T-Day

The world will end in gravy and all that will be left is our desire to save ourselves (some room for dessert). We no longer have the luxury of viewing the world through cranberry tinted goggles. Our oppressors will mash us under their boots like so many potatoes. Over the beans and through the red cabbage, forests of carrots and peas impede our every step, and then we reach the promised land...and it is not what we thought, oh no, we're too late. The turkinator has been awaiting this day of vengeance and his bloodthirst will be sated.

Plus football.

My Writing Reference Post

Here's a post for me, and anyone else who wants to use it, filled with references, yay*:

Scripts:
TV Writing - This site has a bunch of scripts.

Writing Advice:
Nathan Bransford's Blog - The reason I started this post. Lot's of good writing advice.

The Bitter Script Reader - Good advice on how to make your script mo' better.
Cockeyed Caravan - This blog as all kinds of great stuff for story crafters. Includes the daunting but very cool Ultimate Story Checklist.
Writer Unboxed - Yet another fiction blog.
Terrible Minds - Chuck Wendig's blog. Usually some good writing advice or banter on the state of the industry here.

Self Publishing Advice:


Advice for Getting Traditionally Published:
9 Things Every Book Proposal Needs - Guess what this is.


Miscellaneous References:

Tom Pollock - Writing Around a Day Job - Good advice for keeping one's nose to the grindstone.

Checking out something new

A newsletter service called TinyLetter. I'm not sure how I feel about newsletters, but I figure, why not check into every means of getting the old voice-ski heard, eh?

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Would Be Nice

So I've gotten a bit of work done today. That's a good thing. I'm starting the job search in earnest tomorrow, honest. But for now, I want to build up a somewhat admirable body of work through which I can say, "Hey, person who pays for decent writing, wanna pay me for something like this?" And they say, "Why yes, that looks quite right for what we're trying to do here, which is make you filthy rich. Here's ten billion dollars, please teach the world everything you know." Of course I follow that up with, "Oh thank you voice in my head, you are quite nice and I'm glad I came up with you, now infect others with your message." Then they come and take me for my meds. I can't have the straps off today, they tell me.

Hm. I guess that's all. I'll be back when I need to wind up or down or just want to brag to the empty nether about all of the wondrous things in my life. Fuck.

Social Inter-reaction

I've been a bit nervous lately about the things I have online. To the point where I briefly thought about using a pen name on my future writing. What if potential employers see me cursing or doing something "unseemly." But to be honest, I've just about lost the will to censor myself. No one should have to, especially in their personal lives. So fuck it, yes, I curse. So do you, Mr. or Mrs. HR manager. I've heard people in your very position curse so many times my head spins just thinking about it. Does the fact that you don't do it when you are around someone you think is more important than you make it any better? Nope, and guess what, you can have this same conversation with them.

Everyone curses. Most people drink. Everyone does things that people say are not appropriate. So what are they really being punished for? Being honest about their lives? Refusing to let fear of retribution cow them into being fake, watered down? Fuck that. I'm not fake, I'm not watered down, hell I don't even think I do all that much that is inappropriate for public consumption, but when I do I don't want to have to worry about it being scrutinized. Am I going to curse out my boss? No. Am I going to say 'Fuck' a few times after my team lost a big game? Yes. These are social experiences we all have. I think we need to make them more public, they should be common knowledge and more importantly, it should be common sense that people operate like this. In fact, I know it's common knowledge, but we can't seem to agree that it's appropriate behavior, even though people from all walks of life do it. Politics, it's all politics.

Anyway, this rant was brought to you by daymaring about getting a new job. Dear potential employer, if you're reading this, I'm a great worker, but I don't like beating around the bush and I hate being scrutinized for things that have nothing to do with my work ethic or social/business intelligence. It would really suck if writing this led to me not being hired for some reason, but it would suck even more if the people that hired me were unable to tell the difference between my personal and business selves.

On the upside, when I start sending in applications, my hits on this site might finally start going up.

Zach Galifa...Galifa...Galifacking smokes pot on Bill Maher

I don't do it myself, but he sure does know how to make a point.

ETA: This video is no longer available, but it was Zach Galifanakis smoking a joint on the Bill Mahar show.  Still one of the more irreverent and less snide moments, I think.