Okay, like an awful lot of writers, I enjoy having written more than writing itself. And like most generalizations (in fact, exactly 78.936% of them) this is not always true. Today I was rocking–seven pages of good stuff, in the goove, looking up and noticing that a large amount of time has passed and, fortunately, a decent number of pages. But I have to do that for the whole month.

I’ve got a book due. Like, due. Like, this month.

Anybody can write a three-volume novel. It merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature.

I love Oscar Wilde. But can one write the three-volume novel in one month? Fortunately I only have to do half of a one-volume novel. I’m working hard.

I built an office this summer in the back yard where I’m pretty free from distractions (generated by others).

Unfortunately, I’m still perfectly capable of distracting myself.

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News flash: Attorneys take legalese to a whole new level!

What I find most interesting about the proposed, clearly-tongue-in-cheek list of IM abbreviations for lawyers (link via) is what they suggest about the kinds of things lawyers talk about. Check them out; it’s hard to pick, but I think my fave is “2SL,” LeegSpeak*** for “slippery slope.”

(Be sure to scroll down; some of the best ones are on the second page.)

You know, this opens up all kinds of possibilities. What would be Leet for, say, “ad hominem,” or “reductio ad absurdum.” There is something deliciously geeky about the idea of translating arcane Greek phrases into Leet. (must…resist….bad…Greek speak pun…)

***And hey, how do you like my new coinage? (Ow! I think I just sprained my arm, patting myself on the back.)

Update:

OK, Steve tells me I’m being way too obscure with the title of this post. (Bad Morgan! Stop being opaque!) Leet is sometimes written 1337. You’re supposed to read it upside down. So Leeg would be 9337.

This isn’t my regular Monday post but I’m taking a break from writing to put up this great cartoon that not only captures Brad, it captures the perennial problem all writers have. (It originally appeared in the World Fantasy Program Book (2006) with Brad’s bio.)

(And this behavior got me in trouble from kindergarten through college. It still gets me in trouble.)

Cartoon by the laconic and cool Doug Potter. How come artists are always cooler than writers? It’s just like high school. Artists were cool and writers were geeks.

Doug at Lambiek. Doug’s site.