Unspoken Words

The content of my short guide, How To Survive Online Writing Forums, has been added to the blog and has its own page.  It’s still available on the Critters Bar writing forum, and a pdf version is also available for download from the blog page. All comments welcome.

The Novel

Yes, yes, yes, I know I said I’d start writing it in June.

No, no, no, I haven’t started yet.

What’s it to you, Big Nose?

I’m still reading as much contemporary science fiction as I can, and mostly enjoying it. I’m also reading up on science fact – latest theories on time travel, black holes, worm holes, parallel universes and that kind of thing. There’s some really interesting stuff out there (no, really, there is). Anyway, I consider this to be an essential part of my preparation for writing the novel and won’t begin writing until I feel that I’m ready. Right now, I’d expect that to be just after Christmas. Maybe even January 1st. But if I’m not ready then, it’ll be when I am.

However, I still intend to have the novel written and revised by the end of 2010. That has always been the case and that’s still the case, so, even though the start has slipped by months, I plan to have it ready on time. How? Well, simply put, the original plan was really lazy and assumed a typing speed of around 30 words a fortnight with time off for good behaviour, or something equally as silly. I know I can write it faster than originally planned, comfortably in fact, so that’s what I’ll do. Okay?

Critters Bar

I love that place. But I haven’t been there in over a month. What? Well, Ian Rochford has kindly taken over the admin role (thanks Ian), and I’m taking time out not only from Critters Bar but from all such writing forums and online gathering places for a while so that I can concentrate on the novel. It’s hard. I do miss the interaction. But it’s got to be done. The last 12 months I’ve managed to set myself free from all kinds of things in order to free up time for the novel, and pulling out of Critters Bar for a while was the last step. I will be back, I’m just not sure when right now.

Goldfish Bowl

Still meeting up with other writers locally every couple of weeks, and last night we had a workshop on ‘the opening’, the second such workshop as we had one on characterisation a couple of meetings ago. Anyhow, it seemed to go down pretty well and though we were relatively light on numbers the discussion was very worthwhile and we ended up over-running.

Writing

The last stuff I wrote was during the July Blast story-a-day initiative in Critters Bar, and I think I managed about 16 or 17 pieces during the month, something like that. Not quite one a day, but still. Anyway, Dogzplot Flash Fiction took one of the pieces (Chrono-something) from the July Blast recently:

http://dogzplot.blogspot.com/2009/10/chromo-something-bob-jacobs.html

and the good folks over at The Pygmy Giant recently took one (Imperfectly Formed):

http://thepygmygiant.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/imperfectly-formed/

and Every Day Fiction are due to put one up (Broken Waters) on November 26th:

http://www.everydayfiction.com/

Yes, yes, yes, I know they’re very short. Yes, yes, yes, I know they’re very simple. If you want something longer and more meaningful you’ll have to wait for the novel, which is thirteen-point-something months away from being completed (let alone published). But it’ll be worth the wait. Honest.

And those places are all worth a visit if you’re looking for some short fiction to read.

Okay. That’s all for now, folks.

This week the July Blast got underway in Critters Bar. A small number of us are trying to write a story a day for the month of July.

Rules, there are none. You write. You post. Write. Post. You make it or you don’t. Midway through the month ideas and energy are usually getting like rocking horse shite.

Quality isn’t an issue. If you want to crash something out and post it, that’s cool. If you want to polish it before posting, that’s cool too. What matters is that you sit down and write. Or stand up and write, it’s really down to you.

Can’t write every day? No problem. Average one a day and post thirty-one stories by the end of the month. It’s a personal journey, you don’t owe anyone anything. If you make it, great. If you don’t, no-one will hold it against you.

What happens to the stories afterwards? Sometimes nothing. Sometimes they’re polished until they shine and get subbed. Some of them will almost certainly appear in ezines or magazines.

Have you written anything today?

Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.

Skive Magazine issue 11 dropped through my letterbox yesterday. It contains my first ever published poem, Ode to an Ugly Woman. It’s a short poem, light humour, and is one of only about a dozen poems that I’ve written in my entire life, which isn’t bad seeing – as I’m constantly saying – that I’m not a poet. My thanks to Matt Ward for taking the poem for Skive Magazine.

And while I’m here, let me plug Skive Magazine, and Matt Ward, for a minute. My first ever published short story, Meet Shakespeare, appeared in Skive’s online magazine in 2004 and Matt accepted several more during the following year.

Since then Skive has moved from being an online ezine to a quarterly printed mag and Matt does a thoroughly professional job of managing it.

Earlier this year he was the driving force behind producing an anthology of short stories for members of Critters Bar. After a couple of aborted attempts by the members over the previous few years, Matt stepped in and made it all happen very quickly.

Matt’s not alone in doing this kind of thing. Many other ezines and print mags start up, some fade away quickly while others survive, and these places give new writers an outlet for their work and an opportunity to experience the whole business of submitting work, rejection and acceptance, helping them to build confidence.

Appearing in Skive doesn’t put us on a par with Hemingway or Carver. But it does give new writers something to feel good about, particularly when a shiny mag drops through the letterbox with our work in. For that, I thank Matt Ward and Skive Magazine, and all those like them.