Killian's Blog/Website/Whatever

Preface: This does not, as I believe some authors* have misinterpreted, mean "kill your/everyone's favorite character." It means that a writer will sometimes concoct a sentence (or paragraph, page, etc) that reads like pure gold, but just doesn't fit the story, no matter how many times/ways you try to make it work. (i.e. it's depressing as all get-out.) This is the most difficult thing about being a writer. Any kind of writer. Yes, there are days where you may think woe-is-me, it's so hard to get goin g or woe-is-me, this chapter is not my finest work , but when you write something you think is positively brilliant (I'm talking it-practically-knocks-you-out , Wow-I-can't-believe-that-came-out-of- me brilliant), you will fight yourself near to death when faced with cutting it. If you've never felt this way--if you've never had to almost literally^ beat yourself into submission over this problem--there are two possibilities: 1. There was a t...

I'm feeling crazy bouncy today. Maybe the SAD lamp I used really works! I didn't even want to take a nap when 3:30 rolled around*--which is AMAZING. Worked on a few things today, too. Heck, I'll probably get back to work in just a few! Remarkable. Maybe it's just a fluke (we'll see. Thirty minutes with the negative ions and light-therapy will be a morning regularity until summer time). Either way, I'm not going to complain. Feeling lively is awesome.** Not as awesome is the feeling I tend to get along with bonus energy: extra antsiness! It's not quite the same as restlessness--more fidgeting, less frustration--but it feels similarly difficult to rectify. But, hey, at least I don't feel like a bump on a log! not me! In other news, The Satanic Verses continues to be awesome, and I've decided to work on that old short story during the times I am not working on the mystery serial. Also, I miss all of my Portland bros like woah and think they sho...

I need to get this off my chest: I love Hellboy . Never have I read a comic and fallen so immediately in love. Mike Mignola's writing, artwork, and paneling--not to mention knowledge of folklore--puts pretty much everyone to shame. That man knows how to balance . I can't wait until he starts doing the art again. (Soon? Please?) In what seems to be coincidentally related in title*, I've started reading Salman Rushdie's epically brilliant and oddly beautiful The Satanic Verses . Oddly beautiful, because the narration is, well, unique , but Rushdie has such a way with words that, even at his most playful, he makes you doubt your own ability to speak, let alone write. It's awesome, in the most literal sense, and I'm gobbling it up in a way that I haven't done since Roberto Bola ñ o's  2666 . I am hereby diagnosing myself with Particular Reader Syndrome, an ailment known for preventing a reader from properly enjoying any literature that is not absolutely To...

It feels good to return to the 21st century! Ahhh, sweet high-speed internet: how I've missed you. It seems a little silly to re-cap the last few weeks, but I'll try my best to summarize (keep in mind, summarization has never been my strong suit): The apartment looks amazing; we have a hole in our wall where they are fixing ( leisurely ) a water-leakage problem; I've been writing like a champ; I've been editing like a champ; I've been painting like a champ; a lot of Hellboy comics have been read. Alright, now it's down to business. Not that I have much business. I suppose the best I can offer is that I recently discovered there is such a thing as urban beekeeping , and now I am a little resentful of apartment-living--because I'd really like an apiary.