Oh Well!

I'll just have to come up with something better to submit: My Publication Attempt came back rejected. It isn't the first time that this has happened, and it certainly won't be the last time, unless I get really lucky or find lightning in a bottle.

I had fun writing the story, and I may have fun trying to send it to other publishers, too.

As I said before, we will see where this leads.

The View from Ajnovaal Prime

I have a science fiction novel that is in the final revision process right now, whose main character suffers from mental and emotional scars from an experience in his past. As a Cadet, he and some fellow Cadets crash on a planet called Ajnovaal Prime, a barren and icy terrestrial planet. He and his classmates in the Academy have to survive the cold long enough to reach an abandoned research post, where they find out that their crash was no accident--their ship was shot down. A few years pass between that experience and the beginning of my novel.

At one point several months ago (before I'd been to Louisiana), I doubted whether the current version of the character should have everyday events remind him of memories of his experience on Ajnovaal Prime, or if he should not. I didn't want his flashbacks to be "overkill" and annoy the reader, but I also wanted to illustrate the fact that a person who has had a traumatic experiences would and could be reminded of them by present-day events in his or her life.

This could be "Post Traumatic Stress" or just the fact that a reminder is a reminder, no matter whether it comes before or after counseling or therapy.

Having been to Louisiana to muck houses, today I realized that I am more confident now about writing the character to have these reminders of his past. I have also experienced similar reminders in the day-to-day events in my life. While I hope that I don't need counseling or therapy, there are times when I see things that remind me of mucking houses, or things that remind me of seeing all the damage.

Fortunately, I remember so many "good" experiences from my two trips. I met a lot of people with open hearts and a willingness to serve. I saw how a total wreck of a house could be transformed into an empty shell. This empty shell is not just as a hollow skeleton of its former self, but also an orderly template ready to take the parts that make it whole. I smile at a lot of the memories, and I may cry at a few of them as well.

But on the whole, I now believe that the view from Ajnovaal Prime is necessary to the novel, to show that the main character does have the ability to cope with the ghosts of his past.

Publication Attempt

I have sent in a story to Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine just to see if I could get it published. I know that writers often get rejected, and even the greatest authors have been rejected.

But nobody faults them for trying, do they? So, I figured, since the last time I even tried was four or more years ago (a different story in a different magazine or book), I ought to try again.

It was interesting to note that when I visited the post office with my manuscript, I had that feeling of "butterflies in my stomach." According to the Writers' Guidelines, I've got about 8 weeks to wait before I know whether the manuscript was accepted.

We will see where this leads.

D@tabasics...

I wound up having to build a database at work to handle some of the tasks involved with my job. There was another database that we use (it's quite useful, once you get the hang of it), but it didn't do a few things that I needed.

So, back in 2004, I figured out that the copy of Microsoft Office XP that was on my computer at work actually included Microsoft Access 2002, a database builder. At that point in time, I did not realize I was on a crash course to learning the basics of database design.

Go visit the Saint Bernard Parish Website please... Don't worry, I'll wait. No, seriously, go visit their web site and look for links on the Updated Demolition Lists... Here's a direct link to the demolition lists.

I'm looking for a way to get those lists into Microsoft Access 2002 (during a 30 minute lunch break, mind you) and to run a query on the lists to eliminate matches. Why? Because I want to see what's left of them when we cross-reference all of the addresses.

If we clear away all of the matching data from any version of the lists at SBPG.net, we will have a list of places on each list which have not been dealt with on any other list. For example, a house that's on this list of complaint calls of houses that have not been gutted and that's also on this list of demolished houses means that the house has been complained about enough to have it demolished by the Parish.

But I quit trying to mine the data sometime after 4:30 a.m. a few days ago, because there's this thing called "work" where I go to make money, and I need this thing called "sleep" to make sure I can survive the thing called "work."

Any data miners out there who'd like to give this stuff a whack? If you know a software app that will import the data for me and keep it in proper tabular format, please post a comment.

Thanks!

Imp3rfect Beg!nnings

This blog is part of the Inverted Life "family" of blogs. Unfortunately, it's more like the the "black sheep" in the family. Since I haven't figured out what will happen here, I haven't posted much here. Maybe I'll get around to something.

First on the list might be to make this blog look like the rest of the blogs in the family.

Second on the list might be to make a connection between the rest of Inverted Life and this blog.

Third on the list might be to figure out what purpose this blog will serve. Any ideas?