Literarily wandering
Awhile ago, I began writing an adventure story about a young man who encounters a strigoi while exploring the Carpathian mountainside with a band of traveling Roma musicians. At the time, the story flowed well and I felt attached to the characters.
Some eight thousand words later, I got sick and was hospitalized with pneumonia. It was a few weeks later before I returned to any writing and by then, I just didn’t feel the same connection to the characters that I did upon that first writing. Attempts to carry on with the story met with resistance and I really felt that I was ruining rather than improving the storyline. So I stepped away for awhile.
I’ve since gone back twice, and after a soul-searching/plot deconstructing session, I decided that I should ‘start over.’ Not the whole thing, but enough that it is better to begin the new draft with new words, so that the character’s ‘voice’ is consistent (it’s a first-person narrative). The plot will largely remain the same, but the character has undergone a change…he’s a bit more innocent at the start and a bit more amped-up at the end.
So here I am…I have a goodly portion of a story written, which I will use as a roadmap for the new draft, and I have an outline for the remaining storyline. What I’ve lost is my fascination with the story. I had thought that a classic strigoi storyline would vary enough from the vampire trope currently inundating us that it would be ‘fresh’ again. If a classic myth can ever be fresh. The problem is, it’s not ‘fresh’ to me anymore. I’ve done all the research I need to do, I know the characters almost too well, and I certainly know the plot backwards and forwards.
While you’d think that would make it easier to write, it doesn’t really. I suppose the structure is easier, but without the interest, it’s become work. While I’m not against writing as work (all writing is work), writing without that creative spark makes things rather dull (and that shows in the prose).
So, I have this story…a rather good story, I’d like to think…but I can’t write it yet. We need some time apart. I need to try new things and see what else is out there. Chances are I’ll go back to it soon, but only if I can do so with fresh eyes.
Until then, I think it’s time for me to blow some dust off of another character. I’ve completed one story about “Tee,” Lucifer’s Accountant on Earth, and I’m ready to revisit him for a bit. I’m looking forward to it for a few reasons, one being it should be a short tale, so I can finish it and get back on the horse, so to speak. The second, I think Tee is a very unique individual and I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s going to do next!
One Night – A worldbuilding exercise
A few weeks ago, our writing workshop held a worldbuilding exercise. The goal was to group “build” a world event, based on a limited amount of information. The starting bits which we started with were: An island resort; A convention; A suicide; And a resurrection.
Ideas were bandied about and “The Convention” element went from a meeting of dentists, doctors, and insurance salesmen all the way to demons and angels. We ended up with clowns.
The “Suicide” element really circled the room and, to begin with, people took it quite literally. Then the speculative nature of the workshop emerged and came up with the idea that, for clowns, their identity wasn’t their ‘normal self’, but their ‘clown persona.’ That concept allowed us to consider that the wiping or removal of the clown’s persona could actually represent a suicide of sorts. We ran with this as one of the better ideas of the night.
The “Resurrection,” by default, then became a rebirth of the clown persona. Fairly straightforward, once you’ve decided on the previous element, but nonetheless cool in itself.
In addition to clarifying the starting points, we needed to construct the world. A great deal of time was spent considering whether the clowns were, in fact, Evil Clowns. While that wasn’t fully embraced, the concept that the clowns were a part of a greater whole did emerge. Sort of a Freemasons, but with clowns. At the very least, a society of clowns.
Other elements were introduced as well, but none were as substantial as what I’ve mentioned here. The idea of the exercise was to allow as many viewpoints into the mix, create a general concept of the world, and then have each participant write a short, one thousand word story based in that world. The writer was free to draw upon any of the discussed upon ideas and allowed to ignore the ideas that didn’t fit their story.
The night held a few surprises, but overall it remained fun and lighthearted. The end results varied substantially, but were all interesting and creative.
For those interested in reading my entry, you can grab the pdf here: One Night – A short fiction by Michael J. Hercus.
New Chain Stories…
Several new entries have been posted to The Chain Story!
Check out: The Unpleasantness at the Circle P by Jeff Mariotte.
The Working Stiffs by Nathan Long.
And Master Blaster and the Tiger of Chinatown by Bruce Davis.
All great entries in this ongoing online anthology project…
Night of the Rat God
The first installment of The Chain Story is now up!
Check out Michael A Stackpole‘s Night of the Rat God!
Visitations
My dad’s birthday is next week. He’ll be seventy (which I can hardly believe)! He looks no older than fifty (a trait I hope to inherit). I’m very lucky that I’ll be able to visit him and be there to celebrate. I haven’t had many opportunities to be with my dad for his birthday, so this is extra special. There had been a chance that I wouldn’t be able to go– having recently immigrated to the US, I wasn’t allowed to leave again until the whole process was complete. I now have my Green Card in hand, though, so I’m allowed free travel back into the US should I leave.
Another bonus is that I’ll also be able to visit my mom around Mother’s Day. I can’t stay for the actual Sunday, but I’ll make it within a couple of days or so. She’s extra special to me and has always been there for me, so it’s nice to be there for her as well. My moving to the US hit her pretty hard, so I’m hoping that a visit will ease that pain a bit.
Since my wife hasn’t seen too much of Canada, we’ll enjoy seeing some sites that are new to us as well. It will be her first trip to Vancouver Island and her first ferry ride too! If the weather holds, it will be a great vacation for many reasons: My dad, my mom, the beautiful landscape, and sharing it all with my wife.
The first link…
The Chain Story
A few days ago, the web-presence for The Chain Story went live, heralding the beginning of something wonderful!
Several dozen writers have combined their talents to bring their readers into the 21st Century by delving into the speculative world, via the internet.
These aren’t just any writers, either. They include names such as Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Nathan Long, Michael A. Stackpole, and Robert E. Vardeman. More names will be made public in the future, but they have all earned their place in their reader’s hearts.
The concept is this: Free, high-quality short fiction, posted to the internet by the authors themselves for their readers’ enjoyment. Each story will link to the other stories via a common fictional location, known as The Wanderers’ Club.
The Wanderers’ Club is set outside of space and time, or rather, it exists in any space and time, allowing its members to share wild and wonderful stories as diverse as any imagined.
Follow the continuing adventures as each link adds to the chain…
