ROW80-2 checkin 5/20 - quickie
May 21, 2012
Just a quickie, and a day late at that.
It's the first long weekend of the summer here in the frozen north, a chance to celebrate the melting of igloos and lake ice, nationwide maple syrup festivals, and blackflies. As a retired person it mostly means remembering many stores will be closed on Monday. I did manage to finish another story for last Friday, and have done some reading. And socializing. I'm a fixture at my local, so can sometimes just sit in a corner - or the sun - and read and write a bit. My friends know I'm a writer, some even follow me online to read and comment on my stories. One of the bartenders is working on a novel, gave him a story to see if would trade for a beer. Haven't heard back yet. It's easy to barter if you're a plumber or accountant, less so for an artist.
My update:
- WIP - nope - still resting on that shelf. Might try a one-scene-at-a-time objective.
- Flash Fiction - did another one for Terrible Minds, for last Friday. It was a pulp fiction challenge - rockets. monsters, damsels, bazookas - over the top was a good thing. Added my Fairy Tale Folk in. I liked it, as did several readers. Took a copy to my local, friend said to give it to his buddy there with him. "He's a writer, too" was the comment. His friend read it carefully - with not a smile on his face. His feedback was that is was "interesting", and "not much room for character development". And he found a missing semicolon and a mis-use of "it's". So not a complete loss I guess. Was more amusing than discouraging - I think he's a writer within the Federal government here.
- Blogs - doing well -up to date today. Even left a few comments.
- Social Media - doing better at reading and commenting.
- Exercise - nice weather still, sandals broken in. Need to balance staying hydrated with staying aware of where bathrooms are - the joys of an aging body. Sorry - was that TMI?
- Reading - fiction - gave up 2/3 way through The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by Dexter Palmer. Was a 'didn't finish' at the meeting, as were others. Reviews loved it, we found the story details weak, buried at times, characters flat and uninteresting. I didn't care what happened to them - in fact I wrote a quck alternate ending on a post-it and left it where I stopped. Have registered with Goodreads, to log and rate my books. A friend - who reads a lot - likes their recommendations. I'll see how well they can guess my tastes.
- Reading - non-fiction - still working on The Hard Facts of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. Ordered a copy of it, as well as Guns, Germs, and Steel.
- other - not too bad with distractions this time:
- Hintonburg Economic Development Committee - finished an initial Facebook page for them, and grabbed a Twitter ID. Plan on publishing it today, Decided to do it at one of the main supporter's, the Carleton Tavern, using their free wi-fi and my iPad.
- sci-fi book club meeting. Met, reviewed, chatted about life, picked next one - Ready Player One.
Sounds like you've had a pleasantly busy week, Mike. Sometimes it's just the way things flow.
As for the story... *rolls eyes* Writers!
;-)
Seriously though, we all seem to have our own ideas about how things should be done, no matter what we chose to do with our lives. Sounds like you came out of that meeting with the perfect attitude. I mean, the story you brought was not meant to be a "high literature" piece; it was meant to be fun, flash fiction. Perhaps the other writer isn't familiar with the form?
As for the exercise thing... A bit TMO, but more of a *blink blink* I would never have guessed you were even remotely near that old.
Have a great couple of days, Mike. *evil gryn* I get to be later than you with my check-in twice in a row now.
Posted by: Eden Mabee | May 22, 2012 at 02:13 PM
It was a little surprising to hear this other writer's opinion, but I think he just missed the concept of flash fiction, in a pulp fiction genre. Maybe if I see him again I'll ask him to bring some of his work.
Posted by: Ravens | May 24, 2012 at 10:28 AM