Steven E. Wedel's Blog, page 52

There's your problem

So, I have figured out part of what was keeping me from getting anything done on The Girls Nobody Wanted to Date. I couldn't remember who was who. So today I finished going through what I've written so far and recording names and short notes about each character. So far, at just about 34,000 words, there are 70 named characters, most of whom have lines. This isn't counting unnamed extras, like the old couple in line in front of Ashlie at the football game. Sheesh! What was I thinking? Granted, t

Getting down to business

Three days of spring break are gone and I have not so much as opened the file for The Girls Nobody Wanted to Date. My goal of finishing it during the break is looking out of reach. However, as soon as this blog is posted I'm going to get back to work on that one. It's like a thorn in my side now. I want it done and out of the way.

Until yesterday I'd completely forgotten about The Fetch, which is finished and just needs editing. Somehow it just dropped out of my thoughts. Senility? Maybe. But, it

Warning: Political Rant

I have been pinching this off for a long time now. Today, however, I made the mistake of reading the CNN Political Ticker blog, and many of the comment to this entry about Rep. Bill Posey's (R-Fla.) proposal to require presidential candidates to submit their birth certificates when filing for office. The comments (read the morning after finally watchin Idiocracy) were just too much.

This is not a rant about President Barak Obama. Here's a truth I have admitted to only a few people: I crossed part

Horror World reviews Little Graveyard

I almost forgot about this review at Horror World since I got to read it pretty far in advance. It's a really nice one. Here's a little snippet to entice you to read all of it. Oh yeah, and buy the book.

Little Graveyard on the Prairie flat-out ground my soul into a fine powder and left it to blow across the desert. My first taste of this author left me wondering why newer writers can’t be this literate, insightful, original and fresh. Wedel opens his imagination and lets it softly tiptoe into yo

Bam!

So, I've mentioned wanting to write a novel about Bigfoot, right? (Yes. Yes, I have.) Other than a lack of time, part of my problem was a lack of plot. Since I'm not in Hollywood, a plot is necessary. Today, as I drove home from a late day at work, the whole thing just hit me. It was like I slammed my truck right into a Bigfoot on those back roads. Everything from the opening chapter to the final scenes just fell into place. It was a beautiful thing. I have written down all my thoughts and outli

Feelin' lucky?

I'm feelin' lucky. So far. You may recall how, last week, my three youngest young'uns were sick. Early Sunday morning the bug got my wife, then my oldest son a few hours later. Wifey was really bad off for a while. She doesn't like me talking about her here, so I won't go into details, but let's just say it was nasty and at one point painful for her.

Me? I've been fighting a cold for the past few days, but no flu symptoms yet. I'm pretty worried about it, though. I mean, this is benchmark test we

Vomit and Grapes

It's been quite the week. My three youngest kids were home sick Monday and Tuesday, went to school Wednesday, then the youngest two started vomiting again Wednesday evening and one of them ended up staying home yesterday, causing me to use a sick day. They all seem fine now ... but I think I'm coming down with another cold. Damn weather! It goes from 40 degrees one day to 80 the next, then back into the 30s. Someday I'll find a way to turn snot into energy and my nose will end America's dependen

Satan in the classroom

Today I got approval on my purchase order to buy 30 copies of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist for use in my AP Literature and Composition class. I wondered if there'd be a problem getting it approved, but there were no questions. I really didn't expect to be able to get 30 copies, but our librarian got me a good price on them. Although I can certainly argue that the book has literary merit, we probably won't get to it until after the AP exam in early May. Most of the kids are looking forward

I been memed

That Carrie Jones gal done went and tagged me in a meme. I'm not going to paste in the book covers like she did. I'm lazy.

Which five book characters are you most like (including, if you want, one of your own)?

[image error]1. Samwise from The Lord of the Rings. An adventure would be fun, but I'd kind of have to be pushed into it, and I'm loyal to my friends like Sam. But in the end I'd be looking forward to coming home.

2. David from David Copperfield. Hard to explain this one, considering I wasn't put to work

Gettin' Okie

We been doin' The Grapes of Wrath in my AP classes. Man, I shore do love this book. What's more, the kids, they seem to like it purty well, too. It's got ever'thing a teacher can hope for. Symbolism, allusion, multiple themes, dialect, political messages, controversy, ever'thing. And I get to let my proper grammar go and really tawk like a Okie durin' the lessons.

Several of my AP students don't have the grades they want in my class. I mean, to the point there were tears. So I got to thinking abo