Category Archives: Writing

These Dreams…

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YamadaEmperor-600The book has crossed the 80,000 word mark and is moving toward the end. Which means, rather than being created or complicated, situations are being resolved. I know who is behind most of the challenges Yamada has faced in this book. He’s about to find out, too, as matters move toward final settlements and crimes/sins accounted. There’s one scene I’m especially looking forward to writing. It won’t be a long one, by my estimate. Just a few pages, and I pretty much know how I’m going to write it and what happens and what it will mean to Yamada. I could have written it already, frankly, but I’ve held off, because it will be my reward for completing the book, even though part of me doesn’t want to write “The End.” A major story arc is being closed, and when it is done, I’m not sure what will be left. Perhaps nothing. We will see.

Something is happening that does happen now and again when I’m at this point in a story—I start to dream about it. Night before last and last night I was dreaming about possible events in the book, as if my subconscious was trying to suggest new avenues to explore. I considered them all, but realized they were all burdened with dream logic, which doesn’t really make sense to anyone outside the frame of reference of that dream. So they are no go. Except possibly for an image that I may use. I haven’t decided yet.

Once that dream was over, next I was surprised to find myself dreaming about Gwyneth Paltrow, and no, not that kind of dream. Her career was in danger, she was about to star in a new film, and she needed me to tweet the news. Why? Beats hell out of me. Apparently it was crucial, as she was almost literally begging me to make the tweet. And all I had was my phone and the tiny virtual keyboard, and I was messing up the hashtags and having all sorts of problems and her insistence wasn’t helping. I hit <Send> and the next thing I know she’s on some big talk show pimping the film, which is apparently of Oscar contention quality, so apparently I did okay.

The film? The story of a Marshall Tucker cover band.

Yeah.

That’s the thing about dreams. We all have them. We all need them. But they are not the most reliable things in the world. Take what you can from them. Learn what you can. Do not expect them to make too much sense. That is not their job.

We Could Be Heroes…But Probably Not

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WRITING 02

Not everyone is entirely comfortable with the idea of heroes. They too often have feet of clay, or in these days of the media creature, turn out to be fabricated out of whole cloth, or at least a cheap polyester. Yet we all have them, and writers are no different. The difference is in what inspires us—the words on the page, not necessarily the people behind them. Writing heroes. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when you discover that one of your heroes, known for his gentle and optimistic fiction, is a right wing fascist at heart or another with a unique and powerful voice is a virulent racist. Such things usually kill off normal heroes. As a hero, that is. Writer heroes usually survive, not always, but usually, since it is the words on the page that matter, not the imperfect, venal, or just plain unworthy person behind them, but more so because there’s a secret that the process of writing fiction eventually teaches.

You write better than you are.

I’ve touched on this before, but it’s especially relevant, I think, in the genre today. We all do it, if we’re any good at all. What comes out on the page is smarter, wiser, usually more together than, well, we are. I don’t know how it all works, I just know that it does. So I’m not usually so surprised when it turns out that the writer behind books and stories I love is a deeply flawed human being. Someone you might even cross the street to avoid if you saw them coming.  It happens. It doesn’t matter. Any decent work we produce is, at its core, a reflection of our better selves, maybe even who we’re trying to be, not necessarily who we are. Which is probably why I’ve never been driven to meet writers I admire. Most of the writers I call friends are ones I met even before I discovered their work, and got to know and like them as people first. That way generally works. Someone you only know from their work? Not so much.

Oh, sure, there are exceptions. There are even times when I regret, say, that I never got to meet Fritz Leiber, even though I did have the chance, once, at a World Fantasy Con way back in 1987, and I will always treasure my one and only meeting with Parke Godwin, who turned out to be as grand a human being in person as he was on the page. It’s great when that happens, but I don’t expect it. No one should.

I started this blog post with the idea of talking a little about one of my writing heroes, but I got pulled in another direction. It happens, so I’ll save that one for next time. I never met her, but then again, see above, I didn’t need to. The books and stories were all I did need, or had any right to expect.

So, if you ever want to meet me and manage to do so, I apologize in advance. That is all.

Swords, Demons, and More Princesses Than You Can Shake a Haruegushi At

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YamadaEmperor-600Watching a writer work must be the most boring activity in the known universe. At least with watching paint dry you can watch the slight color change that usually happens during the process. A writer can be hard, nay, even furiously at work and still moving less than the average graveyard angel. Then comes the big burst of activity—if you’re both lucky—typing. Or maybe scribbling with pen and paper, if you’re into that old school method. Then…nothing again. For greater or lesser slices of eternity. Most writing doesn’t happen on the page. It happens somewhere inside and in the kinetic connection between mind and computer keys. When it happens, which isn’t always.

Still getting the words down, which is what it’s all about. Making my quota most days, sometimes a bit more. Hit something of a milestone this morning when I crossed the 50,000 word threshold. As thresholds go it’s pretty meaningless, but to me it signals that the book is over half way done. I don’t write doorstops, I know I’ve mentioned this before. I expect to wrap it up at about 90,000 words. If I don’t, I’ll be as surprised as anyone. I know what’s already happened, what’s about to happen, and a penultimate scene that breaks it down, wraps it up and kicks the entire thing to the curb. In a good way. Some old friends return. Some not-so-friends, and All is Revealed. Well, most of it.

I am so looking forward to that. I think Yamada is too. And by the way, this is a three-princess book. First time I think there’s been more than two. Nope, three. And one especially.

 

Winding the Crank

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WRITING 02

Spent all day up to a few minutes ago doing taxes. I had been putting it off, mostly because I knew I’d lose a writing day just to get everything together (moving, buying a house tends to complicate things, and they’re complicated in the best of times). So now I’m tired and cranky, which is the perfect time to do a blog post. Heck, I’m almost cranky enough to start on politics. Almost, I said. I’m not a complete idiot. Most of the time, anyway.

Despite the curtain state of crankitude, I’m pleased with my progress on the book, and rapidly approaching the halfway point. Some things resolved, a lot more that has yet to be. Looking forward to a final scene that should be killer and I can’t wait to write it, but I have to write the rest of the book to lay the proper groundwork for it, otherwise it won’t work. I call it motivation. Other people just call it, “Seat in Chair, Hands on Keyboard. Now Work!”

Just around the time the book should be done I have an Asian-themed story due for an anthology. It won’t be a Yamada story. Time to do something else, and specifically, time to write some short fiction again. I’m thrilled to be able to do novels, sure, but I love and miss the short form as well, of which I’ve been able to do practically none in too long a time, first with the Laws of Power book, and then the Yamada taking all the writing time I’ve had. I have one more book to write in the Laws of Power series and that’ll be done. Yamada? Well, we’ll see.