Some notes on today
Posted by mcummings
Today, I'm enjoying the after affects of percocets. Yesterday I had two wisdom teeth removed, and surprisingly, the surgery itself was painless and completely mellow. I still had visions of huge drill bits being aimed for my mouth while syringes tipped with massive needles aimed for my gums. Reality was much more mellow and agreeable. There were no drills involved, and the layering of anesthetics was done in such a way that by the time there was a need for needles, I couldn't feel them anyway.
Granted, less than an hour after leaving the dentist it all wore off and I was in aching pain, but at the time, at the time it was all good.
Today, "trapped" at home (ie, avoiding making long term commitments behind the wheel of a car while my pain killers do their thing), I have two things to say thank you for. First, we discovered this morning that UPS had left a delivery near our door on Saturday, before the rain. Luckily it survived untouched, and so a thank you goes out to Tor and Graeme's 'I hate Mondays' contest, as this morning I unwrapped my copy of Halo: Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe. Normally not a big fan of fiction based off of movies and games, I was intrigued by this one since it features a story by Tobias Buckell, "Dirt." I'm looking forward to digging into this collection, so a thank you to Graeme and Tor for letting me do it on the cheap 
Speaking of short stories (I'm not sure why this post is rambling so much, but in my head there's a logic to it), my story Dark Lord Rising didn't make it into Clarkesworld. Not surprising (12 issues a year, with only 2 stories per issue, 1 of which is by an established author), and I'm not disappointed in the least, but it was worth trying. That and their submission process is the best out there. Today I wrote up a cover letter, packaged it an envelope, and sent it off to Fantasy & Science Fiction. It'll be 8 weeks before I hear back, plenty of time to pick another market to try it in if they don't accept it (plus, it'll come back just in time for my birthday!). I'm nervous about sending a story out there, but oddly prepared for rejection with my chin up. What struck me today, though, is that since that first burst the first few days of the new year, I haven't accomplished much in the way of writing, something I'd like to amend sooner rather than later.
That very thought was still in my head - maybe I need to write some more short stories while Rust rattles around in my head - when the mail came, and out fell the March copy of Asimov's. Why is that significant? Because as far as I know, I don't have a subscription, although the label at the bottom says my subscription is good through Feb of 2011. So to some caring, unknown person out there - thank you! Not sure if this was intended as a fun read or a kick in the pants, but I think you've done both
Climbing the summit
Posted by mcummings
Today, I'm trying to take it easy. Tomorrow morning, when on a normal day I would still be rubbing the sleepies out of my eyes while slurping coffee and getting ready for work (not realizing that its a holiday for us tomorrow), I will in reality be sitting in a chair. At a dentist's office. Mouth open. Enjoying the extraction of two wisdom teeth.
You can't conceal joy like this.
So today, I'm trying to distract myself. I have the roughest start of an outline, having agreed to not try and salvage anything from my last stab other than names and characterizations. One of the best ways to avoid writing, of course, x-box aside, is to read other blogs. The last few weeks have seen an abundance of writing advice blog posts, a common symptom of the New Year and the resolution of many bloggers to blog more and more deeply in the new year. One particularly discussion about organic versus planned versus hybrid writing I found to be particularly relevant to the treatment I'm trying to give my old WIP, as I'm coming to grips with the failings of the organic writing structure (which works so well for short stories). Mary over at Write to Done sums up the problem with organic writing as it relates to novels:
The organic writer conducts that search [for the best story we have in us] in the form of multiple drafts. During the journey they face harrowing choices, because each new idea means they need to either start over or try to somehow jam it into the narrative flow.
If they don’t start over – because that’s too much work – if they try to retrofit it into an existing structure… well, this is the great killer of organically written stories.
Gee, that's eerily familiar :/ You know, merging characters, reworking bits, the last few months of trying to nurse that November piece along. So, back to outlining for me. Remember the other day when I said maybe the problem with the novel is that I was writing the wrong one? Well, at the time I was thinking maybe I should refocus completely - instead of continually trying to write a sci-fi or fantasy novel, maybe I should try something completely different. A contemporary mystery. Historical drama. You know, like my mother would say, something normal.
Bah, who needs normal? Apparently not me, because when I sat down to try and draft out some thoughts for a "normal" story, I found some of my recent characters sitting at the table around me, pointing out how great an opportunity it was for them to have a normal story outside the context of the grand space opera in my head. Vignettes into their lives and conflicts on an individual level. Next thing I know, a normally conservative, limping Talib elbows his way to the front and starts explaining how this would be a good time for an Amerite Inquisitor to get a chance to be the star of a novel. He's doing ok so far, just having trouble not making him look like an idiot for not putting the clues together fast enough. Which is always the hard part in trying to write a novel (and I've tried enough to know) - as the author, you know all the details about the story, and I suck at keeping secrets when I'm excited (Christmas is not a good time to ask me how I'm doing - you'll likely learn everything I bought everyone in a single breath, and on the inhale I'll be asking if I can open mine yet), so it is with real restraint that I don't dump everything on the reader at the first chance. Which, typically, is why I prefer to write organically - it gives me an opportunity to learn things at the same pace as the reader.
But I can learn from my failures, I think. Organic writing ultimately leads to failure for me. I need to do this outline. Desperately. Plus, it distracts me from checking the status of Dark Lord Rising over in the Clarkesworldmagazine.com slush pile (currently at 63, started at 87 when I submitted it last night).
What Ho! Is that the smell of pounded keys?
Posted by mcummings
Yes, if I may direct your attention to the bottom right corner of the page (those of you on the RSS feed...just imagine a team of dancing llamas and you get the idea), I am adding to the works in progress counters. Not just words written for the Dreaming Pools, but I've also started adding other (new) short stories.