The Journal of Michael Merriam

The weekend was packed with stuff.

Saturday was all about the gaming, with some writing and housework thrown in. The gaming session went well, I thought, though another character bit the dust, again through nothing I did as a GM, but instead caught in "Friendly Fire" during a particularly nasty battle. That's the second character causality, and we're just now getting to the hard stuff.

On the negative side, I broke a glass at the host's home, and kept walking into people, things, walls, and otherwise stumbling over stuff like some gigantic club-footed blind cow. I know the why of it, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

The Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Network meeting was good as well. We talked about world building, and as you might guess with a room of over a dozen Spec Fic writers, things got a little weird. I won't talk too much about what we came up with, because I think some members of the group might want to try writing stories in the world we created as a group. More power to them.

My main contribution was, I think, the Giant Space Kraken lurking hidden somewhere in the dark matter of space, coming out in answer to the prayers of the aquatic life on the planet we created and destroying the human spaceships in orbit. Because really, I think most spacefaring science fiction and space opera stories could be improved with a god-like Giant Space Kraken lurking in the dark matter, waiting to pounce on hapless and unsuspecting starships.

Next month we are hosting Lois McMaster Bujold. I'm looking forward to the Q&A.

Sunday night I helped careswen a little bit with her paper for class by going through her textbooks and flagging pages she might need for citations.

I wrote a little bit this weekend, mostly while waiting for buses, though if I am to be completely honest, I wrote a little during the TCSFWN meeting as well.

I talked to my mother, who is much improved from her surgery.

I'm not going to Wiscon this year, not because I didn't enjoy it last year (I did!) but for purely financial reasons. I've picked up 4th Street Fantasy Convention instead, which is local and promises to be filled with coolness.

I applied for a full-time position with a major shipping company, because the pay and benefits were simply too good to ignore. It is unlikely I will even make the cut for an interview, but I have to try. And yes, I realize that I had trouble writing when I was working part-time and given that, working full-time might well stop me cold as a writer, but the siren song of the pay and benefits could not be ignored.

I also applied for a couple of part-time positions, and started writing a short (200-250 word) article on spec for a local news and media outlet that is considering posting short pieces of local Twin City interest on their website.

I feel pensive, sad, and worn. I wonder if I am not the most terribly tedious correspondent in the entire blogosphere. I suspect that I might be whining at this point. I suspect I need a decent nights sleep.

Dark Water Blues


ETA:I bought a French Press. It makes little individual cups of coffee heaven!

I have returned from the coffeeshop triumphant, with about 8 pages of handwritten fiction in my notebook to transcribe. It should be about 1200 words, and it is the end of a chapter. I need to stop now and sort a few things out, as I'm about to start moving this puppy toward the finish line.

Unfortunately, something I ate--likely the salsa on the scrambled egg I had this morning for breakfast (along with toast, a banana and coffee)--is causing me to feel...

Unpleasant is about the nicest thing I can say about it.

The busy weekend starts tonight, so I probably won't blog more until Monday.

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.

Meatball Subs have been prepared and consumed. careswen is off to class. The Reverend Selena is dozing in the sun. I have cleaned up the kitchen and put away the leftovers.

Time to start slogging toward the end again...

I have proven that I am indeed handy about the house by repairing the freezer, stopping it from making a noise like horny crickets on a sugar high. Granted, all I did was take the coverings apart, clean things, and then reseat all the screws properly, but still, I fixed it!

I am rewarding myself with a Hershey's 5th Avenue bar. And if the freezer starts making terrible noises in a few minutes, I will have consoled myself with that same candy bar.

Also, if you get an invitation to come to my home tomorrow and eat all my food, well, you know what happened.

I have an interview tomorrow at Retail Employees Credit Union. They have a call center here in Hopkins and a branch office in St. Louis Park, both of which I can travel to easily.

My new state issued ID came in the mail today, so now I can rent a PO Box for Drey Books while I'm next out and about. The picture, of course, is about as unflattering as these sort of pictures can be. I look like a fat thug. Seriously. careswen admonished me for not smiling, but I did, is the thing. It's just that their dodgy piece of shite lowest bidder digital camera took a good thirty seconds to take the picture, several seconds of which involved a bright light in my face.

careswen stayed home with a continuation of her migraine today. She seems better now, after a lot of drugs and a nice nap. We walked over to the little neighborhood store and made a couple of purchases, noting on the way that the squirrels and chipmunks are feeling the spring. Mostly this was accomplished by watching multiple fuzzy animals chasing each other around. At one point it looked like a small circus on my patio, with four or five squirrels and a couple of chipmunks dashing around chasing each other. The Reverend is amused by all this.

My sister called this morning. My mother is back in the hospital. I don't have a lot of details yet, and what I do have are sketchy, so I won't say any more until I do.

Made some good movement in on the current WiP, but I really do need to get serious about finding a publishing home for Last Car to Annwn Station.

I also have a couple of short stories I need to rewrite and a couple more I need to finish. And another novel I want to work on after the current one. I need to learn to write faster.

Rija's Tale


Yes, I've increased the projected word count.

I broke a door off a cabinet yesterday. I was putting a new trash bag in the trash can, and one of the doors of the free standing cabinet I keep spices and liquor in popped open slightly, probably from me bumping the cabinet. Of course, this was under my rather narrow field of vision, so…

Yeah, smashed into it, hurt my knee and tore the door up. careswen assured me that we can take the other door off and she can make a curtain to cover the contents, which will be fine, but it kind of threw me into a downward spiral. Sure, it's a stupid free standing cabinet I bought at Target, and I could replace it easy enough. It's not a big deal. Except that it is. Sometimes this blind thing gets really tiring, the more so when I'm destroying my own possessions by accident because of it.

Gaming went okay last night. It could have used a little more action, I think, but my players aren't ready to depose me as GM just yet.

I love the fact that we all (the gamers in our group) bring food for sharing with the rest of the group, and the wraps we made last night from the various goodies people brought were tasty. That said, I shouldn't have eaten any red onion, because I've been slightly sick to my stomach all morning, and the red onion is the obvious culprit.

I have the Twin Cities Speculative Writers Fiction Network Meeting at noon. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, and since I'm one of the actual speakers on this month's topic, (Publishing 101) I need to make sure I show up on time.

I'm in the process of writing a Publishing 101 essay, which I may use as a handout at CONvergence this year.

I started reading Rudy Rucker's The Fourth Dimension: A Guided Tour of the Higher Universes in preparation of writing "Fourth Dimensional Pony in the Concourse of the Lost." My poor brain.

More good movement on Rija's Tale yesterday and this morning. I might take tomorrow off from working on it in order to complete some other writing projects.

Rija's Tale

…or at least high energy, which was good, because The Great SF/F/H Book Migration took place today. I brought all books downstairs, then the bookcases, and then set everything back up. It is done and I am tired.

I wrote more today. This small goal of 500 words a day seems to be working well at getting me back in the swing of things.

Rija's Tale



I didn't do any other writing related stuff today, but I'll make up for it tomorrow, I hope.

I need to prepare for gaming this Saturday, and then I'm one of the features speakers at this months meeting of the Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Network. I managed for get out of doing the "Publishing 101" panel at Minicon, but I'm doing it for my group this Sunday.

I just polished off a big bowl of popcorn that was smothered in something resembling a reasonable butter substitute, but I'm still hungry. I'm going to go raid the kitchen and then work on some projects for an hour before I go to bed.

Went out last night with careswen greykev, pezwitch, and williamofoccam to Walking Shadows production of Naomi Iizuka's 36 Views.

It was opening night, so it took a few minutes for the performers to settle, but once they did, I thought each actor gave an excellent performance. The pacing and directing was excellent as well, the only thing that I was kind of "meh" about was the set. I wasn't bad, but I think I wanted something more elegant and less intrusive. There were moments where the set felt like another character, and I don't think it should in this play.

All in all, recommended. One thing Walking Shadow does oh so well is give the audience plays that are deeply character driven with interesting and surprising characters. 36 Views does not disappoint.

We trekked to Perkins for food and coffee afterward. I was sore and my legs were cramping at that point, so I sat in a way to stretch my legs out. This had the unfortunate effect of making my back slightly to everyone. I thought I still did a good job of staying in the conversation, especially about the show, but as the night went on I was more tired and sore. I thought the food would perk me up, but it didn't. So if I seemed cranky and quiet to my table mates, I apologize here. I was just having trouble getting physically comfortable, and when added to the fact that I'd been up since four that morning, it made me less than ideal company.

Today is game day, so I need to eat some breakfast and get settled in doing game day prep work.

Oh yeah, wrote 1400 words yesterday as well.

...despite laundry and missing the bus both ways which forced me to walk to and from downtown Hopkins to run errands and taking out the trash and exercising and ordering groceries and paying bills and answering emails and cooking meals and Princess Puffy Tail (aka Reverend Selena) leaving a bloody gash on my hand and all the other myriad distractions of day-to-day life...

...I managed to write nearly 1000 words and sent out 3 submissions today.

Go me.

Sitting on the patio on a lovely day?
Good idea.

Writing on the current work-in-progress while sitting on the patio on a lovely day?
Great idea.

Enjoying a cup of coffee while writing on the current work-in-progress while sitting on the patio on a lovely day?
Grand idea!

Snacking on peanuts while enjoying a cup of coffee while writing on the current work-in-progress while sitting on the patio on a lovely day?

Maybe not the best idea ever, considering the squirrels and chipmunks and their complete and utter lack of concern about the human, but it was entertaining. This little bugger of a gray squirrel climbed up on the table, walked right up to me, and snatched dry roasted peanuts from my bowl. Meanwhile, one of the chipmunks sat near my feet and stared up at me, obviously wanting me to share.