Thursday, June 28, 2007

This is My Brain on Summer

Since it's summer and I'm having a hard time solidifying any one thought...with the exception of "God, I wish I were at the beach right now!" I'm just going to blog about some of the randomized writing stuff I've been up to.

I am not a particularly politically inclined individual. I don't get politics, but I'm trying because things are really starting to frighten me. For instance--what the freak is up with China???? Are they secretly trying to poison all our pets, our kids and all of us who brush our teeth? Or are all these recalls some secret political game our government is playing? Maybe we should start opening our factories back up, making our own products right here where we control the regulations, putting money in our own worker's pockets. Oh...

See what I mean about having a hard time keeping my thoughts from sprouting feet and running off in a different direction. Ahhh, summer. ANYWAY...I'm currently reading John McNally's "America's Report Card." It's basically about how ridiculous standardized government testing is and some about conspiracy theories. A real eye opener. But more than that, it's hilarious! Here's a quote:

"She even sat through interviews conducted by Larry King, a man who reminded her of a corpse that had been exhumed from a long-forgotten cemetery and then brought back to life with a billion watts of electricity."

Besides being funny, that is so true! Or maybe that's why it's funny.

Anyway, great book so far.

I'm also a beta reader for fellow speculative fiction writer & Ayn Rand fan, B.E. I'm enjoying her novel, Blink of an I, very much. But, I can't tell her that yet, because I feel like I should have some critique to go with it. So Beth, if you read this...just ignore that part.

Besides the novel, I'm trying to work on some "100 words or less" short stories to submit to Tuesday Shorts. Do you know how hard it is to whittle a story down to 100 words?! Crazy hard. Well, for me anyway. The closest I've gotten is 259 words. It's fun to try.

Go on, try it!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always suspected China and Japan of having a nefarious agenda against their rivals, the uber-power U S of A. However, I'm a conspiracy theorist (aren't most writers?)...so that just plays right into what I already felt.

100 WORDS? Sheesh! I have difficulty staying under 500 words. 100 is like a paragraph to me. :~)

Shannon said...

I like being a conspiracy theorist, it's fun at parties. :-P
And 100 words is definetly just a paragraph, but supposedly you can tell a story in just a sentence. Notice the word "supposedly".

Anonymous said...

It's also fun when one lives in a neighborhood full of patriot paranoids. :~)

Shawn said...

Since I'm one who tends to just start breathing and blinking around, oh, 600 words, I will happily avoid those shorts like the plague during this sinus headache. But, just might be fun to do some time. Thanks for the heads up. happy writing!!

bella said...

Shannon,
I found your blog today and just spent a wonderful two hours reading and laughing and feeling so much less alone. It was like unwrapping a present, a perfect gift to give myself as my own brain roams around in the summer heat.
Your writing is delicious.