Busy, busy, busy...

Work has been starting to gear up. More and more clients coming in - more and more projects on the go. I wanted to talk about a little work related function I attended on Friday which I greatly enjoyed and was for a very good cause. The charity is Hockey for the Homeless and before you ask, "They're homeless - don't they have bigger problems than renting ice time?" I'll tell you - it all about a bunch of rich guys who get together to play some hockey and raise money and awareness for homelessness.

The one day event I attended made approximately $130,000 that will go toward Survival Kits (a duffel bag filled with things like sleeping bags, toiletries, some food items, clothing, candles etc) and various relief agencies in the Greater Toronto Area. The charity has about an 85% throughput so donations aren't going into huge administration. I encourage you to follow the link and check them out.

While at the event I made some bids on some silent auction items - more to run up the bids than to actually win. I bid on this Ryobi One+ system of 18 volt power tools - again, trying to run up the bids. Well, at the end of the night I won the set for $ 125.00 (it's actually worth about $390.00).

I took home my prize and the next morning my 4 year old son looked at the set with awe - the power tool gene is firmly planted on the y-chromosome, I'm convinced - and asked how soon he can use the reciprocating saw. My six year old daughter took one look at the set and said, "That's very nice, Daddy. I'm pleased for you. Now, I guess there's no excuse for you not to finish the doll house you started for my Polly Pockets." I've got some work to do, I suppose...

In the writing world I'm starting to find something like a routine. Small Town Secrets is in the process of being very much rewritten into a much better story. Notes on the Platinum Ticket and plans for fleshing it out continue. Over Christmas (hey, it's a comin') I am planning to begin an overhaul on Loremaster and finally submit it.

I also have a number of new ideas germinating and I am scribbling outlines and ideas as they come. All that and a doll house to build, too! Ambitious plans to be sure and we'll see where those plans take me...

Trying something new...

I've had a suggestion that I post some of my short fiction on the blog so that readers can have something...well, to read. I am adding a box in the side panel over there called Links to Fiction. Hopefully it works. Bare with me, it's my first attempt.

In the fullness of time it will become better organized, but for now, I'm making this up as I go along. Just click on the Link to Dave Beynon's Fiction Notebook and you will be taken to a new page that currently links to some of my short stories.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

Ahhh...the Bard

Well, the weekend is here and this weekend a trip to Stratford is on the agenda. Long it has been since last I bent the boards performing the Bard. In fact, it was as Lear during University. I've always loved King Lear, his fragile ego and his stupid decisions. Nice to see that leaders haven't changed all that much since Shakespeare's day.

I am not seeing Lear this time. The Merchant of Venice is on the playbill this time. Not my favourite, but still up there in the pantheon of Dramatic Delight. I haven't been to Stratford to see a play for many a year and I'm looking forward to the magic of the stage. Reviews haven't been great, but I'm fairly light on criticism when it comes to live theatre - it takes iron nerves to mount any stage for a dramatic performance and it has to be pretty shitty acting for me to say boo.

In other news, I am dedicating several hours over the weekend to put a couple of projects to bed. I will be putting together a short story of the CBC Literary Awards. I will also be finishing Small Town Secrets. I'm not entirely sure where to market it but I really like the story.

I've put some minimal notes on The Platinum Ticket and the rewrite required there but no actual fleshing out has begun.

I'm discovering that having the discipline to write has been lacking over the last weeks and I'm going to need to pull it together. The demands of the new job are only going to increase, so I've got to build writing into a solid routine now while I can. It won't be easy, but it needs to be done...