VISION AND NOVELS AND DARES... OH MY....

October was a busy month for me. Crazed and busy, and it went by so fast that I barely noticed. And you have to realize that I have a very strange idea of what's fun. Spending nine to ten hours a day (and sometimes more) sitting in front of a computer pounding out short stories and novels is exciting for me. But then we all know I don't have a real life, right?

But I outdid myself this time, and I wasn't even trying until the very end. A few days before the end of October I realized that I was within range of writing 100,000 new words for the month. Of course I also had such things as the latest issue of Vision to get done, but hey -- I saw a goal in sight, and I grabbed hold of it.

I have never done 100,000 words in one month before. I doubt that I'll do it again. If it had been on one novel, I'd have had it finished. As it was, I did turn out a number of short stories, novellas, novelettes, and finished off one of the novels that I had started earlier this year. Since I was part of a massive writing dare started on October 1, it really helped.

But even I think it might have been a bit much. The final count was 100,265

Oh, and did I mention that November is National Novel Writing Month? And that I joined the official NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel in one month? Hey, it only has to be 50,000 words. After October, that sounds like a nice, restful little pursuit. http://www.nanowrimo.com/index.htm

LIFE AFTER 9/11/01

Even though the world has changed, I've discovered that writing has become even more important to me than it was before. I've seen many of my writing friends stricken with an inability to write since 9/11/01. To some it seems a frivolous self-indulgence in the face of such loss and disaster.

It isn't. It is, for some of us, a way of fighting back. The right to create fiction -- especially science fiction and fantasy -- is something that the people who struck against the United States would destroy if they could. The idea of women doing such work is even worse.

So I have written a great deal in the last month. I've written, in fact, some of my very best material in years. I've pushed my limits and written with more emotion and depth. None of it is as powerful as I would like. But it's still there, and it's mine, and I have not quit.

AUTUMN

I am fond of this time of year. I love the colors, the break in the long, humid summer weather, and even the knowledge that winter is approaching. I love to watch it snow -- though I don't like to be cold. It's one of those dichotomies that I've never quite been able to reconcile.

Many of you know that when I'm not writing or doing web sites, I usually have my digital camera in hand. This year has been excellent for colors. I have posted some of the shots at my photography site -- http://www.sscdc.net/zpics/. Click on the CD1000 graphic and the thumbnails will appear to the left.

DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

On October 1 my daily on-line writing journal turned three years old. I have not missed a single day in all that time, though I have to admit that many of the posts are downright boring. What saves the site from total obscurity is that I include a new picture every day. You can check it out at http://www.sscdc.net/zj/

On the site is a new section called For Writers where I will drop an occasional thought or two on the art and insanity of writing. You'll also find a page called Progress that lists out everything I've written and submitted for the year, as well as a monthly word count total. I'm doing very well this year. I've already topped 500,000 new words this year.

VISION

The November/December issue of Vision is now available at http://lazette.net/vision. This marks the end of our first year of publication. We've picked up several new awards and drawn considerable attention. I had several people mention it to me at WorldCon this year, and that was very nice. This issue is filled with all sorts of interesting articles and tidbits of information.

OH YEAH, THAT WRITING STUFF...

I've sold my third novel to Embiid Publishing. There is no release date for it yet. The book is an SF piece titled LIVING IN CAINE'S HOLD. I look forward to having it done and out.

I have a shorter piece titled THE LAST DAYS OF FANEH-THENYAL that will go up for sale in December. You can read an excerpt from it at http://www.eggplant-productions.com/jintsu/

There's the usual gamut of Zette stories available on-line. To find out what's currently available, check the current publication list on the left side of the page at http://www.sscdc.net/zj

I also have several of my older stories up at my Lazette.net site. Be sure and drop by there to read the story of an alien's first encounter with the Internet. http://lazette.net and click on the 'Writer' link.

And that's about it for this issue! Unless I get terribly busy, I hope to put another one out next month. I'll let you know how the novel in November went. If I survive it!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it.

Zette