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Amazing Progress
Friday, 20 February 2015 15:52Despite the weather getting down to -13°F last night and other temps all week +/- the zero mark in the Fahrenheit scale -- this was a very productive week.
For example, last night I remembered that I had a submission that might (or might not) have been sitting in the 15-day penalty box before shipping to new Editor CCFinlay at F&SF. (The might not part comes from the fact that the last rejection was not to the general F&SF e-sub but the last of Charlie's special F&SF issue e-subs. Technicalities do not trump politeness. When you have the time.) I had the whole sub and cover letter ready to go -- checked the story and lo, found a nit, which I fixed. By the time it was shipped and I checked Gmail for the confirmation email, there was a rejection from another market. Oh well. Hop to Ralan's to look at the current Flash markets -- ah, here's one at SFWA pro rates! Re-shipped. +2 - 1 = +1 gain in stories out. Yay.
Then 10:30 this morning, as I was getting up from my morning nap -- since I went to bed at 3:40 and got up at 7:00 -- I had a sudden story idea. By 1:20 I had the story fleshed out. By 1:40, I'd converted it to printer formatting (Standard Manuscript Format, which is not what I usually write in), read it aloud, printed it. I've already proofed the printout and left it for Mrs. Dr. Phil to read. -- Ze Beeg Question is, at 1650 words is it sufficient or should I really make it longer? It's not Flash, but there are a number of markets perfectly happy to see sub-2000 word SF stories.
Posted this yesterday on Facebook about my researches for the YA trilogy:
Here's the other funny thing about research -- it can lead you into places you never expected (DW).
New Researches include: Göteborg, Sweden. Répondez s'il vous plaît. Lange Luger (long-barreled). Siriuspatruljen (Sirius Patrol) elite Danish navy Arctic unit -- "The weapons carried also reflect the harsh conditions. Only bolt-action rifles (M17/M53) performs reliably. The standard SIG210 Neuhausen sidearm was recently replaced by the 10mm Glock 20, as the stopping power of multiple 9mm rounds proved to be insufficient against a polar bear." Glock 26 9×19mm "subcompact". Google Maps satellite view of Kalundborgvej in Holbæk, Denmark. Swedish X2000 train KOEBENHAVN H to GOETEBORG CENTRAL, €172 OW. (Accounting is complicated on websites, as prices get listed in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish kroner, euros, GB Pounds, US dollars, sometimes at whim -- one time Google Translate in Chrome translated a Danish PDF menu for me AND converted the DKK to GBP!) Porsche 991 is the internal designation for the seventh generation Porsche 911 -- 2013 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Turbo in Guard Red, black interior. The Porsche 918 Spyder is a limited edition plug-in hybrid, so you know it's economically friendly, priced at only US$845,000. (No doubt I can't fit in it. But the super-rich mid-life executive?) Linje Aquavit is named after the tradition of sending oak barrels of aquavit with ships from Norway to Australia and back again, thereby passing the equator ("linje") twice before being bottled. Kongens Nytorv square in Copenhagen. Det Kongelige Teater. Googly eyes. Sprung -- the state of being very attracted to a person, obsession often mistaken for love. Sankt Ansgars Kirke—Katolsk Domkirke. 11am Solemn Masses on 2nd and 4th Sundays are partly in Latin. Café Oscar, not to be confused with Oscar Bar Café in Copenhagen, the latter is the most popular gay bar. The former is a block away from the cathedral and serves Luksus brunch-buffet SØNDAG 11.00 - 14.00. Le Sommelier is a fine French restaurant across the street from the cathedral, but doesn't open until 18:00 on Sundays. (Research!) Sankt Elisabeths Kirke, Holbæk. Brennivin is Akvavit without the flavoring. Romersk-Katolska Kyrkan Kristus Konungens Församling (Christ the King Roman Catholic Church), Göteborg. Charon's obol. Scandinavian gullgubber, small and fragile gold-foil pieces replacing the coins for the ferryman. Roman Catholic funeral rites. Borzoi, also called the Russian wolfhound (Russian: Ру́сская псовая борзая). Copenhagen to Monte Carlo 17h 35min (1,730.1 km) driving via A7 -- ferry to Germany, Austria, short excursion into Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France, Monaco. (Probably less time in the Lamborghini... just saying.) As noted above, Google advised flying into Nice late in the day, otherwise it's overnight somewhere en route. Pizza Grandiosa refers to the most popular brand of frozen pizza in Norway. They've had commercial jingles as pop hits. Either tastes "great or like cardboard". (grin)
And in the category of "Things That I Thought I Knew But Had Never Verified", I have been trying to explain to people for years that Europe is more northerly than the United States -- that Chicago in the North is the same latitude as Rome in the South. Well, I checked:
-- 41°54′N 12°30′E Rome
-- 41°54′N 12°27′E Vatican City
-- 41°53′N 87°38′W Chicago
And I was right -- only off by one minute of arc, which is nuthin'.
Also, I've been using The Weather Channel app on the Kindle Fire HD to observe the daily weather in Bodo, Oslo and Copenhagen -- and despite the first one being north of the Arctic Circle, they're all getting milder winters than West Michigan this year. Or Boston. (sn*cker)
The shiny counter for the main workfile, without breakdown, stands at:
The Lost Kingdom Project YA Trilogy Version 1.09 (02-20-15 Fr - 874 pages)
That's 25,371 actual story words (not notes) in the past week, not including the 1650 word new short story and some edits of other documents. Very happy about this.
In addition, Version 1.09 now includes Book 1 split into Parts A/B, as I had done with Book 2. Doesn't mean that the trilogy is now a pentalogy (1A/B, 2A/B, 3), but it could be. Raising the Grand Total from 240,000 words to 300,000 words might make sense. Man, I hadn't even realized I'd hit the 98% level in the current "trilogy" counter!
The next major version of the story files will probably break things into Versions 1.10, 2.10 and 3.10, for Books 1-3. Or create a Research only Version R.10 file. Things are getting unwieldy given the amount of text I'm scraping into notes and the pictures I'm copying, including bunches of Google Maps in map and satellite views, sometimes even street view. One hates to depend solely on the Internet, but it is so much better than just winging it about things and cities and languages that I just don't know.
Dammit, I need a healthy five-figure advance, so we can go reconnoiter all this stuff. I've told my one sister-in-law, who studied German and Scandinavian languages in college and graduate school, that we'll drag her along as our translator. Also as our expert on pastries. (ooh-la-la-grin)
Dr. Phil
For example, last night I remembered that I had a submission that might (or might not) have been sitting in the 15-day penalty box before shipping to new Editor CCFinlay at F&SF. (The might not part comes from the fact that the last rejection was not to the general F&SF e-sub but the last of Charlie's special F&SF issue e-subs. Technicalities do not trump politeness. When you have the time.) I had the whole sub and cover letter ready to go -- checked the story and lo, found a nit, which I fixed. By the time it was shipped and I checked Gmail for the confirmation email, there was a rejection from another market. Oh well. Hop to Ralan's to look at the current Flash markets -- ah, here's one at SFWA pro rates! Re-shipped. +2 - 1 = +1 gain in stories out. Yay.
Then 10:30 this morning, as I was getting up from my morning nap -- since I went to bed at 3:40 and got up at 7:00 -- I had a sudden story idea. By 1:20 I had the story fleshed out. By 1:40, I'd converted it to printer formatting (Standard Manuscript Format, which is not what I usually write in), read it aloud, printed it. I've already proofed the printout and left it for Mrs. Dr. Phil to read. -- Ze Beeg Question is, at 1650 words is it sufficient or should I really make it longer? It's not Flash, but there are a number of markets perfectly happy to see sub-2000 word SF stories.
Posted this yesterday on Facebook about my researches for the YA trilogy:
Clever Google.Don't know what the 2022-2023 model Lamborghinis are likely to be called. Given recent history, probably not a $237,250 Huracán. But do I invent a name? A Lamborghini Toronado? (Oldsmobile-supercar-grin) Or just leave it as a Silver Lambo? This is the problem with writing near-term-but-future fiction.
Trying to get a character from Copenhagen to Monte Carlo at the last minute. All the evening flights are two stops with an overnight layover.
Google suggests I try Nice -- only 11 miles from Monte Carlo. Hey Lufthansa has 18:40 Copenhagen to Frankfurt, 50 minute layover, Frankfurt to Nice. Arrive 21:55.
My character will be happy.
COMMENT: And does it advise on transport from Nice to Monte Carlo? Taxi? Rent-a-car? Train? I think the Nice airport is a bit outside of town. Just saying'. xo
REPLY: Oh, they definitely need to rent a car. Nefarious deeds ahead. Also a silver Lamborghini is involved. -- Dr. Phil
Here's the other funny thing about research -- it can lead you into places you never expected (DW).
I was doing Google Maps to locate The Jam Pot, the bakery store of the Holy Transfiguration Skete, Society of St. John, a Catholic monastery of the Byzantine Rite. It's off M-26 on the northern shores of the Keweenaw Peninsula -- north of Houghton, just past Jacobs Falls and before Copper Harbor MI. And with Google Maps, you can scroll around. I was looking at Brockway Mountain Drive and then decided to see the northern terminus of US-41 (1990 Miles to Miami). And then I decided to see how far the private road goes to Lake Superior...Hell we lived there in the time between the last launch and the laying of the commemorative stone -- and didn't know anything about this. (geeky-grin)
And there on the edge of webpage, along the tip of the Keweenaw, past the end of the main road, was a tag for Keweenaw Rocket Range.
New Researches include: Göteborg, Sweden. Répondez s'il vous plaît. Lange Luger (long-barreled). Siriuspatruljen (Sirius Patrol) elite Danish navy Arctic unit -- "The weapons carried also reflect the harsh conditions. Only bolt-action rifles (M17/M53) performs reliably. The standard SIG210 Neuhausen sidearm was recently replaced by the 10mm Glock 20, as the stopping power of multiple 9mm rounds proved to be insufficient against a polar bear." Glock 26 9×19mm "subcompact". Google Maps satellite view of Kalundborgvej in Holbæk, Denmark. Swedish X2000 train KOEBENHAVN H to GOETEBORG CENTRAL, €172 OW. (Accounting is complicated on websites, as prices get listed in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish kroner, euros, GB Pounds, US dollars, sometimes at whim -- one time Google Translate in Chrome translated a Danish PDF menu for me AND converted the DKK to GBP!) Porsche 991 is the internal designation for the seventh generation Porsche 911 -- 2013 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Turbo in Guard Red, black interior. The Porsche 918 Spyder is a limited edition plug-in hybrid, so you know it's economically friendly, priced at only US$845,000. (No doubt I can't fit in it. But the super-rich mid-life executive?) Linje Aquavit is named after the tradition of sending oak barrels of aquavit with ships from Norway to Australia and back again, thereby passing the equator ("linje") twice before being bottled. Kongens Nytorv square in Copenhagen. Det Kongelige Teater. Googly eyes. Sprung -- the state of being very attracted to a person, obsession often mistaken for love. Sankt Ansgars Kirke—Katolsk Domkirke. 11am Solemn Masses on 2nd and 4th Sundays are partly in Latin. Café Oscar, not to be confused with Oscar Bar Café in Copenhagen, the latter is the most popular gay bar. The former is a block away from the cathedral and serves Luksus brunch-buffet SØNDAG 11.00 - 14.00. Le Sommelier is a fine French restaurant across the street from the cathedral, but doesn't open until 18:00 on Sundays. (Research!) Sankt Elisabeths Kirke, Holbæk. Brennivin is Akvavit without the flavoring. Romersk-Katolska Kyrkan Kristus Konungens Församling (Christ the King Roman Catholic Church), Göteborg. Charon's obol. Scandinavian gullgubber, small and fragile gold-foil pieces replacing the coins for the ferryman. Roman Catholic funeral rites. Borzoi, also called the Russian wolfhound (Russian: Ру́сская псовая борзая). Copenhagen to Monte Carlo 17h 35min (1,730.1 km) driving via A7 -- ferry to Germany, Austria, short excursion into Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France, Monaco. (Probably less time in the Lamborghini... just saying.) As noted above, Google advised flying into Nice late in the day, otherwise it's overnight somewhere en route. Pizza Grandiosa refers to the most popular brand of frozen pizza in Norway. They've had commercial jingles as pop hits. Either tastes "great or like cardboard". (grin)
And in the category of "Things That I Thought I Knew But Had Never Verified", I have been trying to explain to people for years that Europe is more northerly than the United States -- that Chicago in the North is the same latitude as Rome in the South. Well, I checked:
-- 41°54′N 12°30′E Rome
-- 41°54′N 12°27′E Vatican City
-- 41°53′N 87°38′W Chicago
And I was right -- only off by one minute of arc, which is nuthin'.
Also, I've been using The Weather Channel app on the Kindle Fire HD to observe the daily weather in Bodo, Oslo and Copenhagen -- and despite the first one being north of the Arctic Circle, they're all getting milder winters than West Michigan this year. Or Boston. (sn*cker)
The shiny counter for the main workfile, without breakdown, stands at:
The Lost Kingdom Project YA Trilogy Version 1.09 (02-20-15 Fr - 874 pages)
That's 25,371 actual story words (not notes) in the past week, not including the 1650 word new short story and some edits of other documents. Very happy about this.
In addition, Version 1.09 now includes Book 1 split into Parts A/B, as I had done with Book 2. Doesn't mean that the trilogy is now a pentalogy (1A/B, 2A/B, 3), but it could be. Raising the Grand Total from 240,000 words to 300,000 words might make sense. Man, I hadn't even realized I'd hit the 98% level in the current "trilogy" counter!
The next major version of the story files will probably break things into Versions 1.10, 2.10 and 3.10, for Books 1-3. Or create a Research only Version R.10 file. Things are getting unwieldy given the amount of text I'm scraping into notes and the pictures I'm copying, including bunches of Google Maps in map and satellite views, sometimes even street view. One hates to depend solely on the Internet, but it is so much better than just winging it about things and cities and languages that I just don't know.
Dammit, I need a healthy five-figure advance, so we can go reconnoiter all this stuff. I've told my one sister-in-law, who studied German and Scandinavian languages in college and graduate school, that we'll drag her along as our translator. Also as our expert on pastries. (ooh-la-la-grin)
Dr. Phil
Posted on Dreamwidth Crossposted on LiveJournal
