Today's Word: Pattern

He was staring again, locked in a cerebral glaze. This time, it was a security guard who nudged him back to reality. He had been staring into the Pollack painting for 15 minutes, trying to decipher it.

*That clock sound from 24*

20 days left until the end of the term, and roughly eight weeks out until the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference in Seattle. I still have to register, but I don't think I'm going to volunteer, but rather move from workshop to workshop and stalk agents and editors with the clumsy zeal of a rookie assassin.

Last night, it was all about the villain in class, which is proving tricky because both the hero and villain for the scene I'm working on are both the same type: feral. They have different motivations, however, so it's time to nuance that until it shines.

I should have about 15-20,000 words down before the conference, plus chunks of the beginning, middle and ending. I have the synopsis. I have the characters in place, and a list of scenes to either rewrite or, you know, write (ha!). I'm trying to get as much of the major stuff as I can, so when I do talk to agents and editors, I won't be lying all that much about the state of the manuscript.

Speaking of the PNWA conference, there's going to be only one editor on site who deals in science fiction. One, out of eight. Hey, folks. This is Seattle. I can't fire my art deco Flash Gordon raygun without zapping a sci-fi writer. We're going to descend on her like zombies on a hapless victim. It won't be pretty, and to paraphrase a sage for our times, "It'll all end in tears."

Bring Your Own Apocalypse

Hey, the local Science Fiction Museum is tempting me with an event May 21 that's up my alley and, if you are in Seattle and like speculative fiction, might be up yours too. If I go, it'll be my first time at the Science Fiction Museum, which is kind of odd for me. You'd think it'd be a place where I'd go all the time, but no. Wow. Imagine, a reclusive, anti-social sci-fi fan.

Details here