Quck News

On the shoulder front: the stretches seem to be improving my flexibility, but of all the places to feel them, I'm feeling them in my left pinkie and ring finger (okay, and also in some of the usual knots on my left scapula). On nights when I sleep funny (at least I think that's the cause) I have a tension headache the next day.

On the weather front: no snow, but December is starting out appropriately cold.

On the writing front: time to send things out. I'm considering Dropbox as an off-site back-up option for my final version of manuscripts (I already back things up to a RAMstick).

I'm having a bout of writer-self-doubt -- I'm probably about where I should be in terms of number of sales per submissions, but on bad days I wonder about what I'm writing for. Am I a mediocre writer competing with really good writers for slots in magazines and is this a good use of my time? Could I write (ooops, I mean sell) better if I wrote in a different genre? Since (as my friend Kevin Keanan likes to remind us) author pay is a logrythmic power curve, how do I need to re-tool my attitude about "making it" as a writer and my contribution to my family and household.

I was having one of these self-hating moments when my gaze stopped at the illustration for my WOTF story, Mask Glass Magic. On one hand, it's a spooky picture, and Mark has a sensible attitude toward having his husband's spooky illustration prominently displayed on the wall. And, sometimes it feels like a faded laurel. But when I allow myself to enjoy it, I recall how exciting and satisfying it was to have concrete proof that the images in my head had jumped into someone else's mind. Lorraine Schleter, the illustrator, skillfully captured the essence of the story at the moment of its central conflict.

So, yeah. I write stories because I want to get into your head. I write stories because I want you to get into my head. I write stories where the characters choose mystery, beguilement, portents, wonder, awe, connection, majesty, and surprise. Mark would add, and they do the dishes, get some exercise, and eat well-balanced meals.