Friday, March 25, 2011

email is the microwave pizza of letter writing


Yesterday, I posted some advice for kids (or anyone) who want to develop the discipline and craft of writing.

I know... I should probably be a little more disciplined today. I had a sleep-marathon last night and I just spent about an hour writing this epic-length email to a friend.

I guess I have about two or three friends with whom I actually correspond in lengthy, letter-form email, which I like to do with good letter-writers [and I honestly do wish there were no such thing as email and we'd all have to use paper and stamps and write actual letters to one another... and then wait for them, and stuff. But I digress...].

Email is the microwave pizza of letter writing.

Today, I kind of let that, plus my sleeping in (and what I'm doing right now) get in the way of finishing up my short story for this YA anthology that's coming out next year (starring "real" authors like Michael Grant, Carrie Ryan, and Neal Shusterman). My story is basically finished. I plan on submitting it this weekend. My contract deadline is May 1, so, as usual, I have made a deadline submit to my authority and confess it is my bitch.

And, speaking of confessions, I have to say that I'd intended to post something today about teachers and teaching. And... surprise!... not about bashing teachers, but praising the ones (there are some... it's a secret that nobody will ever make Michael-Moore-type documentaries about or post links to on their facebooks) who get it.

Oh... and they're not Sir Ken-types who've never really had to deal with douchebag administrators and one-eyed, toothless, torch-bearing community leaders, either.

Because I got an awful lot of email comments and other off-the-board messages yesterday after my post about writing. And, I thought... hey!!! not only do I feel like running in another marathon (even at my age, my knees and ankles are good to go), but I feel like saying something to the quite-obviously ROCKING teachers and librarians who do exist all over the country out there...

But, I think I'm going to finish my coffee, go out for a five-miler through the hills in the rain, and come back and get on my writing work horse and spank it.

So, I'll continue this tomorrow.