Backlog Post #1

Originally Posted 06/09/2019

I always start these things with something about not updating in a while and how sorry I am, but I’m skipping that part this time. I am not sorry for not updating since December because I’ve had a hell of a couple months (well, actually five, and that’s like half a year almost? jeez).

Norwest Con was pretty amazing–and awful at the same time. I’ll talk about the amazing parts because the bad parts have nothing to do with writing and I want to talk about writing.

The Norwest Con workshop was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. It was enlightening, inspirational, helpful, motivating, and everything else I could have ever wanted. Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld Magazine was my group’s clinician, and besides being the most precious cinnamon roll on the planet, he was a bubbling fountain of useful information about the publishing industry. I am and will forever be so grateful for his help and advice. The other thing that made this workshop so amazing was the fact that my group got along so well! We like each other so much, and appreciate each others writing and critique so much that we formed our own writer’s group that meets once a month. It’s so so so so amazing because, for the first time, I feel like I’m actually getting real feedback. REAL and HELPFUL feedback from writers I respect and admire–and that, I kid you not, is like finding treasure. Holy shit good writing groups are so hard to find. (More on that in the next post.)

Besides the workshop, I also got to participate in a couple of really good writing classes. At first, I felt like I didn’t need them because they were for things like plot structure and character building, and I feel pretty solid in those two things, but oh ho ho. I am a fledgling writer with delusions of grandeur and am very nieve about a lot of things. Never turn down the opportunity to learn from a professional. Never. Not only did I glean a fuck-ton of useful information about writing in general, but I also made a few really good connections. Totally worth it. It was awesome.

So that was the good stuff. I’m going to keep the bad stuff to a minimum because I feel like it deserves its own post. Yeah, it’s that complicated. Let’s just summarize it today as: I was extremely drained by the end because some people don’t have a filter and don’t have the social know-how to know when it’s time to stop talking. I’m too nice and I paid for it. (It also ties into the cryptic statement I made about writing groups, so again, more on that later.)

Okay, some rando stuff besides Norwest Con:

My other writing has been going well. My horror story is almost done, and I’ve got a few other short horror story ideas in the works. I’ve decided to do an anthology!

We went on our first family vacation! We drove down to California in a trailer and saw some family. The short version of that is that is was really fun and I’m glad we did it.

Crypticon was in May. Awesome. My daughter went as Jigsaw the puppet and that went over very well, also saw some really great cosplay, and my best friend and I got to watch some new independent films that were screening. I will probably talk more about that later too.

My daughter who started hip hop dance at the beginning of this school year had her first dance recital and it was awesome. Very stressful, but awesome.

And I’ve lost another 10 pounds, which I am quite proud of.

I hope you all are doing well. Don’t be afraid to stop by here or on Facebook or Instagram and say hello. I don’t bite very hard. Stay cool as the weather gets hotter. Drink water, wash your hair, wear lip balm, exfoliate, pet your dog or cat or snake, etc. Take care of you. Have a good week!