So, I've been away a bit again. This time I have a good reason. Recently I was struck with what has been a recent blog topic: writer's block. Yes, the block. It isn't that I don't have ideas. I do. The problem is that I every time I sit down to work on these ideas I get my nightly limit (1,000 words) out, then read over what I wrote the next day. After making retching noises, I promptly do the electronic version of balling up the sheet of paper and tossing it in a wastebin.
When something is flowing well, however, there are interruptions. Work, family, a squalling child with enough chemical weaponry stockpiled in their Huggies to elicit UN sanctions...take your pick. After dealing with these minor crises, I end up sitting back down to realize I no longer have any clue where to go with the story, and once again the highlight and delete functions are employed.
So, procrastination or block? Not sure really. I have an outline for my NANOWRIMO project, and look forward to writing for the sheer joy of it. In the meantime, I'm abstaining from anything distracting that isn't absolutely necessary until I get at least one of these ideas crowding my head onto paper in some form. This means no television, no bars, no internet surfing, no good books...just typing reading, walking the block, and more typing. Nothing's flowing easily right now.
So, there we stand a storyless month in September, well below my goal of four stories, and it's shaping up to be a pretty barren October. Through willpower and coffee alone will I force November into being productive for 50,000 words. I can assure that much. Until then, I will be the invisible author attempting to finish a story with a baby in one arm and a coffee cup in the other.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Showing posts with label creative process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative process. Show all posts
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
I'm a lemming
Because Natalie L. Sin and Catherine Gardner did it, here's my top 10 world-creating writer moments:
10. Dismembered a Prohibition Agent
9. Killed a zombie baby
8. Murdered a maniacal, meglomanical politician's son
7. Stalked a comedian with a dead, sex-crazed hooker
6. Dropped a nuclear bomb on Nashville, TN.
5. Had a radio DJ commit Suicide-By-Zombie
4. Crucified a feminine, gay antique dealer
3. Had a father display his love by cutting off his own arm
2. Depicted the Pope as being worse than Cthulhu
and my #1 moment....
1. Sold insurance policies that only cover horrible deaths.
Alright....NEXT!
10. Dismembered a Prohibition Agent
9. Killed a zombie baby
8. Murdered a maniacal, meglomanical politician's son
7. Stalked a comedian with a dead, sex-crazed hooker
6. Dropped a nuclear bomb on Nashville, TN.
5. Had a radio DJ commit Suicide-By-Zombie
4. Crucified a feminine, gay antique dealer
3. Had a father display his love by cutting off his own arm
2. Depicted the Pope as being worse than Cthulhu
and my #1 moment....
1. Sold insurance policies that only cover horrible deaths.
Alright....NEXT!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Doing science and I'm still alive
Woke up this morning, got myself a gun. Actually, we went to church only to find out our pastor is leaving the congregation. I don't like this, not one bit. I like this preacher.
Anyhow, on the writing front. Started another zombie piece as a World is Dead backup, but only have a general outline done. I'll be writing on it next week in between setting up the nursery, this week just got away from me a little. I wrote every night, but mainly just fluff to make sure the pump is still primed. I'd hear a line on the radio or T.V. and write a few apragraphs of a story flash based around that idea. Make sure I'm good to go.
Starting tomorrow, however, I'm getting back into my old routine of spending an hour every night at the computer, even if I'm writing a sentence and deleting it over and over again. I've discovered one thing in my life, and it's if that first line doesn't lead to a second line right away, then there's nothing to it.
I should explain my writing process a little. I don't plan. I have an idea, and I'll mull it over for a while, then I'll start writing. Once I start, I stop only at predetermined points and let the story sit for a few days. I'll then go back, reread the last couple of paragraphs, and get back to work on the story where I left off. A short story can take two writing days, with three/four days of thinking in between. A flash piece is normally done in a marathon sitting, a couple of hours writing and an hour of revision. If a piece really catches my fancy, like a recent zombie story did, it gets written without another thought, tossed in the air, sliced into little bits, and revised. Those are the ngihts I go through an entire pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey.
Planning seems futile to me. Like going on a good roadtrip, a story should change as you make it. I can't force a dramatic piece to be funny, a comedy to be scary, or horror into romance. I have to let the story go where it wants and hope my fingers can keep up with the flow. I used to call it "finding the thread", but I now call it "tuning in". Good stories are like watching television shows with rabbit ears...you have to keep them pointed a certain way to have a clear picture. Move around too much, and you end up watching Spanish soap operas and ER flashing in and out through a screen of static, then spend a long time bringing it all clear again.
That said, here's the lowdown on the writing front:
I'm restarting my submission for Malpractice . I think I know what I want to do, mixing it with my dead story "Norton is Watching" to make a creepy little stalker bit about an abortionist and an insurance representative.
"Guilty in God's Court", my outlined piece for World of the Dead is this week's project following a day of rest tomorrow.
I still have about a dozen pieces out, and am once more questioning my e-mail's accuracy in reporting incoming messages. As a result, I'm going to start submitting from my Graveside Tales e-mail.
other than that, not much to report. Hoping to "tune in" tomorrow night and get a big chunk of a first draft knocked out.
If not, then I'll start writing and deleting openign lines again.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Anyhow, on the writing front. Started another zombie piece as a World is Dead backup, but only have a general outline done. I'll be writing on it next week in between setting up the nursery, this week just got away from me a little. I wrote every night, but mainly just fluff to make sure the pump is still primed. I'd hear a line on the radio or T.V. and write a few apragraphs of a story flash based around that idea. Make sure I'm good to go.
Starting tomorrow, however, I'm getting back into my old routine of spending an hour every night at the computer, even if I'm writing a sentence and deleting it over and over again. I've discovered one thing in my life, and it's if that first line doesn't lead to a second line right away, then there's nothing to it.
I should explain my writing process a little. I don't plan. I have an idea, and I'll mull it over for a while, then I'll start writing. Once I start, I stop only at predetermined points and let the story sit for a few days. I'll then go back, reread the last couple of paragraphs, and get back to work on the story where I left off. A short story can take two writing days, with three/four days of thinking in between. A flash piece is normally done in a marathon sitting, a couple of hours writing and an hour of revision. If a piece really catches my fancy, like a recent zombie story did, it gets written without another thought, tossed in the air, sliced into little bits, and revised. Those are the ngihts I go through an entire pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey.
Planning seems futile to me. Like going on a good roadtrip, a story should change as you make it. I can't force a dramatic piece to be funny, a comedy to be scary, or horror into romance. I have to let the story go where it wants and hope my fingers can keep up with the flow. I used to call it "finding the thread", but I now call it "tuning in". Good stories are like watching television shows with rabbit ears...you have to keep them pointed a certain way to have a clear picture. Move around too much, and you end up watching Spanish soap operas and ER flashing in and out through a screen of static, then spend a long time bringing it all clear again.
That said, here's the lowdown on the writing front:
I'm restarting my submission for Malpractice . I think I know what I want to do, mixing it with my dead story "Norton is Watching" to make a creepy little stalker bit about an abortionist and an insurance representative.
"Guilty in God's Court", my outlined piece for World of the Dead is this week's project following a day of rest tomorrow.
I still have about a dozen pieces out, and am once more questioning my e-mail's accuracy in reporting incoming messages. As a result, I'm going to start submitting from my Graveside Tales e-mail.
other than that, not much to report. Hoping to "tune in" tomorrow night and get a big chunk of a first draft knocked out.
If not, then I'll start writing and deleting openign lines again.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I Now Declare Crap Month...
Officially closed. I think tonight I managed to break my writer's block with an image of a decomposing corpse reflected in a bar mirror. After that I started another piece, a bartender narrating a ghost story to a patron, with the reader as the patron. No, there's no expected dialogue to be imagined. I just kinda wanted to put the reader into the position of being the guy on the other side of a wooden bar with a talkative (and bored) bartender.
I checked my submission list the other day and came up with:
"Dead Air" at Aberrant Dreams I'm thinking this one either got lost, or was a rejection that never got sent out, or some other such thing. It's been well over 100 days. I had heard stories about slow response times...but man oh man...
"Tribe of Harry" at The New Yorker All I want this year is a rejection on their letterhead and a bit of personalization. That'd be almost as good as an acceptance from anywhere else.
"Demon Whiskey" at Harvest Hill I have no illusions of this one getting accepted, but I am looking forward to the comments when that rejection finally comes in.
"Poppa Bear" at Cause and Effect This piece has been called interesting but too sentimental, strong characters that turn into caricature, etc. The general consensus was that it needed some story work, which got done and got it resubmitted somewhere else.
"The Simple Account of Sergeant Shea, Immediately Prior to the End of the World" at Allegory Ezine , a piece that I had fun writing and submitted after a rewrite only at the urging of the undeniable Ms. Gardner, who insisted it could be found a home somewhere. I don't really mind, it was written for me.
"Big Jim Can Wait" and "Winter Wonderland" at Northern Haunts Anthology , if for no other reason than I had so much fun writing my accepted piece, "Many Comforting Words", that I wanted to write two more.
"Linguistic Prescription" at Postcards from Hell , a surefire rejection in waiting, but I'll be honest, I'm starting to get a kick out of reading the rejection letters for this piece, so I'm going to keep sending it out there.
"Sacrifice of Man and Cloth" at Saint Ann's Review , because, like the New Yorker, I want a rejection from these people.
"No Tell Motel" at OG's Speculative Fiction Magazine . Ever since it got shortlisted and then cut from Voices Anthology , this sucker has been making the rounds, racking up two form rejections in less than a month and a half.
In addition to this, I have a basic idea for the Malpractice anthology if I can get it running, the aforementioned Bar Story got it's first two intro paragraphs done tonight (my writing time must be fit into a busy schedule, don't harp on me), and a developing idea for a serious piece after I finally finish "Norton's Watching".
On other fronts, work is going well. A couple more weeks and I'll be shifting calls without supervision, the pay is good, and even on a tight budget we manage to live a decent life. Worrying now about Christmas, what with three kids and all.
So...how're you all doing?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
I checked my submission list the other day and came up with:
"Dead Air" at Aberrant Dreams I'm thinking this one either got lost, or was a rejection that never got sent out, or some other such thing. It's been well over 100 days. I had heard stories about slow response times...but man oh man...
"Tribe of Harry" at The New Yorker All I want this year is a rejection on their letterhead and a bit of personalization. That'd be almost as good as an acceptance from anywhere else.
"Demon Whiskey" at Harvest Hill I have no illusions of this one getting accepted, but I am looking forward to the comments when that rejection finally comes in.
"Poppa Bear" at Cause and Effect This piece has been called interesting but too sentimental, strong characters that turn into caricature, etc. The general consensus was that it needed some story work, which got done and got it resubmitted somewhere else.
"The Simple Account of Sergeant Shea, Immediately Prior to the End of the World" at Allegory Ezine , a piece that I had fun writing and submitted after a rewrite only at the urging of the undeniable Ms. Gardner, who insisted it could be found a home somewhere. I don't really mind, it was written for me.
"Big Jim Can Wait" and "Winter Wonderland" at Northern Haunts Anthology , if for no other reason than I had so much fun writing my accepted piece, "Many Comforting Words", that I wanted to write two more.
"Linguistic Prescription" at Postcards from Hell , a surefire rejection in waiting, but I'll be honest, I'm starting to get a kick out of reading the rejection letters for this piece, so I'm going to keep sending it out there.
"Sacrifice of Man and Cloth" at Saint Ann's Review , because, like the New Yorker, I want a rejection from these people.
"No Tell Motel" at OG's Speculative Fiction Magazine . Ever since it got shortlisted and then cut from Voices Anthology , this sucker has been making the rounds, racking up two form rejections in less than a month and a half.
In addition to this, I have a basic idea for the Malpractice anthology if I can get it running, the aforementioned Bar Story got it's first two intro paragraphs done tonight (my writing time must be fit into a busy schedule, don't harp on me), and a developing idea for a serious piece after I finally finish "Norton's Watching".
On other fronts, work is going well. A couple more weeks and I'll be shifting calls without supervision, the pay is good, and even on a tight budget we manage to live a decent life. Worrying now about Christmas, what with three kids and all.
So...how're you all doing?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Little Known Stuff
Stephen King's less exciting book: "Pet Seminary"
Alright, that's out of my system. Started work on the Mythos story today. Had to find a way around Lovecraft's destruction of Innsmouth, but I managed alright. Like how it's working, especially the narrative style right now. I know, I'm breaking a few standards of new Lovecraft stuff, but this isn't really Lovecraft...it's comedy with a Mythos slant on it. For it to work I had to have a familiar Lovecraft setting known pretty widely, and Innsmouth was the best one. So...I rebuilt Innsmouth.
That's my project this week, to finish and revise this piece, then get started on the revenge story.
Plus, to start a new thing, my daughter's quote of the day.
Sophie: "I broke your fan to make all my chocolate chips!"
My babygirl is weird.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Alright, that's out of my system. Started work on the Mythos story today. Had to find a way around Lovecraft's destruction of Innsmouth, but I managed alright. Like how it's working, especially the narrative style right now. I know, I'm breaking a few standards of new Lovecraft stuff, but this isn't really Lovecraft...it's comedy with a Mythos slant on it. For it to work I had to have a familiar Lovecraft setting known pretty widely, and Innsmouth was the best one. So...I rebuilt Innsmouth.
That's my project this week, to finish and revise this piece, then get started on the revenge story.
Plus, to start a new thing, my daughter's quote of the day.
Sophie: "I broke your fan to make all my chocolate chips!"
My babygirl is weird.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Fedora Wearing Hero
Saw the new Indiana Jones movie tonight, coupled with Iron Man, at the only drive-in left in town. My sister, her husband, and my nephews came along with us, and much fun was had by all. After that, we went home...where we just now arrived. Sophie is conked on her bed, and I'm sitting at my makeshift work station typing this before her mother and I follow suit in our own room.
Started on the story I plan on submitting to The Black Garden today, got 1,200 words done on a first draft in a little under an hour. After solving my machinery dilemma it came pretty quick and easy thanks to the cat scratching me last night. If you've never seen a Maine Coon, they are huge cats with a good amount of claw spacing. On my knee are three deep, bloody furrows about an inch apart from where he fell off the couch during a movie last night and tried to get purchase on my bare leg. It started the engine and got me rolling on how to start the story and this little girl's obsession.
I have to say I'm having fun with it, which I'm calling the Grinder at this stage. Third person close narrative style, with the narration done as if they are thoughts of a young child. We get a lot of "and Mommy and Daddy and Papaw" type of sentences, but I think it adds to it right now. I'm going to shoot for having the first draft done by Sunday, then spend Memorial Day (after my trip to Zachary Taylor National Cemetery to visit some guys I used to know) revising prior to the family picnic. Everything goes according to schedule, I should have the final draft ready to go out by Tuesday evening...but a schedule is more of a suggestion with me.
Found a few amazingly creepy things today that I like the vibe to. Alice Cooper's song "Steven" has become a top one on my playlist...it gives me the damn chills. A few pictures and posters, and tomorrow we're heading to the flea market where I hope to find something else disturbing to decorate my desk. I'm a happy-go-lucky guy, but I like to set an atmosphere when I write to keep me on track.
My wife has already banned severed heads from the living room, so no worries there.
Speaking of her Pregnant Majesty, she's telling me it is time to stop typing and head to bed, so off I must go. I'll update with a word count and status on the Grinder tomorrow...hopefully.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Started on the story I plan on submitting to The Black Garden today, got 1,200 words done on a first draft in a little under an hour. After solving my machinery dilemma it came pretty quick and easy thanks to the cat scratching me last night. If you've never seen a Maine Coon, they are huge cats with a good amount of claw spacing. On my knee are three deep, bloody furrows about an inch apart from where he fell off the couch during a movie last night and tried to get purchase on my bare leg. It started the engine and got me rolling on how to start the story and this little girl's obsession.
I have to say I'm having fun with it, which I'm calling the Grinder at this stage. Third person close narrative style, with the narration done as if they are thoughts of a young child. We get a lot of "and Mommy and Daddy and Papaw" type of sentences, but I think it adds to it right now. I'm going to shoot for having the first draft done by Sunday, then spend Memorial Day (after my trip to Zachary Taylor National Cemetery to visit some guys I used to know) revising prior to the family picnic. Everything goes according to schedule, I should have the final draft ready to go out by Tuesday evening...but a schedule is more of a suggestion with me.
Found a few amazingly creepy things today that I like the vibe to. Alice Cooper's song "Steven" has become a top one on my playlist...it gives me the damn chills. A few pictures and posters, and tomorrow we're heading to the flea market where I hope to find something else disturbing to decorate my desk. I'm a happy-go-lucky guy, but I like to set an atmosphere when I write to keep me on track.
My wife has already banned severed heads from the living room, so no worries there.
Speaking of her Pregnant Majesty, she's telling me it is time to stop typing and head to bed, so off I must go. I'll update with a word count and status on the Grinder tomorrow...hopefully.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bit of an update
Well, got my rejection back last night for The Age of Blood and Snow. Wasn't unexpected, though the letter was personal and nice. It more or less said exactly what I thought it was going to, well-written but not strange enough for the anthology. I have to say, it was nothing unexpected, and the fast turnaround time was a really impressive feat. I don't think I've ever had an anthology that has obviously been submitted to that much respond within a day. Kudos to the crew over at Morrigan Books.
Not much else has gone on today. Doing a bit of research for the Grinder story, trying to figure out what I could use that seems realistic. Considering I only want one fantastic element to this story, it would suffer if I had to make up the machine. The little girl needs to be the only creepy thing around, and I don't want to detract from her "vibe".
Resubmitted "Sacrifice of Man and Cloth" to a pie-in-the-sky market while I try to find a more down-to-earth home for it. Started fleshing out an idea for something that could be a bit of a companion to "Weekend Trip". I discovered I like that tiny town and it's Stoker-esque preacher a bit more than I thought I did. Still waiting to heard back from Unspeakable Horrors on the status of "Weekend Trip" with them, though.
Alright, I should probably eat my lunch. A little work, and then a haircut today for my interview next week. After that, my stepdaughter gets to meet her new cousins.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Not much else has gone on today. Doing a bit of research for the Grinder story, trying to figure out what I could use that seems realistic. Considering I only want one fantastic element to this story, it would suffer if I had to make up the machine. The little girl needs to be the only creepy thing around, and I don't want to detract from her "vibe".
Resubmitted "Sacrifice of Man and Cloth" to a pie-in-the-sky market while I try to find a more down-to-earth home for it. Started fleshing out an idea for something that could be a bit of a companion to "Weekend Trip". I discovered I like that tiny town and it's Stoker-esque preacher a bit more than I thought I did. Still waiting to heard back from Unspeakable Horrors on the status of "Weekend Trip" with them, though.
Alright, I should probably eat my lunch. A little work, and then a haircut today for my interview next week. After that, my stepdaughter gets to meet her new cousins.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Curiosity Killed the Hog
Updates, updates everywhere...
Alright, let's see...doing the final edit on "Parable of Judas" tonight and getting it sent off to garner a rejection from Age of Blood and Snow. After that, I have this idea of a little girl and homemade, highpowered "hog grinder" (not sure what would work for that...) that I want to get on paper, edit, and submit to Black Garden. I should be hearing back this week on my Unspeakable Horrors submission, though I'm leaning towards another rejection. Once all this is done, I want to start fleshing out an idea I had not too long ago, see if there's a story or something longer behind it.
After this rush is done, I'm going back to work on the Long One again for a bit. I can't juggle two projects at once, not with the kiddo and wife and job search. On that front, I have a face-to-face interview next week with Humana for a call center, Medicare customer service slot. Not the best job in the world, but it'd pay the bills for now and the benefits package up there is great.
Let's see, things still out....
"Colburn Men"
"Dead Air"
"No Tell Motel"
"Tribe of Harry"
"Demon Whiskey"
"Weekend Trip"
"It Wonder Me"
"Fragile Obsession"
"Linquistic Prescription"
Also, there's a truck stop story outlined and just waiting to see page that'll start after I write on these anthology submissions.
Now, to head over to KFC and pick up dinner, cause I don't feel like cooking tonight.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
-Oh yeah, almost forgot. Picked up a Maine Coon last night from a rescue operation. Named him Ambrose, as in Ambrose Bierce. I'll get a picture of him, Hemingway, and the rest of our zoo up as soon as I can figure out how to work my camera. Technology, though art not my friend.
Alright, let's see...doing the final edit on "Parable of Judas" tonight and getting it sent off to garner a rejection from Age of Blood and Snow. After that, I have this idea of a little girl and homemade, highpowered "hog grinder" (not sure what would work for that...) that I want to get on paper, edit, and submit to Black Garden. I should be hearing back this week on my Unspeakable Horrors submission, though I'm leaning towards another rejection. Once all this is done, I want to start fleshing out an idea I had not too long ago, see if there's a story or something longer behind it.
After this rush is done, I'm going back to work on the Long One again for a bit. I can't juggle two projects at once, not with the kiddo and wife and job search. On that front, I have a face-to-face interview next week with Humana for a call center, Medicare customer service slot. Not the best job in the world, but it'd pay the bills for now and the benefits package up there is great.
Let's see, things still out....
"Colburn Men"
"Dead Air"
"No Tell Motel"
"Tribe of Harry"
"Demon Whiskey"
"Weekend Trip"
"It Wonder Me"
"Fragile Obsession"
"Linquistic Prescription"
Also, there's a truck stop story outlined and just waiting to see page that'll start after I write on these anthology submissions.
Now, to head over to KFC and pick up dinner, cause I don't feel like cooking tonight.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
-Oh yeah, almost forgot. Picked up a Maine Coon last night from a rescue operation. Named him Ambrose, as in Ambrose Bierce. I'll get a picture of him, Hemingway, and the rest of our zoo up as soon as I can figure out how to work my camera. Technology, though art not my friend.
Friday, April 25, 2008
TRAPPED!
I'm trapped, trapped like a rat in a burning ship, sitting on a keg of gunpowder and watching flames creep closer with each passing second.
Alright, so I'm being melodramatic. Money's tight, so I'm working a 10-hour shift today to try and make up for yesterday, when I was in bed sicker than a dog who ate green meat. Rent's due next week, power bill (I lost my long-standing fight with LG&E) is due the week after, and my wife goes on bedrest Monday morning. This is not a good month to be a Tabler, considering the little lady has gotten in the habit of buying random things from EBay when I'm not home.
The trapped part? They're mopping the floor around my desk, and I can't go outside to smoke until it dries.
Still looking for work. Read that another writer has lost his job and been thrust in the same boat. Sympathies to the man, honestly. I know it sucks. I'm lucky to hold down a piecemeal job working for my father, and if I can't find some real work in the next couple weeks we'll be severely in the hole. I'm looking, but the market is far from cooperating with me at this time.
Had a couple ideas for stories today, one inspired by my former-Professor, now e-mail correspondence chum, Paul F. Griner. A deckhand who is thinking about letting his arm get severed on the job for the sole purpose of collecting the Dismemberment Pay so he can get his son a birthday gift. Also, the dystopia of an American Future is creeping in again with a scene that has a deranged Senator controlling the Army and giving the President a choice between a bullet in the head or legalizing his coup in another piece.
On top of that I took a commission a month back to write a short story and comic script, to be turned into a 10 page B&W comic and bound by a journal maker I know. It features giant walking animal people and spaceships. I'm still working on that sucker.
This is shaping up to be a busy month. Keep your fingers crossed that I A) sell something B)finished this commission in time, C) Find a job, and D) Get that $1500.00 check before we are royally screwed financially.
Now that the floor is dry, time to go smoke.
EDIT: 15:17 EST
Well, to anyone who had their fingers crossed, thank you! Less than ten minutes after making this post I was contacted for an interview. Sure, it's a job with an insurance company, but it's a job reviewing contracts and arranging payments, and it pays a middling salary that'd let us rent a house, pay our bills, and eat for the next couple years while I work on a higher degree.
Now, cross your toes that the interview goes well, eh?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Alright, so I'm being melodramatic. Money's tight, so I'm working a 10-hour shift today to try and make up for yesterday, when I was in bed sicker than a dog who ate green meat. Rent's due next week, power bill (I lost my long-standing fight with LG&E) is due the week after, and my wife goes on bedrest Monday morning. This is not a good month to be a Tabler, considering the little lady has gotten in the habit of buying random things from EBay when I'm not home.
The trapped part? They're mopping the floor around my desk, and I can't go outside to smoke until it dries.
Still looking for work. Read that another writer has lost his job and been thrust in the same boat. Sympathies to the man, honestly. I know it sucks. I'm lucky to hold down a piecemeal job working for my father, and if I can't find some real work in the next couple weeks we'll be severely in the hole. I'm looking, but the market is far from cooperating with me at this time.
Had a couple ideas for stories today, one inspired by my former-Professor, now e-mail correspondence chum, Paul F. Griner. A deckhand who is thinking about letting his arm get severed on the job for the sole purpose of collecting the Dismemberment Pay so he can get his son a birthday gift. Also, the dystopia of an American Future is creeping in again with a scene that has a deranged Senator controlling the Army and giving the President a choice between a bullet in the head or legalizing his coup in another piece.
On top of that I took a commission a month back to write a short story and comic script, to be turned into a 10 page B&W comic and bound by a journal maker I know. It features giant walking animal people and spaceships. I'm still working on that sucker.
This is shaping up to be a busy month. Keep your fingers crossed that I A) sell something B)finished this commission in time, C) Find a job, and D) Get that $1500.00 check before we are royally screwed financially.
Now that the floor is dry, time to go smoke.
EDIT: 15:17 EST
Well, to anyone who had their fingers crossed, thank you! Less than ten minutes after making this post I was contacted for an interview. Sure, it's a job with an insurance company, but it's a job reviewing contracts and arranging payments, and it pays a middling salary that'd let us rent a house, pay our bills, and eat for the next couple years while I work on a higher degree.
Now, cross your toes that the interview goes well, eh?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Another Doldrum Day
You have to love Kentucky. One week it gets cold, then chilly, then you walk outside and it's 80 degrees in the bright sunshine, humidity has started to come into play, and you sweat like a stuck pig. I think when we eventually move I'll go somewhere with a more tolerable climate. Like Hell.
Started on another bit of work last night, actually on three different stories. Starting on one about an old lady who refuses to leave her land, a bit about a liar who traps himself, and a strange bit that features Papa Ghede, the Voodoo spirit/god of the dead. I don't know which one will take precedence, but they've all started to develop pretty well so we'll just have to see. Rewrote "The Tribe of Harry" after getting a pleasant rejection letter back from 94Creations for it that insisted it was "just not what they're looking for". Put it in the second person, made it a bit more...oh...blunt on some things, removed a little of the subtlety that both helps and hinders the work. Already resubmitted it, both to a "pie in the sky" market and a down to earth choice that is much more likely.
Waiting on rejections from the following:
"Linguistic Prescription" - ASIM
"Demon Whiskey" - Harvest Hill
"Fragile Obsession" - Ghost in the Machine
"Dead Air" - Aberrant Dreams
"Weekend Trip" - Unspeakable Horrors
"Colburn Men" - McSweeney's Quarterly
"No Tell Motel" - Voices
"Tribe of Harry" - The New Yorker (I just couldn't help myself. I want a rejection from the New Yorker to frame, damn it!)
Soon as those rejections come in, I'll be hopping ready to get started on finding homes for these wayward pieces, or tossing them in the kindling pile, as is appropriate when I read back through them. Hoping to finish three-five stories in the month of May, and get some more work done on "The Long One". I'm not exactly prolific, mainly because I have a habit of getting distracted by other things for a day or two, and falling off track. In June I'm going back through my Disk of Beginnings, where stories that only made it two to three pages before another idea knocked them out of the running. I'll spend most of June figuring out which ones, if any, I can get back to work on.
It's a hard knock life, that's for sure, but hey. I chose it, right?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Started on another bit of work last night, actually on three different stories. Starting on one about an old lady who refuses to leave her land, a bit about a liar who traps himself, and a strange bit that features Papa Ghede, the Voodoo spirit/god of the dead. I don't know which one will take precedence, but they've all started to develop pretty well so we'll just have to see. Rewrote "The Tribe of Harry" after getting a pleasant rejection letter back from 94Creations for it that insisted it was "just not what they're looking for". Put it in the second person, made it a bit more...oh...blunt on some things, removed a little of the subtlety that both helps and hinders the work. Already resubmitted it, both to a "pie in the sky" market and a down to earth choice that is much more likely.
Waiting on rejections from the following:
"Linguistic Prescription" - ASIM
"Demon Whiskey" - Harvest Hill
"Fragile Obsession" - Ghost in the Machine
"Dead Air" - Aberrant Dreams
"Weekend Trip" - Unspeakable Horrors
"Colburn Men" - McSweeney's Quarterly
"No Tell Motel" - Voices
"Tribe of Harry" - The New Yorker (I just couldn't help myself. I want a rejection from the New Yorker to frame, damn it!)
Soon as those rejections come in, I'll be hopping ready to get started on finding homes for these wayward pieces, or tossing them in the kindling pile, as is appropriate when I read back through them. Hoping to finish three-five stories in the month of May, and get some more work done on "The Long One". I'm not exactly prolific, mainly because I have a habit of getting distracted by other things for a day or two, and falling off track. In June I'm going back through my Disk of Beginnings, where stories that only made it two to three pages before another idea knocked them out of the running. I'll spend most of June figuring out which ones, if any, I can get back to work on.
It's a hard knock life, that's for sure, but hey. I chose it, right?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Friday, April 18, 2008
Shake N' Bake
So my wife woke up this morning to find the house shaking on its foundation, windows rattling, the sugar glider going insane, dogs barking, cats meowing, and our fish swimming erratically. She then assumed she was crazy, and went back to sleep. I never once cracked my eyes open.
In short, we had an earthquake this morning that I was completely unaware of until waking up and checking the news hours after the fact.
In other news, my Ghost in the Machine submission is done with the first revision. I more or less slathered it in black ink, took out a good bit of fluff and unnecessary lines, switched things around, and added a few sentences. Later today I'll sit down with the printed draft and my laptop and start revising, then pass it off to my still-confused better half for a read. Because I don't trust her opinion (she married me, she must feel obligated to lie on occasion), I'll then send it off to some of my regular guys to look over and get suggestions. As always, by the time I get their suggested changes I'll have done the second revision, tidied it up, and sent it out.
Not much more is going on. Game night tonight with another couple we know, then tomorrow I'm assisting my father in laying down sob and clearing some of his property. Still looking for work, have an interview with the AFL-CIO on Wednesday for a union organizing position.
Back to the grindstone,
J.C. Tabler
In short, we had an earthquake this morning that I was completely unaware of until waking up and checking the news hours after the fact.
In other news, my Ghost in the Machine submission is done with the first revision. I more or less slathered it in black ink, took out a good bit of fluff and unnecessary lines, switched things around, and added a few sentences. Later today I'll sit down with the printed draft and my laptop and start revising, then pass it off to my still-confused better half for a read. Because I don't trust her opinion (she married me, she must feel obligated to lie on occasion), I'll then send it off to some of my regular guys to look over and get suggestions. As always, by the time I get their suggested changes I'll have done the second revision, tidied it up, and sent it out.
Not much more is going on. Game night tonight with another couple we know, then tomorrow I'm assisting my father in laying down sob and clearing some of his property. Still looking for work, have an interview with the AFL-CIO on Wednesday for a union organizing position.
Back to the grindstone,
J.C. Tabler
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Priming the pump
There're bits of the dead everywhere, and I'm not referring to last night's dinner. Though I wonder how long flesh keeps in the fridge...
Back on track, though, today I found out there's an anthology known as Bits of the Dead that's opened up for zombie flash fiction of no more than 500 words. 500 words, for me, is like twenty minutes of work. So I started on a story after attending a rally to lower college tuition (who am I kidding, I was there to avoid hearing about Africa in another course and to try and look socially aware). Twenty minutes later I had a 499 word piece finished, first draft, edit, rewrite, second draft, another edit, and sent off (though right after I submitted it I found one, count'em, one mistake in the final version and started kicking myself. It's a lot of dialogue, and a bit more light-hearted than I think they're looking for, but I like the way it turned out. I'll find a home for it even when I get the rejection slip back from them. There's just not enough good conversational humor about zombies out there today...
Speaking of zombies, we're at day 67 of the Aberrant Dreams wait for a response. I did get a confirmation that they received the work right after it was sent, but that apparently doesn't mean anything. I've been hearing some real horror stories about their response times, and a few folks have told me they just don't seemt o get back to writer's quickly, or have a habit of never getting submissions. I'll give it 40-60 more days, then I'm withdrawing "Dead Air" from them.
Shoved "THe Tribe of Harry" into a condensed form and handing it over to my writing class today. On Friday I'll be on here about getting ripped to shreds again, but hey. You live, you get critiqued, you get Luvs. Sorry, commercial moment there. Plus, April will be the last month you can read "A Question of Freedom" over at Allegory. C'mon show me some love and read the piece, then blast me out of the water for it.
Got another piece called "Stranger in a Strange Land" (yes, I know I stole the title. I don't think the dead men to use it before me will really mind.) in for submissions at Undergroundvoices.com.
Let's see how it goes, eh?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Back on track, though, today I found out there's an anthology known as Bits of the Dead that's opened up for zombie flash fiction of no more than 500 words. 500 words, for me, is like twenty minutes of work. So I started on a story after attending a rally to lower college tuition (who am I kidding, I was there to avoid hearing about Africa in another course and to try and look socially aware). Twenty minutes later I had a 499 word piece finished, first draft, edit, rewrite, second draft, another edit, and sent off (though right after I submitted it I found one, count'em, one mistake in the final version and started kicking myself. It's a lot of dialogue, and a bit more light-hearted than I think they're looking for, but I like the way it turned out. I'll find a home for it even when I get the rejection slip back from them. There's just not enough good conversational humor about zombies out there today...
Speaking of zombies, we're at day 67 of the Aberrant Dreams wait for a response. I did get a confirmation that they received the work right after it was sent, but that apparently doesn't mean anything. I've been hearing some real horror stories about their response times, and a few folks have told me they just don't seemt o get back to writer's quickly, or have a habit of never getting submissions. I'll give it 40-60 more days, then I'm withdrawing "Dead Air" from them.
Shoved "THe Tribe of Harry" into a condensed form and handing it over to my writing class today. On Friday I'll be on here about getting ripped to shreds again, but hey. You live, you get critiqued, you get Luvs. Sorry, commercial moment there. Plus, April will be the last month you can read "A Question of Freedom" over at Allegory. C'mon show me some love and read the piece, then blast me out of the water for it.
Got another piece called "Stranger in a Strange Land" (yes, I know I stole the title. I don't think the dead men to use it before me will really mind.) in for submissions at Undergroundvoices.com.
Let's see how it goes, eh?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bedtime
Well, I finally wrote my ghost story. This morning. In about 40 minutes.
I hate flash fiction. I mean, I really despise it. I think a good story should take the reader for a ride, both in development and in resolution, and I have a hard time believing that you can do this in less that one thousand words. Still, I signed up for a "Writer's Group Reading" tonight because, frankly, I'm getting bored sitting around the house on Wednesday nights. Plus, with Des pregnant any time out of the house is like a godsend.
The only thing is that there is a requirement to bring a piece for reading to these groups. Flash fiction, with this month's topic being "Weird Western". Since I've gone far over the "flash fiction" requirements on everything else, I wrote my ghost story with a slight variation on the image I'd mentioned in an earlier post. I then trimmed it to about 950 words, stuck it in SMF, and saved it for printing later.
Hopefully this thing will help me loosen up my block on the other couple of tales I'm working on, not to mention the "Long One".
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
I hate flash fiction. I mean, I really despise it. I think a good story should take the reader for a ride, both in development and in resolution, and I have a hard time believing that you can do this in less that one thousand words. Still, I signed up for a "Writer's Group Reading" tonight because, frankly, I'm getting bored sitting around the house on Wednesday nights. Plus, with Des pregnant any time out of the house is like a godsend.
The only thing is that there is a requirement to bring a piece for reading to these groups. Flash fiction, with this month's topic being "Weird Western". Since I've gone far over the "flash fiction" requirements on everything else, I wrote my ghost story with a slight variation on the image I'd mentioned in an earlier post. I then trimmed it to about 950 words, stuck it in SMF, and saved it for printing later.
Hopefully this thing will help me loosen up my block on the other couple of tales I'm working on, not to mention the "Long One".
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Monday, February 18, 2008
Blocked
Alright, so normally I don't like to talk plot. This time...well...
The other day I got to thinking about how annoying it is to be a Kentuckian during the Derby. That is a truly horrible time of year. People from all over flock to get a taste of "southern charm" and generally make our lives a living hell for several days in a row. Meanwhile, we can't go anywhere or do anything without getting asked directions, told how different things are where they're from, or even eat out because every table is taken.
So, on a boring day last week at the office, I decided to get my own version of revenge by playing out every Louisvillian's Derby fantasy. The problem? I've been away from the story for a few days now, so what was once very clear has become fuzzy. Today I only got two hundred words on paper before calling it quits.
This, ladies and gentlemen, sucks. So tomorrow I'm coming home from work, sitting down, and getting this damn story rolling again. If I don't i want one of you to come over here and smack the hell out of me.
Time to smoke a cigarette and hit the hay. I'm dead tired tonight.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
The other day I got to thinking about how annoying it is to be a Kentuckian during the Derby. That is a truly horrible time of year. People from all over flock to get a taste of "southern charm" and generally make our lives a living hell for several days in a row. Meanwhile, we can't go anywhere or do anything without getting asked directions, told how different things are where they're from, or even eat out because every table is taken.
So, on a boring day last week at the office, I decided to get my own version of revenge by playing out every Louisvillian's Derby fantasy. The problem? I've been away from the story for a few days now, so what was once very clear has become fuzzy. Today I only got two hundred words on paper before calling it quits.
This, ladies and gentlemen, sucks. So tomorrow I'm coming home from work, sitting down, and getting this damn story rolling again. If I don't i want one of you to come over here and smack the hell out of me.
Time to smoke a cigarette and hit the hay. I'm dead tired tonight.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Monday, December 31, 2007
A Question Of Freedom - Postscript
So tomorrow "A Question of Freedom" goes up on the website at Allegory Ezine. I figure, since I'm sitting in the office trying to come up with scripts for a webcomic a friend is putting out and beating myself over the head with a possible ending to a zombie story, that I might as well go ahead and post about this one.
First off, the story did not start out as what it ended up being. Garrity, originally, was supposed to be a small town sheriff in the rural areas of Kentucky. That much is the same as the original idea. The deep-down idea that formed the story, though, was supposed to be something about werewolves and vampires, along with all other forms of supernatural creatures, living side-by-side with the human populace of a small town in Eastern Kentucky, their existence known to the local authorities by way of a century old agreement. I'll freely admit that this idea was lifted, in small concept parts, from an old online RPG that used to be on AOL called "Black Bayou". The concept of a small southern town rife with supernatural beings is really where the similarity was supposed to end.
"A Question of Freedom", or as I took to calling it, "The Garrity Story", was written over the period of a month. I started it on a Sunday in early September, then, other than the occassional paragraph or two at night, set it aside until the first week of October. I had other things to do, honestly, and the story was going off in a completely different direction. I would say, all in all, it was written in about 2 long typing sessions, the first Sunday morning session and then about 6 hours alone in the living room on that first Monday in October. For those one-or-two paragraph writing sitdowns, there were about four of them that resulted in nothing big. So, what you really have on Allegory's website is a story that was written in about two days with a month between them for me to think and brainstorm.
It really became obvious that this story wasn't going to be about vampires, werewolves, or anything else that would make Anne Rice cream her jeans around the third page. Without trying my heroic, wisecracking, and alcoholic sheriff was transformed into a beaten man in a dystopic America. I wish I could say the background of this America sprang fully formed from my head as I stared at the computer screen and chainsmoked, but no such luck. Halfway through the story I realized I was writing about a different version of the same America that I had jotted down notes on during those long nights working fire watch on the steamboat. This was just a more advanced version of it.
This future was, to clarify the story a bit, one where a horrible virus with a high mortality rate had been unleashed on the American people, and not intentionally. Though the virus was never clearly determined to be natural or chemically engineered, mainly because I could never figure that out myself, it was devestating and resulted in a "Black Plague" sort of situation that cut off the American people from advancement. Enter the Senator, a politician with the charisma to advance his own agenda and the determination to make a difference even if it meant destroying half the world. To control the plague that threatened to destroy America, he instituted a new form of law, becoming less a politician and more of a dictator as he ordered bombs dropped on the cities with the highest infection rate.
Years later, America was a police state. I know, it wasn't an original idea, but I realized as I wrote about Garrity being escorted to questioning that almost all of those "America has collapsed" stories out there deal with the urban experience in despotic America. What if, instead of werewolves and vampires, this small-town sheriff in the middle of BFE, Kentucky (write me an email and ask what BFE is if you don't know!) was just trying to survive the times while keeping a hold on the traditional values that shape the country. It was halfway through writing that I realized what the most important rural value was.
The hell with the Golden Rule. The most important lesson learned in the country is "An Eye for An Eye". A country sheriff is a bringer of justice. Is that conveyed? Well...you guys be the judge. Personally, I liked the Garrity story, but I'm a biased party in the judgment of it.
One last word on this subject, then I'm off to ring in the New Year with my fiancee, my future brother-in-law, and a bar full of strangers. I never was crazy about the title "A Question of Freedom". I stuck it on there as a working title as I sent it off to my buddy, the editor, to get his opinion on what revisions might need to be done to it. His response was to circle the working title of the story and express love over it. Because I generally suck at coming up with any title not directly drawn from the dialogue, I deferred to his judgment. He, after all, knew his stuff when it came to fiction as he was not only an avid reader, but a pro at proofing manuscripts. Even so, I'm still not crazy about the title of the piece.
But hey, what do I know. As I said before, I'm just a hack.
An interesting sidenote, the last name of the character, Garrity, was an intentional nod to Ray Garrity, the main character in Stephen King's "The Long Walk", which was written under the name of Richard Bachman. Yes, I like Stephen King. I really only enjoy the work he did as Bachman. Go read it. I'm sure you'll see a few similarities between his version of America and mine, and I give full credit for the inkling that formed my version of America coming from reading his story in my 7th grade English class.
Happy New Year, folks.
-J.C. Tabler
First off, the story did not start out as what it ended up being. Garrity, originally, was supposed to be a small town sheriff in the rural areas of Kentucky. That much is the same as the original idea. The deep-down idea that formed the story, though, was supposed to be something about werewolves and vampires, along with all other forms of supernatural creatures, living side-by-side with the human populace of a small town in Eastern Kentucky, their existence known to the local authorities by way of a century old agreement. I'll freely admit that this idea was lifted, in small concept parts, from an old online RPG that used to be on AOL called "Black Bayou". The concept of a small southern town rife with supernatural beings is really where the similarity was supposed to end.
"A Question of Freedom", or as I took to calling it, "The Garrity Story", was written over the period of a month. I started it on a Sunday in early September, then, other than the occassional paragraph or two at night, set it aside until the first week of October. I had other things to do, honestly, and the story was going off in a completely different direction. I would say, all in all, it was written in about 2 long typing sessions, the first Sunday morning session and then about 6 hours alone in the living room on that first Monday in October. For those one-or-two paragraph writing sitdowns, there were about four of them that resulted in nothing big. So, what you really have on Allegory's website is a story that was written in about two days with a month between them for me to think and brainstorm.
It really became obvious that this story wasn't going to be about vampires, werewolves, or anything else that would make Anne Rice cream her jeans around the third page. Without trying my heroic, wisecracking, and alcoholic sheriff was transformed into a beaten man in a dystopic America. I wish I could say the background of this America sprang fully formed from my head as I stared at the computer screen and chainsmoked, but no such luck. Halfway through the story I realized I was writing about a different version of the same America that I had jotted down notes on during those long nights working fire watch on the steamboat. This was just a more advanced version of it.
This future was, to clarify the story a bit, one where a horrible virus with a high mortality rate had been unleashed on the American people, and not intentionally. Though the virus was never clearly determined to be natural or chemically engineered, mainly because I could never figure that out myself, it was devestating and resulted in a "Black Plague" sort of situation that cut off the American people from advancement. Enter the Senator, a politician with the charisma to advance his own agenda and the determination to make a difference even if it meant destroying half the world. To control the plague that threatened to destroy America, he instituted a new form of law, becoming less a politician and more of a dictator as he ordered bombs dropped on the cities with the highest infection rate.
Years later, America was a police state. I know, it wasn't an original idea, but I realized as I wrote about Garrity being escorted to questioning that almost all of those "America has collapsed" stories out there deal with the urban experience in despotic America. What if, instead of werewolves and vampires, this small-town sheriff in the middle of BFE, Kentucky (write me an email and ask what BFE is if you don't know!) was just trying to survive the times while keeping a hold on the traditional values that shape the country. It was halfway through writing that I realized what the most important rural value was.
The hell with the Golden Rule. The most important lesson learned in the country is "An Eye for An Eye". A country sheriff is a bringer of justice. Is that conveyed? Well...you guys be the judge. Personally, I liked the Garrity story, but I'm a biased party in the judgment of it.
One last word on this subject, then I'm off to ring in the New Year with my fiancee, my future brother-in-law, and a bar full of strangers. I never was crazy about the title "A Question of Freedom". I stuck it on there as a working title as I sent it off to my buddy, the editor, to get his opinion on what revisions might need to be done to it. His response was to circle the working title of the story and express love over it. Because I generally suck at coming up with any title not directly drawn from the dialogue, I deferred to his judgment. He, after all, knew his stuff when it came to fiction as he was not only an avid reader, but a pro at proofing manuscripts. Even so, I'm still not crazy about the title of the piece.
But hey, what do I know. As I said before, I'm just a hack.
An interesting sidenote, the last name of the character, Garrity, was an intentional nod to Ray Garrity, the main character in Stephen King's "The Long Walk", which was written under the name of Richard Bachman. Yes, I like Stephen King. I really only enjoy the work he did as Bachman. Go read it. I'm sure you'll see a few similarities between his version of America and mine, and I give full credit for the inkling that formed my version of America coming from reading his story in my 7th grade English class.
Happy New Year, folks.
-J.C. Tabler
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