It’s been an interesting week. Among other things, I’ve started on some new heart medication that has left me feeling wiped. I’m told that I’ll adjust to it pretty quickly. I hope that’s the case. It feels like this week I’ve been able to do my time at the Day Job, sleep, aaaaand that’s about it.
I have made the effort to get out for a walk once or twice. That’s my recovery time. I can think. Let my mind wander and my thoughts regroup. I won’t say I spend that time plotting, because what happens then is preliminary to plotting. The
calls it ideation.Let me tell you, Pittsburgh is a great place for that. There’s all sorts of interesting things that you can run into that spark your imagination. You can be wandering around, lost in your own thoughts, then you look up and find yourself confronted with a doll’s head mounted on a fence, unexpected street art, or the echo of a building that’s not there anymore.
There are times when I’d swear the city is trying to get my attention. “Hey! Sam! What about this? Kind of neat, eh?” That’s how I met Trixie, the sword-wielding dog. She used to haul around a stuffed animal; now she carries a sword down these mean streets. It’s a foam sword, mind you, because the streets aren’t all that mean. But if she runs into a foam monster, she’s prepared.
And sometimes, in some parts of the city, there’s a certain quiet that descends. IT settles on you without you even noticing. Then, when you do break out of your thoughts and look up, you get the feeling there’s something watching. Always watching.
Then there’s my favorite: graffiti. Some people decry it as an eyesore. There’s something about it that inspires me, though. In more than a general way. I’ve got a novel that sprung from graffiti I saw on my walks. It’s going to take quite a bit of editing, though. One of these days, I’ll get it out there.
Anyway – that’s me. Tired, worn down, and I’ll still figure out how to make time for a walk. Even if it’s just a little stroll. It’s what keeps me going, in more ways than one.
What energizes, revitalizes, and inspires you?
The Business of Writing
A mid-week update on my three major commitments: to write, to edit, and to read.
As mentioned, new medication is leaving me feeling out of sorts. Thankfully, we’re still more or less on schedule for the Tull anthology. I need to send out updates on some of the stories tomorrow to get things rolling. You all know Heinlein’s rules of writing, right? We’re at rule #3 right now:
3. You must refrain from rewriting (except to editorial demand).
Some of the stories have minor changes & edits. A few are already strong, but could be exceptional with a tweak here or there. I want to make sure that folks have the opportunity to either rework their stories if they’re willing.
My wife and I are discussing them as we go. It’s interesting, having two editors. There are stories I like, that she feels are kind of “meh”. There are others that are reversed. She sees issues that I don’t, and vice versa. I think that putting our heads together is helping us identify stories that will have broader appeal than if I did it alone.
Plus, she’s a better copy editor than I am, by far. ;-)
I did have a short story accepted for an anthology. More on that in a week or two, I hope. I’ve had the opportunity to beta-read a couple of the stories that were submitted for this one, so I knew what kind of competition I was facing. I’m very pleased to have made the cut here.
Other Stuff
Despite medication-induced tiredness, I was able to keep things rolling at the Day Job. There was a pretty important change that needed to go in on short notice, and I managed to get it done. Yay me! Oh, and taxes. We’ve got a new accountant this year, so I’m interested to see how well he handles thing. Hopefully I won’t be writing a horribly large check next week.
Take that as a reminder. As Larry & Steve say on the WriterDojo podcast, there are only two real “rules” for fiction writing: you must entertain your readers, and you must pay your taxes. The first is hard, but it’s fun. The second is hard and it’s decidedly not fun, but it’s better than being known as “that guy who writes in prison”.
See you all next week!
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