A couple nights ago, when I couldn’t sleep, I picked up a book I hadn’t read yet.  As I started to take in the first few pages, something didn’t feel right.  A character I hadn’t written yet popped into my head, and I thought, what was to lose by giving it a try?

I wrote 13 pages in a spiral notebook.  I know that it’s a long way from readable, but…it just kept coming.  And I added a few more pages onto it last night too, when I couldn’t sleep.  So, maybe I can still write.

I found a reading level test page to run paragraphs from stories through to see if I’m being too crazy. The site accomplishes its intended purpose and is easy enough to use. It is, however, funny if one pays attention. At the bottom, it has a “List of sentences which we suggest you should consider to rewrite to improve readability of the text.”

Um, yeah…how about a “List of sentences which you should consider rewriting to improve readability of the text”? Would that be too readable?

This made me feel a little better about how I’m just not ever going to be able to be in NaNoWriMo:

Classmate in online class: “This last year at school every time I turned on the computer it seemed as though I was not allowed to go to sight to so research for a topic on health do to the filter on the district server” (emphasis added).

Aside from the bold stuff, there should also be a comma between “school” and “every,” and between “computer” and “it.” And maybe an a before “sight” so that I don’t end up reading it with an accent.

This…genius…is finishing up a masters in elementary education and I believe still planning to go into teaching. AARGH!!!

I still haven’t gotten back The Acceptance Letter yet…but I’ve got the next poem ready to go just as soon as I get it. Thanks to our latest two contributors, 60.50.251.61 and 82.178.134.63.

gdorexswm ivunegmz ymxao uqesmlrx

mqghxb
yhtusvd qgwlxckpa
axofjt qknlyzgj
mlijbpsg xjcduqnkm
zsgb
jbkpx awuiqyepm sywj
mrzjdp wgzlfuhkj
hirzxmc

An announcement:

I’m declaring an indefinite period of anmesty on a certain kind of spam. Because I’m launching a project to use the random-character spam to create Poetry.com poems and eventually a PublishAmerica sting manuscript, I find that I need that kind of spam.

So, those spammers who can restrain themselves from posting pharmaceutical ads and porn, and just keep it to random nonsense words, you’re welcome to help out. Oh, you still won’t get actually onto my site, but I won’t IP ban you either and you’ll get contributor credit on this project’s page. And the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that you’re accidentally helping do something good.

I had the idea last night while BSing with Teresa about writing and literary scams like PublishAmerica and Poetry.com [links go to exposes, not the actual organizations' sites, because I refuse to promote garbage]…random nonsense spam as an entry to see if they’ll take it.

At 7:37 AM Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -07:00 if anyone cares), this (without the line breaks I added “for poetry’s sake”) got caught by Akismet. Just now, I submitted it to Poetry.com. And used a spamgourmet e-mail address for it, of course.

buwdiz nryfs

sgdtxi mvut meztvbj
miognfvx
kapnqh msyoidapz wcdjtfq

So…let’s see how this goes. I’m also going to see if I can gather enough for a PA sting manuscript, ’cause why not?

And not a lot of fighting to get them out, either, though I kept getting interrupted.

Plus I got a really cool line written down, without sticking it in the “scraps to put in order” file. I’ve relied way too much on that file in the last few years.

I wrote, in total, 1428 words today (well, counting the 11th)–not counting forum posts, chat, or blog entries. That’s 1428 story words.