Well, in forty minutes tonight I wrote a flash piece, edited it in an hour, did a re-write over the next hour, and sent it out to Neon Magazine
There are several reasons I'm like "Geoffrey's Pizza", 835 words. First, and foremost, it made my wife cry. No joke. Honest to God tears over the ending of this story. I had guests tonight and let them read it, and not one of them looked happy afterwards, which tells me it punches in just the right place.
The second, and selfish, reason is that it is the first piece I've both began and finished since the birth of my children. I was starting to worry there were no good ideas left in my head what with all the work around the house and at the office, not to mention the recent pressure. So I have a new goal, now. A story a week. Not a finished, complete product, but something. Be it good or bad, short or long, one finished first draft of something every week. Length is not an issue. Taste is not an issue. Just something to keep me in practice until the kids sleep through the night and the house settles down.
The last time I stopped writing regularly, I ended up spending three years repairing the paddlewheel on a 100 year old steamboat.
So, back to it. Tomorrow I start trying to find my story for that week, and by next Saturday I resolve to have the first draft finished.
In the meantime, let's see what happens with my pizza order, eh?
On a different note, we took the babies and Sophie to the market today grocery shopping. There were nuns there. I have decided nothing I can ever write is scarier than a nun cooing over the baby strapped to your chest. I was squirming the whole time, expecting rulers to flash through the air and smakc my palms.
Plus, it's just a little uncomfortable to have a Bride of Christ looking at your personal Product of Lust.
Speaking of uncomfortable, this song kickstarted another story idea. It's a song about lynching, extremely haunting.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
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8 comments:
Oh man, I want to make people cry!
You made someone cry??? Well that's just mean. :)
My day job is managing a bunch of pizza places. Let me know once its accepted, so I can read it.
I tried the story a week thing. Didn't work for me. I still write though. haven't run out of ideas but they tend to get longer the more I write. Still love to write flash when the idea comes to me.
Hope it works for you.
Congrats on the story! I've got fingers and toes crossed for you.
I have never had a Bride of Christ simper over my Product of Lust. (HAH.) But I have had a Golden Girl simper over him. We met Bea Arthur once at an airport.
Ah, another testimony that makes me angry that my present situation doesn't allow for much writing.
You are a busy man. But can you find the time to accept the fame and popularity that comes with your nomination for an I Love Your Blog award over at Join The Birdies?
I hope so....
You have been nominated for an "I love your blog" award!
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