Day 75

Saturday, March 30, 2013

No writing today. 

Came over to Alice's before 9.  Heather and Chris came over to scout a scene they're shooting for their film.  It will take place in Alice's dining room.  Should be neat!

Went to the library for two hours while Alice and Austin attended an information meeting.  Read a book on the Hubble Telescope.  Wow!  What amazing images.

Day 74

Friday, March 29, 2013

Spent the day writing a synopsis for Martin Martinez.  I do not like writing them, but understand their value.  That took all day, so I wasn't able to work on Zombie.

In the evening, I played with Carlos at Mariner Square.  We're playing in the elite division for the Pro/Am.  We should hold our own in that division.

Went to bed exhausted around 11.

Day 73

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Wrote until 2:30, then got together with Jackie, a former co-worker at Wendel, from 2:30-5.  It was wonderful seeing her and catching up. 

Still working on chapters 4-6.  They're taking a little longer than I had planned. 

Day 72

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I had my first ever 825 Erie St. tenant meeting with all the tenants to discuss safety issues after last week's burglary in front of our building.  We talked for two hours.  It was a productive meeting.  We put together a couple of safety items to discuss with Valorie.  More importantly, we created a sense of camaraderie within the building.  It was all very good.

Wrote earlier this morning, but wasn't too productive. 

Day 71

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Woke up at 4:45, hit the gym by 5:30, practiced for an hour before playing two games with Ruby.  Left the gym at 8 and started writing at 8:30.

I've been writing every since, with an hour for lunch.  I'm composing chapters 4-6, and though they're written they're very rough and lack polish.  I was hoping to send them to Chris tonight, but I'll wait another few days before sending them.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with tenants in my building to go over last week's robbery in front of our garage.  It's so maddening to have such a horrible thing happen in my neighborhood.

To be honest, I have no idea how people write books.

Day 70

Monday, March 25, 2013

Got up at 4:04, drove home, changed, went to the gym, came back at 7:30, ate breakfast, then wrote.  I wrote until 5, then off and on until 10.  I feel I didn't get much done, but the next three chapters are coming along.  I worked some on Kendra's character.  I don't have her down yet.

Day 69

Saturday, March 23, 2013

At Alice's today.  I may write for a few hours, but the focus will be on spending the day with my adorable sweetheart, walking through Golden Gate Park, playing a game of cribbage, enjoying each other's company and relaxing.

Day 68

Friday, March 22, 2013

I played my final league match against Steve this morning and managed to take him 15-10, 3-15, 11-3.  I feel lucky capturing the win.  He's been playing so well lately and has been schooling me on the court throughout the past month.  Today, however, he was a little off and made seveal unforced errors.  I made a few myself, but was serving well and putting the ball away, especially in the beginning of the match and in the tie-breaker.  I was down 1-3, then went on a roll and scored the next ten points.  I went undefeated for the season and have two matches in the playoffs.  I'll work hard to get that perfect record.

A robbery took place at our building last night.  Bonnie Tam parked her car in the garage and was met by a man with a gun who demanded her purse.  It's very disturbing.  We're all getting together for a meeting on Wednesday at my place to discuss our safety concerns.

As a result, my morning was shot.  I did no writing this morning.

Had lunch with Richard, which was fantastic as always.

I'll have to hit next week hard if I want to get this book finished in April.

Day 67

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I slept in until 7:15 today, then hit the morning hard with writing and chores.  I stopped in mid-afternoon and gave Sophie her violin lesson at 3:30, visited with Rhonda and Biff and 4:15, then played poker at Mark Slater's from 8-12, winning $100. 

What I'm currently reading:

 

Day 66

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I got up at 4:30 and arrived at a very quiet gym this morning.  Glenn and Tiger were the only players there.

After breakfast, I worked on my Zombie Cookies query and worked on chapters 4 and 5.  In three weeks I've accomplished a lot with the piece, but I feel I can be much more productive if I stay focused and don't get caught up in mindless wanderings while writing.  This has probably caused more wasted time than anything else, and yet it's also part of my process, which is frustrating.  I'm also wanting to improve how I do things.  I can't help it.

I attended an E-Force demo at Big C in Concord from 4:30-7:30 and had dinner with Steve after the demo.  It was well-attended and Steve made a few racquet sales.  It was fun.

 

Day 65

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Woke up at 5:30, played racquetball from 6-7:30, ate oatmeal at 8, then wrote until 1.  I sent Chris the first three chapters (5,000 words) of Zombie to discuss tonight.  The novel is coming along, though I have a ridiculous amount to write in the next six weeks.  I seem to be fasttracking everything.

Zombie is leaving little room for much else. 

Spoke with Chris at 8:30 tonight.  He likes Zombie Cookies a lot and wants more chapters. I'll try and produce another three or four chapters by next week. 

Meanwhile, I have a few E-Force demos and duties to take care of, plus two remaining league matches with Rod and Steve.

I spent a little time writing my Zombie Cookies query today.  I'd like the story marketed as an action/adventure/spy/thriller, but in reality it's a love story for boys 9 and up. 

Day 64

Monday, March 18, 2013

 Woke up at 4:04 at Alice's drove home and made it to the gym by 5.  Played until 7.  I was off again.  I've been off my racquetball game for a while now.  Not sure what the deal is.

I wrote from 7:45 until 3 or so.  I spoke with Sara from 3:15-4 and that was great.  I took care of some chores until 8, then drove to Brentwood to pick up the E-Force demo bag for a demo at the Big C on Wednesday.

When I'm writing and on my to-do list, I don't worry about anything.
 

Day 63

Sunday, March 17, 2013

 I actually managed to write for an hour or so in the morning, then went with Alice to Costco, Home Depot, and Trader Joe's.  I washed our cars, put up her last curtain rod, vacuumed the basement carpet, and watched a documentary later that night called The Art of the Steal.  It was good.

 

Day 62

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Got up at 7 with Alice.  While she went for a morning walk with her walking group, I stayed behind and wrote from 7:30 until 11:30.   I mainly revised what I had.  I'm at around 22k words.  I was hoping to have 30k words by the weekend, but I don't think that will happen.

Continuing with our Jack Nicholson theme, Alice and I watched Something's Gotta Give on Netflix.

The movie featured an amazing kitchen.

The romance in this film is much more realistic than in As Good as it Gets.  That film never really rang true for me.

 

Day 61

Friday, March 15, 2013

 I woke up at 4:30 and played some truly uninspired racquetball.  My game is quite off, I'm afraid.

I wrote from 8-3.  I picked up Alice at 4:45 and we went out for noodles on Irving Street.  We then went home and watched As Good as it Gets on Netflix downstairs in the media center. 

 

Day 60

Thursday, March 14, 2013

I woke up at 4:40 and headed to the gym to shower.  I was back home at 5:50 but was so tired I slept on the couch until 7:20.

I had breakfast and got to work.  Life of Pi is still in my head and an inspiration, especially the soundtrack, which totally deserved the Oscar.

I've been writing and reading since 8.  Zombie is at 22,000 words.  If I can reach 30,000 by Monday, that would make me happy.  I'm going to try not to get too carried away with the themes of this story, but I'm coming to realize that getting carried away is sort of what I like to do.  That might not be appropriate when writing for boys.  I don't know.

I need to compose a synopsis for Martin Martinez so I used the synopsis I wrote for Julia Milan as an example.  When I read the Julia synopsis, I couldn't help but feel depressed that the novel hadn't been picked up.  It might not be a good idea for me to refer to that book until I'm in a place to balance out the failure with a success.  Failure is fine and expected, but total failure is tough. 



 

Day 59

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

 Woke up at 4, played racquetball from 5-7, started the day at 8 with chores, catching up on email, etc.

I wrote for a few hours and completed a few chores before going to the movies this afternoon to see Life of Pi in 3D.  It was well done with a magnificent soundtrack.  The special effects were astounding.  I don't know how they did it.  Ang Lee is one of the finest directors of all time.  His work is always inspiring. 

After the movie, I gave Sophie a violin lesson, then headed to SF to Alice's for dinner.  She crushed me in cribbage.

Day 58

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

 I woke up at 6:20 or so, didn't go in this morning.  I started writing at 7 and kept going until 3:30 or so.  I sent the first chapter of Zombies to Chris for our FaceTime meeting tonight.  I have 20,000 words written for Zombies.  It's coming along but there is so much to do.  The main character is interesting.  I'm having fun with his personality. 

Almost finished with Battlestar Galactica season 4. I've really enjoyed this series. There are a few issues I have with it, but they're fairly minor when compared to the scope and range of the storylines. It's an amazing series.

Day 57

Monday, March 11, 2013

Woke up at 4:40, played racquetball from 5-7, wrote all day.  Finished around 9 p.m.  I have close to 20k words written.  The story's coming along.  The first few chapters are in pieces and very much first draft material.  I'll revise the opening paragraphs tomorrow and try to get some pages to Chris for our meeting tomorrow night.  Interesting story.  The day flies by when I'm writing.

Day 56

Sunday, March 10, 2013

I spent a few hours writing today, cleaning my apartment, reading and taking care of a few chores.  I spent the afternoon at Kara and Brandon's in celebration of their new girl Vita.  It was great fun!


 

Day 55

Saturday, March 9, 2013

 Spend the day with Alice.  No writing today.

Day 54

Friday, March 8, 2013

Woke up at 4:30, played racquetball until 7, then came home and wrote for two hours and took care of my finances for three hours.  I'm all caught up on everything, which feels good.

My Zombie Cookies novel is being written so quickly I have no time to dwell on its merits, and that's actually a very good thing.  If I don't think about things to much a project can take on an more natural feel and pace to things.  Sometimes I overanalyze my writing in a way that ultimately hurts the quality and the flow.

From 2-4:30, I learned how to string a racquetball racquet from Rod Guadalupe.  He gave me Steve Young's Klippermate stringer, which is an easy way to string a racquet.  It took getting used to, but I think I have the feel of it down now. 

Saw Alice's cousin Marrisa perform her dance piece last night.  She was very good and many of the pieces were well done.  Alice and I went for noodles afterward and they were delicious. 

I hit the hay by 10. 

Day 53

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Up to 15,000 on Zombie Cookies.  I'd like to reach 20,000 words by Monday.

Played my last of three matches in-a-row against Mike C. and took it in two.  My shoulder is sore.  It's the first time I've put ice on it in a while.  Very tired so bed time.

Day 52

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Up to 11k words on Zombie Cookies, the new Middle Grade book I'm fasttracking for the marketplace.  It's part of my grand strategy to get a YA/MG agent and a book deal.  I hope to complete this book quickly, like by the first of May.  Ambitious, but need to be.  No time to lose. 

Played my second of three racquetball matched tonight against Ed B.  Wow, was it a tough one.  I pulled it out, but barely.  Everyone's improving at Club One.
 

Day 51

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I wrote 4,000 words of Zombie Cookies, the new middle grade book I plan to bang out.  I now have 10k words of writing over the past two days.  Not bad for a story I came up with last Friday.  It's an interesting story.  I'm going to try not to complicate too much of the plot or characters, though I know I tend to get overly detailed and layered.  It seems to be my style.

I woke up at 4:30, practiced my racquetball for an hour, played with Ruby from 6:40 to 7:30, then showered and came home to my trusted oatmeal and green tea.  I wrote hard until noon, then went back to work at 1.  I stopped at 6 and headed to the club to play a league match with Roger. 

Chris and I FaceTimed at 9:15.  I told him about my wonderful week with mom in Arizona.  He's in favor of my new plan to bang out middle grade books.  Nothing else is working.  Martin Martinez has attracted no buzz whatsoever.

Day 50

Monday, March 4, 2013

I woke up at 4:05 and played racquetball from 5-7.  I started writing at 8:15 and lasted until 8:30 tonight.  I'm dead tired but managed to write 5000 words today.  Not bad at all.  I only worked on the new MG book I'm planning to knock out this month.  Tomorrow I'll write another 4000-5000 words and put together chapter 3 of IG.  I haven't started Austin15 yet, but might pencil in a few hours for it. 

I also worked on some racquetball-related stuff today.  The day went so quickly.  I can't believe it's over.

Day 49

Sunday, March 3, 2013

No writing today. 

I spent Sunday with Alice in San Francisco.  Though I wrote a few emails and read, I took the day off in preparation for a full week of my routine tomorrow through Friday.

Day 48

Saturday, March 2, 2013

I wrote the opening thousand words to a middle grade boy book called Don't Eat the Zombie Cookies.  Has it come to that?  I'm afraid it has. 

On the flight home last night, I questioned the commercial attributes of all my writing projects except Austin15, which I'm assuming is very commercial if properly realized.  Introducing Girls and Martin Martinez are probably not very commercial, even though they're done and almost done.  It won't hurt putting them out there; however, my energy may be better served in writing some simple, low-brow formula rather than high-brow, complicated, unusual and plainly odd-ball books that aren't really written for anyone.  It took about 15 minutes to come up with a suitable storyline for Zombie Cookies.  Maybe that's the project that goes right to the top of the project heap, a 60k silly-fest.

Mom also reminded me that Botticelli Girl would make an excellent YA suspense thriller.  She's right. 

I'm at Alice's now until Monday morning.  It's great being home and back on my schedule.  I have a lot of raquetball matches to make up, but they aren't until after 6 when I'm not too productive.  My mornings and afternoons will be intense.  Let's see what I come up with. 

I have eight projects that I can work on this year.  That's a lot of projects!  Austin15 is one I'll write for sure, and fast.   


 

Day 47

Friday, March 1, 2013

I'm catching up on a few things this morning and outlining Austin15, which I'll write alongside Introducing Girls.  I should also consider writing the novel to Botticelli Girl, since it's such an interesting thriller.  The more material I write, the better my chances of getting something going.

Mom and I saw the early matinee of Quartet, the new film directed by Dustin Hoffman.  It was charming the way quiet English character comedy studies are charming, with a well-oiled ensemble cast and an appropriate mix of sentiment and mild conflict.  I was in the right mood for this kind of piece.  The end was touching in the right way.  Mom thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had lunch afterward, then headed home for a few hours before I was taken to the airport for my return back to Oakland. 

I arrived before 10 and made it home by 11:30.  I watched about ten minutes of an episode from Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica before heading off to bed.
 

Day 46

Thursday, February 28, 2013

I wrote in the morning, then hung out with mom from lunch until I went to bed.  We saw Django Unchained this afternoon. 

Another very strong film by Quentin Tarantino.  The last 20 minutes were excessive and unnecessary.  Once Christoph Waltz is gone, the film looses much of its magic.  But aside from the ending, this is one of the better Quentin Tarantino films.  I'm not surprised this came after his Nazi film.  He's always inspiring.

I leave for Oakland tomorrow.  I've had a wonderful time with mom in Mesa, Arizona.