I’m home, safe and sound, and mostly recovered from the trip. The flight from Southern California to Chicago smooth and productive. I splurged a little and upgraded to first class (my first time riding up front). Overall, it was what I expected it to be. Squishier seats, more personalized attention, and better food. Warm chocolate chip cookies, you say? Yes please. For all of the security measures taken, I find it humorous that they still serve drinks in first class in a glass. I mean, I guess if you’re flying in style, you must be a sane, stable person, right?
I finished my last revisions to the first two scenes of “Wholesale Goods” during the flight. I think this story is wrapping up more or less the way I intended. Once this revision is done, I’m sending it off to the Writers of the Future contest and getting back to work on other stories. Two more to revise, lots more to create.
I think I’ve finally figured out what Jim Gunn meant when he talked about presenting a story dramatically. It’s one thing to hear the words and ‘get’ the concept, another thing entirely to understand it in a way as to put it into practice. I’ve internalized it, as I’m wont to do. The newest story I’ve been working on has, I think, really worked well in that regard. Now I need to keep putting it to practice until it’s as natural as breathing and send more stories out!