Red Room Where the Writers Are

My writing of late has taken a less literary, but more pragmatic bent.  The timing is certainly not my choice, but I couldn't turn down these projects.  They are great for my resume, if nothing else.

Please try to curb your excitement, but I've been deeply involved in the rewriting and revision of the FCC General Radio Operator's License (GROL) manual, by the W5YI Group.  Much of this material will be adopted by the FCC into their actual license exams.  In a way, this is a sort of poetic justice.  Like everyone else in my field, we all trembled and cowered under the FCC examinations, usually administered in blood-spattered dungeons in various courthouse and Federal buildings around the nation.  It was a rite of passage for broadcast engineers and other radio professionals for decades.  Now, I get to help WRITE these horror-inspiring questions.

Life is sweet.

 But that is not all.  After the final revision of the study guide, the fine folks at W5YI and I will begin editing on my "Opus of Amateur Radio Knowledge and Lore."  This has been a true labor of love for the past several years.  When I started putting this together, I had fully intended to freely and promiscuously disibute it to various amateur radio clubs.  This is not the sort of thing that has much of an audience outside our particular bailiwick of geekdom.  W5YI seems to think otherwise.  They have implied that this could lead to a long-needed renaissance of amateur radio.  We shall see.  In the meantime, it's certainly nice to be in somewhat of a demand, if in a rather narrow field.

Progress has been a little slow on my cinematic endeavors, but shows some promise of picking up.  Our star of Plasma Dreams, Lisa Tang (Jenny Tse), got married soon after we finished the trailer, and she and hubby are starting a tea import business.  Of course, she had to make the heart-wrenching decision between being an intergalactic movie star, or making enough money to eat....and she had to choose the latter.  So, the casting call is on again for a new Lisa Tang.  (Jenny did a fabulous job, and though we miss her sorely, the work she did on the trailer will make life much easier for us).  I've learned that trailers can be the best tools for attracting further resources.  I also learned that recasting in the midst of a movie is neither rare nor tragic.  So we will forge ahead.

I am still seeking an agent to handle my literary wares.  So far, none of the half-dozen or so prospects have responded.  But at least I can truthfully say that I've been ignored by the finest!

I used to think that rejection was the worst part of the writer's life.  I've revised my opinon.  An actual response of ANY kind from any publisher or agent would be a welcome change.  It seems nobody has the time to even tell you that you suck any more.

 Oh well.   We shall see what the new year brings.

Happy 2009, everyone!

Eric