Matthew Claxton @Ouranosaurus@wandering.shop

Passed 25,000 words and 100 pages on the novella project today, after days of not much progress. Feels better. Change of POV is helping.

Me: "This may be the dumbest idea I've ever had. It's Gundam meets Inside Out meets The West Wing. In a bronze age fantasy world."
My wife: "That sounds good, you should write that!"

She's just the best, really.

Wrote 1,100 words today and passed 20K words on giant-mutated-ants/noir-gangster-story novella project. Having one of those days where I feel like I kinda know what I'm doing, which is always nice.

Now to the gym, and to four or five hours of unpaid overtime work!

Biggest accomplishment today: interviewed a trauma dog handler, did not cry while taking notes about the dog helping kids and crime victims in court.

Another 681 words on the atomic ants noir novella thingy, and now my phone is telling me it's time to go to work. Stupid phone.

Probably working 10-12 hours today. Not steady, but the usual eight hours at the office, home for dinner, then off to cover a meeting I expect to go long. (I tend to get a lot of plotting done in my head during interminable meetings when there' s nothing worth taking notes about.)

I wish I got paid for overtime.

Dreamed that I went to an interview for that job I applied for, and it went well. Woke up. Conscious mind: "Oh, come on, you're probably not even going to get a call!"

(Also, the interview took place at my old high school in 1985 and Mary McFly was there hanging out with Crispin Glover. I blame American Gods for this.)

Current irons in sundry fires:
• Five short stories on submission
• Novella sub, work for hire
• Novel sub, ditto
• Story out for critique
• Editing OTHER short story
• Resume out for job I would really like
• Oh yeah, and I need to buy proper job interview clothes for the first time in 12 years
• Actual current day job, which shows no sign of letting up

I'm lucky I don't have kids, honestly. They would have starved by now.

Applying today for a new, better paying job. I think I'm qualified for it! It's union! I already know a bunch of the people who work there!

This is frankly terrifying. I haven't actually changed career tracks in… ever. I've been at my current job for 12 years. AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!

Sending in multiple submissions today. Won't hear back until sometime in June, maybe July. Commence nail-biting!

For the current scene in my story, I had to research 1950s US Army issued dosimeters, and the invention of the underwire bra.

Update: Wrote about 2,600 words today. Melted the villain's face, blew up a truck with a vintage bazooka, many giant bugs lost their lives in the melee. A good pulpy writing day.

Sigh. Mid-action scene, and I have to go pick up my car from the shop. Still, got a lot done already, more time to write later this afternoon.

There's plenty of time for the gross face-melting of the minor villain.

Two days ago, wrote 1,400 words. Yesterday, wrote 1,400 words.

*Cracks knuckles*

Let's see if we can't break 2,000 today, shall we?

Listening to Neko Case and writing pulpy SF/noir. My May long weekend is going pretty good.

Wrote 1,400 words today, so this was my most productive day in months. Being on vacation and getting regular sleep is really good for my ability to concentrate.

I'm on vacation, and I meant to spend the morning writing fiction. Instead I wrote a news story for work, because it's a three-person newsroom and I know the background. Which is THE &%$*! WORST! Writing about far-right "activists." Which is always tricky, because you don't want to give them oxygen. Now half burned out.

Sigh. First day of vacation. Tomorrow will be more fun.

Sigh… I have to deal with a problem in current outline (antagonist needs a REASON to antagonize, not just 'cause the plot says he should) but I can't stop my brain from wandering back to Cool New Idea That It Really Wants To Write, Even Though I Have A Ton Of Other Stuff To Do.

I love talking to biologists. "Well, right now we're feeding them lab mice, but we'll be breeding flying squirrels so the owls can learn to hunt those before we release them into the wild." Spotted owl preservation program.