Okay, just to show I'm still here...

I've gotten over the cold that smacked me most of the first week of March, thank God. In the meantime, I've been working at my job trying to improve my performance so I can see what else the place has to offer (I'll be at the six-month mark in April, so hopefully there could be some great things!).

I also finished a short story that, while I wanted to write it, am not sure what to do with it. It's about a young woman having a final showdown with a serial killer that had been stalking her for part of her life. I can already hear the criticism from people asking me why writing about something like this is necessary. Hell, my mom would probably ask the same question. I wonder if Joyce Carol Oates gets that question a lot. (My bet is yes. Yes she does,)

But you know what bugs me the most about the short story? I hate the title. It is made of concentrated "make 'em say ugh".

Fun fact: I wrote about 3K of this while waiting for calls at my job. Hell yeah.

Otherwise...

 that I actually got something done.

Now to give it a better name, edit it, and maybe publish it?  Okay, not sure on the last one.

Reading Challenges for 2012

After the (somewhat) success of the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge (I have until the 12th of January next year to finish), I have decided to take on several more, but with smaller goals.

And so, here we go!

A reading challenge for those who dig stories about unfortunate (or fortunate) souls going back into time to dig up the past, learn about their present days, and even warn the future (or just change it, y'know).

I'm going for 10 books:
The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle (5 books total)
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Time and Again by Jack Finney
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Time After Time by Karl Alexander
Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
Wanna give it a go? Click here for info!

A reading challenge that asks you to do the unthinkable: to read whatever damn books you haven't read yet!

I'm going for 50 books. Good luck to me...

Wanna take down some books you been meaning to read? Click here for more info!

A reading challenge that takes from a C.S. Lewis quote, but mainly asks the challenger to read (number chosen) of books that go over 700 pages.

I'm going for 2: The Agony and the Ecstasy and The Passage.

Wanna see what C.S. Lewis meant? Click here for more info!

A reading challenge that wants you to read some short story collections. Read a few, gain a favorite writer, y'know the drill...

I'm going for 8 collections, 3 I'm already working on (H.P. Lovecraft, Lydia Davis, and Edgar Allan Poe).

Wanna see if Lydia Davis really does rule the flash fiction kingdom? Click here for more info!





Good luck to all.... and may God help me in 2012.

Small writing update

Okay, since I continue to cower at the presence of Invisible, I've decided to move on and tackle short stories. I had one planned for a while, taking place in Fargo, North Dakota. Based on a true event, this huge tornado (classified as an F5 about four years later, after Dr. Fujita initally created the titular scale) struck the city, tearing most of its northern area apart. This character, who ends up being the father of the male student from Invisible, watches his family become affected by the tornado.

I haven't decided on a title yet. Short story titles are usually hard for me to come up with.

Wanna see what I'm getting myself into? Check out this link. Great pictures, a documentary, and other fine details await your consumption!

Somewhat of an update...

Well, I just started on a new short story. It's about a teenager coming to terms with beauty... in a mall. In the eighties.

Yeah, I'm curious to see how this work out, too.

No other details for now.

~

I finished The Secret History. I'm surprised to say that I really enjoyed it. Sure, it was at times lumbering and some of the descriptions made me want to scream, but it was a good book. Solid cast, intriguing storyline, somewhat-anticlimactic-yet-appropriate ending. I recommend it.

~

Nothing else for now. So good night...