This & That
Posted Mon, 07/17/06
Saturday night I updated the multiple spreadsheets I assembled last year for Collective Obsessions. I am so thankful I put together the "touchstones," as I call them. They have saved me gobs of time, and making corrections and/or additions is easy as the spreadsheets are contained in one folder on my computer. It also helps when I link the various pieces of the story together as I write them. I find there are no overlapping mistakes or small details left in the dust.
I never thought to use Microsoft Excel for the spreadsheets, but rather I created them in Microsoft Word using tables. I became quite adept at putting together tables when I worked for the college a few years ago. I learned the ins and outs on the fly, as usual, but now I can whip up a simple table or create a complicated one using the "draw table" tool.
Speaking of "fly," Wilbert just about has me talked into writing another book for the Short Tales series. I had originally planned for Foofer & the Ghastly Ghost to be the last short story in the collection, but now I have other inklings.
Things tend to become a bit comical in our house when a fly is on the loose. As big and sometimes ferocious-looking as Foofer is, he remains completely terrified of a buzzing fly. He dives for cover under the kitchen table, hides in the bathroom, or tries to crawl under the end tables on either side of the couch. Rainee on the other hand, small and dainty as she is, is unmoved by insects, spiders and the like. She keeps her fighting spirit twenty-four hours a day. Or, as I tell Wilbert, she has no fear and doesn't give a "rat's ass" about anything other than food, play, aggressive protection and sleep.
Anyway, I have an outline worked out for the "fly" story, and I hope to finish it by the end of summer. I have a good title in mind as well, but I'll save that for a later time.
Tags: Collective Obsessions; Foofer; Rainee; Web Design/Computer Misc; Writing