Chapter 83.6: What to do?

Recently, my wife has been updating the Web site for her company. And that's gotten me to thinking about a topic I've had on my mind a lot over the past couple of years: Should I build a Web site for myself — my writing self?

I do a little freelance work. Having a Web site might be a good way to attract more work, though to be honest, the best way is to go out and pursue it, not expect it to come to a Web site others don't know exists.

Should I try to park my domain name now and come back to the site later, when I have published books to hawk? Perhaps. But my name is already being used by someone else (probably someone named Matt Sinclair), so what would I be saving? Perhaps the name of my first book. There may be sense to do that, but does that mean I'd have to create a new site for the second book? And what if the first book is never bought and published, but the second (or third or fourth) becomes my first "real" novel? Well, I don't really know.

Then, there's also the issue of having the time. If I'm to build a site, I need to take time to do it right. As those who've visited this blog and my writing-related blog, the Elephant's Bookshelf, know, I barely have enough time to habitate this little avenue of cyberspace, so adding one more rest stop along the highway probably isn't going to make the trip any smoother.

My hope is to eventually blend this and the other blogs into one primary site for me as a writer. But I believe it makes more sense for me to take what little time I have to actually write. I have work that could be done on my "finished" novel, and query letters to send out. I also have a second novel that's begun, which has characters locked en flagrante in Antarctica. Ok, maybe that's not quite true, but I think there was some love brewing when I was last mentally visiting that little spot of ice on the world.

So for now, I'll stick with my blogs. I don't need to spend money to park something when I can always get a new domain that's named something interesting. Hope no one minds.

Chapter 80.25: Debtors, Creditors, and Editors

I've been feeling quite wonderful today, and I owe it to optimisim for the future. No, I didn't win the lottery or get a raise or even find a $20 on the street. All I did was have a wonderful interview last night with a person who conducts research at the area of Antarctica where my next novel takes place.

But there's an implicit contract with an interview, as Margaret Atwood well knows: For every debtor there is an creditor; for every interviewer there is an interviewee who expects his comments to be regarded properly and accurately.

What will come of this interview — and hopefully others — remains to be seen, but I commit to her and to the others I've communicated with about my Antarctic novel that I will work on this story as diligently as possible and give credit where it's due.

Thank you, Jill.

Chapter 71.75: Antarctica Anniversary

In light of the death of Edmund Hillary -- and my own interest in things south of the border (as I continue to research and "pre-write" sections of my next novel) -- I thought I'd note the anniversary of Captain Scott arriving at the South Pole, where he discovered that he was late to the party. Roald Amundsen and his group had been there first.

The story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott is tragic and amazing, and one that I don't have time to go into right now. But check out the original story from the New York Times, which I've linked to above and here.

Chapter 71.7: A Man Atop the World

Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died. Ad Astra, Sir Ed.

Less well known is that Hillary had ventured to Antarctica, too, the first time just a few years after his trek to the mountaintop. In fact, he died days after the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival at the South Pole. Decades later, he and Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, flew over the Arctic and landed (back when that was still possible). So Sir Ed was the first to set foot on both poles and the Everest summit.

What I like about Hillary is that he remained humble. Moreover, he helped the people of Nepal. Unlike the way these things usually happen, Tenzing Norgay, his partner on the Everest climb, became nearly as famous as Hillary; it's all too common that the white man is credited with the accomplishment (read also Matthew Henson, who was first to reach the North Pole). Only after Norgay wrote that Hillary was actually first atop Everest -- by about six feet -- did Hillary take the credit. They shared their fame. It's an example I hope other adventurers follow.