My 10 Most Popular Posts

The number of hits I get on a post on my blog can vary quite a lot. Of course I like it when I get a large number of hits. What is it about my popular posts that makes them so popular?

In addition to my own blog, I post on Blogger and FaceBook. The popularity of my posts are quite different on each of these sites. I picked the top 10 based on my own site, and will mention some popular posts on the other sites.

10. Return to Blogging

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/return-to-blogging/

In this post I talked about restarting my blog. I had stopped because I had to help take care of my wife while she was sick. As such, this was a more personal post than I usually write. It was also the most popular post, by far, on FaceBook.

A closely related post: My Own Conflicts http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/my-own-conflicts/ was the second most popular on FaceBook.

I don't feel comfortable writing posts that are too personal, but it is also clear that those kinds of posts are usually more popular.

9. I Finally Brought A Long Held Dream to Fruition

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/i-finally-brought-a-long-held-dream-to-fruition/

This is my post to promote my Doc Savage novella: "The 89th Key". http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/stories/the-89th-key/

The release of a major piece of work does attract more attention that a progress update. Of course, I need to have something to release in order to do a post like this.

8. New Ideas for Transportation Planning Stories

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/new-ideas-for-transportation-planning-stories/

I've worked on several projects that have transportation planning as a background. While my movie "The Barrier" is still at version 0.6, I wanted to start on a new project. I am glad to see that the topic does still attract some interest. As it was, I got side tracked onto other projects. Maybe I can get back to this next year.

7. The Lester Dent Master Fiction Plot Test Drive

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-lester-dent-master-fiction-plot-test-drive/

I first posted this in December of 2010, so despite being an old post, it still draws new visitors.

Lester Dent was a prolific pulp writer back in the 1930s and 1940s and is best known for writing most of the Doc Savage stories. I came across an article he wrote about what he called his master fiction plot. It is a formula for a action adventure pulp story. I found that it helped me improve my writing.

I've experimented with variations of the formula; mostly by trying to adapt it to other types of stories. Some people denigrate "formula writing", but I find it a valuable tool. Certainly at some stages of writing, it can really get things going. I find that when I don't follow this structure, it becomes very difficult to write.

The popularity of this post reflects the interest that writers have in tools they can use for writing. In the original post I included a link to the article, but the link went dead, so I added a copy of the article to the end of the post, so that it is available to people who find my post.

6. My New Website Theme: As The Goals Change

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/my-new-website-theme-as-the-goals-change/

Late last year I started to develop a new WordPress theme for my website. I'm not sure why it should be so popular. In the end I abandoned my new theme and picked one of the free themes that are available. I did make a few modifications, and would like to make some more, but this is a low priority for me.

5. "2001: A Space Odyssey"  and H. P. Lovecraft

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/2001-a-space-odyssey-and-h-p-lovecraft/

2001 was and is my favourite movie. I've also had an interest in H.P. Lovecraft. One day I was struck by the idea that there was a connection between the two, so I wrote up my thoughts on it.

I posted this back in April of 2014, so this is another old post that keeps drawing in readers.

4. My Film Equipment Repair Adventure

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/my-film-equipment-repair-adventure/

I have an old Sankyo Dualux 1000 super 8/ regular 8 projector that belonged to my parents. Unfortunately, the drive belt wore out and broke. I tried to find a replacement belt, but they are expensive. I experimented with using an O-ring and a rubber band.

It seems that a lot of other people have the same projector, and the same problem with the drive belt. I posted this in February 2012 and still get hits on this page frequently.

2. and 3. Experiments With the Trial Version of nawmalMAKE and The New Nawmal: Good News for "The Barrier"

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/experiments-with-the-trial-version-of-nawmalmake/

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-new-nawmal-good-news-for-the-barrier/

I wrote these two posts about NawmalMake. It is a rerelease of the old Xtranormal program that I used to make "The Barrier" and "Make ’ em Squirm: The Sharkbiter Way".

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-barrier/

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/filmlist/make-em-squirm-the-sharkbiter-way/

I was quite glad to see it rereleased, so I could do a final version of "The Barrier". Unfortunately, the timing isn't good for me, so I haven't been able to take advantage of the new release. I did some tests though.

The one big worry I have is that the new company will not be able to make a go of it and the program will no longer be available when I have time to use it. The fact that these two posts are attracting a lot of hits even months after it was posted tells me that there is some interest in the program. This is a positive sign for the future of the program.

1. Conversational Films: A Small Genre

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/conversational-stories/conversational-films-a-small-genre/

One of my favourite films is Linklater's "Before Sunrise". I've had the urge to make something similar. In this post I look at similar movies that would call conversational films. I only identified a few, but I suspect there are some more I am unaware of.

I'm not sure why this post should be so popular. Even though it was posted back in March 2012, it was still my most popular post this year. Maybe there is a desire out there for similar movies.

I wrote my story "The Crying Woman" as the basis for a movie like this, but I haven't followed up on it yet. http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/stories/the-crying-woman/

Honourable Mention: Do Ancient Alien Probes Watch Earth?

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/do-ancient-alien-probes-watch-earth/

While this post did not attract much attention on my site or FaceBook, it was very popular on Blogger. No one made any comments, but I think that may be a good thing. Many of the people who would be interested would be interested in the conspiracy theory aspects of the idea, and would not be very positively disposed to my more sceptical approach to the idea.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Mid-Year Review of My Goals for 2014

At the start of this year I laid out my goals for 2014. With the year more than half gone now, I thought it was time to review and revise my goals. This year hasn't been as productive as last year.

"Felix"

I set the rewrite of "Felix" as my top priority for the year. I thought that would take me a couple of months. While I have done some work on it, I am nowhere near a completed rewrite.

I must admit that it isn't a very original idea. It began as a rewrite of a H. P. Lovecraft story. Although, as I worked on it, it did drift away from the original story. I don't want to do a bad imitation of Lovecraft.

I have been very erratic in my work habits, which I think is the main reason I make so little progress. I need to get into a writing routine. That is a mater of will power.

Sometimes I find it easier to write in long hand rather than on the computer. I'm not sure why, but it feels more creative.

"The Barrier" / Replace Xtranormal

The primary barrier to my work on "The Barrier" was the discontinuation of Xtranormal, the program I used to create it. Xtranormal does seem about to return, but hasn't been rereleased yet (see http://xtranormal.com/). I don't want to put much effort into the project until I know for sure that I can continue to use Xtranormal, or a compatible program.

I have done some work with Blender (see: http://www.blender.org/) to animate some scenes that I can't do very well in Xtranormal. There are a couple of scenes that I can do that way with out Xtranormal that I think would improve the movie and it may be worthwhile to do that to give me more of a final version of "The Barrier".

A movie about transportation planners does have a small audience, so I can't expect to redo it as a even a low budget movie. Best to stick with Xtranormal, if I can.

I will hold off on this project for now and see what develops.

"My Most Difficult Case"

I think I have left this project too long for any serious chance of getting a sale. Even when I contacted a distributor five years ago, they thought it was almost too old to get a sale. I'm inclined to do a quick fix up and post it on-line.

I'd like to try out one of those pay-per-view sites. I want to do that with the final version of "The Barrier", so I want to get my feet wet. "My Most Difficult Case" might be the film to try. Hopefully, I can avoid some missteps later with "The Barrier".

"Bright Freedom"

I have thought about this project from time to time, but I don't see that I'll do anything on it any time soon. It is hard to write a story where the protagonist is a woman and you've never been one.

"Pete's Plan"

I submitted this story to several Science Fiction magazines in 2013. I thought it was good enough to get published, but no one was interested. One person that read said that it seemed to be more of a treatment than a story. It is short, about 1,000 words, but it says all I want to say. I planned to submit it to other magazines, but held off on that.

As I've thought about it, I think it would be better to rewrite it as a first person narrative. It would force me to focus more on the hero and how he feels as he executes his plan. What I have now may be too detached from the character.

Other Projects

Over the year a number of other ideas have popped up in my head. I usually write up the idea for later. Sometimes I forget the idea before I get that done. I think some of these ideas have a lot of potential, but I don't want to delve into them until I get a few of my current projects put to bed.

One idea I've toyed with is another "transportation planning adventure" story. I've come up with some ideas and would like to move on with it. I plan to write it as a story, and if things work out, I would develop it into another movie like "The Barrier".

My Priorities

My first priority is to get back into a writing routine. Even an hour a day will help me accomplish something, if I keep it up consistently.

My second priority will be to finish off the rewrite of "Felix" and get some feedback.

My third priority will be to finish off "My Most Difficult Case", post it and promote it.

After that, it will depend on what happens with Xtranormal. If it is available, I would like to do a new version of "The Barrier". Otherwise I would work on the rewrites of "Bright Freedom" or "Pete's Plan".

I will also allow myself to go with the flow when the spirit moves me on other projects.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Read Read Read Write Write Write Rewrite Rewrite Rewrite

I haven't done much writing, or rewriting lately, but I did read a lot. I have some thoughts about my reading.

I took the title of this post from some very common advice to writers. I picked it up in Pierre Berton's book "The Joy of Writing".

What Kind of Reading?

I don't think anyone would argue about the need for a writer to read a lot. What I wonder is, what kind of reading? When I started to make movies, I mostly watched movies for enjoyment, but also began to watch to study the movie. I'd make notes about various aspects of the movies to gain a better understanding of how to make movies.

I haven't done the same with reading though, it is still all for enjoyment. I suspect that I should try to analyze some of the material I read, as I did with movies. I have done a little of that. I remember back in high school I spent some time working through a Doc Savage book to try to suss out how it was done. I didn't succeed. All it did was distract me from the stuff I should have done for English class.

I do read some books about writing , like "The Joy of Writing", and I think that helps. However, I think that you can learn from other kinds of books.

I am unsure if reading for pleasure helps. Maybe, as you read, your subconscious picks up on the mechanics of the writing, which you can draw on later. I have my doubts if that is very effective. It would be nice if it does. I wonder if anyone has studied this.

What Have I Read?

I used to read quite a few books. Over the years I drifted from science fiction to mysteries to non-fiction. Over the last year I've noticed that more and more of what I read is eBooks on my eReader, or on-line: things like news articles and blogs.

I visit some U.S. news and opinion pages on a regular basis: Paul Krugman, Salon, and Slate. I'd like to find similar sites in Canada because I find myself thinking too much about U.S. economics and politics, which is really not my major concern. I pick up articles here and there from the people I follow on Twitter or FaceBook.

Just recently I discovered Jason Colavito's blog: http://www.jasoncolavito.com/. His main focus is on debunking the ancient astronaut theory. He writes a lot about how H. P. Lovecraft's stories have influenced AA theory. He seems to do a new post almost every day. I wish I could be as prolific; and successful, he gets more comments than I get views.

Another recent discovery was Space Archaeology, http://spacearchaeology.org/. Unfortunately the last post was back in November 2012. That said, I did find some worthwhile posts. One of these, 10 Space Archaeology Stories You Must Read (http://spacearchaeology.org/?p=219) got me to read "The Red One" by Jack London, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_One. It is reminiscent of some of Lovecraft's Yog-Sothothery stories, but was written a decade before "The Call of Cthulhu".

I do worry that the time I spend reading these blogs are a diversion from what I really want to do. Blogs can be addictive. On the other hand, I think that anything that stimulates thought is a positive thing.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"2001: A Space Odyssey" and H. P. Lovecraft

A couple weeks ago I posted "What is "2001: A Space Odyssey" About?" (http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/what-is-2001-a-space-odyssey-about/). In it, I mentioned in passing that I saw some similarities between it and the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Since then I've delved a little deeper into that idea.

Arthur C. Clarke and H. P. Lovecraft

I was reluctant to make too much of the possibility that Lovecraft's work dad an influence on "2001", because I didn't know if Clarke was familiar with Lovecraft. A quick search showed that he did.

In 1940, Clarke wrote "At the Mountains of Murkiness", a parody of Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness". In "Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares" S. T. Joshi mentions the story and notes that both "2001" and "Childhood's End" both share some ideas with Lovecraft's stories.

Lovecraft and "2001" Similarities and Differences

Lovecraft's basic idea is that extraterrestrials visited Earth far in the past and influenced the development of humans. The same idea underlies "2001".

Lovecraft suggests that these extraterrestrials were the inspiration for the gods that humanity worships. This is not suggested in the movie or book "2001", but Clarke does make the suggestion in his later novel "3001: The Final Odyssey".

A major difference between Lovecraft and Clarke is the attitude of the extraterrestrials. In Lovecraft they are at best indifferent to people and can be very antagonistic. Clarke sees the attitude of the  extraterrestrials as positive to people. In Clarke's earlier short story "The Sentinel", which was the basis for "2001", the attitude of the extraterrestrial is not so clearly positive. In "3001" the attitude of the extraterrestrials is also not necessarily kindly toward people.

Is it possible that maybe "2001" could be viewed as a Lovecraftian horror story? In the book Clarke does seem clear that the extraterrestrials are benign, but that might not be true of the movie. Like many of Lovecraft's heroes, at the end, Bowman appears to become overwhelmed by what is revealed to him. The scene in the "hotel room" could be just a figment of his imagination after he has lost his sanity.

Robert E. Howard and the Monolith

An interesting parallel to "2001" can be found in another Cthulhu Mythos story, "The Black Stone" by Robert E. Howard. In it the hero finds an ancient black monolith that was set up by ancient extraterrestrials. Although a different shape than the monolith in "2001" (octagonal) it is about the same height and depth.

"2001" and the Ancient Astronauts

In his book "Cult of Alien Gods" (http://www.jasoncolavito.com/cult-of-alien-gods.html), Jason Colavito makes the case that the ancient astronaut theory popularized by Erich von Däniken in his book Chariots of the Gods? was inspired by Lovecraft's stories. A review I read suggested that the case is weak, but it convinced me.

The ancient astronaut theory predates "2001", but I suspect that it could have played a role in the popularity of the ancient astronaut theory. In 1968, "2001" was a very high profile cultural event, and even people who did not go see it were aware of some of the ideas in the movie. Chariots of the Gods? was published the same year and was more broadly promoted by a TV program in 1970.

Because of "2001", the possibility of extraterrestrials visiting Earth in the past was an idea that was "in the air". This could have made people more open to the idea when von Däniken book was released. I know that this was a factor in my own interest in the theory. I was completely sold on the idea then, although eventually my interest led me to the skeptic movement.

What Can We Conclude?

I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the connections I found, but I think the comparisons do help me to understand "2001". Arthur C. Clarke said that the book he wrote was just his thoughts about what the movie was about.

I suspect that "2001" is more of a question than a statement. The explanations of the story suggested by comparisons with Lovecraft show that the "answer" to what "2001" is about is not straight forward. I think it is the stimulation we gain from the exploration that is important.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

What is "2001: A Space Odyssey" About?

The other day I watched a documentary about "2001" on YouTube. It has been my favourite movie for a long time and the documentary prompted me to re-explore what the film means.

The documentary I watched, "2001: A Space Odyssey - The Making Of A Myth", was made in 2001 by the BBC's Channel 4. In a series of interviews the documentary explores how they made the film, and what it meant. You can watch the documentary here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpoPhQNrpjE

However, they didn't talk about what I thought as an important aspect of the film: the parallel between the Monolith story and the HAL story.

Arthur C. Clarke often said that if you could understand "2001", then they had failed. The film is meant to provoke us to contemplate the nature of the Universe and our place in it. Nevertheless, I still feel we can find value when we try to find meaning in the film. At least in part, my interpretation is based on the book.

The Monolith Story and the HAL Story

As far as I can recall, when people talk about the HAL subplot, they don't relate it to main plot about the Monolith. I think that the two are related. Maybe people feel it is too obvious to mention. I'm not sure when I came to that view. It may have been a short time after I saw the film.

Initially, it seems that the subplot of HAL's rebellion and downfall are not related to the Monolith story. But, let's reconsider.

In the HAL story, HAL is a machine that people have created for their own purposes. As the story progresses, HAL develops behaviour beyond what the people who created it intended. When its behaviour threatens the existence of the people in its care, Bowman, the last survivor, has to shut HAL down. As he does so, HAL bit by bit regresses toward its infancy.

In the Monolith story, the Monolith is a representation of an advanced intelligence. The film does not say exactly what that intelligence is. In the first part of the film, the Monolith sparks the flame of intelligence in the pre-humans it finds on Earth. The pre-humans later develop into modern people, with great abilities, but also with a legacy of violence. In the last part of the film, Bowman, the people's representative, is transformed into the Starchild.

I think that the HAL story helps understand what happens to Bowman at the end. In the Monolith story, Bowman takes the role earlier played by HAL. The Monolith, like Bowman earlier, is disappointed with how people have turned out. While they may not be as big a threat to the Monolith as HAL was to Bowman, the Monolith acts in the same way as Bowman with HAL. The Monolith regresses Bowman back to his infancy. The difference is that the Monolith is far more advanced that people and so the Monolith is able to restart (reboot) Bowman. The film ends as a new beginning, with hope for the future.

"2001" and H. P. Lovecraft

While I worked on this post, I started to notice a parallel between "2001" and some of the stories of H. P. Lovecraft.

In many of his stories, for example "The Nameless City" and "The Mountains of Madness", Lovecraft's protagonists are driven to madness when they come to understand the vastness of the Universe.

Bowman can be seen as similar to the Lovecraftian protagonists in that his search to understand the Cosmos seems to drive him to insanity. I don't know if Clarke or Kubrick were that familiar with Lovecraft, or maybe it is just that I see something that isn't there.

Maybe other people can explore this idea further.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

My Goals for 2014

A couple of weeks ago I looked back at what I did in 2013. In this post, I will talk about what I want to get done in 2014. Some projects never seem to end. I would like to hear what projects you think I should focus on.

Felix

My first priority this year will be to rewrite Felix, my Lovecraft inspired science fiction story. I finished a first draft of Felix early in 2013. Since then, I focussed on The Barrier. Even so, I thought about Felix from time to time.

I've come up with some ideas about how to develop it further. Some sections I think I will just toss out and rewrite from scratch. The dialogue needs work. One thought I had was to use Xtranormal/State to work with the dialogue. I found that it was a big help when I wrote The Barrier.

The Barrier

I had some vague idea that I might remake The Barrier as a live action movie sometime in the future. I wanted to leave it as it is for a while and cogitate on the feedback I would get.

I haven't had a lot of feedback so far, and it is hard to fully absorb the feedback I did get quickly. Nonetheless, I am left with the sense that the movie has potential, although maybe not enough to justify the cost of a full-blown movie.

The feedback I had from transportation planners was positive, but mixed results from other people. It may be that my market may be limited to transportation planners. I want to get some more feedback from people outside the transportation field.

Right now my thought is to make some major changes to the animated version of the movie, and make that the final version. There is an issue with the legal status of Xtranormal, so I would need to redo the whole movie with a different system if I did major changes. Maybe I can do some improvements with less drastic changes

Some of the ideas I had:

• redo the character voices with real actors,
• add music to the sound track (although I have no idea what might work), and
• change the order of the scenes

I am inclined to do some experiments with real voices and different types of music.

Replace Xtranormal

I found Xtranormal to be a useful tool, and I am disappointed that it is no longer available. I want to find something to replace it. There are several options I want to look into: http://plotagon.com, http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/, http://stateplus2.hackernewbies.com/, and http://www.reallusion.com/products.aspx. I might be able to find some other ones to look at too.

My Most Difficult Case

This has become a permanent feature of my to-do list. I would like to get this project behind me. I'm not even sure just what I still have left to do. I hope I can keep it to some minor fix-ups.

Bright Freedom

I have a first draft of this story, but it has been a year and a half since I last worked on it. From time to time I have ideas to add to this story. I converted it from a movie script to a novelette. Now, after my experience with The Barrier, I wonder if I should make it into a movie again. Like with Felix, I think I could use something like Xtranormal to help me rewrite the dialogue.

Before I take it too much further, I really should get some one to read it and get a better sense of how people react to it. I need to do more research to ensure that it comes across as realistic. With the other projects I have in mind, I don't expect that I will get far with Bright Freedom this year.

Creative Experiments

I think I need to put aside some time to experiment with writing and movie making ideas. I didn't do much of that in 2013 because I was so focussed on The Barrier.

I did a little experiment last week. I just finished reading Will Murray's Writing in Bronze about Doc Savage. It inspired me to come up with my own Doc Savage story.

I tried to write a Doc Savage story once before; back between high school and university. I think I only got a couple of pages done before I gave up. I did use the book title later: The Smiling Corpse. I think I still have it sitting in a box in my basement.

I got about two pages done on this new idea, which I call The 89th Key. Unlike the last time, I did work on an outline. I think that my failure last time was because I didn't develop and outline.

There are some Doc Savage fan fiction sites, so I could find people to read it when it is done. I'm not sure I want to do any more work on the story now. Maybe later I will get re-inspired. I read a lot of Doc Savage in High School, but I haven't read much lately, so I am not as familiar with the style now.

I think trying little projects like this will help me be more creative in my major projects.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Update on Three Science Fiction Stories

Pete’s Plan

I got some comments back from some people on this story. I rewrote it based on their comments. I incorporated some new ideas I had as I read it over. It is a bit longer at over 1,000 words now. I think it is better too.

I’ll read it over again next week, and submit it to another magazine. One magazine I came across wouldn’t consider a story under 1,000 words, so I can submit to them now.

Felix

Felix is a reimagining of a H. P. Lovecraft story set on Mars. I made some good progress and still have ideas popping up in my mind. It looks like it will turn out shorter than I thought it would though.

The final story won’t be anything like the story I based it on. I’m not 100 per cent sure if that is a good thing or not.

Heat Wave

I am about half way through the first draft. I haven’t worked on it for a while now. I’d like to blame it on the other projects I worked on, but there is another reason. I started with the ending and worked backward, and now the ending looks a little lame compared to the rest of the story. Maybe I’m overly concerned about that. I should finish it and get some one else’s opinion.

I do still have ideas for this story pop up periodically. Mostly it’s because I see parallels between the character’s situation and some of the experiences I had. Like many other people, I always think of good responses to what people say to me after it is too late. I think I can use those “I wish I’d said” moments to say what I wanted to. That would give me a quantum of solace.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

What Do I Work on Next?

Now that I have finished and posted the video version of Contingency, I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. I’ve got many projects I want to finish. If you have some time, I would like to hear your opinion.

When I wrote my New Years Blog, I planned to do updates April 1, July 1, and October 1. I did one update in late March, but did nothing in July. I missed October 1, but now should do.

Some Days . . .

I tried to make Some Days . . . for last years $100 Film Festival, but wasn’t happy with how it turned out. I bought some new film and plan to redo it for next years Festival. The submission deadline is December 1, so I can’t dally over this one too long.

My Most Difficult Case

I should have finished this one and sent it off long ago. There are times when I almost feel afraid to touch it. It shouldn’t take much work, but since it has already taken so long, it is hard to think I am almost done. It seems like I have a million excuses to put it off until another time.

The Crying Lady

I’d written and published this as a short story. I wanted to turn it into a movie with Xtranormal. Partly this was to experiment with Xtranormal to see if I could use it as a tool to develop a project more before I made a real movie. I haven’t done anything on this, but I did something similar with my Make ‘Em Squirm video. Lately I’ve wondered if it would be better to use Then the Phone Rang for my experiment. I think it may be easier to do.

Bright Freedom

I wrote this as a script, but wasn’t happy with it. Over the summer, I converted the script into a novelette. I have a first draft done, but decided to leave it for a while before I do a second draft. I’ve come up with some ideas for the revision and I started to review what I have for revision. The story does need more research before I can finish it, but with a better second (or third) draft, it should be easier to get feedback from other people. The main character is a woman, and since I am not, I really feel I need to get a woman’s perspective on the character.

Heat Wave

This is an idea I had quite some time ago, but didn’t start on it until August. It is a science fiction story. I got about half of the first draft done. I did all the parts where I had clear ideas what I wanted to do. The rest of the story will be harder to do.

Felix

This is another science fiction story that I developed. I reimagined an H. P. Lovecraft story. I think its connection to Lovecraft may be quite obscure by the time I’m done. I wrote some notes, ideas and outlines, but I haven’t started to write the story itself. The end of the story has been a challenge to me. The one in the Lovecraft story doesn’t make much sense after the other changes I made.

The Gladstone Barrier

I wanted to turn one of my transportation planning stories into a novelette, or maybe even a novel. I’ve done some work on how to do that, but I don’t feel particularly inspired by the idea these days.

Web Magazine: The Journal of Transportation Fiction

I still want to do more on my transportation planning stories. The challenge is to come up with an approach that works. When I looked for a place to submit my science fiction story, Pete’s Plan, I came across some on-line science fiction magazines. I thought that might be a way to get some help with my transportation stories. I did get some people express interest in writing stories when I first promoted my stories, so I think it might work.

I find that if I work on too many projects at a time, I never get any done. I don’t like to put projects aside though. Some Days . . . has a clear deadline, so I think it needs to be my first priority. What else I should work on, I’m not sure.

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