The Journal of Michael Merriam

I finished the rewrite pass on "Cold Hand in Mine," cutting it down from 11,000 words to 8000. I am pleased by this, and the story is tighter and stronger. It's still going to be a tough sell at that length, but I'll deal with that when I need. I'm going to let it sit for a week, then pull it back out, give it another quick pass, and then off to readers for feedback.

It is lovely outside, so I walked down to the bank and post office. I cashed the check Jonathan from Fictitious Force sent me. I thought about stopping at Wendy's and getting a Baconator Burger, but was virtuous and kept walking. At the little pond I was amused by the duck enjoying the weather and frolicking in the water like silly ducks. This distracted me enough that I walked under a speeding freight train without initially noticing. Fortunately the train was on a bridge and I was on the sidewalk below!

Once I was near home I realized I was hungry and needed to get lunch, so I stopped at the local deli for a cheese-steak sandwich. It was, as is usual for my local deli, made of win (well, actually it was made of shredded steak, cheese, onions, peppers, and hoagie bread). Now I need to get back to work, either on Rija's Tale or "Steadfast."

I have an interview next week for a part-time position teaching 3-5 year old how to use computers.

Life is pretty good.

This is mine and careswen's schedule for CONvergence this year. I will also have a group reading and an individual reading at some point.

Where do you start? Thu 8:00pm - 9:00pm
What is the initial genesis or kernel idea of a book? Do you start with a character? A world? A cool scene? A plot?
Joel Arnold, Dana M. Baird, Michael Merriam, Gar Net, Damian Sheridan, Doug Texter

Getting Published 101 Fri 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Looking to get famous and make lots of money writing? How about a more realistic view of the writing and publishing process? We'll cover prepping a work for submission (including cover letters and business writing) to coping with rejection.
Jerrod Balzer, Cynthia Booth, Roy C. Booth, Philip Kaveny, Kelly McCullough, Michael Merriam

Living with a Writer Sat 11:00am - 12:00pm
Significant others of writers and artist trade stories and tips about the joys and challenges of living with a creative person.
Cynthia Booth, Jennifer Lynch, Sherry Merriam

Urban Fantasy Sat 12:30pm - 1:30pm
The borders of faerie have moved from pastoral England to modern cities. What is the appeal of urban fantasy? Who writes the best stuff?
Kenneth Hite, Kelly McCullough, Michael Merriam, Juanita Nesbitt, Jody Wurl

Writing Business: Cover letters, manuscripts, and rejections Sat 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Back to basics. There are books that handle this topic fairly well, but nothing substitutes for experience. Active pros and semi-pros in writing, editing and publishing talk about the dos and don'ts.
Roy C. Booth, Kelly McCullough, Michael Merriam