R. Canepa's Blog, page 7

Oops: Discovering an old WIP and Thoughts On Novellas

Up until now, I've listed Code Name: Future on my Works In Progress page as the next place I'd be devoting my efforts.  I opened up my project file for Future a few weeks ago, intent on reading through my notes and figuring out where I was.  While doing so, however, I stumbled upon another story I began in late 2007 and never finished.

"Oh crap!" I said.

Seeing as Future is still in planning and world-building stages, I've decided to try and sneak in work on this in-progress story and see if I ...

Things We Take For Granted

Just read a CNN interview (World's scariest airlines? Sign him up) with a journalist who decided he wanted to travel and see the less-than-shiny parts of the world.  This part of the interview jumped out at me the most because I feel it's so dang true, and try though I might, I know I take what I have for granted:

Hoffman: [...:] But at the end of those journeys, I always was almost desperate to get to a hotel where I could have my own bed, be by myself and have a cold beer. We tend to think...

The Problem With Facebook's Latest Change

The latest "Instant Personalization" news with Facebook has me a bit irked.  I'm still sitting on my heels until I can figure out exactly how I feel about it and what that entails, but at the moment, all signs point to me deleting my account and calling it done.

Privacy is both a sticky issue and a balancing act:  we get greater benefit out of sharing information, but we have to balance that benefit against the privacy we give up and the information we give out.  My friend posting that they...

I Walk The Line

(with a nod and apology to Johnny Cash)

I walk the (literary) line.  I have to, you see.  It's the only way I see to finish stories and get them out in front of people.

I maintain that every author has a love/hate or awesome/suck relationship with themselves and their work.  They walk the literary line day in and day out, never straying too far to either side, because literary ruin waits for those who venture too far adrift.

First: You have to believe in yourself.  You have to believe that your ...

Goodbye, Peter Steele

October Rust

I found out last night that Peter Steele died on Wednesday.  It's had me bummed out since then.

I first heard Type O Negative in high school while I worked at a seasonal Halloween costume store.  We had a small room full of blacklight stuff, and a mid/late-20s employee put in a stereo system, including a CD changer with Marilyn Manson and Type O Negative's "October Rust" in it, among others.

I must have looped that CD over and over and over in that store.  Type O was the music I'd b...

Nova Now Making Its Rounds

Codename: Nova is now making itself at home in the inbox of the first publisher on my list for that story. With any luck, it'll be the first/last/only publisher, but that's mere wishful thinking on my part.

The important thing is that I've called it done and begun trying to find a home for it.

Zebras and Wine

Sipping a glass of table red with the windows thrown open in invitation.  I know soon that it'll be summer and humid and I'll hide behind my air conditioner to avoid it, but for now "outside" is my friend and I'm going to enjoy the cool breeze and dark clouds.

It occurs to me that red "table wine" is the mutt of the wine world.  This makes me happy because I picture both a dog and a wine that are happy and carefree and without pretension.

Much like I should be.

I was fetching groceries out of...

Why I Am Sitting Here and Not Playing a Game

I'm sitting at the computer, very much Not Playing a Game, when I would rather be Very Much Playing A Game.  Why?

Speed.

I wrestled with the decision of whether to brave the overcast and apathetic Sunday in favor of going to a game store to buy Fallout 3.  In the end, I found that it was available via Games On Demand on the XBox360.  Salvation was at hand.

Or that's how it seemed four hours ago.

The game's still downloading, you see.

We see most of our entertainment moving towards a "downloadable ...

CDs and Burgers

I've been buying a lot of CDs lately.  (For some more thoughts on physical versus digital media, see The Great Physical/Electronic Media Disparity.)

Having the physical products reminds me how much I enjoy having the album artwork and liner notes available.  At times, they don't seem like they matter, but other times it makes it feel like a more complete product.  Plus, it's a chance to show off cool artwork, and I'm a fan of that.

It also reminds me of my high school years.  I got a job at...

Slowly But Surely

A WIP update.

Codename: Pipes

I finished my first edit on codename: Pipes this evening.  Cleaned up some dialog and smoothed out some transitions that were rough. That's the awesome thing about writing: it doesn't have to be perfect the first time.

My planned word limit on the story when I sat down to write it was 1000 words.  The original clocked in somewhere around 950 or so, depending on the program doing the counting.  This puts a little pressure on me. A little squeeze to ensure I don't...