Distractions

I pretty much can avoid watching television most of the time. There are a few programs I watch regularly … The Simpsons, The Apprentice, House, The Sopranos. That's pretty much it for "must see TV" (sorry, NBC).

Now I've never been a real big sports nut, though I've gone through my fan-atic periods with basketball, hockey and football in the past. However, I'm not one of those guys that lives for the NCAA championships or the World Cup or the Olympics. Sports viewing can become a full-time hobby or even an addiction … admittedly a fairly innocuous one. To be honest, my free time is taken up by my pursuit of a writing career. Who needs the distraction?

Then the football play-off season arrives and I'm lost. Even as I write the, the Colts and the Ravens are playing on the big screen TV in the living room and I'm able to watch it, courtesy of a strategically placed framed picture on the wall ahead of me. It's a sickness, I tell you.

I've been trying to make the acquaintance of writers and others who aspire to be through my MySpace account. I've been fortunate to meet some very nice folks so far, some of whom I will end up corresponding with occasionally as I chase this dream.

Meanwhile, back at the writing desk ….

My parents and my wife read my third short story (called "Baylor") and all liked it. Now, it really shouldn't be noteworthy that they liked it. After all, these are the people who love me the most in this world. However, my mom said the story caused her to shed a tear or two. That gives me a little more to work with as far as feedback is concerned.

I'm in the middle of my fourth story now, called "Animal Control." This one is going to be quite different than the first three … more Stephen King-ish. I'm still working out the plot twist(s).

Since it's a three day weekend, I'm trying to be really ambitious. Besides finishing the first draft of "Animal Control," I'm going to try to complete the second act of my second screenplay, "A Perfect Tenant." The first screenplay, "Ricochet Man" hasn't gotten much action on InkTip.com lately, but I intend to renew its registration on the site when it comes due in February.

Also on tap for this week … I'm going to try my first pitch letter of one of my stories to some literary magazines (and perhaps others, too). I ordered a few copies of Porcupine Magazine so I could understand their editorial preferences better. However, Writer's Market is chock full of possibles. I just need to be judicious on who I send the stories to.

There are other projects … transcribing my journal from our 2002 trip to Eleuthera to a blog I started; typing up letters from an old friend dating back to when I first went to college that went through until our thirties; transcribing a memoir from an interesting fellow I never met in Eleuthera, but sought me out through a mutual friend to write up his life story and maybe get it published or produced as a film.

Finally, I just started a new blog, one that I'm devoting to book reviews. Besides giving me a chance to look at writing from a different perspective, I hope it will lead to meeting some of these great authors I've been reading. It doesn't hurt to have friends in the industry.

Okay, that's all for now. Back to the game!

Michael