New Tabs

Using the new Blog feature of adding pages, I've done a bit of a tidy up of the sidebar. You'll see new links directly above the heading of this post.

Why am I mentioning this? At the end of April 2009, I'd posted 140 times. That's 140 posts in 120 days!

This year I've posted 37 times in the same period :c(

I think it's official--I've gone just a tad quiet...

Doing a bit of site maintenance is as good a reason as I could think of for today's post. Sorry about that.

Musings Everywhere Update

I jumped the gun with saying Wordpress would automatically mirror the content I have here - it doesn't.

But there is a way to keep it up-to-date. It's a bit clunky, and manual, but it does work.

After logging into your Wordpress account, choose IMPORT from the the TOOLS menu from the drop down menus on the left side of the browser window.

Under the restart heading is a button titled RESET COUNTERS ONLY. By clicking on this, THE MAGIC BUTTON beside your already imported blog will change from SET AUTHOR to IMPORT. Keep clicking on the IMPORT button until the numbers all line up.

As you can see above, I have 658 posts in my blogger.com blog, of which 657 have been imported into Wordpress. I know this as when I click on the RESET COUNTERS ONLY button, it recounts for me. You can also see that I've had 1503 comments - thank you.

The one post that hasn't been replicated is this one. Wordpress also counts the drafts you have, and as blogger.com saves the posts while you're writing them, Wordpress picks that up and transfers it to the count. Cool.

So, once I've published this post onto blogger.com, I need to go over to Wordpress and click on the IMPORT button and 'Hey-Presto-Magico!' - the blogs will have the same posts available.

Clunky, not as nice as the import features onto the other places I have around, but it works. Anyone have a more automated way?

Blog Numbers

Over to the right you'll see a couple of different counter type things. A little lower you'll also come across feedit which shows where some people are arriving from.

All interesting stuff that can be interpreted and displayed in a myriad of different ways.

Heres's something else I recently came across which I thought interesting.

I've had over 5100 people visit this site over the year and a bit I've been blogging. Most of those numbers are return visitors.

In fact I've only had a little over 1500 unique visitors - and that's fine. I'd be happy if I only had a dozen or so people who popped in on occasion to say hello. I write this blog as an exercise for me, as my writing presence on the web, and to try and help out any other writers who are just starting out. It is cathartic for me in many ways.

So where have all these unique visitors come from? I'm glad you asked. Just click on the image below to blow it up into something you can read without crossing your eyes.

The top three are kind of expected to be leading the way. The next three surprised me a little but then I don't know what I would have expected to take their place. Maybe New Zealand, Ireland and...and...I have no idea.

Once upon a time I mused about having more people from India or South Africa, or possibly South America pass by. Now I'm just happy people find me and some of them come back more than once.

Thank you one and all for taking the time.

Good luck with your writing.

BT

Interesting Days

Monday night, I was in hospital hooked up to an ECG machine. I had terrible chest pains but no idea why. All the tests came back negative so the medicos have no idea why either. Tuesday I spent at home relaxing and recouperating while all sorts of dramas unfolded within my crit group.

One member has now left and two others have promised to try harder. It has definitely opened up the forum for discussion and shaken things up a little. Strangely, I've still only seen work posted by myself and one other, the same culprits who post every week. System Failure has been up there for three days now and I haven't had any crits yet. Plenty of shake up and talk but still no action yet.

Found a possible new market that ties in well with my module on writing a short story, so I'm intending on structuring it around that. I have a couple of ideas for the premise, new ideas so that's exciting. I wrote the first 1000 words of it tonight before reading and writing the first draft of one of my next assignments. The second semester hasn't started yet and I've already drafted the first two assignments--cool!

Anyway, I wrote the first 1000 words of my new short story and then went to pickup the lad from footy training. As I sat in the car waiting for him, I picked a number of holes in what I'd already written and have now decided on a different setting and a different trope to use. All good stuff. I'm going to seriously work on setting in this story. I can do action and I can do dialogue, but a few people have mentioned I need work on setting. So in this story, I'll work on setting.

Still no return of my final two assignments for module 2 from semester 1. Last time there was this big a delay on my grade, it wasn't a pleasant surprise. Lets hope history doesn't repeat.

Lastly, down toward the bottom of the sidebar over ----------------------------------> here, you'll see another new addition. It's called the live feed bar and it shows who else is on my blog when you're reading this. I still get a huge kick out of seeing people from all over the world coming to read my partially insane rants and raves. And I love to get comments. I'm more than happy to exchange links with just about anybody, just ask and I'll paste you into the link exchange widget and I'll add you to the feed list if you happen to be a writer of the dark arts. I add people to both on occasions so please recheck who's there regularly as I don't always announce it. Just like I hadn't announced the addition of Felicity Dowker who is an emerging spec fic writer who has had some exceptional success over the last few months. I'm not green with envy at all! Seriously, congratulations Felicity and may you find many more markets for your scribblings.

Well, that's it from me this evening. I'm going to do a little more reading and then hit the land of nod, and hopefully it doesn't hit back.

Good luck with all your submissions

BT

More Fine Tuning

I've been playing with the blog settings again. All the links in the sidebar should now open in their own windows, so you don't have to keep clicking on back. I've also played around with the "Label" display, and the labels themselves. You'll now find it at the very bottom of the posts and streamlined so there isn't so many of them. Should make searching for a topic a lot easier.

Going through the labels has also made me realise I need to write shorter blogs but have more of them viewable. So I'll look at that too.

I hope everyone is happy with the new additions.

BT

Playing

Yes I've had another play around with things. A change is as good a a holiday, they say...whoever they are. As I can't afford a holiday, then I figured moving some of the page elements around would have to suffice. It's easier than moving the bedroom furniture :)

Absolutely nothing has happened with my writing today. I've received no word on my poetry assignment. I've received no mail from my course coordinators. I've received no word from my critique group.

I've read more of John Saul's "Suffer the Children" and I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I'm about halfway through and I keep picking out the lack of contractions in his descriptive passages. The writing comes across as quite stilted in places. The story is still good: the building tension, the unique way he jumps into the head of all the characters through a single paragraph. It's an amazing juggling act that new writers are told not to do, but Saul manages to pull it off. Still I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll save all my thoughts and comments for the review at the end.

AbD want to have a look at my writing list for new writers of the dark arts. The first 21 will come from the "on writing horror" handbook by HWA but I'm going to add a whole lot more to it. Keep an eye out for it.

Nearly time for me to go do the weekly shopping and watch the Friday night footy. Hopefully I'll hear something from someone about my writing, over the weekend. I intend to post my short story "Mobile" to the crit group tomorrow. Fingers crossed I get some feedback on that one.

Speak to you soon.

BT

New Layout

Having taken my inspiration from HorrorScope, the new layout for this blog is pretty much done. Things have been rearranged and the theme has been firmly planted into the dark side. I'm still playing with what picture I want on the background but, rest assured, it will remind the viewer of dark things.

Thanks to Shane from HorrorScope and Smoke and Mirrors, and to MoleCat from Blind Dust Collection for all the help and suggestions.

On the diploma front - things have been a little quiet lately. I haven't received feedback or grading from my last assignment so I've been a little lax on completing the next. Last night I read though it and completed a first draft. I'll look to finishing that tomorrow in time for the start of the new week. As soon as my feedback comes in, I'll send it out the door.

Yesterday was a cool day. I promised my wife we'd look into buying a dog once I'd sorted out the rest of our finances. So yesterday we took a long trip to a breeder to look at some four week old puppies. Very cute. Pictures posted on the web site.

After spending some time with the dogs, we went for a drive through South Australian farm country. In the end we covered over 300km, round trip. We stopped at a couple really old cemeteries and took some photo's of the oldest graves. These were all children's graves. I know it sounds sick but it seems my writing is very much focused on dark fiction involving children.

In no particular order

Drinkers - children vampires
Too Late the Rain - involves a child ghost
Ill Wind - Cot death
Grimoire - involves teenagers
The Gift - Demonic Child
Danielle - Daughter of Satan

I have plenty of other works that don't involve kids primarily but all my latest work does.

In the end, we had a great day out and took some really nice photo's.

I hope you've all had a wonderful Easter.

Good luck with your writing!

BT

A Quick Post

Just a quick note.

I did the redesigning on my laptop but then saw it on my larger PC screen. The background picture didn't work so I've removed it for now but I've not given up on sorting something out rather than just plain black.

I think the reorganisation works better regardless.

Cricket today: Day one of the Grand Final - We lost the toss and Virginia decided to bat. They managed to bat for most of the day but only posted 179 runs all out. I took three catches at first slip.

If we bat anywhere near as we have been over the last month or so, we should easily accomplish that. We (ATCO) don't get on particularly well with this opposition so to beat them in the GF after losing twice to them during the year and finishing a distant second to them on the table, will be extremely satisfying and an excellent way to retire.

Fingers crossed.

Still Playing

I've figured out how to put a background onto the blog but not how to extend it all the way to the right edge - still working on that.

According to my counters, people are visiting my little corner of cyberspace but none of you wish to leave a comment :( Please let me know what you think of the layout and the content. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please. OK I'll stop begging now.

My critiques are still receiving good feedback from TPN which is nice. I'm glad to be useful to some. My crit of a FF members short was also received favourably. I'm not into blowing sunshine up the proverbial so it's comforting to know that some people are serious about wanting to improve their craft. I'm not a total prick about it either so people needn't worry I'm going to set out to destroy them. I only want to help.

I need to update the version of "Too Late the Rain" that is going on Critters soon (I think - I hope) and do at least one crit for those members.

Still waiting on a response from any one of the six pieces I currently have out in the market. Five of them are now over due a response. One has probably been overlooked and the editors not bothered to respond as this is a freelance market and they can be notorious for not responding. Four of them are due a response sometime this month as the deadline was the end of last month. The market is after 500 stories for an anthology of which I've submitted four. The last isn't due a response until mid next month. Soon, "Drinkers" and "Too Late The Rain" will be joining them.

The heat continues here in Adelaide. Today is supposed to top 41C with tomorrow being 39C and Sunday 40C. Not looking good for the cricket grand final. I may well have already played my last game. I've been nominated by the umpires for the Grade 2 medal for cricketer of the year which was nice. I don't expect to come close to some of the others who have been nominated from other clubs but it is nice to get the nod for the 6th time (I think) in my time playing cricket. Unfortunately I've never won it.

Well - time to go crit something for Critters and resub "Too Late the Rain".

Good luck with whatever you're writing at the moment and remember no editor will purchase your work if you don't submit it.

BT

Playing

As you can see, I'm playing around with the background and the colours. I am far from finished. If you visit and like what you see or absolutely hate it, then please comment.

For now - I'm going to bed as its getting late and the heat has drained me. We are currently in the middle of the longest heat wave in Australian history here in Adelaide. 11 days straight over 35C. Today got to 41C and tomorrow is forecast the same. I need some sleep.

My assignment has been posted and I'm completely up to date on my crits. Cricket season finishes this weekend so beginning next week - I'll have time to organise my schedule and really start enjoying life and my writing - looking forward to it!

Hope everything is going as well for you as it is for me. Now if I can only get some acceptances...

Good luck with your submissions.

BT