First things

Six years ago I decided I need to start writing again. As a kid I was always spending most of my waking hours lost in my imagination, and after my parents got me my first very computer (a Franklin Ace 1000, a short-lived Apple II clone) there was no stopping me from setting all of those fantasies to words- I wrote for the sheer joy of writing, as fast as I could type, cranking out all manners of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror stories in my spare time.

When I went off to college I had assumed that I would follow in the footsteps of my childhood idol Isaac Asimov and write for Amazing Stories or Analog while getting a degree in astronomy or astrophysics, but not only did my career in the sciences not quite pan out as planned, but my writing output dried up entirely as well. Whereas before I had no problem sitting down and letting the words pour out, somewhere along the way I'd run into the mother of all writer's block, where I struggled even to put together a promising first paragraph, let alone an entire story.

(Okay, to be fair I did write one short story during this decade-long dry spell, and it even survives to this day, albeit only in hard copy. Maybe sometime after NaNoWrimo I'll dust it off and see if I can't edit it into something I wouldn't be totally embarrassed to share!)

Flash forward to 2003, when a confluence of events in my life finally put me back on the writer's path. I was stuck in the doldrums at my job but blogging up a storm, and at some point it dawned on me that if I could post a thousand words of nonfiction for the Jersey Exile without breaking into a cold sweat surely I could try to do the same thing with fiction. And lo and behold, it worked!

(I also credit my wife's encouragement in buying me a PDA for writing on the bus and train, as well as Stephen King's On Writing, which helped me get over the fact that writing doesn't have to be perfect on the first, second, or even third drafts, and last but certainly not least my daughter Andriana, whose impending birth later that spring proved to be the greatest inspiration of all.)

Within a few weeks I had written my first complete short story in over ten years, a science fiction tale I oh-so-cleverly titled "First"- I've posted it to Random Tales for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

And we're off!

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is more commonly called, is underway again, I'm taking the plunge this time around after a hiatus of three years. Astute readers will no doubt recall that I participated in the 2006 NaNoWriMo, completing a 60,000-word first draft of The Librarian's Tale that November with a day or two to spare.

My jump to professional librarian in October 2007 made repeating the feat the following year a nigh-impossibility, and although last year was much better for my writing overall I was too deep into special project limbo at work to commit. This year is a whole different ball of wax, however, so despite the fact that I'm already about 70,000 words into a fantasy anthology (Varonian Nights), I'm throwing down the virtual gauntlet with myself.

So far, so good- it's Day Two and I'm already at 6,000 words! I think I did myself a huge favor by not attempting to shift genres on myself, keeping the novel set in the same fantasy universe as Confessions of Gourmand, The Librarian's Tale, and Varonian Nights. This one is a hard-boiled detective story- crossbow noir, if you will- and it's way too much fun to channel a little bit of Raymond Chandler for a month.

While I have an official profile at NaNoWriMo.org, this time around I'll be doing most of my progress updates on Twitter. To all those people out there who are also making their way towards 50k this month: good luck! Remember that your only goal this month is to write, not to edit, re-write, or second guess yourself and/or your writerly output. Send your internal editor on vacation until December 1st and focus on the simple joy of putting words together for a spell.

Stay tuned! And wish me luck...

Happy Halloween!

Do not adjust your monitor

One of the best aspects of Second Life is that it is a dynamic online platform for people to show off their artistic skills on a macro scale, without the conventional limitations of the physical world (i.e., gravity, space, cost). Most of the time however these quality virtual installations are hard to find without a reputable guide such as Wagner James Au's excellent New World Notes or other SL blogs that highlight what's new and interesting on the Grid.

This is one of the reasons that Burning Life is worth braving the crowds and fighting against the lag, as it concentrates some of Second Life's best designers on some thirty-odd parcels for one week out of the year. Above is a picture taken from a installation titled "Noob Shaman Power" on Selenite Island, which was a collection of 100-ft generic starter avatars standing out in the middle of the desert.

If you've never visited Second Life, this is a great opportunity to give it a whirl- Burning Life has myriad volunteers on hand to help you find your way. I don't spend as much time in SL as I used to, but I'm hoping to drop in at least once a day while Burning Life is going on (it runs through October 25th) and try to see something new every day. So if you're in-world and you see Oodja Fadoodle online, by all means give me a shout!

Cyclops, Gorgons, and Chocolate (oh, my!)

Chapter Twelve of Confessions of a Gourmand is now online!

It's a long way down

The Greasy Pole at low tide.

Double the writing goodness

Not only is Chapter Eleven of Confessions of a Gourmand now online, but I've added another short story to my Random Tales writing blog: Keeper, a horror tale about two fishermen and the one that didn't get away.