"The Girl Who Couldn't Fly"

Well I finished the first rough draft of my latest short story this evening, "The Girl Who Couldn't Fly". It's approximately 4100 words. Another run-of-the-mill cross dimensional Antonelli alternate universe story. This is the second time I've used Dragon software to do the first draft of a story.

As I mentioned a week or so ago, Nebula nominations were completed and the ballot ready to be voted on. During the nomination period, a number of fellow authors asked me to read their stories. A few days ago I received my first free download offer and a request of another author to read their story which is on the final ballot.

Useful

Well I've written about 5000 words of new fiction this weekend, using the Dragon voice recognition software. It seems to be very useful. I finished up one short story of about 1300 words, and completed about 4/5 of another story for another 3500 words. As a result of this new material I am deep in the editing phase of both stories.

The real advantage of using Dragon to me will be that it will enable me to finally write a book, because in the past that kind of concentrated writing would blow out my wrists.

Enter, Dragon

One of the problems I have - since my day job as a newspaper editor involves typing and my second career as a fiction writer also involves typing -  is a lot of wear and tear on my hands and wrists and I've had to deal with carpal tunnel syndrome over the years. This past week I also sustained a relatively minor sprain to my right shoulder and that's been really painful, and the combination of the carpal tunnel and the sprained shoulder has kept me from keyboarding. It's just painful.

Well, I had an idea. I finally plunked down some money and went and bought Dragon voice recognition software and I've started to use it. In fact that's what I'm using to do this post. I'm dictating into Dragon. It seems to work.

Hopefully as I use this in the future it will take some of the wear and tear off my hands and my wrists and that should be helpful. It should allow me to write and post more regularly.

I just started using the software today. I installed this afternoon and started using it this evening. So, it seems to be going well.

Tonight I used it to start writing a new fantasy/science-fiction story. Apparently I dictate as fast as I type, which is about 1000 words an hour. But honestly, using Dragon is a lot less painful, and causes a lot less wear and tear on my wrists.

By the way, those of you know I like to write, when possible, with a typewriter probably think using this latest technology is strange. I'm not constitutionally opposed to new technology, I just like the tactile feel and the sound you get when you use a manual typewriter.

However, trust me, a manual typewriter is harder on your wrists than a keyboard, but the nature of a typewriter is that you go slower than on a keyboard, so therefore it is not as intense on your hands as a regular keyboard — especially if you type like I do, with two fingers.

Not this time

"Everybody knows, I thought you knew...hearts made of stone."

The nominees for the Nebula Awards were announced a week ago. The ballot has a nice selection of authors, and a myriad of great stories.

One story I nominated did make the ballot, "Wakulla Sprimgs" by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages. It's novella. None of my short story nominations made the ballot.

I touted my story in the Song Stories original anthology, "Hearts Made of Stone". Still, I enjoyed the opportunity to bring it to people's attention.

Gone so soon

I was saddened to hear of the death last Thursday of Aaron Allston, who was only 53. He was a panelist at the first convention I ever attended, ConDFW in 2003.

Before I met him, I never knew an author who came out of gaming, or who wrote in a shared world. It was all part of the learning experience for me as I began to write speculative fiction.

He had a major heart attack in 2009, and had been in precarious health. I hate to see it when someone's quality of life is diminished by that kind of debilitating health problem.

I didn't know him well, but I know a lot of people who did, and regarded high very highly. Such a shame, and such a loss.

Mixed bag

ConDFW was a mixed bag for me this year. The panels topics seemed to be especially well-planned and a good fit for my interests.

On the down side, though, attendance seemed to lag from previous years. From 2003 until maybe 2008 - from the first con I ever attended (which was ConDFW) until the Recession kicked in - attendance seemed to be on the upswing, then it obviously dropped as people lost their jobs and disposable incomes. Conestoga in Tulsa, one of the best cons I attended in that period, went away completely. But in the past couple of years, my impression is that convention attendance was on the upswing again.

ConDFW was the first con I've been to in a few years where the attendance seemed to have dropped from the previous year. My first panel Saturday only has three people in the audience - an equal number as the panelists - until halfway through when three more people walked in.

Another issue I have was the decision to put the authors' signing in the dealers room, at the back. The last time I was in this situation, at an AggieCon in College Station, the same thing happened. Sales stunk.

Radio silence

My apologies to my internet friends for the relative silence this past week, but after getting back from the convention in Dallas I've had to deal with a week missing one staff member at the day job. We had an employee whose last day was Feb. 21, and the person we hired to start on Monday changed their mind, so I've been short-handed all week.