Mr. Powerball

This week in my newspaper column, I reveal what I’ll do once I inevitably win the Powerball. You can read it for free here. My column is on page 2. Also, past columns are available in the archives.

Sunday

I spent the morning watching the Sunday news shows (I’m a news junkie, in case I’ve never mentioned it) and writing my weekly humor column for a local newspaper.

Later, I recorded an interview with horror author Kealan Patrick Burke for an upcoming installment of Pod of Horror. His new novella Sour Candy is one of the best things I’ve read in recent memory. We discussed that and many other topics. The interview will appear on Pod of Horror #80, which should be out in the next week to 10 days. I’ll let you know when it’s streaming.

I also dabbled a bit with the short story I mentioned earlier. I know, I know. I have a novel to finish and The Dead Sheriff to revise (and then the Donovan Pike book and a collection of pulp stories and something else I’m talking about with a collaborator...) but I love short stories. I love reading them and writing them.

Once it’s finished I’m not sure I’ll know what to do with it. I’m very out of touch with the markets these days, and most of the magazines I like to read all seem to be closed to submissions.

Still, that’s okay. It’s a story that’s demanding to be written and that’s all that really matters.

Writing Update

With the erratic nature of my schedule (and other issues over the last few years) I’ve decided not to make any predictions or premature announcements about my writing.

Having delivered that disclaimer, I can say the writing is going well on the new horror novel. If things stay on track, I hope to have this finished around Thanksgiving. Typing “The End” and following it up with mashed potatoes and dressing would be a powerful combination.

Also, there’s movement on another project. It’s actually an old one, but by the time it’s published it will be new again. Is that cryptic enough?

I should be able to announce something here right around the first of the year.

Keep your fingers crossed. I’m hoping for good things in 2016.

The Perils of Vocabulary

While speaking at the Dogwood Writing Conference yesterday, I recalled the first story I ever wrote (or the first I finished; I’m sure there were several earlier attempts).

I was in sixth grade, and when I was given the assignment, I set pencil to paper and wrote a story about a bullied sixth-grader who responded by developing destructive telekinetic powers (and this was in the 1960s, long before Stephen King’s Carrie).

The lined notebook paper with my story has long been lost, but I remember that in his rage and fear, the boy destroyed the school, killing the staff and the students. Had a kid written that story today he would probably be hauled off to a shrink and put on a Homeland Security watch list.

Instead, my teacher accused me of plagiarizing the story or of having someone else write it for me.

She said the writing was too advanced for my age, and she was particularly troubled by my use of the word “visage” to describe the bullied boy’s face.

To say I was devastated would be a massive understatement. Like a lot of kids, I craved the approval of the authority figures in my life, especially my parents and teachers. Now I had not only failed to please my teacher, she was accusing me of cheating.

Even now, I remember my frustration and, yes, my fear. I imagined being punished or even kicked out of school. Even worse, the incident could follow me around forever as part of that eternal threat from the forces of education, my Permanent Record.

I tried to explain to her that I had come across “visage” dozens of time in books and, especially, the Marvel comics written by Stan Lee. She wasn’t buying it.

Here comes the part that separates true stories from fiction: I don’t remember how it ended.

I think my parents got involved. If so, they would have told my teacher about my voracious reading habit. And my father would have certainly lost his temper. It was something he did very well.

Ultimately, life went on and my permanent record was unscathed. I got an early lesson in handling rejection. Sometimes I think it would be cool if Dad was still around to yell at publishers for me.

Thanks to the Dogwood Writing Conference for the invitation to speak. The audience asked some great questions and bought several of my books. Being around like-minded people for a little while is always a good experience.

The location was the lodge at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, a gorgeous setting. Here’s a pic of the lodge, likely taken a few years ago:

The New Novel-Day 1

I started a new novel today. I thought I would post my progress here for motivation. I'm going to try to get something done on it every day, though my job sometimes makes that impossible. Also, I have some other writing projects I have to attend to in the next few weeks, so we'll see how it works out.

By the way, it's a horror novel. For now, let's just call it TLH. Here's today's word count and my projected finish:

2,122/80,000

Jane Espenson

She writes some of the funniest dialogue on TV. She's a veteran of Buffy, Angel, Gilmore Girls, Battlestar Galactica and a ton of other shows. And she has a great blog.

Many of the points Jane Espenson makes about writing scripts can be applied to prose, from plotting choices to timing.

I stop by every few days. It's a worthwhile destination for any writer.