[Write the Story] Business as UNusual
Prompt: Business as UNusual
Words: housewife, moonwalk, dog, basement, conclude, alien, ignore, lightning, embrace, time
Story
Kevin was never sure how he ended up appointed to the UN, but here he was about to conclude his first speech. He couldn’t quite ignore the feeling his time was coming when they all found out he was a fraud.
Thunderous applause met Kevin’s final words. Before he could make his escape to his basement office, he was caught in a fierce embrace by the French representative. He mumbled thanks or some other platitudes and exited the chamber as quickly as possible, absently shaking hands as he went.
Nothing made sense anymore. Kevin slammed the door behind him panting like a dog for having run all the way. He had no idea what he said that made everyone so excited. He didn’t know anything anymore.
“You did very well, Kevin.”
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Kevin shrank against the door as his high-backed office chair swung around. Memory hit like lightning. The abduction. The programming, but mostly the nightmarish appearance of the worst clichés. The alien stood barely four feet tall, dressed as a 50’s sitcom housewife complete with heels and pearls. It moonwalked across to him and touched his forehead with a glowing finger.
“Phone. Home.”
Written 1/31/17
[Writer Post] Plans, Man! Plans!
I didn’t do a blog post yesterday (obviously). It wasn’t necessarily political (though I did wear red) I didn’t abstain from work – actually just the opposite. I was away from my desk for more than half my day for meetings. Yay? And then due to things happening from tonight through Saturday, there was major housecleaning to do – though I’m getting to the point in my life that (where cleaning is concerned) “Good Enough” is an acceptable goal. I have too many other things going on that “Grandma Clean” is no longer a realistic goal.
So let me be clear – the “good enough” is mainly a goal for housekeeping. It’s not NECESSARILY my goal for fiction writing. Though there is some of that. No piece of fiction is perfect. Sometimes we have to say, “it’s good enough, time to submit” or we never do. Of course, when it comes to fiction 9 times out of 10 I do strive for “Grandma Clean” – because clean copy in proper format (yes, I’ll talk about that again someday) and submitted professionally (which we’ll also talk about again soon) will get you READ so your talent shines through.
Now it’s time to make FORWARD PROGRESS. I’m moving forward on two outstanding projects (novel and short story) – and by outstanding I mean “not completed” not OUTSTANDING (though we all should STRIVE for that). I’m back in that groove – which is good, because I should have something to talk about at DFWCON which is a conference (which is different from a convention) in May (and another topic – maybe I should write these down on a calendar).
Though I’m working on those, there are other things that are going to take some priority as well. One is unearthing my desk at home (which I don’t use for reasons that aren’t important to this or any other story) so I can make better use of the printer and the like to move forward on ANOTHER project that needs doing.
Because I have PLANS, MAN! PLANS! We’ll see how things go. Stay tuned.
[Pen/Pencil Review] The Platinum OLEeNU Green Mechanical Pencil – 0.5mm
Today’s blog is another version of mechanical pencil from Platinum. This is the Platinum OLEeNU Lead Breakage Prevention Mechanical Pencil Green Body.
At first blush, this is a typical mechanical pencil like the transparent one I reviewed before. It has a clear barrel with a frosted rubber grip and accents. Its diameter is a comfortable size for long-term writing and a touch wider than previous versions. The frosted rubber grip gives it a slight squish for added comfort. It’s about 5.6″ long, which makes it just long enough to be comfortable. The conical metal tip retracts into the barrel completely to protect the lead in a pocket or purse. The eraser is the typical white rubber eraser under a green plastic cap. The clip is molded plastic but with a clothespin-like spring clip. The clip is sturdy and seems to be strong enough to last a good long time.
It comes with a good 0.5mm lead. It’s a standard lead point, but where this differs is the in the clutch mechanism. With most mechanical pencils, when the lead gets down to a certain length, the clutch stops working and you end up wasting part of the lead. This version of the OLEeNU claims a “Zero Shin” clutch – with extra mechanisms that lets the pencil use down to the last HALF MILLIMETER – instead of stopping at 10-12mm.
The literature also says the metal tip has a dual structure that protects the lead from breakage. This I can attest. I thought the pencil felt more secure, that it was harder to break the lead. It’s also got a spring to absorb shock – for those like me who tend to put a lot of pressure on a tip. The lead advances through the typical pusher through the eraser, as well as with an automatic advance mechanism. The tip features a sliding metal sleeve for added support to the lead.
This is a “go to” mechanical pencil. I like it a lot. I picked it up from JetPens. It’s not overly expensive, but it’s not dirt cheap either, but if the mechanisms work the way advertised, then this will pay for itself in longevity.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid mechanical pencil. It has two ways to advance lead. It does protect from breakage as much as possible. It seems to let you use much more lead than typical mechanical pencils.
2. Look and feel – 1 – I like that it’s an emerald green plastic. Makes it pretty as well as functional. But it’s also long enough and wide enough to be comfortable without being blocky.
3. Material – 1 – It’s plastic. The innovative stuff is in the mechanics where you can’t see.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – The only knock? When I was erasing some samples, I ended up advancing the lead quite a bit and had to put that back before I snapped off a significant length of lead. But other than that, it’s awesome.
5. Price Point – 1 – This pencil runs $3.30 on JetPens.com. That’s more than some everyday mechanical pencils, but with the mechanics totally makes it worth it.
4.5 out of 5 bronze pencils.
[Write the Story] A Lunch Date Gone Wrong
Prompt: A Lunch Date Gone Wrong
Words: eruption, salad, fire, career, assume, roller skate, draw, promise, full moon, sweet
Story
“Tell us everything that happened.”
I took a second to draw in a deep breath. The whole situation was so stupid, and now the Special Investigations Units of Police and Fire were involved.
“Ma’am? Are you okay? Did he…?”
I blinked and focused on the EMT next to the cop. “No. Nothing like that, promise.” Then the story poured out.
So I’m not proud of it, but I tried online dating. After roller skating around the basics, I agreed to meet him for lunch. I’m not completely stupid. I didn’t assume everything was completely safe, after all this was basically a blind date.
We met at a sweet little sidewalk café near my job, because seriously? I don’t make a career of misjudging people. He was everything his profile said he was. The photo even matched. I didn’t even taste my salad.
That’s why I didn’t see the signs of the eruption. I mean, who knew the full moon would change a guy in the middle of the day?
Now there was a werewolf loose in town, and I was stuck with the check. I will never online date again.
Written 1/28/17
Word Count: 211
[Writing Post] In Like a Lion Or Something
It’s Wednesday. It’s a new month – Hello, March, please behave and let’s have some fun. It’s been a hectic couple of months. I spent a good chunk of last week catching up all my typing on outstanding projects – this is material that’s been in my notebook – longhand is an important part of my process but just sitting there while I stumbled along this season.
I’m working on not stumbling along. It’s probably not the brightest idea I’ve ever had to say “I’m going to focus better” at the beginning of Spring (allergies, blooming things, severe weather season), but I’m going to do my darnedest. There are ALL THE THINGS that need writing. There are many ALL THE THINGS that need finishing. There are SOME THINGS that need organizing. ALL of it need some time management and organization. Part of the plan is to take time chunks – this block will be X, this block will be Y, Z is when everything goes to heck in a handbasket and plans fly out the window (because that NEVER happens).
In cryptic mode…a potential opportunity presented itself yesterday on a random whim. If that ends up working out, there could be something fun happening later this year.
Still getting the word out about Chicken Fried Cthulhu Kickstarter. They’re trying to do a really interesting anthology for World Fantasy and are still have quite a way to go to meet their goal for putting it out. There are seriously good people involved in this project – and you should be too. Please support it if you can – just figure it as pre-ordering (because you know you want to!)!
So now it’s time to be “proactive” (today’s business-related buzz word) about all the stuff that needs doing – because sadly, it doesn’t do itself. Not that we’d really want it, too, right?
[Pen/Pencil Review] Meeting My Supply Room’s George Fox
Today’s pen blog is a bit different. Saturday, Jimmy and I did a road trip to Killeen, TX to meet up with fellow pen/pencil collector and blogger, George Fox of My Supply Room. There’s a typical feeling among writers about being a fraud or poser… yeah, that was me meeting George and walking into his supply room (I have a pile – and a highly disorganized one at that).
The reason we went down is that where I just grab up pens and pencils willy-nilly, Jimmy is an actually collector of ONE specific thing, the Pentel P 205 series. It’s a basic pencil that Pentel’s been making for decades. Jimmy has most of them and has identified generations and international only selections, the whole thing – again, I’m so not that.
George focuses on historical pens and pencils from the 1950s and 1960s – but has stuff from the whole gambit of the last 60 years. The pictures I took don’t do his personal supply room justice. I couldn’t take the collection (and it wasn’t all of it) in completely. It was like my whole office supply childhood was condensed into one room. It was brilliantly overwhelming. I listened to George and Jimmy talk specifically Pentel. I was part of the BIC/Lindy/Scripto conversation. We did some trading for pens and such.
Discovered in the course of the conversation that 1) many of the pen companies don’t seem have a comprehensive history of their own company/product line; 2) I probably should’ve recorded the entire three-hour visit with George because articles upon articles could be done; 3) I could totally be awash in writing projects just from this conversation alone.
George, himself, is a major source of information. He’s supplied TV shows (Madmen) and movies with period accurate writing utensils. He’s consulted with prop masters on projects. They’ve sent him incredible things (mostly because they don’t want to store the vending machine that dispenses ink pens). Seriously? I couldn’t take it all in. The spin racks, the counter displays, the HISTORY of writing in this one room was overwhelming and astonishing. It’s almost a museum in its own right but in a guy’s house.
I loved being there with Jimmy listening to these gentlemen talk Pentel P205 and doing some trading. George sent me home with a BIC starter set and a couple of pieces. Things I may have used as a kid – or my parents did! He and Jimmy know the same guys online – and are still looking for Brazilian and other sources for the lines that aren’t sold in the US as well as catalogs and history.
I know there are histories of companies like Faber-Castell and the higher end companies – Cross, Conklin, probably Montegrappa and the likes of lines that are in the HUNDREDS of dollars if not thousands. But where are the histories of the “everyday carry pens” – BIC, PaperMate, Pentel, Pilot? Especially Pentel. They don’t exist. This is something that needs to change. Even if it means Jimmy and I are the ones to do it. Jimmy has the collection and the data, I have the writing skills to make it all happen and conversational. Jimmy’s actually starting a blog soon about his Pentel P 205 collection that I will promote mightily here.
And it’s not just the pen lines and pen companies that need to be remembered – but guys like George Fox need to be remembered. His collection needs to be remembered and kept alive after he’d done with it – hopefully through his family or through people like me, Jimmy, and others who share this love of pens, pencils, and the part the writing instrument has played in history.
These are stories that need to be kept alive. I’m a person who loves a good story. And now I’m going on record – if you have pens, pencils, stationary from a relative and estate sale, or anything that needs to have a story told? Tell me. If you want to get rid of it, send it to me, I’ll love it and pet it and call it George. Let’s start collecting more of these stories – the people, the instruments, the history.
George will help people start collections. He started some BIC starter sets, like the one I now have as well as selling folks some old pens they remember from their childhoods. He talks about his collections and his adventures in his blog – My Supply Room. Jimmy will have his blog. I will have my blog – which is going to stay reviews and such, but there’s SO MUCH to write and to learn about and do and handle. I suppose I should get started, huh?
[Write the Story] An Unexpected Union
This is really just a scene – but sometimes that’s all you get out of an idea. It’s fairy tale based, sort of.
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Prompt: An Unexpected Union
Words: brothers, potato, common, hands, boyfriend, alphabet, scribble, hydrangea, sandwich, tug of war
Story
Once upon a time there were two brothers who were in a frantic tug-of-war over a sandwich, for they were very hungry.
“You are never going to be boyfriend material if you act like common idiots over food,†said the young princess sitting by the hydrangeas scribbling the alphabet on her tablet.
The brothers immediately stopped arguing and turned to the younger girl, their sister. “We’re princes, potato-head,†the older one said. “We don’t have to be boyfriend material.â€
“Right!†The boys clapped hands in a high five.
The princess merely rolled her eyes and continued working on her lessons. “You keep thinking that. I’ll keep thinking in general. We’ll see who comes out best.â€
Written 1/25/17
[Writer Post] Crazy Busy or Just Plain Crazy
The only problem with lovely four-day weekends for one’s birthday, is that suddenly you have to do a bunch of blogs in quick succession because schedules get all out of whack. And, we’re taking a day trip on Saturday to Killeen, TX for reasons which will be another blog post so more schedule whacking (somehow that should be more fun than it sounds, right?).
But… I am somewhat better about words counts. I wrote and submitted a brand new 2000 short story (which ended up having technical difficulties) – which, if it goes will be a good story all around. So fingers crossed for good news.
Debris & Detritus seems to be doing well. Though I hear there was some issue with some formatting in the ebook. If you have one of those that wasn’t fixed or updated, let me know, I think I have ways for you to get it fixed if you want. Seriously good people in this project.
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Speaking of seriously good people doing projects, I’m tooting the horn about Mark Finn & Rick Klaw’s new endeavor that’s happening over at Kickstarter. They’re trying to put together a Weird Anthology for World Fantasy 2017 called Chicken Fried Cthulu. They’re not quite a third of the way to their goal – and it’s a worthy goal. So go check it out and support it if you can. Not to mention awesome Mark A. Nelson artwork.
Now I need to go work on stuff before the creative high from ConDFW burns away without me taking FULL advantage of it – even with crazy busy Day Jobs in which I get to do crazy random things.
[Pen/Pencil Review] Zebra Tect 2Way Light – 0.5mm – Light Green
Today’s review is a day late because I took a four-day weekend for my birthday. It was a nice, quiet, restful weekend that was exactly what I wanted. So besides that, let’s talk mechanical pencils. This one is from Tokyo Pen Shop and Zebra – its’ the Zebra Tect 2Way Light 0.5mm in light green.
This is pencil is just fun. I picked the light green because… duh, green. It’s a sturdy plastic body with a bit of ergonomic grip as darker green rubber rings near the metal tip. The pencil is about 5.8″ long and has both a click mechanism to advance lead and the new(ish) shaker mechanism that also extends the lead. However, there’s a twisting “lock†at the top of the lower third of the barrel that switches the pencil from click advance to shaker. Personally, I’m always a bit iffy on the shaker aspect so I like the choice. There was a bit of a learning curve with the locking part, but I have a tendency to overthink and have fumble fingers. But once you realize the lock is a relatively narrow ring, it’s fine.
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This pencil has a translucent barrel that lets you see some of the mechanisms. And it comes with standard HB lead, but with a fairly high density. I don't see it breaking as much as past leads. It’s long enough to be comfortable with enough nod to ergonomics to not be overly tiring – and I used it a lot over my birthday weekend to finish hand-writing the zero draft of the story. I didn’t had any more lead, and I’m still going (though I’ll replenish it with high-density B because I like darker lead) with what came with.
Next week, I hope to have a really interesting story to share on the blog – or it could just be another review. Stay tuned.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s a decent mechanical pencil. The lead by clicking or shaking and retracts easily. The lead seems sturdy and less prone to breaking.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s a plastic mechanical pencil with a nod to ergonomics. It attempts to be comfortable and generally succeeds but it can be tiring.
3. Material – 1 It’s plastic but solid metal accents in the clip and tip. The locking mechanism is decent when you figure it out.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a mechanical pencil. It’s got a good lead mechanism and a retractable eraser. It is what it is.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This one is more expensive than what I expect from Zebra – and available pretty much through online retailers like Tokyo Pen Shop. I’m not seeing it on the US website. It’s $10.00, which for a plastic mechanical pencil is a bit more than I want to spend, but it’s solid and decent and pretty cool.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Write the Story] Chasing the Enemy
Note: This story is very Sarah Kuhn-esque. I was reading her book, Heroine Complex when I wrote this.
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Prompt: Chasing the Enemy
Words: demon, bystander, escaped, parakeet, destiny, hammer, singing, ash, cathedral, heels
Story
Why did I have today of all days to wear heels? The thought echoed through my brain with every painful step.
Of course it happened on the day I was singing at the cathedral for a friend’s wedding. We didn’t know anything was wrong until ash floated down on the bride and groom instead of rice or flower petals.
The death squawk rang out across the sanctuary as the demon parakeet dive bombed a bystander. That’s when I went to work. Destiny totally sucks when I was rocking the high notes. Now I had to rock the running heels trying to catch a molting, flittery BIRD. How it escaped the portal traps I had no idea, but I was NOT about to let it attack and feed.
I wish I knew where these things I was “chosen†to kill had come from then maybe we could figure out why these chirpy demons demanded pounds of flesh, but until then?
The demon lit on a bird feeder in the garden. I removed my shoes. It might not be a hammer, but the metal spikes worked as well as a bludgeon. Now to find a stain remover to get demon guts and feathers out of my dress.
Written 1/23/17