Jason Arnett's Blog, page 16

The KC Royals Are In The World Series

Back a while ago, I tweeted this:

Dear #kcroyals - all I want for my birthday today is a win. I'm pullin' for you. You can do it.
— JASON (@ajasont) September 30, 2014

Then I went to dinner with my family.















Later that night...

I've gotta be up at 430 AM. I bet this game is still going on then. #kcroyals
— JASON (@ajasont) October 1, 2014

The next morning:

Went to bed in the bottom of the 12th hoping for a win and the #kcroyals didn't let me down. You're welcome. What a birthday present!
— JASON (@ajasont) October 1, 2014

And ever since the Kansas City Royals have been on a tear, winning 8 games in a row and heading to the World Series for the first time in 29 years. As a long suffering supporter/fan of the team I'm over the moon about this wild ride. Even my wife and son are watching with me.

I dunno if my wish had anything to do with this, but here's hoping it's not over yet.

I Know It's Only...

So the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees are announced:

Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Chic
Green Day (1st year of eligibility)
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Kraftwerk
The Marvelettes
NWA
Nine Inch Nails (1st year of eligibility)
Lou Reed
Sting (1st year of eligibility)
The Smiths (1st year of eligibility)
The Spinners
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1st year of eligibility)
WAR
Bill Withers (1st time on the ballot)

Hm. I like all these acts. Gonna be a tough choice. Lou Reed and Sting are already in with their bands. Who's got the most influence, though? In that respect alone, SRV deserves to be in easily. The Rock Hall, though, likes to be very weird and take things besides influence and sales into account. That leads me to think that The Marvelettes will be in easily, too. That could knock The Spinnners out because the hall likes to have each class look diverse.

So that might allow Kraftwerk to slide in but I think Chic might trump them a little. They're higher profile, they're American and disco comes and goes in popularity. In addition Nile Rodgers is a force to be reckoned with in the industry. He's one helluva producer so that might give them a +1 in influence.

Green Day is interesting and they've been on the stage the last couple of years inducting people so that could work in their favor. I think NIN has a better chance. Trent is a darling in Hollywood (who'd'a thunk?) and he's really, really interesting as a musician if not on Twitter.

I would be pleased to see NWA get in even though I don't like their music that much. That said, Cube certainly has parlayed those early days into quite a career and that's definitely a +1 for influence. They've got sales on their side, too. Add in that Public Enemy is already in the hall and I think they have a terrific chance.

I'd love to see Paul Butterfield Blues Band get in but I believe it's a tossup between them and WAR and Bill Withers. Not for any other reason than that WAR is the most recognizable of the three but Withers has some cache too. I think one of them will make it in to keep the class diverse.

As much as it pains me, Joan Jett probably won't make it in. Neither will The Smiths.

Of course, I could be wrong. Really wrong. But my picks are Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chic, NWA, The Marvelettes and Lou Reed. If I had my druthers, then Deep Purple would be in there somewhere.

Feel free to disagree with me.

Tweets about Battlestar Galactica

I'm late to the BSG party but I'm gonna get through them all. From earlier today:

Trying to get through Battlestar Galactica before it leaves Netflix next week. Overall, it's pretty good and full of the things I want.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

Sex, religion, politics all make for excellent drama. The writing is pretty good, the acting is more than passable and the CGI is excellent.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

The camera work bothers me sometimes, like the show is trying too hard to make up for the weak spots. The big problem is the pacing.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

The show sure could have compressed its storytelling.1st season especially. I found the 3rd season way too slow. Too few key episodes.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

It may be that the show was designed to be watched week to week rather than all at once. The buildup would make sense that way. Good TV.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

That said, I skipped the Razor eps after the first half hour. Didn't find the story essential to the big arc. The other problem I have...
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

...is the show jumps back & forth too often to heighten cliffhangers. The firing squad is the biggest example of that but not the only one.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

Anyway. I like the updated BSG. I probably would have liked it more if I'd watched it week to week as it aired.
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

I may have more thoughts when I get to the end. Any suggestions for key episodes from season 4?
— Jason Arnett (@ajasont) September 26, 2014

Dear SiriusXM...

Dear SiriusXM Radio,

I'm upset that the Bob Edwards Show is ending today. Really upset.

Bob is easily the best interviewer in radio. If he only ever interviewed big names that would be enough. But when he spends an hour with an author and explores not just the themes of the book but the process the writer went through to write it, it's amazing. When he visits with John Feinstein about sports or Dave Zirin, it's interesting and compelling. His conversations with musicians are fantastic. Filmmakers really open up to him, too.

In short, he can hold his own with any interviewer on TV or print. His long years of experience in news reporting are reassuring and invite confidence from his subject. How can you let him go? How can you have cancelled his show?

Ah, money. Money money money.

I suppose you must care on some level that he's done stellar work. That the show won awards probably doesn't matter. The respect Bob has earned for the quality of his work showed in the quality of guests on the show. You realize that, don't you?

I'm sure you do. After all you gave him the freedom to do what he wanted for ten years and look what you got. The best interview program on radio anywhere. ANYwhere.

So it's about money is it? What does my fee go to? I know you can pull up the numbers of people who listened and we are all subscribers so we paid to hear him and his show. You know how many of us there are and you know what other channels we're listening to. So a quality program that employs ten people, that wins awards and covers subjects with a depth that NPR and PBS can only dream of, is ending because --- well, I can't fathom a real answer. Is your company in financial trouble? I suppose I shouldn't be upset. Things change. Shows get canceled. It happens, I know.

But I am upset. I'm disappointed that you seem to think that the Bob Edwards Show is disposable. It's not.

Please bring it back. Please do the right thing and continue the excellence. I bought XM radio back in the day because Bob was on it. While it's true that I've come to love satellite radio, I am sad that you seem not to care that when money gets tight again, it will be easier to consider dropping my two subscriptions.

Sincerely,

Jason Arnett
subscriber since 2005

The New Things

I'm struggling a little with the pitch for a new novel. It came to me yesterday almost fully formed but there's a line that I'm not happy with because it's cliched beyond belief. Still, it's accurate. So I'm working that out.

In the meantime I've written the first chapter of the book, even gotten into chapter two. (You won't believe how many commas I've already killed. I'm a victim of 'use commas as a pause' from days gone by. Digressing.) Taking a much more steady, studied approach to writing this new book. That's kind of why I'm spending time refining the pitch for a second day. I'm not procrastinating. Nope. I'm not. I'm not. I PROMISE.

So the pitch is informing the outline, too. There are a bunch of little ideas floating around the big one. Fitting them all together, stitching them all together, is the real challenge of this one. The big idea is not wholly original, though I hope it will be by the time it's revealed in the story. For now it's an obvious trope. It's workable. The way this book seems to be going I'm confident it'll solve itself.

If not, I'll take an axe to something.

Such is the writer's life.

Oh, yeah, I suppose I should say this out loud: I won't be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. At least not as of now. I've got this new book and a bunch of short stories I'm working and I have another novel to edit and the novella too. I'm the only one stressing about any of this so that's not bad but I do want to get all this more in process. Plus we're heading into the busy season at work.

So as much as I want to flat out write in November, I'm gonna write and edit and support my group in their own writing endeavors. We'll see if I miss it or not.

All right, so I need to stay focused. Wish me luck.

Where To Find Me March 2015

I will have a table in Artist's Alley, doing my thing and hawking new stories.Can't wait.

As Of Yesterday...

This is what I posted on Twitter:
Jason Arnett @ajasont  For now I'm putting this novel in the trunk. I'm not done trying to get it out in the world, I just need a break. # amwriting  Jason Arnett @ajasont   Because now it's time to write Other Things. (Not an actual title but I kind of like it, don't you?) # amwriting

Instructive Criticism

Pulling this from The 46 Rules of Genius by Marty Neumeier. It's subtitled 'an innovator's guide to creativity' but it's got several useful items for those who are already creative and maybe haven't explored or just don't know why they do what they do or even how.

Anyway, we're all familiar with constructive criticism and likely even ask for it. I like the definitions Neumeier uses. This is from page 102 of the book:

The best cure for logic blindness is to seek regular feedback from people who can critique your ideas instructively rather than constructively. It's your job to be constructive - you're the maker. What you need from them is a clear view from the outside. Ideal critics are those will:
Listen to your idea, ask questions, and not react too quickly.Strive to judge your idea against your specific intent.Summarize your idea in a way that seems fair and even insightful.Identify any aspects of your idea that they agree with or appreciate.Finally, identify aspects they they question or find lacking. 

In the real world, however, the feedback you get may be reactive, subjective, negative, or less than insightful. 

So what I'm doing going forward is to make my queries much more clear about my idea and my intent. That means that I have to actually know what my idea IS when I go into the story. Then I must execute the story with a kind of precision that shows I know what I'm doing. I suspect that will generate responses from agents/editors/others who will tell me what they like and ask questions. 
I don't think it's a foolproof way to get published but maybe it is. Certainly when I have folks beta read things now I'm going to be better about making sure they know what I'm going for to look for that in my stories. The rest is craft that I can only improve through repetition and practice.
Back to writing.

Relevant?

Leaving this here without comment.

The Dream Doesn't Die

Look in the rearview mirror, what do you see?

Me, I see a lot of things I could have pursued a little more. Education, relationships, music, comics and lots and lots of other things. What's not there is regret.

Determination keeps me going. I have to be that creative person I've always been or I will go crazy. That's a fact of my DNA without dispute. I've got too much in my life that I value to spend any time on being crazy. Because crazy leads to destruction in my case. Can't have that.

So when a rejection comes in it's a sign that I need to double down on the creative. Time to get better in another way. Keep the stories coming, keep sending them out, collect those rejections. File them all away.

Never give up, never surrender. Even if I and a few close friends are the only ones who ever read my stories, at least they'll be here. They exist because I didn't give up.

And I won't. The dream of a being a published science fiction author is too strong. I won't let it go.

Watch.