Writing

Haven't mentioned much about writing lately. Partly it's because I've had other stuff on my mind. Partly it's because when I mention writing, it's the fiction I usually talk about, not the other stuff. The truth is that there hasn't been much fiction writing lately. My heart hasn't been in it. (Submissions continue, though; just got a bounce from Polyphony, though the feedback I got wasn't bad. Gotta figure out where it goes next.) There's been other sorts of writing going on.

First, there's been lots of writing at work. Right now, I'm working on an article that should be done and live (hopefully) by the beginning of next week. This stuff is good for clips should I decided to try to continue to do a little article writing after this contract is over.

I've also been writing for the numismatic community. I wrote a piece promoting the Jay Lake/Clayton Medical Fund elongated coin, which has been sent off to The Elongated Collectors (TEC) newsletter. Now I'm researching and writing an article on a woman named Sally Kirka. Why? Well, hers is a well-known name in penny smashing and wooden money collecting circles. A couple of weeks back when I went to Snohomish for antiquing with e_bourne and markbourne, I found a wooden dollar with a smashed penny affixed to it. I'd never seen anything like it before, and I recognized the name on the wooden dollar: Sally Kirka. She was a past president of TEC and a name well-known in the penny smashing community, but I didn't know she'd collected other stuff. Thus began my research. I realized about halfway through writing the piece that I could adapt it and send a different version of the story to Women in Numismatics for their newsletter as well. No, none of this is paid work, but I'm finding it extremely satisfying for what I'm discovering and the people I'm getting to talk to and correspond with along the way.

It's all about keeping my hand in, one way or another.

This week's Jay Lake/Clayton Fund report

Just wanted to report that in the wake of JayCon, where I received $100 cash in donations for the Clayton fund, between PayPal donations direct to the fund and contributions to me, we've raised $357.00 so far.

I still have a goal of at least $500, so if you haven't contributed yet and would still like to, I'd still love to hear from you. The full details are here, but the long and the short of it is as follows:

If you send me a check made out to “Clayton Memorial Medical Fund” for at least one dollar, I’ll send you the Jay Lake elongated coin. If you send $25-$99, I’ll also include an elongated quarter from Seattle’s Space Needle. If you donate $100 or more, I’ll include a complete set of Space Needle quarters. To get my mailing address, please write me and I'll send it to you. I get a check; you get the coin(s).

Alternatively, if you'd prefer to donate directly to the Clayton Fund via their Paypal system, do that and please send me a copy of your receipt. Said copy will serve as qualification for receiving the coin(s). The receipt will ensure a donation is made and still let me track how much we raise as a group.

This is the last time I'll spam my flist on the subject of the fundraiser; promise. That means that now's the time to contribute. Let's do it, guys. And thanks!