Some Updates - Including an insulting critiquer

Well, time for some updates.

Working on Black Hole Son 3rd and final draft. I think it's really improving at this point. Everything feels tighter and faster. I just hope it's not too fast. I've already managed to kill 5,000 words. If I can kill 15,000 more, I'll be under 120,000, which is my goal. So far, I'm on page 20 or so. I'm just trying to make it as publishable as I can, while still keeping as close to my story as possible.

Kaiju Story is up on Critters. Totally forgot about it. When I started getting emails, I was like "What? I have a story? Which one is this?" Responses are not favorable, but I expected that. This is a story that started as one thing and ended as another, and neither really make sense. I may not even submit it for publication. I guess it depends on what kind of critiques I get back.

One thing I regret about my writing is that I don't have any short stories to my credit. I don't like to read them or write them. I'd much rather read a novel. This is okay if you're just going to read, but it seems every writer has at least a few short stories to his/her credit. If I read more short stories, I think I'll get better at it, but I just don't have the motivation or inclination. I'd rather stay with one character, bond with him/her over a long period of time, than read some experimental drivel.

And on the critiqueing front, I got an insulting one. Haven't had one of those in a while. Usually, I just let them go, because I don't want to be accused of calling the kettle black. But this one seems to warrant a response. Why this one? For one thing, I haven't given a short story critique in a long time (another thing I should probably do if I want to bone up on my short fiction) so no one remembers me as a bastard. Two, it's fun.

I'm not the good guy in this movie. I'm the hero antagonist. I root for the bad guy. Hell, that's what Black Hole Son is all about. And I need to flex my writing chops, to keep my wit sharp and my funny stinging. I feel like starting a fight. Who's it going to be with? Could it be you? Or you? Or maybe you?

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