1968 – Wars, Assassinations, an Election and a Bike

Jane Ann McLachlan had this great idea for a blog challenge for the month of October to do one day for each of the first 25 years of your life.  This is the 5th installment.  Today is my birthday, so be gentle.

In 1968 the Dow closes at 943

Inflation was at 4.27%

Average cost of a new house: $14,950

Average income: $7850

Gasoline: $0.34 a gallon

Movie ticket: $1.50

Federal Debt $368.7 Billion

1968 is a very turbulent year.  Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are assassinated, and the Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam, effectively turning the tide in favor of the North.

Hazy Memories of 1967

Jane Ann McLachlan had this great idea for a blog challenge for the month of October to do one day for each of the first 25 years of your life.  This is the 4th installment.  BTW, Falling For Fiction is critiquing my Pitch for Clear Ether over on their website today if you want to take a peak.

In 1967 the Dow closes at 905

Inflation was at 2.78%

Average cost of a new house: $14,250

Average income: $7300

Gasoline: $0.33 a gallon

Movie ticket: $1.25

Rolling Stone magazine is first published.

Six Day War, Egypt attacks Israel.  Israel defeats Egypt and gains more territory.

Interracial Marriage declared constitutional.  Despite this, Love is a Many Splendored Thing debuts as a daytime Soap, the first to include interracial marriage, but CBS censors find it too controversial.

Blog Challenge - 1966

Jane Ann McLachlan had this great idea for a blog challenge for the month of October to do one day for each of the first 25 years of your life.  This is the 3^rd installment.

1966

In 1966 the Dow hit a high of 995 but closes at 785

Inflation was at 3.01%

Average cost of a new house: $14,200

Average income: $6900

Gasoline: $0.32 a gallon

Movie ticket: $1.25

I’m two and I have a little brother now that is one.  This year is marked by increasing troop numbers in Vietnam and increasing protests across the country.

Rock’em Sock’em Robots are introduced.  I didn’t get one just yet, but I would eventually.  Great toy!

Soviets crash a rocket into Venus and have the first soft landing on the moon, unmanned.

1965 - I turn one

Jane Ann McLachlan had this great idea for a blog challenge for the month of October to do one day for each of the first 25 years of your life. This is year two.

In 1965 the Dow closed the year at 969

Inflation was at 1.59%

Average cost of a new house: $13,600

Average income: $6450

Gasoline: $0.31 a gallon

Movie ticket: $1.25

The Voting Rights Act becomes law, guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote.

World’s 1st Skateboard Championship was held in California.  They just became a fad in 1950s and actually 1965 marks a low point in skateboarding, but even so, the 1^st championships were held and even televised on ABC.  It wasn’t until the early 70s that I finally got one of these, costing several layers of skin.

1964 Birth of a Novelist

Jane Ann McLachlan had this great idea for a blog challenge for the month of October to do one day for each of the first 25 years of your life.  So here we go, this will be a tough challenge for me, I am normally lucky to do 25 blog entries in 6 months.  October is my birth month, so it seems fitting.  So here we go!

1964

In 1964 the Dow closed the year at 874

Inflation was at 1.28%

Average cost of a new house: $13,050

Average income: $6000

Gasoline: $0.30 a gallon

Movie ticket: $1.25

Some cool things were born that year along with me, like the Ford Mustang.  I’ve always loved the Mustang.  I almost bought one this year.  I was on a Ford lot just this week and they just got a new Shelby GT convertible in Gotta Have it Green, and I about died.   It’s out of my price range but one can dream.  Ford is actually running a cool program where you customize a mustang and possibly win it. Mustang Customizer

Yes, But - No, And

I was listening to the Writing Excuses Podcast the other day in my car, when I came across this fantastic nugget of advice about how to do chapters/scenes.  How do you move forward from one chapter to the next?  You need to know how to develop the connective tissue and keep driving the story forward.  This simple trick will take you a long way to developing a story that has momentum.  You simply ask a question, is the protagonist going to accomplish his/her goal in this chapter?  You have two answers obviously, Yes or No.  The trick is thus: Yes, But and No, And.  Every chapter/scene needs to have a reason to exist other than you thought up some really cool world building stuff that you want to show off.  The Yes, but will allow you to finish minor story arcs but keep propelling the story forward.  For example, your group needs to cross a bridge in this chapter.  Will they make it across?  Yes, but on the other side they encounter a group of ruffians. 

Nine Eleven Revisited

Eleven years ago today I was at work in the morning.  I had been in this new job for almost a year.  Some of you may know, I am an Air Force Reserve Technician Pilot, meaning I am a civil servant 40 hours a week and a reserve pilot on evenings and weekends.  I was the Assistant Chief Pilot, meaning I was the scheduler for about thirty pilots in my squadron. 

That particular morning I was alone in the office, but had the television on and set to Fox News.  I was busy working on the schedule when I looked up to see the reports about an aircraft hitting the first tower.  Several weeks prior to this a small single engine aircraft had hit another building in New York, and it was simply pilot error.  I chalked it up again to some dumbass pilot getting in over his head.  It amazes me how many people get in an aircraft without much thought as to how dangerous it can be if you aren’t prepared.  I remember thinking, “Holy crap, not again.”  My focus went back to my excel spreadsheet.  We hadn’t heard anything yet about what kind of aircraft it was, so I assumed it was a similar sized plane.

Pitch Polish for Gearing Up to Get an Agent

Deana Barnhart is hosting a cool thing for writers called Gearing Up To Get An Agent or GUTGAA for short.  Hashtag on twitter and all (#GUTGAA).  It is going over several weeks with support for polishing your pitch and finding help with a critique partner.  A part of this I'm posting the current version of my pitch/query and opening it up for critiques.  

AUTHOR'S NAME: TODD MOODY
TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT: CLEAR ETHER
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE
WORD COUNT: 120,000

UPDATE:  BASED ON SOME OF THE GREAT FEEDBACK I'VE RECEIVED THIS IS A NEW VERSION.  I HOPE I HAVEN'T RUINED THE VOICE.  IT IS CERTAINLY DIFFERENT.  CONTINUED FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED!