I have pulled my 10-12K story forward to work on next week, which is a fairly reasonable goal. I know I’m going to have line edits for both DG and Spell before the end of the month, so I thought I’d concentrate on something short.
The story is one of my recycled pieces, in a way. I had originally written a fantasy tale that made me laugh hysterically but never sold. I found the idea too gripping to throw away, so I kept poking at it. Eventually I realized I could pretty much toss out everything but the core idea and start over and I’d have the makings of a very compelling E.C. type quickie. So that’s my project.
Before I wrote my first novel, I’d written a pile of short stories, most of which didn’t sell. (I think I’ve only published two short stories) When I pulled them out and starting looking at them again about a year ago, I realized that most of them contain the germ of a novel or novella and aren’t really short stories at all. I seem to pretty much just be a novelist when it comes to the kinds of ideas I have. So I’m slowly working my way through seeing which ones I want to recycle and recycling them.
I’m really happy to have a home for the kinds of stories I come up with, because the SF/F/Horror influence is so pervasive in my brain. The writers who made a profound impact on me as an early reader were Poe, Heinlein and Asimov. The first three novels I wrote, I was practically strangling myself trying to keep the weird stuff out. I abandoned my strongest story because it was beyond weird. (Yes, I’m going to finish it. My husband will kill me if I don’t. He wants to know what HAPPENS.)
Oddly enough when I made the decision to just write MY way and let it all out, I found a publisher. I mention this because so many writers are out there trying to do it “the right way” and getting nothing but frustration for their efforts, and have I ever been there. My advice now is “follow your bliss”. (Joseph Campbell was really right about that one.) There is no one right way. Everybody has their own way and the trick is finding it.
If you’re not a writer, I still believe in following your bliss. There’s a terrific book called “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow”. Everybody has their right work and I don’t believe you can be happy until you find it. It’s also my theory that the greatest rewards come when you find your right work. (Rewards are not limited to the financial, btw.)
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