I’ve got a computer, but it’s in my basement. If I want to be cold, alone, and worry about my monitor losing signal, and going blank (which forces a reboot), it’s a good place to write.

I’ve also got a laptop (Actually, it’s my wife’s–Mine died about four years ago.). The battery is going bad. The display is on the fritz just like the monitor in the basement. To prevent the screen from going blank, I had to strip off the front cover, tape down the wiring, and leave the screen portion open and exposed at all times. I’m afraid any attempts to move it or take it places could cause it to go blank permanently.

And then there’s my work computer. It’s pretty nice, actually. All up to date and there’s two monitors and both of them work. But work’s been keeping me pretty busy these days. I can’t really expect to write much during breaks, either, because if I’m sitting at my desk, my coworkers think I’m on the clock and ask me for help. And I’m the kind of guy who helps out even if I’m on break.

Supposing I could write uninterrupted for 15 minutes twice a day, it’s difficult for me to get into a writing mode in such a short period of time. On the same token when I do somehow manage, it’s too easy to lose track of time.

Obviously I need a new computer. But for now I’m using Swype. Yes, I’m Swyping my right into my Android Phone.

This post? Swyped comfortably from my bed.

Fiction? Yup. I’m halfway through writing one of those short stories that I’ve been meaning to write this year. And I owe it all to the portability of Swyping. I can pop out my phone and start writing or editing whenever I have free time. Those spare minutes throughout the day really do add up. While it’s still difficult to get into ‘writing mode’, at least it’s progress.

I’m seriously considering Swyping my novel revision. I mean, if it’s working, then why not?

Okay folks, this is how I write a short story.

THE THEME~

The theme for my first four stories is ‘Death and cheating  death’.

Why did I choose that theme? Because some of my favorite  stories deal with death.

Here’s an example:
http://www.flashfictiononline.com/f20090201-golden-pepper-jay-lake.html

When I think of death, I think of how hard it can be to say  goodbye, and how everyone meets death in the end, regardless  of how high and mighty their station might’ve been in life.  While some people welcome death, most people fear it. Near  death, many people wonder if (and how) they’ll be  remembered. When people kill, they’re doing something that  they know absolutely nothing about to someone else.

Besides inevitability, dying represents the unknown and has  fascinated cultures for thousands of years. Most societies  agree that death should be feared, some even going as far as  to never mention the names of the deceased again. But other  cultures have dared to ask the questions, “Should death  really be feared?” and “Why can’t it be celebrated?”.

No matter what society, almost everyone reserves a fear for  death. After all, it’s the ultimate unknown.

Do the stars and space have something to do with death and  birth? There are so many concepts involving infinite cycles  and the afterlife, but how many unexplored possibilities  remain?

And what if death was a living being? Had feelings? What if  Death is/was? a nice person? If he/she?/it? could speak to  us, what would he have to say for himself? What if he’s  bound to take souls to the afterlife, even in situations  where he doesn’t want to? Can death really be cheated? Is  Death immortal, a demi-god, or is being ‘Death’ merely a  curse placed upon unsuspecting souls?

So I chose this subject because no one will ever mine all  the narrative possibilities. Until death is completely  cured, this subject will always be relevant to our world.

AN IDEA WORTH WRITING~

When I generate story ideas, I try to make them play nice  with the following…:

1. I prefer to have a definite beginning, middle, and end.

2. I prefer endings that are either inevitable, profound,  emotional, or create some kind of infinite loop. Or all of  the above, if possible.

3. At least one character must change, for better or worse,  over the course of the story.

4. If I can make it work in a fantasy setting, all the  better.

…because they are characteristics typical in the short  stories I enjoy reading the most.

THE CONCEPT~ Read the rest of this entry »

Historically, when I post snippets of my writing (unless it’s poetry), I never get a comment, even if there’s 13 comments on the previous and following posts. My excerpts create some kind of blog vortex. It makes me scratch my head, but I’ve always written it off as “No news is good news, right?” Well, maybe not. I’m three-for-three now and am finding this phenomenon quite interesting– What does it mean?

Could it mean my fiction’s not engaging? Maybe it’s not interesting enough to hold people’s interests to the end, which means I’ve got a lot of learning left to do.

Or could it mean the people who come visit here are simply more interested in my life than in what I write? (Which is fine; after all, I am a genre writer.)

Perhaps it’s that people aren’t sure how to respond, exactly. They know that some people are oversensitive about things like this, so it can be hard to approach tactfully.

Or could it just be that my writing’s so bad that nobody has the heart to tell me? If that’s the case, lay on the hurt. I can take it.

Merrilee Faber is running a Creativity Workshop that will run from now ’til August. It involves writing lots of short stories.

Even though I’m in the middle of a novel edit, I joined because I’m still not done with my novel, and I’m feeling quite bad about that. In the long run, I’ll benefit if I give this workshop my all; it should help me complete works in a more timely manner.

Our first assignment is to assess our weak-points or other things we’d like to work on during the workshop when it comes to writing short stories.

So without further ado…

Every once in a while, a movie or book comes out that the general population  embraces—they overwhelmingly feels it’s great.

A lot of the time they’re right. But sometimes—let’s face it—they’re wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

Out-of-the-blue-rant time! A rant about … vegetables? No, don’t worry. This does have something to do with writing.

Brave souls may click below to proceed. …

Read the rest of this entry »

Back again :)

So far, 384 words today, about Cirellio and Cauinn travelling to a small town called Javo.  They had a discussion where Cauinn reveals a bit about her past.

Just to let you know, I do plan to do an update post showing where everybody stands in the NPI on day 5 (and pretty much every five days).

So anyway, I went to hear Steve Davenport yesterday. It wasn’t quite what I expected.

He made it clear to us he’s a dyed-in-the-wool beat poet. 90% of the time, he recited his poetry. Some were 100 lines.

Apparently, he’s also a fiction writer, but he didn’t talk about that—at all.  Read the rest of this entry »