Poetry Progress Report

As of dawn on GePoWriMo Day 10, I have 33 poems for the 2010 Nerve Cowboy Chapbook Contest. My goal is the contest-maximum 40 by November 30. If I go over, I'll have a wider selection to draw from for my entry. Follow me on Twitter to track my progress to the minute.

Meanwhile, Jack T. Marlowe has accepted my poem "Best $90 I Ever Spent" for Issue 7 of Gutter Eloquence Magazine, due out January 2010. Intrigued?

Short Stories vs. Novels

On Murderati the other day, Allison Brennan blogged about writing short stories versus novels:

Readers, do you like reading short stories? Novellas? Or prefer to stick only with full-length novels? ...Writers, do you like reading and/or writing short stories?

I commented:

I've always enjoyed concise writing and written concisely, but I'm not satisfied reading or writing just short stories or novels. I think the scope of a story should determine its length. For the classic journey that changes the hero on several levels, a novel can show that journey at a more believable pace than a short story. Conversely, a short story is often better than a novel for showing the immediate effects of a single event. A short story allows you to give the event its due while a novel would force you to draw out its effects perhaps unnecessarily or implausibly.

I am not a Yankee fan(atic).

The team I've rooted for since age 3, the New York Yankees, won their 27th championship last night, and I slept through most of the final game. After watching Cliff Lee dominate Game 1 with a friend, I slept straight through A.J. Burnett's Game 2 win.

Five years I ago, I stayed up and paced through every minute of the Yankees' historic collapse against the Boston Red Sox, and I was very conscious not to get overexcited this time around. To be honest, I had several work commitments throughout the playoffs—the Lineup reading, my weekly reviews for BSC, and GePoWriMo chief among them—that prevented sheer devotion to baseball.

I did follow the Yankees through the regular season, and more than anything I'm aware of how difficult it is to go out and perform, blocking out the media and fan attention. I'm happy they won, but I'm also glad not to let baseball distract me from performing, so to speak.

GePoWriMo Has Started

That's Gerald's Poetry-Writing Month. I've done it unofficially the past two years preparing 24-page entries for the Nerve Cowboy Chapbook Contest. This year's goal is a contest-maximum forty pages. Up, up, and away.

Fascinating.

Any comments on my virtual Halloween costume this year?

You Had to Be There

Since Anthony Rainone, Richie Narvaez, and I were among the readers at KGB Bar last week, we didn't have much time to take pictures of the first Lineup event. The three taken for us on camera phones came out blurred beyond our photo editing abilities. I may invest in a Flip Mino HD for next time, but as an Ubuntu Linux user, I'm not sure the Mino would mount or that Ubuntu has software to make snapshots from the video.

Any insight from the blogosphere? Stay tuned.

The Walmart Flash Fiction Challenge

I'm teaming up with Patti Abbott and Aldo Calcagno again. Here's the challenge in Patti's words:

...a 750-800 word story that is set, or at least partially set, in a Wal*Mart Store.

It could also be a story that refers to such a store in a meaningful way. If you take exception to Walmart, name it something else. We'll know what you mean.

Post the story on your own blog or on Aldo's Powder Burn Flash. I'm thinking of November 30th. Please don't post your story ahead of time--it throws things off. Let Aldo know if you want him to post it. Let Gerald or me know if you're "in" as soon as possible. Walmart shoppers: beware.

Rick Castle's Halloween Costume

In the opening minute of last night's Halloween episode, Richard Castle put on tight pants, suspenders, a brown coat, and pistol.

ALEXIS
What exactly are you supposed to be?

CASTLE
Space cowboy.

ALEXIS
Okay, A: There are no cows in space. B: Didn't you wear that, like, five years ago?

CASTLE
So?

ALEXIS
So don't you think you should move on?

CASTLE
I like it.


Watch on Hulu while it's still free.

USA's "White Collar"

Matthew Bomer, seen lately as dashing spy Bryce Larkin on NBC's Chuck, and in my opinion a better contender for 2006's Superman Returns than Brandon Routh, stars in USA's latest character-driven drama. Bomer's looks and Templeton Peck-like charm are apparent. What I didn't expect was the vulnerability he brought to Neal Caffrey, who, for all his confidence, is tormented by a lost love.

Tim DeKay co-stars as Peter Burke, the hard-working but not too hard-nosed FBI agent who finally caught Caffrey and now supervises Caffrey's work for the Bureau. As a duo, they have the unique understanding and respect for each other only the best rivals can.

Also lending the show character is its actual New York City setting. If you missed the premiere last night, it's repeating all weekend, starting at 9:00 Eastern this morning.