I have been a bad, bad writer. I allowed myself to get sucked into the Minesweeper vortex, first by saying, “just one game” before I start, and then by saying, “well, that one didn’t count.”

You can see where this is going.

 So I uninstalled the damn thing. I have a lot of projects I want to start, and an addiction to clearing mines from a little screen was not going to help. So I got rid of Minesweeper, all the solitaires, cleaned up both my computer desktop and my actual real-life desktop, and now I’m ready to begin.

Housekeeping has always been a mental first step between projects anyway. Usually when I finish a short story I clean off my desk, putting all the music back and either recycling all the paper used for drafts or critique comments from my group or turning it over to be reused. I usually have to listen to new music anyway when I start a project, although I have a few stand-bys that help get me going. (It’s amazing what George Thorogood can do to jump-start my writing. Once “Rocking the Night Away” hits, it’s like, “away we go!)

Anyway, I’m convinced that the creator of Minesweeper and computer solitaire was a failed writer who had it in for the rest of us.

I think this was the best Armadillocon in a long time and not just because I had a book out. The topics were all really interesting and well-attended, and the energy was way up. Among the panels I attended were Hollywood: Book to Screen and How to Sell a Story to Asimov’s (with brave editor Sheila Williams taking questions). I have resolved to stop doing Sheila’s job and reject my stories myself — no, I will send her my stories from now on and let her do that. But in case you haven’t heard the statistics, she receives about 6,000 stories a year and accepts between 60 and 80.

I moderated two panels: one on Young Adult fiction. My goal for this panel was to allow the panelists to show off their knowledge of the YA field and let them discourse upon trends and such. I don’t think it went as smoothly as I would have wished, but not because it was the panelists’ fault — they were all very informative, but sometimes the panel just gets away from you.

Much better was the Writer’s Boot Camp, or No More Excuses Panel. We talked about the roadblocks people put in their own way when they wanted to write and it was a fun, lively, discussion. A lot of people including panelists said how much they enjoyed that one. So I felt like I had done my job.

I got to sign books in the presence of John Scalzi, for whom the line stretched out of the dealer room. It was phenomenal. The others of us at the signing table, including Julie Kenner, Steve Wedel, and Josh Rountree, were in awe. I did sign plenty of copies of Gordath Wood, and then at the end of the hour, got in the end of the Scalzi line to get my copy of Zoe’s Tale to be signed. I cannot wait to read it. It looks fabulous.

The highlight of the con, though, were the camp fire stories told by Joe Haldeman, Joe Lansdale, Bill Crider, and Scott Cupp. Joe Lansdale told some remarkable stories, including the one about the blind groundskeeper and the woman who comes to the door and has a fit (”I mean it was a F I T T fit”), and stories about his dad. The elder Lansdale never started a fight, but boy, he sure knew how to finish one. And Joe Haldeman told a truly awesome story about Vietnam, among other tales.

That was the best.

Excellent parties, good friends, Jayme Blaschke’s mead, and great readings by Stina Leicht, Martha Wells, Matthew Bey, Jessica Reisman, and others. Can’t wait for next year.

Joe Haldeman gave me his drink ticket! Oh and other stuff happened too.

Okay, okay, day one. Went to the panel on the influence of westerns on SF, and of course Firefly was mentioned. Joe Lansdale ran away with the panel, which discoursed over a wide range of topics, from Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour to Silverberg, Bloch, and Howard of course. The Conan stories = westerns and the consensus was they were more western than his actual westerns. Joe Lansdale pointed out that he had been to Howard’s house and stood in his backyard and recognized bits from his stories.

Went to the panel on “Why I write,” which was ably moderated by Matthew Bey. Panelists ended up talking about why they don’t write, and how they snap out of writer’s block. Talebones editor Patrick Swenson said that he misses writing and that editing takes away writing time. He spoke of the incredible value that Clarion and other workshops have because they put writers in company with other writers and mentors, fueling creativity.

Went to dinner with cryptopolis, and after that there was the pros party, and after that went to Matthew Bey’s reading, which was hilarious as he read from two stories, The Natural History of the Pancake Badger, and I forgot the name of the second one but it was a remake of “I am Sam” only with Sean Penn playing Cthuhlu.

Natural History is going up on the Town Drunk at some point, and the Cthulhu one is appearing in a something about tentacles anthology (sorry, I’ll edit when I find out the real name) from Sam’s Dot. So you need to make sure you buy the anthology and visit Town Drunk because you don’t want to miss them.

I’ll remind you.

It’s not late but I had one drink (Joe Haldeman!) so I’m useless. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

I didn’t post yesterday because I was making lots of progress and wanted to keep up the momentum. There is a chance, slight but there, that I can finish this rewrite/draft by Sunday. The story is humming along, and actions and their consequences are falling into place.

I could definitely get used to writing during the day. ; - )

I’ll leave my thoughts on the day job for another post. For now, back to work.

Yes! Chapter 4b (which is really going to end up being Chapter 5) is finished, so A and I went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Now, I knew the movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro, and I knew he wrote it, but it wasn’t until we got to the goblin market that I went, “Oh! Guillermo del Toro!” The man puts his stamp on things.

I liked it. The tooth fairies were creeeepy, and the bad elf was nasty yet sympathetic, and Hellboy made quips and busted heads as only Hellboy can. Sure, there were things I thought could have been done better — come on, could Liz and Hellboy’s relationship be any more stereotypical? And all Nuala did was stand around and be, well, kind of annoying, but otherwise, a fitting reward for Chapter 4b.

 Oh, and as far as movie duets go, Hellboy and Abe win for the most heartfelt and badly sung lovesong of 2008, Mamma Mia! notwithstanding.

So, what should I bribe myself with for next section? Now I’m building the new Chapter 7 (no word yet on whether this is 7a or 7b, depends on pacing). I was thinking Amy’s ice cream, but I am opposed to food as reward on general principles. Hmmm. Suggestions? (yes, I know, from all three of you reading.)

 Update: It’s Chapter 7b after all, it’s haaaard (she whines), so my bribe is going to be: getting my hair done. 

If I finish Chapter 4b, then I get to go see Hellboy tonight.

You will know if I succeeded if this space has a review tomorrow.