Thoughts from the Sea - Part 2

From the first of January through the eighth, I took a break from the internet to go on a holiday cruise with my immediate family. While wandering the ship, I had a lot of time to myself to think. Whenever a thought got to be too much for me to hold, I pulled open a word file and wrote them down. These are those thoughts, unfiltered and unedited. Take them as you will.


I’m a little split right now. My goal has been to finish a draft of this novel in time for the DFW Writer’s conference in February, since I’m going to meet the agent I really want to work with while I’m there. But looking at the draft now, I’m fairly certain that it’s not going to be ready for submission by February, and to try to pitch it earlier than that seems unfair.

I think that, once I’m finished with this draft, I’m going to go back to A House Divided and rework it one more time. Then I can pitch it at DFW and follow the agent to another conference when Necropolis is ready.

At the Welcome Aboard show tonight, the cruise director pulled up this newly-wed who was on his honeymoon 6 months after his marriage. When asked why, he said, “I was in Iraq.” Instantly, almost the entire theatre stood up to applause. I like seeing things like that. It makes me feel good about people.

45,000 words in and I’m officially floundering. I know what needs to be done. I just have no idea how to do it. Shit. Why do my endings always suck?

Just received my order of linguini Bolognese with shrimp. I love the food on this ship. A pasta bar is the best idea ever.

The woman hocking the pasta has a very interesting accent. I think it’s more Eastern Europe than Mediterranean, but she’s just so earnest about it – “How many for pasta? Please, try the pasta!” – that it makes me smile and think of Italy.

Finished “9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors” today. It’s really a fantastic game, both in being a well-written visual novel and, especially in the true ending, in using the unique game mechanics of its genre and its chosen platform (the Nintendo DS) to enhance the narrative. I really should write a detailed review when I get home. More people need to know about this awesome game.

I still can’t believe it made me play life-or-death Sudoku though…