Simple Competence

Now Playing: IT NEVER ENDS by Bring Me The Horizon

Just Read: GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens--A good story, though there were parts I thought could be happier. I don't like rooting for the MC only to have him lose. Usually I don't like the old English classics, and there were definitely parts were the language bogged me down. Overall, enjoyable.

Reading Now: A DANCE WITH DRAGONS by George R.R. Martin

Got two rejections back this week from hopefuls. I send all my stories out with hope, but some of them I feel have a much better chance than others. I read the magazines I submit to, and when I write something I think fits along their vein, coupled with being a good story, I can't help but get my hopes high. 

Rejection is part of the writing career. I've always known this, and it's never yet held me down, nor will it. But getting these rejections is a cause for some introspection. What held those stories back? Why didn't they reach publication? Why might I get a note that says my story is good but not great? 

It's where I am on the ladder of a writer's progression. I am confident in labeling myself a competent amateur writer. I understand what makes a good story, and I can recognize when it's done well. It's executing it that still presents a monster challenge. 

My stories are still too simple. I get letters that describe them as predictable. Others, incomplete. Some I think are ambitious, and fall short of what I want them to be, because I don't have the skills yet to hammer them out. I am like a sketch artist who has a beautiful scene in front of him and when he looks down at his canvas sees only a pale ghost of the beauty he attempted to capture. 

The remedy? The only answer I can come up with is practice. Read a lot, write a lot. I don't have enough natural talent to do it any other way. I don't mind, necessarily. I don't mind paying my dues if it means that one day I will climb to the top. Delayed gratification might be the toughest part of this career. I mean, I have SO MANY stories in my writing folder, and none of them will see publication because they are merely competent. The kid who wrote them knew words and knew plots, but not to a degree to earn himself a place in a professional's table of contents. 

Being a writer is like being trapped at the bottom of a deep dry well. You have to produce all this junk, all these stories that will never see the light of day, pages and pages and chapters and whole novels, and eventually you have enough trash to stand on that you can climb out of the well. Only when you reach the top will your stuff be good enough to publish in a pro magazine. And the well is deep and dark and lonely. Only the toughest make it out. The others, well . . . they just sit and stare at the sky and wish and wonder. 

The Limb Less Traveled By

Now Playing: SKYRIM SOUNDTRACK by Jeremy Soule
Just Read: THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon--A great read. A bit slow at parts, but definitely one of the best written books I've read in a while. His prose is masterful.
Reading Now: GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens

After a slow January (see previous post), February went off like a rocket. I got into my groove, got excited about something, and spit out thousands of words in a matter of hours.

One of my best and oldest friends in the world, Spencer, had this dream about a stranger in a hybrid land of old west and science fiction. He imagined this stranger being the main character in a television show, one done well like a Starz or HBO original series. Spencer is a great idea-man, and a great actor, but he came to me for thoughts on how to write it.

When he first told me the idea I knew it was a winner. It's original, complex, deep, and rated R. February's W1S1 piece was Episode I, and I'm incredibly excited about it. My kitchen table is overflowing with papers bearing jotted notes, character sketches, and episode plans. I am eagerly awaiting Spencer's thoughts on it, because I can't wait to dive into Episode II.

I didn't have the first clue about writing a screenplay when I started (and, let's be honest, I still don't, really). Apparently there's a very strict format, much like standard manuscript formatting in prose fiction. I had to research all those rules and configure Microsoft Word to work for me. Then I had to read a few examples, get a feel for it, and take off. I still don't know what we're ultimately going to do with it. It's called a "Spec Script" I believe, meaning we could submit it to someone like HBO on the speculation of them liking it and wanting to produce it. Way in the future, sure, but I want to know where, ultimately, we'll take this thing.

It's always been a dream of mine to have my novel turned into a movie, but this screenplay idea is really taking hold. And the best part is that it jump-started my creativity, and now I have a few other projects ready to be tackled while I wait to hear from Spencer. So wish us luck! And if you have some insight into screenplay submission, leave me a comment! It will be much appreciated.

Ebbs and Flows

Now Playing: SKYFALL by Thomas Newman

Ebbs and flows--that's how art goes sometimes, no? Feast or famine. Drizzle or deluge. In October-November, I could barely keep up with myself. I had ideas that leaked out into completed stories even if I didn't feel like writing them. Now, I've got three or four good story ideas, and they don't want to leave my brain in search of a new home on paper.

It's been a busy January--moving to Southern California, starting a new job, getting used to a new area, making new friends and keeping up with old ones. And in times like these the first thing that suffers is my writing. The thing is, it's always something you can come back to or do later or do tomorrow. When you're a young writer, without an agent or deadline, you are the only thing that keeps you writing.

My muse is in the mirror. I write for myself, because I love it and because it's cathartic and because I wouldn't be me without it. I'm in the ebb stage now, the famine, the drizzle. Not writer's block--that's something else entirely--just writer's neglect. It's not okay, not a great way to start off the new year or my 2014 W1S1 challenge.

Listening to the Skyfall soundtrack right now, all I can think of is the new M asking, "Now then, Devin. Are you ready to get back to work?" and my response, "With pleasure, M. With pleasure."

New Year: Carte Blanche

Now Playing: ANOTHER SONG ABOUT THE WEEKEND by A Day to Remember
Just Read: BLOOD OF THE FOLD by Terry Goodkind--A solid read, nothing too complicated. This isn't my favorite fantasy epic series but I don't want to stop reading it yet either.
Reading Now: THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I'm looking forward to a great 2014!

I had goals and big dreams for this past year, and they're resurfacing now in the first week of the new year. I wanted to write a new novel, edit an old manuscript, and stay true to my Write1Sub1 commitment of writing one story per month. Each of these goals were (pretty much) accomplished. I did a drawn-out edit of an old novel that cut out several thousand words, wrote in general longer stories than 2012 each month, and won NaNoWriMo to end up with a new 50,000+ word manuscript.

My goals for 2014 are similar--patch up this newest novel and make it presentable, send out some query letters with blessings, and my main goal, to submit more vigilantly than I did in 2013 and give my stories more chances to be published.

The new year is a time to be optimistic. In hindsight, some 2013 goals and dreams fell short--I wanted to publish more stories than I did. But ultimately I don't have control over that--it's up to the slush readers and magazine editors. All I can do is write the greatest story I possibly can, and trust that one day, maybe soon, I will be rewarded for it.

Here's to 2014! Cheers, friends.

Winner Winner NaNo Dinner

Now Playing: FORTH EORLINGAS by Howard Shore

I DID IT! I WROTE 50,000 WORDS IN ONE MONTH!

Sorry, got a little excited there. It's just that I've never written anything that fast, and when I started I had no idea if I could do it or not. National Novel Writing Month struck me as a really cool idea, but I was far from confident in my ability to actually achieve it.

It's been an AWESOME month to write--I've sat down every chance I've had and hammered out this story at top speed. I feel like I know what it means to be a professional novelist now; the people who churn out the books I love to read must write like this, and somehow, even though writing is a lonely gig by nature, you feel a kind of connection with those idols of yours, and with those others out there trying to reach the same goals.

The funny thing is, knowing what it takes doesn't really make it all that much easier. It just makes it easier to self-assess, to say, "Yeah, I'm way off track, for sure." Writing the story is still a grind, one word at a time.

The novel, called "Star Born," isn't done, and it won't be for a while. I'm going to do my best to continue to write with the same dedication and fervor, but I've come up with a few things along the way, and noticed some holes that will take to time to review and patch. But that's part of the process, and I'm ready to meet the challenge head on. I think it's a great story, and I'm looking forward to seeing a finished product.

My first NaNoWriMo experience is done, and it's a win. I feel energized. I feel accomplished. I'm looking forward to reaching more goals.

Nightly Noveling

Now Playing: AVATAR FILM SCORE by James Horner
Just Read: THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE--Enjoyed more than I thought I might going in. I have read all The Dark Tower series and thought opening at back up was a risky play, but I should have known to trust a master. Very fun and very inspiring.
Reading Now: STONE OF TEARS by Terry Goodkind

I am taking part in NaNoWriMo, where participants try their best to write 50,000 words of a new novel from Nov. 1 through Dec. 1. It's about the halfway point (yesterday) so I had to have 25,000 in the bank to be on track. I'm proud to say I touched 30,000.

The novel is about a girl who lives on a generation ship heading for a new planet. As the story opens, she seems to be the only one not thrilled about Deceleration Day, which begins the countdown to landing one year away. Seeking solace among the many catwalks and narrow maintenance corridors hidden throughout the ship, she accidentally overhears something that gives her chills--a plot to sabotage the ship and ensure it never reaches its destination.

I work night shift at a hospital 3 nights a week, and since I'm currently residing across the country from my home, there isn't much to do when I sleep all day on my days off. It's worked out--few distractions, few interruptions, few temptations to get away from writing and do anything else. Just what I need to accomplish 50,000 words in a month.

NaNoWriMo is a pretty cool concept, and they've done a great job with the online community. I'm a fan of the pep talks from writers I've read and admired for a long time. One recently spoke about "The Middle" and I was reminded of the Jimmy Eat World song. That's where I'm at now--the middle of the ride, and things seems a bit slow, a bit like wading through mud (or perhaps quicksand) with the end far away, not even in sight.

"Trudging. You know? Trudging, to trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing in life except the impulse to simply . . . soldier on." -Chaucer ;)

That's me here with this novel, not really knowing how I'm going to get from here to the end.

Wait. Actually, I do. One word at a time.

A Week of SF

Now Playing: BATMAN BEGINS FILM SCORE by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Just Read: HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford--Loved it. It was cool meeting the author, refreshing to jump outside of F&SF for a bit, and rewarding to read. A great novel, and a deep well of ideas of how people interact. Well done.
Reading Now: THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE by Stephen King

For the first time in a while, "SF" for me doesn't refer to science fiction, but the wonderful city of San Francisco. Now that I'm close, I had the opportunity to spend some time there last week at the city's annual literary festival called Litquake. My friend Jared, also a writer, tipped me off to it, and I'm glad he did.

Wednesday night, I went to an event called "Northwest Novels" starring Jamie Ford, who has set his two books in Seattle. I bought the book I mentioned above, and he graciously signed it and chit-chatted with me and everyone for a bit. His wife, who's awesome, talked to me about my own writing, which was both flattering and inspiring. Also, she's a nurse! So I'm kind of like both of them put together: Writernurse!

Then Saturday, after sleeping three hours and hurrying faster than I have in my whole life, I caught a train up and sat in on two panels--one about short stories and the other about novels. Most of what I heard, I already knew, but it was helpful to have the truth grilled into me one more time--writing is hard work. One of the authors, who I thought was probably the coolest and most fun, I later discovered is well known in the F&SF world, having published many stories in the top magazines and "Year's Best" anthologies. Her name is Karen Joy Fowler, and I'm going to be reading more of her stories soon.

Afterward I went and had drinks and listened to stories at the "Litcrawl," a fun evening of bar hopping and fiction reading. I ended up at an awesome book store and cafe that sold all kinds of F&SF I've never heard of, and had shelves and shelves of discounted fiction. How can I pass that up, I ask you???? So I bought four books.

I have a book buying problem. It comes and goes.

I did the touristy stuff, too--Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, open-top bus tours, cruise around Alcatraz. San Fran is a pretty sweet city, with a rich history of literature, but like I mentioned earlier, the city's main lesson to me was that writing is hard, and the only way to do it is to show up and do it. New authors like myself can't hear that enough.