As usual, the couple of weeks before our family beach vacation are a complete nightmare at work. This year, it’s complicated by a couple of looming deadlines that are actually in the middle of the two-week trip. There was nothing I could do about them, so I’m stuck with a fair amount of work during the first week at the beach. If I used emoticons, I would be typing a lot of colon-shift-9s.
One of the deadlines is a writing gig: the first draft of my chapter for a legal treatise is coming due. I’ve done a fair amount, but still have a lot to grind through. I think I’ll be glad I did it once it’s done, but right now I’m kicking myself for agreeing to it.
As a result, the novel is stalled for another few weeks. Project Hometown is at 14,479 words but I’m not likely to make any progress until the chapter is done.
Let me recommend a writer’s blog that is actually updated regularly, and provides valuable advice: Jeremiah Tolbert, a science fiction writer and the managing editor of one of my favorite podcasts, Escape Pod. His latest post describes his insane-jealousy-inspiring week at Launchpad, the conference put on by NASA for science fiction writers to help them get the actual science right.
The Unfocused Life 