... Definition of Normal: That state of panic that you're used to ...
March 13, 1999
6:40 a.m.
I'm being a very bad boy today, and am writing this before I hit my fiction. Usually, I try to write at least a little bit on one of my stories before turning my attention here. But this morning I'm dragging butt, and need something to get my blood pumping.
Brigid had a friend sleep over last night, and so Lisa and I stayed up longer than usual. I think we hit the pillows at something near midnight. I read two pages of Genethics, a mid-level book on genetic engineering, and about fell asleep on the spot. (This is not unusual for me, though. Lisa says I've actually gone to sleep in mid-sentence, but I don't believe her for . . . z z z z z z z) . I spent those extra hours last night doing a ton of clean-up on the site. I slimmed down the color content of almost every gif file I've got using a really handy little web-based tool called GifCruncher that is available to everyone FREE of charge. It takes a little patience, but it's pretty fast, and does a nice job of cutting file sizes by removing unnecessary colors from the file. Professional WebFolk can probably beat it--but for dabblers like me, GifCruncher is a great tool. As usual, I had lunch with Charles Eckert yesterday at a buffet-style Chinese place. We talked about a bunch of things, but ended up spending a good deal of time discussing the Analog contract. Charles appeared there back in 1991, and I wanted to get a feel for what his contract was like. It was a good conversation, and we shared a god deal of what was in each of our documents. It's my understanding (or opinion) that writers don't generally share a lot of contractual information. Personally, I don't understand that. I'm sure there are a lot of psychological reasons behind it. People are afraid to show someone else where they messed up--contract language can be damnably confusing--or they are uneasy about showing someone else how much/little money they've made. Or maybe it's that Libertarianistic "None of you damned business" attitude. Of course, there's another angle. Maybe the problem here is that I'm only listening to people who are afraid to ask for help. Opinions are molded by those who you listen to. In the past, I've used folks like Mike Resnick to bounce ideas off. Now that I've been around the fringes of the business for several years, I have more contacts. And what I'm finding is that there are a lot of people who will share their knowledge if you're just willing to ask. Politely, of course. Turns out Charles used Algis Budrys as his mentor in reviewing his Analog contract. I used Charles, and a couple others. And as a result, I know exactly what I'm signing up for, and I feel I've gotten about as good a deal as any new writer can get. Lesson of the day: Don't be afraid to ask questions.   Well, I think I've stretched enough. What's that I hear? I sit the national anthem? Guess that confirms it. Time to get out onto the playing field. Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Al Gore, during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer - Does anybody else find our Vice President's statement just the slightest bit ... hummm ... overblown? I've heard politicians take credit for a lot of things, and generally I just let those claims flow off my back like the greasy water they are. But come on! The Internet? Al Gore is claiming the Internet? Well ... At least he wasn't wagging his finger. |
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