Two items of note for my short story collection 10 Pairs of Shorts:
1. I have concept art for the cover. Even ebooks need covers. I’m hoping to have something a little more professional than some self-published books. I’m not suggesting the below is not professional by example. I mean, there is no Comic Sans used at all. Still.
2. Another story is more or less ready for the collection, bringing the total up to six of 20 or three pairs of shorts. I hope to have another half-pair ready by next week.
I decided to put together a spreadsheet that would finally collect together all of my various writing projects from over the years.
I left out anything that was little more than a sketch or idea. It had to have at least enough substance to count as unfinished to make the list. I also left out all of the treasure of my youth that were scrawled in crayon, written with a leaky fountain pen (they all leaked) or made via the incredible clatter of my portable Smith Corona typewriter, which looked very much like this one (yes, it was blue and it was awesome…at making a racket):
“I can’t hear you, I’m creating art!”
In the end I was somewhat surprised to have sixty stories listed, ranging from finished copies suitable for publication/framing/lining bird cages to others that were little more than a few rough scenes desperately clinging to life. Fittingly, one of these is a short story called “Writer’s Block”.
I’ll edit this post to go into a bit more detail about the genres and so on soon.
After some very good feedback on my writing within the increasingly awkward confines of the private messaging system of Broken Forum I decided to go all out and create an entirely new forum devoted specifically for new(ish) writers to receive (and give) feedback on writing projects.
It’s called slightrewrite.com (the name was coined by kerzain, one of the members of both BF and now SR). I’d forgotten how fun it was to code basic HTML and CSS, to configure a forum and get everything working just right. And then when it doesn’t the hosting company suggests you upgrade your host package ($$$) so you do and then hope it really runs properly.
The forum is only intended for a small group of people so I’m not looking to strike it big here. In fact that would almost certainly lead to more headaches than it would be worth, so just ignore this post, OK?
If it works for even one person (it doesn’t even have to be me) I’ll consider the endeavor worthwhile.
Back in the old days writers used to face hazards like getting lead poisoning from pencils, being stabbed by critics with ivory-handled fountain pens or getting eaten by a bear, as writers would often be forced to write outside to have sufficient light and bears were pretty much everywhere back then.
By comparison today’s writers have it pretty easy. We have computers to write with. We have delete keys. We have indoor lights and doors that can lock and keep out bears. But there are still perils to writing, even in this modern age of flying cars and zero calorie sodas.
This week I could not work on my writing on my lunch break, even though I took my laptop with me to work every day and it was in perfect working order. What prevented me from writing? Was it a sudden zombie apocalypse? Did aliens blanket the world with rays that prevented the normal operation of all electronic devices? A little of both?
No, it was perhaps worse than these things. The wireless network was acting flaky, forcing me to use my laptop in scary offline mode. Suddenly the world was at my fingertips but instead of offering a bounty of knowledge and diversion it offered stony silence. Not to mention plenty of “this page cannot be displayed”. No big deal normally (lie) but I keep my writing in the cloud, specifically the very popular Dropbox. With no wireless access my Dropbox folder was inert. Sure, I could have made my important stuff available for offline mode but that sort of planning (like outlines) is for losers.
The thought of writing something entirely new from scratch this early in the new year was too frightening and so I simply ate my lunch and listened to ABBA. Somewhere Harlan Ellison was laughing at me as he finished another handwritten page in one of his many legal pads.
But you wait. When the zombie apocalypse does arrive, what do you think will be more effective in braining a zombie? My computer or Harlan’s legal pad?
As part of a writing exercise a few years back I wrote the following. The exercise was to write something where each line used the next letter of the alphabet. It’s not a poem, really, because it has no meter or whatever it is poems have.
At the start it was just another minor medical news story.
But then I saw a man in the alley behind Tara’s Organic Foods.
Clutching a cat in his hands, he chomped on it like a burger.
Dumbfounded I watched until he’d had his fill.
Eyes turned on me and he sprinted, blood spraying from his lips.
Five days later the police shot him as he dined on a doberman.
Good news, the doctors told me, you can return to work.
Health care officials stream past my office in panel vans.
I’m told it’s nothing when I ask, nothing to worry about.
Just keep your nose down (and on your face).
Killings continue, more pets and then an old man named Gus.
Loner, outcast, found under the train trestle, no pics please.
More health care officials in their vans, DO NOT WORRY.
No suspect yet but we have leads, we have leads.
On the tenth day a woman is found on the street.
Painted on the pavement in her own blood.
Questioning a health official, I am pushed away.
Reassurances are made but I recognize the fear.
Safety will not be found here anymore.
Taking an hour, I pack what I need, my survival kit.
Under one arm I cradle a gun I just bought.
Veiled eyes follow as I go to my car.
Watching as I drive away.
X-rays revealed nothing at the time.
Yet I cannot deny the events behind Tara’s.
Zombies have come and I’m in the mood for brains.
When I next post about this (take two) it will be after I’ve turned this a poem. I expect it to be wretched, perhaps gloriously so.
In 2014 (one day from now, though this is not something that will actually be happening tomorrow, barring some kind of time travel trickery) I will be self-publishing my first short story collection. After looking over the collected stories I have written and weeding out those either not ready or not up to par I have settled on twenty for a collection that will be titled 10 Pairs of Shorts. Clever, eh? Here are the stories:
At the Door
Cervidae
Hello?
Learning to Die
Lily Tries to Go Shopping
Rainy Day
Slice of Life
Stop That Cow!
The Broken Bridge
The Cobalt Sensation
The Chicago 8 vs. Armageddon
The Chicago 8 vs. Time
The Dream of the Buckford County Church
The Lunch Gnome
The Sometimes Island
Dented World
Regina and the Shortcut with Teeth
The Box on the Bench
The Bear (working title)
Swimmers and Fog (working title)
This list is subject to change on my whim but I am fairly certain I will stick with this selection.
Here are some broad classifications:
Drama (nothing spooky/supernatural): 2
Superhero: 3
Science fiction: 3
Horror/weird: 12
You can see where my wheelhouse is. I love me some weird stories.
The twenty titles are in various states of completion, ranging from ready to go to “this is a neat idea”. The breakdown:
Ready to go: 6
Need revision: 9
Unfinished: 3
Unwritten: 2
It’s possible I may drop the two unwritten stories in exchange for others already completed, other entirely new stories or for nothing at all, with the collection re-titled 9 Pairs of Shorts as a result.
I don’t have a firm date for publication beyond 2014 but will post updates occasionally on my progress in getting there, with a big glitzy announcement when the happy day arrives and I start demanding all of my friends prove their friendship through purchasing as many copies of the collection as they can comfortably afford.
2,957 words per day average (NaNoWriMo average needed is 1,667)
Longest period of non-writing while still participating: 5
I am one of those writers who eschews outlines, preferring to let the story organically grow as I write it. The biggest plus of this method is that it keeps me engaged because, much like a reader, I want to keep going to find out what happens next. The big negative comes if the story is not much more than a loose idea or concept. If I don’t have some kind of guidance the story can go down rambling dead ends and it can be difficult or impossible to find my way back to a semblance of plot structure.
This is what happened this year. I saw a general big picture, I had three characters, each with a clear identity, personality and purpose. But after a few scenes I found myself unable to hammer out specifics to keep the story moving. The writing ground to a halt a few days in then picked up and sputtered along about a week later before finally stopping slightly over halfway through the month.
I don’t think I needed a formal outline for the story to have succeeded but I did need more than just a neat idea with few details to back it up. The good news is I can still make this story work, especially now that I am free of the constraints of the contest.
I am not sure if I will continue to participate in future National Novel Writing Months. Reflecting back on my five tries the best thing has probably been the sense of community while taking part, first on the Quarter to Three forums and for the past two years on Broken Forum. It’s enjoyable to see everyone discuss their writing travails and triumphs, give and respond to feedback, and to silently mock those whose lofty goals always fall short on the weakest of excuses (the writer equivalent of “the dog ate my homework”).
The other aspect that has been useful is the whole writing kick-in-the-pants the structure of the contest gives you. If you find yourself lacking motivation there are worse things you can do that join in a global effort to crank out a novel in 30 days, something (as mentioned above) that requires a commitment of about 1,667 words per day. The thing here is that if I am maintaining discipline I should never need to take part in NaNoWriMo for that kick in the pants.
My feeling at this time is I probably won’t take part in National Novel Writing Month 2014. I have more than enough on my writing plate as it is to keep me busy all of next year, some of the work being the two successful NaNoWriMo projects from 2009 and 2012.
In the end and as always, I regret nothing*.
* a lie. I regret many things but shrug and move on
This will be a short update for reasons that will be clear as you read on.
Namely, I am behind. As of today, November 20th, I should have a word count of at least 33,340 to be on track. Instead I am officially at 22,340 or exactly 11,000 words (6.5 days) behind. I’m actually not quite that far behind because I’ve written more scenes in a Word document that hasn’t been added yet to the main Scrivener file but I am behind.
But that’s okay because I’m confident I’ll finish the story, whether it’s on November 30th or sometime after. I think it’ll be a good ride.
I’m not sure if I’ll NaNoWriMo again next year, though. I think my time may be better spent working on less “gimmicky” writing. We shall see.
Today marks the official start of National Novel Writing Month 2013 and I managed to come up with a vague yet somewhat attractive idea two whole days ago, so I’m running with it.
The first day was a success! I didn’t really start writing until 9:30 p.m. but ended up coming it at 2049 words, a generous bit above the daily 1667 word minimum.
The tentative title of my novel is The Start of the World, though that will change. I just can’t think of a better title right now.
Stats from Day 1:
Words: 2049 Music: Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms; The Moody Blues, Long Distance Voyager
I have officially set October 15th, the halfway point(ish) of the month as when I will panic if I don’t have a firm story in mind for National Novel Writing Month.
October 15th is three days from now. I’m sure I’ll have an idea. Oh yes.
To help prepare the way I have added the word count widget from the NaNoWriMo site to the blog. Come November 1st it will start tracking on a daily basis my stupendous output on the quest to completing a 50,000 word mini-opus.
Should I find myself in the unthinkable position of not having a plot ready to go, here are three I grabbed from a plot generator site, each lending itself to literary greatness:
One evening, a widow and a strange boy try to find a game possessed by the spirit of a boy after playing with a disturbing puppet.
One day, a young widow and a lost widow transform a widower into the heart of a mental patient. [this generator really likes widows]
A barking dentist takes over the world under the bed and discovers another world.
I kind of like the last one, at least the “discovers another world” part, though perhaps if the barking dentist were a dog that would add another unexpected twist.
These were culled from the Springhole.net plot generator site. As with most generators the results are silly but can provide a spark. Especially if you like widows.
Having looked over more of the stories that I plan to gather together into a collection I’ve concluded that meeting my self-imposed deadline of year’s end will require winning the lottery so I can devote all my time to writing, a miracle on the level of something that would make for a snazzy short story or some combination thereof.
The main problem is that although I have a lot of completed stories, they are not finished. Most are first drafts and a number of them are rough first drafts or simply reflect a level of writing quality that I feel falls short of what I am capable of now. Why toss a bunch of mediocre stories into a collection? That’s not going to make for good dust jacket quotes. “From the author that brought you the so-so collection 10 Pairs of Shorts comes his latest average novel!”
Instead of mildly freaking out about this as I once might have, I’ve adopted a more sanguine attitude. The collection will continue to be worked on regularly but I’m no longer going to pressure myself with the arbitrary deadline of December 31, 2013. Besides, everyone will be drunk that night and won’t want to read, anyway.
Going forward I’m going to work on the collection at a more relaxed pace, dive back into the next draft of The Ferry and start doing the prep work for my NaNoWriMo 2013 novel, which will, I promise*, be a spectacle to behold.
