share my thoughts and opinions regarding The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis.

This collection of short stories told by characters who inhabit the same world feels like an exercise. There are times, as I have previously mentioned here, when I feel the creative urge to write but I lack the discipline to struggle for any semblance of coherence. At these times, I usually work on things which I know will have no meaning and which serve no purpose other than as vessels for my flotsam and jetsam. This is what I think The Informers must have been for Ellis. The writing is, as always, eloquent and a pleasure to read, but the stories go nowhere (and not in any good way) and are a waste of time.

--Cary

2011-03-31T01:26:00.000-07:00

craziness, and this is one of those times. I have a couple of chapters which, before this evening, dealt with a part of the plot which no longer exists. I have been thinking about them, about what to do with them, and that's all, I swear, but then this other idea I had a couple of months ago intruded into my thoughts and, long story short I've done something very unusual with the chapters. The risk I have chosen to take is enormous, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. It doesn't help that a major part of what I've done looks stupid on the paper I currently use to satisfy my printing needs, but I think it will look better

No Pain Tonight

2011-03-29T01:09:00.001-07:00

Strangely, I suffered no pain at all while working this evening.

I worked on a few short places where odd things happen for odd reasons. The thing about these places is that the only thing which makes them work is the rhythm of the passages, so word selection is crucial. I think one more night should allow me to finish these bits.

-Cary