You know you're a writer when...

You're sitting there, minding your own business, and a story just starts pushing itself out of your head and you've got to start typing right away or you'll lose it. This happened to me yesterday afternoon, and now I'm going to be a little busy for a while...

Steamed Up

So... "Rougarou" is over and done with - until it gets rejected again and I have to figure out if it's worth rewriting another time or if I should let it die. However... I see today that Kerlak has put out a story call and they're looking for Steampunk shorts. The due date isn't until March of next year, but now I've got steampunkery ideas spinning in my head when I should be working on the outline of my Nano Novel for the fall. Oh well...

The Fear

From a much better writer than me:

"I hate to say this," said my attorney, "but this place is getting to me. I think I'm getting the Fear."

"Nonsense," I said. "We came out hear to find the American Dream, and now that we're right in the main vortex you want to quit." I grabbed his bicep and squeezed. "You must realize," I said, "that we've found the main nerve."

"I know," he said. "That's what gives me the Fear."

-Hunter S. Thompson, of course

Down to the final stretch of the "Rougarou" revisions. So far so good, and I think it's much stronger this time, but all my little story-chess pieces are in different places on the board and The Fear has set in. Stories are like little Gordian knots sometimes, and even if what I've written so far is passingly competent, the possibility of a total literary faceplant remains. I felt this same way toward the end of my last novel, so it's not an entirely new experience.

Oh, well. Back to work. Enough dicking around, Jared. This won't hurt...

Going Into Surgery

Last month I got an editorial response to my short story "Rougarou" with requests for revisions. (Which surprised me, since I expected an outright rejection.) While helpful in general, the editor's comments weren't much on specifics. They just highlighted my strengths and weaknesses, with a very nice request to address those issues and resubmit by Sep. 15.

Yes, I've been procrastinating, and now it's time for that story to go under the knife. Step one: a total dissection. Step two: reassembly and reanimation. We'll just have to see if it starts breathing again once I hook up the electrodes to its nipples and yell "Clear!" Otherwise, I'll just have to hose off the table and bury all the bloody bits in the backyard.

Wish me luck!

(Apologies to Bill Everett - the above image is from Sub-Mariner #35, Aug. 1954.)

Let there be blog...

Well guys, on the occasion of my first short story sale (Yay Me!) I guess it's time to get a presence on the Web. You know, one of those generic blogs that I'll forget to post to and no one will ever read. I mean geez, look at it, it's just a generic template and everything. Maybe there will be more, should the need arise.

So about that sale? The story's called "The Rendezvous" and I'll have more details closer to actual publication. See, if I declare where it'll appear to the general universe, I'll practically guarantee that the publisher will go out of business before it ever sees print.

Still, hello Internet! I blog, therefore I am.