Lo, the time is passing. Did I mention that the Airship Novel is based on a short story? I'm going to submit that story to Writers of the Future this quarter.

Writing has suffered a bit due to the fact that I am doing some paid work for my old company. But it's still going on. I started an "Idea Board"; it's a bulletin board where I put up a notecard for each idea that I have for a story. The idea is to give me something to turn to whenever I need a break from a project or feel uninspired. A nice side effect is that it gives me a constant visual reminder that I do, in fact, have ideas. It also gives me a reason to hang onto those ideas and not let them slip away.

I had the startling realization the other day that I want to write some historical fiction, or maybe even some contemporary-but-extracultural fiction. I find these ideas really exciting, but also intimidating. I wish I could take a class purely on researching for fiction. One idea is set in modern Afghanistan, another in ancient Egypt, and still another in a New York City tenement circa 1900. The Afghanistan one scares me the most, but it also feels like the most important story to tell. I did a google search for "how to write a historical novel" and came upon the wonderful Historical Novelists Center, which, despite some web design issues, looks like an incredibly useful resource for all kinds of writing.