Fits and Starts

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I’ve been writing my ass off but haven’t finished any new stories to send out since the very end of May. This is how it seems to go with me. I’m not working under any deadlines, unless I occasionally stumble onto some contest or enter some kind of workshop or group, so while I keep working steadily, my finished output is uneven. I have a couple of short pieces that are nearly finished (including “Secret Skin” which I mentioned a couple of posts back), and I’d like to get those wrapped up and sent out the door in the next week or so.

Last week Lena (my wife, for those of you just tuning in) spent eight days visiting family in Indiana and I figured the time would pass more quickly if I kept busy. I spent a fair amount of time trying to push these two “almost there” pieces closer to the finish line, but I also set myself the challenge of creating a completely new story from scratch during that week.

As it turned out, I worked on “Secret Skin” less than I expected I would, and didn’t have to do too much on the other nearly-done piece, but spent lots of time on the brand new piece, plus completing another partially-complete rough draft.

So now, I’m reasonably hopeful of getting these next two finalized and submitted this week, and the rest of this month I’ll work on whacking extraneous words off these two gruesomely overwritten rough drafts. It’s entirely possible I’ll have two stories sent off into the cruel world in August, and two or even three more in September.

The Supply-Demand Problem of the Dream Job

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Music, art, acting, writing. These are activities many people undertake for fun, and only a very small percentage of those ever have an opportunity to make enough money to call it a full-time gig. Outside the creative world, jobs like “day care teacher” or “book store clerk” appeal to so many young people that businesses get away with paying the lowest possible wage, yet jobs almost never open up, and when they do there’s no shortage of applicants.

I read an article this morning about aspiring professional distance runners who lack the kind of traditional sponsorships that normally mark an athlete as “professional.” The runners in question move to Albuquerque or Flagstaff to train at altitude and get by on a sub-poverty level of income (the article mentioned $500-1,000 per month) earned from part-time jobs as waiters or retail clerks. It got me thinking about the nature of aspiration, and how some dream jobs are so common (in terms of number of dreamers, not number of job openings) that the number of people chasing after them vastly outnumber the opportunities available. These are people who work very hard, put in a level of effort that would certainly allow them to be successful in other arenas if they were inclined to pursue money-making with the same passion.

Back to the creative world again, the vast majority of struggling musicians, artists, actors and writers never make anything like a real wage for their efforts, yet still they try. This results in a horde of frustrated creative types willing to give away their work for nothing. In the music world it means fewer people are willing to pay for music because such an abundance exists of free downloads. The equivalent in the world of publishing is that web publishing and e-book publishing lead to more and more material being available to read, often free of charge or at a price like 99 cents. This makes it much more difficult for the “middle class” of creative artists to make money from their work.

Just read Caitlin R. Kiernan’s blog entry today which touches on this very thing, from a different angle. “Why does nobody worry about pissing off the artist?” Because there are so many queued up behind saying “You can piss ME off, I won’t mind. You don’t even have to pay me.”

Sometimes you have to tear down and rebuild

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Posting yesterday about a couple of my writing tools got me thinking about how the right tool (in this case, Scrivener) can make the right creative choice easier, and thus increase the likelihood that you’ll make that right choice.

I’m trying to finish a story called “Secret Skin,” which I first drafted around the time I started writing again, almost two years ago. The early drafts were something like 12,000 words long, and the story itself didn’t really justify that kind of length, so I spent a ton of time cutting, re-writing, cutting, re-writing and eventually hacked it down to 5,000 words with all the magic gone. After a while, tired of worrying about this story, I set it aside and worked on other things.

I picked it up again recently, and realized it still needed… something. I was having difficulty seeing what some of the scenes were about, and how to sharpen them, even though the overall arc of the story still made sense to me. I had worked on the story in Scrivener for a long time, and eventually considered it close enough to a final draft that I moved it to a Word .DOC, and I’d been hacking away on that for countless hours. I started to feel discouraged about the story, even though I loved the main character and the dangerous female he encounters, and the strangers who cause them problems. I just couldn’t see clearly what it needed next. Where to cut, what to build up, how to restructure or resequence.

I decided to take a step back, import the story back into Scrivener, break it down into scenes again and do a “reverse outline” (a trick I frequently use, which is instead of making an outline you intend to turn into a story, take an existing story and reduce it down to an after-the-fact outline — a way of zooming out to take a wide view of your story). I realized, when I looked at the story this way, that several of the scenes were kind of muddy, because they were really several scenes run together. Sometimes it just makes more sense when scenes are clearly delineated. I turned a 5-scene story into an 8-scene story just by chopping some of the over-complex scenes into pieces that made better sense.

It wasn’t just a matter of breaking scenes apart, but once they were split into more logical segments, I was able to zero in on each scene and quickly assess what needed to happen, what the reader needed to learn, and what the point of the scene is within the story. In other words, jam two separate scenes together and you end up with this shapeless thing that’s hard to figure out. Break the pieces back apart again and it’s much easier to see how to improve the shape of each.

I might have been able to approximate this using MS Word, but Scrivener is built for this kind of thing. I love using it to evaluate structure, move things around, combine them, break them apart, and figure out what works. It’s harder to cut/copy/paste big blocks of text in Word, or to make multiple printouts and chop them up and edit that way, at least for me.

I give Scrivener a lot of credit for my ability to zero in on what each scene needed, and finally get “Secret Skin” close to ready to submit.

Writing Tools and Process

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I often find the processes of other writers interesting, though my level of interest in a given writer’s process and tools is not really proportionate to my interest in their work. Some people create brilliant stuff with a fountain pen and legal pads, and only type everything up at the last stage because editors can’t read their scribbles. Cormac McCarthy, perhaps the greatest living writer in the English language, works with a relatively antique typewriter. And the great majority of those writers who embrace the word processor content themselves with Microsoft Word, and maybe some kind of outlining, organization or mind-mapping program.

I scratch out ideas in several ways — lots of hand-written scraps, notes and outlines litter my desk at any given time, and I also make short voice recordings on my phone if I think of something while I’m driving — and I type these into Evernote. Evernote is especially useful to me because it’s available in versions for Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and others. You can type notes into it, store PDFs or JPGs from research, even save audio clips for later transcription. Each note can be tagged with multiple tags, so if I know a tag is related to a certain story, I tag it with that story’s name, and all that story’s notes are connected. If I’m not sure what story the note relates to, I give it some other tag like “character ideas” or “story seeds” or something like that, so I know how ti find it later. You can also search within Evernote for keywords, so if you want to find everything you’ve written or saved relating to “cosplay,” for example, everything containing that keyword will come up regardless of tagging. All your Evernote content is kept synchronized between all your computers and devices, so if you save a note at home and want to refer to it on your phone (assuming you have an iPhone or Droid) you can access it. I even save things like lists of books I’m searching for, or liquors I want to try, so I can refer to these lists when I’m in the store. I can’t say enough good things about Evernote. It’s even free, as long as you don’t need to upload enormous amounts of data every month, in which case there’s a paid option.

Once I’m in the process of starting a story, whether it’s in outline form, character lists, or if I just want to plunge right in and start writing, I use Scrivener. Until recently it’s been a Mac-only program, but they’re coming out with Windows and Linux versions which are (as of this writing) available in free public beta if you want to check them out. The beta versions are not yet feature-equivalent with the Mac version but the gap is narrowing.

Scrivener is much more than a word processor, and integrates several features for which writers might use different applications. The built-in outlining features are very useful. I love the idea of building my outline, deciding on a scene structure, writing a brief synopsis of what happens in each scene within the outlining format, and then going right in to start drafting each scene’s text (I use the full-screen mode for this, so it replaces such “distraction-free” writing environments as WriteRoom, ByWord, or Q10), with the option of popping-up a little “info” window which display’s the scene’s synopsis info for my reference. I can even drop in research or reference materials (such as photo reference for characters or locations) so they display where I can see them while I write. I find it really useful to treat each scene as discrete object, with its own notes and its own word count. In the outline mode, you can very easily drag the scenes around into a different sequence. It sounds like something that wouldn’t be useful very often, but I’ve been surprised at how often it’s helped my thought process to imagine events happening in a different sequence.

I do use Microsoft Word, but only at the final stage, when I’m absolutely certain all my story’s scenes are in the right sequence and in very nearly final form. I use the “compile draft” feature in Scrivener to output an RTF document, open this in Word, and make sure the scenes flow when read in sequence, and that formatting is just right. Since this is the final format I use for critique or submission, it makes sense to let the story exist in this form for a while before I let it loose. I could probably use Open Office for this, but I already own a copy of Word. If I had to re-purchase Word, I’d probably switch to something else.

If I had to get by with only a single tool for my writing, I’d get rid of my fountain pens and all the rest, and go with Scrivener. It’s flexible enough that it could be use for note-sorting and organization in a way similar to how I use Evernote. I’d probably spend a little more time fine-tuning the “export to RTF” settings, forego the final “check it out in Word” process, and go straight from Scrivener to submission-ready output.

As for hardware, I have an Apple MacBook Pro, the 17″ display version. When I’m using it at the desk I have it connected to a second monitor, a 23″ high resolution Samsung, so I have two desktops, and in this setup I also use an Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Quite often I cut loose all the connections and sit with just the laptop, as that 17″ display is extremely pixel-dense and displays even higher resolution than the 23″ monitor. It’s great in stand-alone mode like this, and just like I said I could get by with Scrivener alone if forced to simplify, I’d happily work on just the laptop, no peripherals at all. 

Links: 

http://www.evernote.com/

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

All different kinds of busy

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I’m generally overscheduled, stretched too thin, and often exhausted. I’m used to it. For the most part, I like it. I find that having diverse activities keeps me balanced, and prevents me from getting too focused on any one thing.

The ups and downs of the different elements of my life happen on unsynchronized schedules, and tend to offset.

The tension of a stressful period at my day job finds outlet in a series of extra-hard evening workouts.

Feeling disappointed about a bunch of short fiction rejections hitting my inbox rapid fire? There are few things in life as humbling as making an attempt at something, only to fail 100% of the time for some long stretch. But then I put some effort into working on music or the record label, and find reassurance that an audience receptive to my creative output exists.

When I zero in too much on just one thing, the ups and downs take on an outsized importance. We all fantasize about being able to apply ourselves without distraction to THAT ONE THING, yet when life becomes that narrowly focused, it can be scary.

I remember talking to one of my favorite creative artists, who is able to make a living just about entirely from his art. I probably expressed envy, something about how nice it would be to wake up in the morning and worry about nothing except working on music. But this guy said, “I don’t know, I think it’s better to have a day job, because once you put the burden of making a living onto your music, it becomes an obligation.”
Not that I don’t still fantasize about eventually being able to have more time to focus on creative work, but at least for now I try to be thankful that the busyness and fullness of my life make it easier to deal with the speed bumps that occur on any single track.

Quickie review: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

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When is a book that you give 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads a minor disappointment? I guess when it’s uneven, and held back by weaker material in the middle that could have been left out.

At its best, 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill is a top-notch collection of creepy, Twilight Zone influence dark fantasy and horror. It’s worth pointing out, now that everybody now knows Joe is Stephen King’s son, that despite that parentage, and the word “ghosts” in the collection title and “horror” in the title of the first story, this isn’t really a horror collection. A few stories have a psychological horror “tingle,” and some include horror elements, but overall the mood is pretty quiet.

Overall the collection shows above-average strength, but in my opinion that 4-star level is not reached by a bunch of 4-star stories, but a mix ranging from the fantastic (such as “Best New Horror,” “Pop Art,” and the title story) to the mundane and disappointing. Several more tepid pieces fill out the middle, and for me dissipate some of the energy built up in the best stuff at the very beginning and the end.

The worst thing I can say about it is that I had completely forgotten all details of several of the stories by the time I finished the book, and had to refer back to the table of contents to remind myself what happened in between the more powerful beginning and end. On the positive side, there is some really strong, wonderful material in here and I’d rather judge a story collection by its strongest pieces than the weaker ones. To be fair, this is Hill’s first collection and first book of any kind, so it includes some of his earliest published work. Hill made clear with his subsequent books (two very enjoyable novels, Heart Shaped Box and Horns) that his star is ascendant.

Ideally the editors might have removed a few of the less inspired or energetic stories from the middle, such as “You Will Hear the Locust Sing,” “Abraham’s Boys,” “In the Rundown,” and “Better Than Home” and either present a shorter collection with higher impact, or include instead some newer material more on the level of the best pieces at the very beginning and end. I think I’d rather read a 200 page book that sustains its strength, than a 300 page book with some 3-star stories in the middle.

I’d hate to bitch too much about a collection with great stuff in it like “Pop Art” and “Best New Horror.” If I seem somewhat disappointed, it’s just that unevenness through the middle. I’ve read some great story collections recently, and at one point thought this one might be right up there,but it’s still worth checking out. Just skip a few of the stories in the middle, if they seem to you like they might be drifting a little.

I try to stop spinning

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Things have been flat-out crazy around here for almost two weeks. House guests, including a brief vacation to make a beach trip with those visitors, plus a bit of travel related to the day job, and extra busy-ness in advance of that trip. I’m left feeling a bit disoriented and somewhat exhausted, but I feel it’s a good thing to take a break from one’s routine once in a while.

Today I locked myself in the office all day, sorted through a lot of mess, and took care of a variety of projects that have been on hold for a while. I look forward to getting back to the grind, and reporting here on a variety of matters. I have a few stories held for consideration at various magazines, so I hope to have some good news to report soon. Past experience has taught me that not every story that makes the “final cut” ends up resulting in publication, but that same experience has taught me that some fo that time, that’s exactly what happens. I’d settle for one out of three, among these current “held for consideration” or “recommended to the main editor” pieces.

Writers of the Future, Q2 Entry

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Almost every unpublished or barely-published genre writer I know submits regularly to the Writers of the Future contest, an award limited to promising writers who lack “pro” publication credits. The funny thing about this is that non-writers are pretty much 100% unaware of the contest, and would be surprised to hear it’s considered so prestigious, or such a top-tier market for aspiring writers. I assume the award’s high standing is mostly due to the comparatively large monetary award (up to $1,000 for a quarterly win plus up to $5,000 more for an annual win), but even for less money-focused writers the award is considered something you’re expected to shoot for until you’ve had enough professional publication credits that you’re no longer eligible.

Though I respect the list of more established writers who have made their way up through the WOTF awards, and have been entering every quarter for a little over a year, I also realize that many of my own favorite writers never won, so I won’t be too heartbroken if it never happens for me.

Today I received notification that I received an “Honorable Mention” for my Q2 (this is actually the quarter ending March 30th) entry. All my previous entries had been outright rejections. Aside from the overall winner and 2nd and 3rd awards, WOTF gives “Finalist” and “Semi-Finalist” and “Honorable Mention” awards, so while I didn’t quite reach the highest tiers, this is still a nice bit of positive feedback. Just yesterday I submitted my Q3 story, so maybe after a handful of rejections, I’ll climb up from HM to SF to F to The Winnah!

The Ones That Got Away

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Just finished reading a very fine story collection by Stephen Graham Jones called The Ones That Got Away. It’s not The Ones WHO Got Away. There’s a story called “The Ones Who Got Away” but the collection’s title changes one word. No, really, it’s OK if you’re confused.

The Ones That Got Away by Stephen Graham Jones

The book collects thirteen stories published in a variety of venues ranging from more obscure journals and anthologies to the more prominent such as Cemetary Dance. In his story notes at the end, Jones offers entertaining and casual insights into the conception and crafting of each story, and in some cases talks about different versions of the story that existed along the way before he found a way to tell what he wanted told. I love this kind of stuff! It reminds me of the story notes that were always part of Harlan Ellison’s collections, which I looked forward to as much as the stories themselves. Jones seems to have such a humble attitude and likeable personality I imagine most readers will enjoy these bits, even those not looking for insight into the craft of writing.

I’ve always preferred horror fiction with a greater emphasis on character and story than on monsters and gore. Sometimes, though, horror fiction with literary aspirations takes this too far, and downplays the horrific aspect so much the end result is not horror at all, but a vague, low-key sort of ennui. This collection manages that balance perfectly, with plenty of gruesome details and chilling scenes that never become gratuitous or cause eye-rolls.

The first story, “Father, Son, Holy Rabbit” is exemplary. It’s a beautiful, sensitive story of fatherly love for a son, yet it’s also a tale so gruesome and disturbing as to cause nightmares. Despite its brevity, this story carries a serious payload.

Some stories are stronger than others, as in any collection, but not one is less than good. I suppose “The Meat Tree” is the one I feel could be removed without weakening the whole. In every other case, Jones combines a vivid conceptual imagination with convincing characters and conveys the whole in an engrossing voice. The final novella (“Crawlspace,” original to this collection) is some of the most gripping and anxiety-producing fiction I’ve ever read. It’s hard to imagine a reader making it from the first story to the last without being impressed.

The book was a finalist for a “Best Collection” Bram Stoker award, but was matched-up against the potent and masterful Occultation by Laird Barron (who wrote the introduction to Jones’s collection), and the book that won the award, Full Dark, No Stars by the world’s most popular author (doing some of his best work here) Stephen King.

Some writers exhibit a single strength, but Jones has all the bases covered. His writing has an edge without losing accessibility, his stories address familiar tropes and concepts in a way that seems fresh, and he seems in every case fully in control of his world, its mood, and the effect it has on the reader. I recommend this book, and it has definitely convinced me to seek out other works by Jones.

Super 8

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We rarely venture out to the movie theater lately, just maybe once or twice a year for “event” flicks. Our home theater is a great place for movie-watching, and that “pause” button, combined with easy access to food, drink and restrooms makes the decision easier.

Recently, though, we ventured out to see Super 8. It’s directly by JJ Abrams, but felt more like a Spielberg film (he produced), with similarities to both ET and Goonies, as well as the “hyperactive kids making their own low budget super 8mm films” aspect of Spielberg’s own childhood.

Cloverfield, produced by Abrams, is another influence, in that something spooky is happening and the characters run around reacting to it for a long time before the audience actually sees it.

As these influences or touchstones might imply Super 8 is equal parts implausible childhood fantasy and scary-intense, borderline horrific monster movie. There are lots of thrills here — a “crash” set piece early in the film is one of the more jarring things I’ve ever seen in a movie theater — and the expected chases and frights work well. It shifts gears toward the end, and really lets up on the sense of threat in favor of a more family-friendly resolution. I didn’t mind because the whole thing was so much fun.

I have a feeling anybody who lived through the 70s in suburbia would find this depiction of that reality as convincing and familiar as I did. Usually in recent cinema and television the look and feel of the 70s is ridiculed or played for comedy, which is understandable given some of the styles of fashion and interior decorating we all remember, but Abrams plays that aspect completely straight. It really took me back to the era of Pong, before cable TV and even before home video, when a telephone wasn’t something in your pocket but a big hunk of plastic with a rotary dial. I usually don’t have much fondness for the look and feel of the 70s, but Super 8 made me feel pleasantly nostalgic about it all.