Blahbbedy, blah.

I'm suffering writer frustration. Arrggh. I hate this. I want to write. I want to write so much, and yet when I sit down to do so all that comes out is complete and utter crap. I know that it's probably not as bad as it seems. Proof of this is finding old writing and realizing that it's not the gag-fest that I thought it was when I first wrote it. Plus, this is part of the whole "write a sh*tty first draft," a theory I fervently ascribe to. But I can't seem to make myself keep going today for some reason.





Some of this is because I KNOW what happens, but I don't know whose perspective it should be from. I typically don't encounter this problem because I usually write first person, single narrator. But in this case, I'm not and....arrgggh. I guess the worst thing that could happen is that I have to go back and rewrite it from the other perspective. Or maybe I could rough out the scene from both perspectives and see which one feels more right. *pitiful sigh*





Anyway, aside from my whining, here are some things that may or may not entertain you.





First, I've been following along pretty closely with the Writers' Guild strike in California and New York. I didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about, at first. Residuals, which is what you often hear about, are like royalties. They don't get residuals for anything that's downloaded off the internet because the networks, get this, are saying that the internet use is purely promotional. Ha, right. How many of you download shows? I do. And I have to sit through the annoying commercials, too, so somebody somewhere is getting paid on these. Now, they may not be making very much money, but x percent of not very much is still x percent. That's what they're out there fighting for.





Yet I've read many comments in various places bitching about how rich television writers shouldn't be asking for more money. I'll grant you that there are some writers who probably are rich and make a very tidy profit. But I'll bet you there are lots of others who are just barely making it, trying to find a way to keep doing what they love and still pay the bills. I know this because this is how it is for novelists. It's freaking hard to make enough money in this industry. It just is, even for the big press authors. But we do it because we love it, and we fight to make enough to keep doing it. Anyway, check out John August's blog for a first-hand description of the strike and an insightful explanation of the reasons behind it. : )





If I were L.A., I'd be out there handing out doughnuts!





Okay, on to second very important topic. My friend Judy is an awesome photographer. She took a bunch of headshots for me so I'd have something to include in the back cover of my next book, if I wanted to. Here are a couple. I shall call them Photo A and Photo B. What think you, dear reader? You will note that there is no big smile because when I smile like that my eyes squinch up and disappear. So I have to go the more coy and mysterious route...it may, however, look more like I'm squinting at something in the distance, so we'll see!

Photo A

Photo B: