…that I have a lot to catch up on here. Life has a funny way of periodically overwhelming then underwhelming you, to the point where you simply don’t have the energy to sit down and write about everything that’s been going on. But things have actually been going on. There’s Dragon*Con, which Jennifer and I went to at the beginning of September. There’s Daikaijuzine, which officially launched on September 21. This past Monday I went to Berkeley with some friends to see Neil Gaiman speak and give a reading. There’s all kinds of fun stuff happening at work. And finally there’s Monster World, a little project I’ve been playing with just for kicks.

Of course I’ve been writing, too. I’m still plugging away at The Solitude of the Tentacled Space Monster as well as a few short stories, but National Novel-Writing Month is just about here, and I haven’t finished the first draft of Solitude as I’d hoped I would by now. I have a good idea of what I will be writing for this year’s noveling goodness, though, and I think it will go smoother.

So, anyway, various updates and reports.

First, Dragon*Con. This year’s Dragon*Con was probably the most fun I’ve been to out of all the times that I’ve gone. I didn’t participate in the advanced writers’ workshop this year, or even the beginners’ workshop. I did go to a few writing panels, though, but I don’t feel like I learned very much. I did do some networking, though, and I even passed out my card to a few different editors. That felt good. As always, the best part of any con was the people. I had a number of good chats with different people, and even met up with a friend that previously I’d only known through LiveJournal. She’s a graphic novel writer, which I found really interesting; I’ve got a few story ideas kicking around my brain that could work as graphic novels, so it was nifty to get her insight (all I need now is someone who knows how to draw).
This year we stayed at the Hilton, instead of the Hyatt or the Marriot as we have in years past. The Hilton was, I think, the best of the three. The room was nice and clean, and furthest from the bulk of the con, so our room was quiet. Quite the change. Though I spent enough time, even late at night, wandering the Con and looking at things and listening to music that I basically only went back to our room to crash completely.

Second, Daikaijuzine. This is the webzine that I decided to start last year. It officially launched on September 21, with something like ten original stories and poems. I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and I have great plans for how it will go forward. We pay minimal rates for stories and poems and articles now, but someday I’d like to pay professional rates. I’d also like a print edition, a podcast, maybe even a publishing house… but that’s all pipe dreams for the future.

You should check it out.

Third, Neil Gaiman. That was a blast, and very inspiring. Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller, both in print and in person. He made the audience laugh with his jokes and stories, and read some selections from Fragile Things, his latest collection. But after I came home, I confided to Jennifer, I found myself despairing just a bit. I’ll never be as good a writer as Neil Gaiman. To which Jennifer replied, “Well, you’ll never be Neil Gaiman; on the other hand, he’ll never be Richard S. Crawford.” Which was oddly reassuring.

I think the thing that surprised me the most about Gaiman was his appearance. I’ve only seen headshots of him before, like on the back of the paperback edition of American Gods, and these photographs have always made me think that he was a pretty tall, thin guy. Instead, I’d say he’s probably between 5’8″ and 5’10”. Roughly my height. And instead of being built like Morpheus, as I’d always thought, he’s actually quite broad-shouldered, and shaped sort of like an inverted triangle. But he was dressed completely in black, which is exactly how I thought he’d be. Apparently that’s pretty much all he wears.

This coming Sunday, Jennifer and I are going to see Terry Pratchett. These two guys are linked inextricably in my mind, and that’s just fine.

Finally, Monster World is a project I decided to start up a couple of weeks ago. Mostly it’s just a place for me to dump the vignettes and short shorts that I write in response to my writers’ group prompts; the basic idea behind the ongoing series of stories is that some experiment in the late 1990’s resulted in the world being overrun by vampires, werewolves, mad scientists, and so on. Not the scary type; their cheesy horror film incarnations. This gives me room to play and write up goofy stories. These stories aren’t meant to be deep or scary or frightening; they’re just meant to give a good laugh.  I’m also experimenting with the idea of creating complete stories with a complete arc and plot within 1,000 words or so; I think that if I can perfect that form, then my writing will be tighter and more cohesive.

So, that’s about it for now.  Not much else going on.