…I had my 200th story/poem accepted for publication this weekend. The first hundred took over a year, the second hundred only four months, and that was while writing a novel. To get my stuff published is both really thrilling and really humbling. I'm a guy who knew he wanted to be a writer when he was nine but didn't really, really pursue until he was, well, many, many years later. (Read "Terminal" here and you'll get it as that is a true story from my life.) I've always been insecure, and to put your writing out there--much of it personal or odd--to have it judged is daunting and scary. It is for me, anyway.

…I saw "It's Kind of a Funny Story" again today with my son and wife. I liked it just as much the second time. Zach Galifinakos is so brilliant, as is the kid in the lead, and even Emma Roberts rocks it.

…I started my new novel. The beginning is not as good as it should be, not as good as I thought it would be. What happened? I'm going to rework it before going on. Most instructional books about writing tell you to just put it all down before editing, but if you go back afterward and it reads like crap, won't you think, "Oh, man, this is absolute crap." and toss it? Seems as if I would. This book should be funny and fun and very readable. I see the story in my head and just need to paint it with the right colors and hues.

…It's funny to have so many friends that I've never met. Some of my best friends now are people I've never seen physically. I like writers a lot. I like readers a lot. My son says teens don't read. When I pointed out Twilight and Harry Potter he said, "Only teen outcasts read." I think he might have that wrong, though I do know that teen boys read less than any other demographic. My new book is a teen novel whose lead character is male. Should I worry? Well, there are girls in it, a love story streamed through out, as well as really fun, unusual and memorable (I hope at least) characters in it, so maybe a whole bunch of teen girls and their teen-feeling moms will read it.

…On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being "not happy" and 5 being "very happy", 50% of men 50 years of age rated their level a 3 or lower. 20 year-olds rated themselves a LOT happier. I wonder what that means. It seems a little sad, if not tragic.

…On another note, I like this: "Beauty is the special province of the arts." -- Sean McDowell