Blog No. 286
I’ll have a more in depth post about last night’s ChiSeries Toronto reading next week, but as this is being posted, I’ll be on the road, guzzling coffee. That’s the weird thing that happens when you have an event the day before a blog post day. I could possibly stay up late and write the post for the morning, or I could push the post back. I could even just guess at how everything will go and write the thing as if that’s what went down, but I won’t. I’ll do this instead. I’m going to vaguely write some stuff about it and save the real post for when I can sit down and appropriately convey the essence of the event. I can tell you that I am super excited for another Toronto reading, especially with the ChiZine folks. As it stands, though, I am unsure of how the reading went.
The list of events is dwindling rapidly, but boy, has it been worth it! I’m not going to lie. While rushing to try to get 
trays on the new economy class are pretty good. I got a lot done on the way to Toronto. Unfortunately, I spent the time working on layout (but for The Thinking Machine at least) and Flags and High Fives. I really wanted to be farther along with Thinking Machine than I realize I am, so the next novella is starting more slowly than expected. 
Tomorrow morning I’m getting on a train and heading up to Toronto to meet up with Arvin and get to work on Season Two of Flags and High Fives. We’re doing things a little differently this year, and that means I have a lot of stuff to bring up so we can get started. Since I’m taking the train (a sensible option in the winter) that means I’m going to have to sharpen my Tetris skills and rely on some muscles to get everything into a backpack and suitcase, and get them onto the train. I think that should be the most difficult part (except maybe getting it all into a cab when I get there). 
The First Annual Adventure Worlds Press Summit is over, and I have no idea if it was a success or not. I know I had fun, got to talk shop with Christian and Joey, and had a really good laugh at an old episode of Small Wonder during a dinner break, but I can’t quite quantify the level of success. In the last few years, when the summit was just a retreat, I could do a simple word count and say that reaching seven thousand word in three days was pretty good. This year, my main focus was editing and planning. I got some writing in (four thousand words or so) but all of the second day (the biggest chunk) was spent on finishing the second draft of my crime novella. I did finish it, and even had time that evening to write, but editing that large a story is still a new thing, so measuring how well I did is new too. 
I love road trips. Even taking a two-hour jaunt to London (Ontario) for a day sounds like a good idea for me. I love driving, I’m cool being a co-pilot, and I’ll even rock the back seat. I just enjoy the trip. Not sure if it’s the movement, or the moving, or what, but it’s a good time. Bookapalooza was my second out-of-town event ever and (it being in Whitby) the furthest one to boot. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the trip (even if I had to share a room with Christian). 
I’m writing this one on Christmas Eve. I am one of those people who celebrate the day, so things have been very busy. Even in a regular holiday season, time and money gets tight. This year, Christmas is followed by my friend’s wedding. I’m the best man, so my duties are piling up a bit. I’m happy to do it, but I would recommend that anyone looking to get married in the latter half of December take that into account. I have to travel, write a speech, get my suit and shoes, make a playlist for the after party, pack, and something else I am going to forget until the last minute. Right now I’m putting off wrapping presents (because it’s not fun). It’s busy.
Ben Van Dongen 