May 2, 2004
"Varmints" is up!
Why, no, I haven't been clicking the Alien Skin site all day waiting for my story to be there. Nor did I go there on my Treo to check while we were out. Why do you ask?
May 3, 2004
first draft of script finished
I'm pretty sure the first draft is finished--I've tied up the pressing loose ends--but it's short. I've sent it to my friend Misha for comments, because she is a generous, rocking kind of person and volunteered.
I'm pretty sure I can find plenty more to say in the next 12 days. No, really. Probably not an issue.
I reread it, and I still think it's funny. Since it's a comedy, that's a good sign. Hopefully it will continue to be funny throughout the revision process. I found bits I want to tweak, especially at the beginning, but for the most part I think it's consistently funny throughout. *crossing fingers that I'm right*
May 8, 2004
script status
The script is much improved, thanks to the divine Misha. It is, however, still a bit short. I plan to write more this weekend and go over the script format with Cole/Haag. I have a week, and am confident that I'll finish and have it in the mail by then.
I took the evening off to watch Van Helsing. I didn't recognize David Wenham, and did a double-take at the credits. Hee!
And now, I think it's bedtime. *yawn*
May 12, 2004
Scripty goodness!
Script printed out and bound in #5 Acco brads with cardstock covers as per script custom and Austin Heart of Film rules. I picked a tasteful speckled grey cardstock, for those who care.
Now I need to write a two sentence synopsis. Oh, the evil! I loathe summaries!
Maybe this is a Sign from God/Goddess/Fate that I should soak in the tub and reread Max Adams' chapter on loglines. Soaking in the tub makes everything better.
May 13, 2004
Sallya still a captive...
Alas, poor Sallya. ;)
I received a rejection note for her today. On the bright side, this market claims their average turnaround is 25 days, Black Holes gives their average turnaround as being 31 days, my average turnaround for this market is 25 days... and the turnaround was 35 days. Not too shabby!
This brings to mind a dilemma--Sallya's next market. Do I send her to one that sounds like a great match but has a Black Holes turnaround of 216 days, or send her to a market that might work and has a Black Holes turnaround of 76 days?
Ehhh. I'm thinking the 76 day one. :P
May 14, 2004
story title change
Well, I've decided I hate one of my story titles and it is the suck, so I spent some time yesterday trying to come up with a new title. See, the old title was "Women's Work" and was supposed to be a subtle coded hint about some backstory thing, but subtle hints and titles don't mix, and also it is the suck. The working title was "Gatecorp," but I thought that was smeerp-y, so I never used the term "Gatecorp" anywhere in the story. Yesterday I considered "Forte," since there is music in the story and there is also much work-competance, but... too metaphorical. "Gatecorp" at least has the advantage of setting the story firmly in the corporate world.
As I was falling asleep, my brain coughed forth, "Roberts Mining Corporation: Forte in C Minor." It may be too metaphorical, but it helps set the time and place and I hate it less, so it stays. ;)
Anyway, I plan to change it if the place that has it in slush doesn't want it and sends it back.
May 15, 2004
various and sundry
Today is Brian's birthday! Happy birthday!
Today is also the closing for Austin Heart of Film, but I mailed my script and Sallya on the 13th. Woohoo! *crosses fingers*
I haven't really written stuff since I finished the screenplay. Things are percolating--the in-progress stuff--but it's not really translating into actual writing. And it likely won't tonight, because the printer was misbehaving and I managed to smash my finger in the paper tray. Ow! Printers are the bane of my existence.
Maybe I should soak and read. I have an F&SF I'm working on...
May 18, 2004
Well, that was fast...
I hate the new title of "Women's Work." That was fast.
I really hate it. It's pretentious and it sucks. Titles all suck. They're evil and hard.
Can I just call it "Chicks in Space"? Or, better yet, "the one with two chicks on a time dilation voyage"?
Maybe I don't hate "Corporate Oversight." I think I'll try that for a few days and see if I grow to loathe it.
May 25, 2004
Like you care...
I rewrote the datediff function in the submission tracker and thought PHP geeks might enjoy it. I find it very sad that PHP does not have a built-in datediff function like ASP or Cold Fusion.
/*The variable $date1 comes from the database, and is converted to unix timestamp format. This is a mySQL date, not a datetime. */
$date1 = strtotime($col_value." GMT");
/*The variable date2 is today converted to unix timestamp format.*/
$date2 = strtotime(date("m/d/y")." GMT");
/*Subtract database date from today to get number of days story has been out in unix timestamp format.*/
$daysdiff = ($date2 - $date1);
/*Convert number of days story has been out in unix timestamp format to seconds since the beginning of the unix epoch and divide by 86400, or the number of seconds in a day. This should be a round number, since we started with dates, not datetimes. */
$datediff = (date("U", $daysdiff)/86400)
I used to instead convert to dayofyear, but that only worked for time periods that were less than a year.
May 28, 2004
Wiscon
I have to say, Wiscon is of the good. Where else can I get my shoulders rubbed by Jed Hartman? I proposed marriage, but he said that would cost more tickets. Dammit!
Must go eat. :)
May 30, 2004
Tiptree auction and par-tay!
Ellen Klages was the emcee at the Tiptree Auction, and I'm afraid Jen and I sat on the front row and made a bit of a spectacle of ourselves. Ellen had lost a bet with GoH Eleanor Arnason and was dressed in a chicken suit, but Jen and I got the chicken suit when she finally took it off! Yeah! :) At another point, she did some revivalist spiel over brownies that were up for auction, and I got the holy spirit because I beLIEVE in chocolate!
Ah, yes. There was also the moment when someone tripped over her microphone cord, leaving her mute, so she did kind of a Shatner running out of air thing, and we started chanting, "I do believe in fairies! I do believe in fairies!" until she pointed out, "But I'm a dyke!" We switched to "I do believe in dykes! I do believe in dykes!"
Then they auctioned off a book that had me squeeing beforehand: Alice in Jungleland by Mary Hastings Bradley. For those of you who are scratching your heads about this book, well, it has illustrations by and photos of Alice Hastings Bradley. When Alice Hastings Bradley grew up, she married a man named Huntingdon Sheldon and started publishing SF under the name James Tiptree, Jr. *squee!* I squeed at length at the auction, but it quickly became too rich for my blood. Happily, I was outbid by Freddie Baer, who rocks and who kindly let me cuddle the book for 24 hours before she took it home when she realized she'd outbid me. *cuddles book, pets book* I ♥ Freddie! I did get a withdrawn library copy of Tiptree's Byte Beautiful, which I didn't have, so yay.
There was also a hilarious item up for bid where three of the Campbell nominees, Tim Pratt, Jay Lake, and David Levine, auctioned off the location of their "full-contact scizzors-rock-paper match." Until someone said "to the death," at which point David and Tim's SOs dragged them off. LOL!
Then we went and partied. Karaoke! Yes, I lost my karaoke cherry. The microphone sucked so no one could hear me. Feh. Jay Lake was there, and was much fun. It's all kind of a blur because I had too much beer, but I think I've learned my karaoke lesson--no more Prince or Dusty Springfield--go for the shouting.
After, we retired to our room with Cynthia and Bill to torture them with bad prose. Hee!
And now, I seek lunch.
Fangirlishness
I just got to fangirl Tim Pratt about "Little Gods" and "Annabelle's Alphabet," and Greg van Eekhout over "Will You Be An Astronaut?" *squee!*
I really love "Little Gods." I found it right after my cat died, and it was very comforting. Also, it's just wonderful.
Also? *squee!*
Bounce!
Jen and I bouncing with the discarded chicken suit at the Tiptree auction, courtesy of the divine Misha, roving Wiscon reporter.
