Well, I’m writing this from my guest table at Mobicon, and are we having a ball or what? This is a relatively small convention, the second year I’ve been here as a guest. There is something to be said for smaller conventions; they are much more personal, friendly, and everyone seems to know everyone. The people who put on Mobicon are the best, always asking if there is anything the guests need, which is why I will keep manking the eight-hour drive from Tampa to come here every year.

We’re making some great connections here as well. Bryan King, cover artist for Cheese Runners is also a guest here, and we have been brainstorming over the cover to the sequel, Cheese Rustlers, which is now in production. You will all see the tentative cover soon!

I’ve also been talking with one of the legends of Anime illustration, Steve Bennett. He has done work on such titles as Cat’s Eye, and the Urusei Yatsurya TV series, and Only You. He also, after a few drinks, can be coaxed into doing body art… with a sharpie. Yes, we had a good time last night…

Billy West, the voice of the original Shaggy of Scoobie Doo fame, Stimpy of Wren and Stimpy, many voices of the Futurama series, Duck Dodgers and many many others, was the media guest of honor, and let me tell you, he’s one of those personalities that is always perfoming. He’s got a million stories to tell, and not a single one in the same voice…

Well, that’s all for now. Got to get back to work… but this is the work I love!

Cheers all!

Chris

PS: Just had to tell you all, that I sat on a panel with Jody Lynn Nye, and was lucky enough to talk with her for some time. She is talented beyond words (there’s a pun there, I think) and is so very nice. Part of our conversation was the transition of new authors from self-publicaiton to small press, then eventually to big press. This seems to be one new path to a career in writing, but it is a long one. So, if you remember my advice column, you know to keep that day job!

The art of procrastination, or distraction, is the bane of every writer. The problem lies in that life is interesting, and writing, however rewarding when it’s done, is too much like work.

First, there is the creation of the Devil: television.

Take my advice: kill it.

Second, there is your computer. Herein dwells a problem. A computer is both work and entertainment. I have yet to solve this particular problem other than to set myself limits on how long I will “play” on my computer before I “work” on my computer. One obvious solution to this is to have a “work” computer, on which there is no internet connection, no CD drive, no DVD drive and just enough RAM to run a word processing program.

Believe it or not, I’m considering this. The problem is, you can’t buy a “cheesy” computer any more. You would have to buy one second hand, and then who knows where the thing’s been. Right?

There are also machines you can buy that are simply word processors, and nothing else, but I’m not too sure about file formats on those (haven’t done any research on that yet), but it’s an option.

Third, there’s “Life”. That’s the hard one.

I once sat in on a writer’s conference panel with a reputable author talking about how to concentrate on your writing. I’m sorry, but she pissed me off. Her solution was to neglect your family and depend on your spouse to take up the slack. As if A: everyone has a spouse or sig.oth. to take up said slack, and B: they will put up with you if you do dump said life on them without relent while you type away.

This author was obviously not married someone like my wife…

There is but one solution to the last one, and, I’m sorry to say it, but it is *shudder* organization and commitment. Yes, that’s right, you have to do the dishes, then go back to your computer and finish that chapter. This is not to say that sometimes, if you’re really cranking along, that you can’t just let the dishes sit in the sink overnight and fester… Eeeewww… But, you know, nobody died yet from a dirty dish that stayed in the sink overnight.

It all boils down to priorities. Your situation (with your spouse, sig, kids, dog, house, boat, plane, or television) is your situation. It’s for you to solve. But when it rolls around to 9:00 PM and CSI is on, and you can’t stop yourself from watching, ask yourself a question: which is really more important to you?

By the way, I have not watched broadcast or cable TV for 6 years, and I don’t miss it at all… really.