Hello, my friends and the occasional relative!

So in my hiatus from frenzied deadline achievement I have finished the short story I started last week, though it needs to be polished. It is funny, but with a short story you do get a sense of how much you can alter the story by the sheen of your polishing, the small shifts in attention from one thing to another, the shaping of attention, the careful creation of atmosphere and subtext. All with economy. It is a very different discipline, and I am most definitely a novice, but see the joy that can be had in crafting them, and the lessons that can be learned. I’m always up for new lessons in writing, and learning by doing is a great way to use time productively.

I’ve also been reading more, as I have committed to becoming less lardy, and that has meant more activity, which means more treadmill time with my kindle!

Thus, I have finished book #8 of my cohort. It is, alas, a step down from books #6 and #7, but that is hardly a surprise as they were both truly excellent, with great voice, characterization and plotting.

#8 did not hit those heights. I did not buy into the characters or their interactions as strongly, and while the world was engaging and the ideas interesting, it left me feeling like the first movie meant to birth a franchise, but doesn’t make enough money at the box office to justify the sequel, which could well have been awesome. Both Judge Dredd movies figured Judge Death could come next. It never happened. Bummer.

Sometimes it might be better just to start with the main story, and not the epic set up. Just give me Judge Death next time, if there is one!! A quick 15 minute primer into Dredd and his world, contrasting his unrelenting character with Judge Anderson’s breezier persona (at that time—she becomes one of the great leading characters in Dredd’s world with a ton of serious and brilliantly explored storylines) and then on into the introduction of his adversary, Judge Death, (and the other 3 Dark Judges—go all the way!) who make Dredd seem kind and cuddly in comparison! Mayhem and slaughter ensue. (Problem is a true Judge Dredd movie involving Judge Death would be R rated, and probably not cheap given the FX needed for Death and his buddies in their various forms, and it is harder for R rated movies to make big box office. (IT gives me hope!) So I get it, they needed to establish the franchise then wheel out the big bad, but sadly it never happened. Please let there be a next time!)

And this book did feel to me like an epic set up, with a very strong ending hinting at great things to come, but it felt a little long, a little sluggish in places, and for me was hampered by the need for a solid copy edit and proofing, as the textual errors were too frequent and too jarring to allow me to easily stay in the story. And that sucks, because a good story is in there: I think it could have really shone if the narrative focus was tighter and the text clean.

And that’s it folks. Until next time, keep writing, and don’t go snow blind!

P.S. This was my 200th post. I had no idea. Cool.