Maps, Outlines and Writing

Another month is nearly gone and though I don't have much to show for it, I can at least say I've been writing. I finished editing a novella for an anthology project that won't quite die. I ended up doing the final edit by hand on print out--it just seems to be easier to catch the little stuff that way than doing it on screen. Of course, now that means I have to retype the final version. If I get off my lazy butt, I may send it and a piece of flash fiction I've got waiting off to some venue or other. I'm not real optimistic about the state of publishing right now, though, so I'm not in a hurry.

Speaking of the anthology, I've--sort of--formed a monthly writing group with two of the anthology's potential authors and my wife. Ironically, the only thing I've presented at the meeting so far is an introductory essay for the anthology. Guess that means I have to get that novella typed up again.

When I realized I wasn't going to make the local con, all the game writing got put on hold which should have given me more time for the book, but that hasn't happened. Speaking of the book, I had also hoped to be halfway through the remainder of my nanowrimo project by now, but at this point I'm thinking I'll just try and get a functioning outline for the rest of it and finish the book next nanowrimo.

I have been working on maps lately. It may sound strange, but ever since I realized that the distance one of my characters traveled between two points (and thus the time required) was greater than I had anticipated, I've been working on mapping the setting for my nanowrimo project. I'm afraid it kind of messed up a bit of the story so its going to take some work to straighten out. Fortunately, I've got an old copy of Photoshop and a method that seems to be working for me. Geography might seem like the sort of thing that a writer just makes up, but after reading Guns, Germs and Steel, I don't take geography very lightly. I may post a thumbnail of some of it when I'm done if I'm feeling like it.