Update October 2012

A few days ago, I glanced over here and realized it's been over 3 months since I've posted. Tsk. Things evolve, circumstances happen, and to be completely honest, I'm not sure what I want to do with this writing space. In the meantime, a brief summary that I can use to springboard into other posts.

Catalyst: I got my first rejection for Catalyst. It's psychologically useful to point out that all authors get rejected. You may recall that earlier in the year I was trying to streamline and edit and chop up the manuscript, to make it more submission-friendly. Tempo. However, if I'm going to be honest with myself, the truth is that I write pastoral fantasy. There's really no reason to believe that readers of the fantasy genre are not going to be able to handle additional complexity and details, so long as they add to the richness of the story. I feel that I scrubbed away too much, and in so doing, couldn't compete with either the meandering epics or the fast-paced page turners.

Ironically, it was suggested to me before, through Beta readers, when I complained about word count. Why not turn it into two books? "No, no, all the agents and publishers want fast and furious pacing." Says the man who read Rothfuss this year, who has seen A Song of Ice and Fire spend the year on the NY Times best seller list. To be revisited... there's a lot more story to tell. I think I'm going to have to embrace it, not run from it.

Health: I've been taking Cimzia for my Crohn's Disease for a few months now. It appears to be working, although I have struggled with weight loss, appetite loss and food sensitivity on and off for the past month or so. The stress of some things in my personal life has been unfriendly towards my recovery. However, on the upside - I was facing a 90% chance of intestinal surgery in May, and I am confident I have managed to escape the possibility for the near foreseeable future.

Personal: Circumstances, expectations and health issues have rippled outwards to make things pretty uncomfortable and stressful this year. I started a new job a couple weeks ago, which will alleviate some of the concerns. I reached out to family, in my efforts to be a better person and not a hermit on a hill. Not everything has turned out the way that I thought I wanted, but in the process I have learned more about myself and the areas in which I need to improve as a human being.

Magic the Gathering: My MTG post is my most-viewed post on this blog. And I haven't written about it since. Thing is, the only time I play is on my PS3. The friend who got me into MTG - ended up selling me his collection. So, moving forward, for the time being, I'm approaching MTG as a Vorthos and a collector. I've made it my goal to acquire at least one of every card printed - and then in 10 or 20 years, I'm going to sell my collection and retire.

Later today, you'll find a new page where I'm going to track my progress. As it stands now, I have cards from nearly every set (except Alpha and Beta). However, I only inventory and track what I have when the quantity of individual cards reaches a decent amount. So, for instance, I may have 50 cards of a 350 card set in a box on the shelf - but that wouldn't be worth the time and effort to put them into protector sheets while accounting for unacquired cards. I do a full inventory (of what I have and don't have), when the cards in the box reach a certain quantity threshold beyond a handful of commons.

Fantasy Football: This is the first year I've played fantasy football. Man, am I hooked. When I was in the hospital, I was bedridden and pretty much watched all 60 hours of the draft. Ha! I only work part time, so all summer I've been glued to the NFL network, their website, absorbing data. My friends? They still know more than me - I simply haven't paid attention to football in such a long time, that it's quite an effort to close the knowledge gap.

I'm in a league on NFL.com and ESPN.com - and I'm not doing too badly - so maybe once a week I'll post my FFL progress and thinking.

Reading Journal: I haven't been doing a lot of reading for enjoyment, which I -know- plays a role in my writing productivity. As well as my command of language. For me, reading a good book inspires the stories in my head. I won't make any promises here, not yet. But I believe that as I settle into the new job and new circumstances, that I will finish off my TBR pile and pick up a few more.

And that's it. For now.

What's new with you?