Well, I’ve been off the writing wagon for almost three weeks–the first with a cold that just won’t quit, the second due to a really bitchin’ conference in between where I spoke on audio production and podcasting, and then a third week where I either relapsed or picked up some kind of con crud.
If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it is this: The human brain was never meant to be pickled in snot. It’s just not a good conductor of thoughts. And that’s to say nothing of what it’s done to my voice (there’s a reason the podcasts are both late).
During the down time, thanks to Dave Robison, I found what I think is the finest science fiction series I’ve seen in decades. It’s called Black Mirror, and it does what good science fiction should: extrapolates possible worlds very closely based on our own, and the ethical and social quandaries in fascinating, thoughtful, terrifying ways that leave no easy answers and lots of room for contemplation and discussion. The series is the brain child of British comic newsman Charlie Brooker, and, to my mind, this series proves he’s one of the very best short-form science fiction writers working today. Absolutely essential viewing. It’s available on DVD through the link above, and is also streaming on Netflix–don’t miss it.
But, all good things (like the conference and Black Mirror) and bad things (like the cold) must come to an end, and, thankfully, this one is just about ending. This evening, I’m writing the first new chapter in twenty days, and oh man, does it feel good.
Tonight, I caught up with Jim, who, when last we left him, was being tortured to death and revived again and again. It’s the last storyline I’ve got to bring in in this part of the novel, and now they’re all online and already starting to move in some fairly harrowing directions.
In between, I got the free short story for next month proofread and queued up. I’m going to drop it a day early, on Halloween, since it’s got some great ghostly aspects to it. I think you’re going to enjoy this one–come back here Halloween to read it for free!
That takes care of today. Tomorrow? Well, if I keep on the mend I’ll be back in the both, and back up to my full walking regimen (my legs are really missing the five mile days), and back up to my full writing regimen as well. I can’t wait.
Here’s today’s damage.
Starting: 64,627
Ending: 65,137
New words: 510
65,137 / 175000 words
jdsawyer
After a childhood in academia, J. Daniel Sawyer declared his independence by dropping out of high school and setting off on a series of adventures in the bowels of the film industry, the venture capital culture of silicon valley, surfing safaris, bohemians, burners, historians, theologians, adventurers, climbers, drug dealers, gangbangers, and inventors before his past finally caught up to him.
Trapped in a world bookended by one wall falling in Berlin and other walls going up around suburbia and along national borders throughout the world, he rediscovered his deep love of history and, with it, and obsession with predicting the future as it grew aggressively out of the past.
To date, this obsession has yielded over thirty books and innumerable short stories, the occasional short film, nearly a dozen podcasts stretching over a decade and a half, and a career creating novels and audiobooks exploring the world through the lens of his own peculiar madness, in the depths of his own private forest in a rural exile, where he uses the quiet to write, walk on the beach, and manage a production company that brings innovative stories to the ears of audiences across the world.
For news and free stories, sign up for his occasional newsletter. Or find his contact info, podcasts, and more on his home page at http://www.jdsawyer.net
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