A month and no story finished

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 4/0.

Another Sunday came and went, and I still haven't finished a story. If I had set myself the modest goal of completing one short story each month, I would have failed at that too, at this point.

I am still working on the same story, if one could call it work. My thoughts are still on it, when I think about writing. Either that or they are on this blog. I guess that is a good thing. I know from experience, however, that actually trying to write a paragraph or a scene is so much more fruitful than just walking around doing day to day stuff and pondering about a story.

When I do have a little bit of time for myself I still turn to reading. I keep saying to myself, Let me just get this one novel done with and I'll start writing. But there is always another novel waiting.

My parents are coming in a week, which usually means that the next month will be a busy one. Viking-con is also approaching, as is my birthday. I hope to attend the former, hope to dodge the latter. Alas, things will probably turn out the other way around.

What to read next?

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 3/0.

I really shouldn't worry about what novel to read next. I should stick to reading a short story each day and spend the rest of my free time writing. I can't help getting excited, however, when I am nearing the end of the novel I am currently reading, about what I should read next. There are so many good, tantalizing novels still on he shelf.

I am reading Citadel of the Autarch, by Gene Wolfe. Although I have enjoyed the series, I do not think I will seek out another Wolfe novel quite yet. Though there are a number of novels set in the same universe as the Book of the New Sun series.

I have been feeling tired and down lately. Therefore I was thinking of reading something to cheer me up - a comedy. I have heard great things about A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, so when I finally do start another comedy, I think that will be it.

Another option would be to read a lugubrious novel, where I might identify with the protagonist. The novel Stoner, by John Williams, has long been on my reading list and might just fit the bill from what I've read.

A third option would be to drop the long, old reading list and try to keep up with what is current. I could pick up J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, which I am sure will play a larger part in literary fora for some time than the classics above.

I still have a number of pages to go through still, however, and as earlier mentioned, I shouldn't really be thinking about the next novel to read.

Writing again

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 200 words.
Sundays/Stories finished: 3/0.

I didn't really write 200 words yesterday. I wrote them today and I did it in longhand. I don't feel like counting them up, but I think 200 is a good guess.

Here is a little sample picture of my writing. I Don't know how it'll look like published. I, still, write all this from my Galaxy Tab, using an application called Bloggerdroid, and it is all text. There is no easy way to see how the image will be formatted in the published post.



What I wrote earlier today is more of the synopsis for a short story. I can't really call it a synopsis any longer, because it is getting detailed. I got the idea from YouTube video (I'll post it if I ever come across it again). The idea is to write increasingly more detailed synopses (is that correct in plural?). Once you end up with an account that is perhaps a quarter of the length you intend the story to be, then you start on the real thing.

In theory, I should never get stuck in the real work of writing the story, because I know everything that happends. I won't suddenly find myself stuck. Often enough you think up a storyline where two characters drive to a destination and when you start writing that scene you realize you don't know what they talk about, even though you had envisioned that it took up a significant part of the story.

So you get stuck and you don't write anymore and you leave the story for a day or two and suddenly it's gone. Hopefully this new exercise will get rid of that. It is offcourse a little bit of extra work, but I have to say it looks like it could work and I have enjoyed writing it. The synopsis isn't finished yet, but not a lot is missing and soon I hope to start writing the real story.

Orderly writing

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 3/0.

Today has been busy, as most are. My wife went to see a friend so I put the baby to sleep. We also made an effort, my wife and I, to clean the living room and although we have some way to go, it feels good to be writing this in a clean enviroment.

I need that when I write. Quiet and order, a clean room, the coffee made, the desk free of clutter, nothing waiting - like the dishes. I can still write without all those things, so I guess 'need' is not the correct term. I wrote my master's thesis without all that. What I mean is I need everything in order if I am to enjoy writing. My days, as they are now, don't offer much order and quiet, so I don't particularily enjoy writing.

Perhaps the rant above is just another excuse. I probably spend more time finding excuses for not writing, than I do writing. I love to read, currently. I crave it. I think that it is yet another ploy to keep from staring at that empty page.

I have thought about giving longhand a chance. Perhaps I should get myself a legal pad and a pen and just leave the house for an evening or two each week. I wonder what place I can go to? I could just take a bus. To the end station and back. Perhaps I'll try that soon.

Tomorrow I have plans. My brother is leaving again and I need to see him so I can pick up the keys to my parent's apartment. I meant to make plans to see him before he left. Really see him, I mean, like go out to see a movie, not just pick up keys. The days were just filled up, however, and I never got around to it.

Time creeps, time flies.

Daily Goal 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 3/0.

I think days are dreadfully long, now that I have a kid. Random people, distant relatives, strangers on the bus, keep saying, Enjoy it while it lasts, before you know it she'll be grown up. You've heard that cliche, I am sure. I don't think it's all true, but it isn't all wrong either. Days with a kid are dreadfully long, sometimes, but on the other hand, you never really get to the bottom of things.

One example is the dishes (I don't own a dishwasher). I used to like washing dishes. Doing them gave me back some energy after dinner. Otherwise, I'd just sit in front of the computer after eating and waste the evening. Then you meet someone - in my case I got married - and you are suddenly doing the dishes for two people. It is still enjoyable, but on occasions it becomes a little bit of a hassle: If you don't watch out a mountain can pile up. A baby uses up an incredible amount of plates and cups and spoons: much more than a grown-up.

Now I am doing the dishes for what seems like four people and I have to do it while taking care of a baby. Furhtermore, I can't do them while she is asleep, or she'll wake up, which means I'll have to have them washed before she goes to bed at around seven o'clock in the evening.

I worry about them constantly. It is the same with doing the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, and the shopping. The amount of milk one buys every trip to the mall. I have to bring my school bag, lest my arms fall off on the way back home. It is even a relief, when she's good, to bring the baby, because you can pile the groceries into the carriage.

What my point is - about time perception - is that it seems that one never really finishes anything. There isn't enough time to do all the stuff that needs doing. At some point in the future, I imagine, I will finally finish that metaphorical pile of dirty dishes. Suddenly I will find myself with time to spare again: time to think and to reflect. In hindsight I'll think, How time just flew away.

Finished Sword of the Lictor

Daily Goal 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories finished 3/0.

Another week has gone and I am nowhere near completing a story. I should have had three completed short stories now 'out there' being considered.

Alas the time I do have for myself I spend reading. I have finished Sword of the Lictor and started Citadel of the Autarch, the last in the series, by Gene Wolfe. I find myself already planning what to read next and I really shouldn't. I should stick to reading one short story a day and spending the rest of my free time writing.

Sword of the Lictor was wonderful. I ought to have written a detailed review, but I don't have the time and energy tonight. I found out there is an illustrated and signed edition of the four novels. How cool they would fit on my shelf, but what little means I rule are better spent elsewhere.

I will end this post here. Tired, as always, want to read more before I go to bed, as I mostly do too, Have plenty to say, but no energy to say it with. What is the title of that short story? 'I have no mouth but I must scream'. I feel like writing, but I am always too tired, it seems. Probably just a bad excuse. I just need more discipline and routine.

Reading Gene Wolfe instead of writing

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories finished: 2/0.

I had a busy day again today. My brother came back from Thailand, where he has been at a kickboxing camp (I write kickboxing, because I would probably misspell, Muy Thai, is it?), and me, my wife, with baby in tow, went to see him settled in. He is going to stay in Denmark for a few days, so perhaps we can catch a movie before he leaves.

Anyway, there hasn't been much time for writing. If I really wanted to, I could have spent perhaps an hour or so writing, but I spent it reading instead. The novel I am currently reading, I am on the last few chapters, is Sword of the Lictor, by Gene Wolfe. It is the third novel in his series called the Book of the New Sun. I have heard (read rather) great things about Gene Wolfe, but I have to confess that I have been a little disappointed until now. The first two novels of the series, The Shadow of the Torturer and Claw of the Conciliator, did not sweep me of my feet. Don't get me wrong, they are entertaining books, well written, set in an interesting universe, with a great protagonist. I wouldn't consider them candidates from the greates living English writer, however. The Sword of the Lictor, on the other hand, does enter into another level of quality. I'll tell you what I think when I finish the series.

It is late here, so I will sign off for now. I also want to finish the novel before I go to sleep and it is already too late.

Return from break

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories finished: 2/0.

A few days ago I was on my way to bed when I realized that I hadn't updated my blog. I normally rush out a post at that point, but that night I thought, What the heck, no one will miss one blog post. The next night, same scenario, it was rather easier to miss the update. Easier still the third night.

So I have finally ended the bad habit and sit here in front of my tablet and keyboard. Those are the only good news, however, on the writing front. I have written almost nothing these last few days. I did have a good idea for a story and the only serious writing I have done is a synopsis and a few notes concerning that idea.

The idea is reminiscent of the first story I never wrote when I first started this blog, about two boys who want to cross a river, but there is a nice sinister twist this time around and I can't wait for a nice quite time when I can sit down and write a draft.

On the non-literary front all is well, but hectic. We are still unpacking and getting everything sorted. Our apartment is much smaller than my parents's. All the stuff that didn't take up that much space at their apartment now floods this one. Whenever we clean one room, we move all the stuff into the other room and then we move it back again to clean the... And so on.

Unpacking

Daily goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 1/0.

Writing the stats above - which have lost their formating since I have switched to writing these post with my Galaxy Tab, a change that also has deprived my of a spellchecker - it would seem odd almost by now to write anything other than a 0 for words written yesterday.

Today went by quickly. I have returned the car we borrowed while moving, we have cleaned the bedroom, and a number of boxes have been opened and unpacked, their contents sorted and stored.

Again I feel very tired writing this. I will not follow my blog update with any more literary pursuits, just sleep - good sleep, hopefully.

Moving day

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays&Stories Finished: 1/0.

We moved today. It went quite well, but it still feels good to finially be finished with the day.

I am further in to The Sword of the Lictor now and I still want to introduce those of you unfamiliar with him to Gene Wolfe, but I don't have the energy tonight. I am already thinking about going to bed now, instead of reading or writing, so I should wrap this up. I just didnt want to finish the day without an update on the blog.

I am writing right now on a bluetooth keyboard with my Galaxy Tab. I hope to start using this combo to write short stories. At my parent's apartment I used their stationary computer. Me and my wife share a laptop usually, however, and sharing isn't that great a thing when it comes to the equipment you work with.

When I can afford it I might buy a new. That way I could grab the old one for writing. As for now this setu serves me well for there are fewer distractions on a tablet than on a pc.

A day of ideas

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 1/0.

As expected the day went by quickly. There was not much time between taking care of the baby and getting stuff ready to move tomorrow.

I did finish a chapter more of How to Write Short Stories for Magazines, by Sophie King. The chapter was about getting ideas and writing them down. After the read I went for a walk with the stroller (baby carriage) - my girl likes to nap at about 9 o'clock in the morning and doing it in the stroller gives her mother a nice break. I had plenty of ideas while out walking and I wrote them down in a notepad I keep in the stroller for the purpose. I didn't count that into the daily word count.

I feel tired now after a long day. Tomorrow offers more of the same. I have started reading a novel as well: The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe. The author and the series of which that book is number three deserves a warm recommendation to anyone interested in science fiction, but I am too tired to go into details today.

Reading 'How to' books

Daily Goal 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories finished: 1/0.

Another count I need to keep up there is how many weeks I didn't manage to finish a story. The idea is to finish one short story each week.

Today I started reading How to Write Short Stories for Magazines by Sophie King. I plan to plow my way through several of the books on the craft. I learned that lesson playing poker. Just a tiny little piece of advice from a book can earn you or save you an incredible amount down the line. I have just read the first chapter of Sophie's book so far, but already I have gained a little knowledge about the magazine market.

In other news: Me and my wife are in the process of moving back into our apartment. My parents have not been using theirs for some time and while I was writing my thesis we have borrowed it. It helps having an office. By the way, there is one piece of advice I learned the hard way. If you plan on having a baby and you are taking a Master's degree in anything, wait till after the thesis before having the baby. My wife and I thought it would be a splendid idea to get the baby in time for the thesis, that way I would have plenty of time to help with the baby. If I would have written a blog during those six months, it would have been a sad read. Sadder than writing 0 words in a day.

Anyway, the point about us moving is that I might not get much work done this week on the literary front. We have been lucky enough to borrow a car from some friends, so that will help matters. It will still be hard work: moving a lot of stuff and cleaning both apartments with a baby in tow.

Finished Blood Meridian

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.

I think I might have to pick a new title for the blog: 'How I Don't Write Short Stories'.

I have just finished Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy. I think it was great. It is like a serious movie, if you want to give it a go - like, say, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - read it when you feel like taking on a serious read. Don't go into it lightly or you might just stumble. It really grips you a third of the way in or so. First you feel much like the kid, the protagonist, surrounded by strangers, just along for the ride. By the time you finally get some information about the characters, you find you already know them, since you've been alongside them for so long.

It is very bloody. I think even Shklovsky would have called it bloody.

Now that I have finished the novel, I plan to read short stories for some time. I hope to I will be able to steal more from reading short stories, than from novels and that the practice will fuel some motivation to write myself.

It is getting late here, so I will leave more blogging for another day.

Another zero

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.

My plan is to write a more detailed outline for the short story, but I haven't written anything for two days now. Of things relating to literature, I have been doing plenty. I have read and watched videos about writing. I have almost completed Blood Meridian. I have been looking for what book to start next. However, I don't really feel to up for sitting down and writing much.

Today it even seemed like a chore to sit down and write this blog. Once I got started, however, it felt great. A daily blog is a guaranteed thing that will force me to think and work with literature each day at a specific time. I think that in the long run these sessions will provide the structure and discipline that will facilitate a more rigid work ethic.

Two days off won't kill me. Neither will three and I seriously doubt that I will write anything more than this blog tonight.

On YouTube in suggested videos this one turned up:

He comes across as a bit pretentious perhaps, but I do like his approach to writing. In a few blog posts back, I wrote about how he said he managed 500 - 800 words on good days. In the above video and the rest of the series, he goes into a bit more detail about how he writes.

Doing everything else

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.

I had a long break today with plenty of time to do some writing, but instead I did all the other things that had piled up. I didn't write anything after the blog update yesterday either. I did think about writing something down in a hurry, before doing this update, but that would be cheating. Since there is no one reading this blog anyway, I would only be cheating myself.

I have been reading a chapter or so each day these last few days: Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy. The man can write. I don't think I approve of all the elements of his style, but a few chapters in I could safely say that I will never write that well, so I have no authority to fault his writing. He has that kind of raw, sparse American style of writing. Yet, he doesn't make it simple, he says just enough that you can follow it all, if you pay attention.

I don't know if I will write anything else today. My faith in the last short story is flickering now. Perhaps I should plan or outline better. I have a few things I want to try with outlining of short stories. When I find what works, I'll be sure to write about it. Outlining is something I think I need before I can craft a decent tale - not just when it comes to novels, but also short stories.

For now I think I will relax and read some more. Another day will dawn tomorrow. Perhaps I have some energy to write more then.

A change of story

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 270 words.

Better than yesterday, I guess. I decided to change the story I am working on. The previous story left me a bit stuck, so I'm giving another one a try.

The short story I am working on now is about a couple's thwarted attempt at attending the first party after the birth of their daughter. The structure is simple: (1) the couple get ready for the party; (2) they arrive at the party, but the baby's crying forces them to leave; (3) the baby has fallen asleep and the couple reflect on the day while eating takeout.

I am writing the story with a themed publication in mind: Stealing Time. With a deadline in October, the parenting magazine has an issue whose theme is "Celebration". I read those details when I got my newsletter  from Duotrope. It stuck in my mind and that little plot above slowly formed over a couple of days. Duotrope, by the way, is a useful site for finding a publisher.

It made more sense to start out with a story where I have a more fully formed plot. The 200 and some words I wrote yesterday flowed quite easily. I have a feeling that the next 200 will not flow as well, but I hope to at least best today's effort tomorrow.

I have called the story "The Dinner", follow the link to Google Docs if you would like to read or comment.

The last few days have been mostly taking care of the baby. No parties have been thwarted, however. I was at a party a week ago and all went well. She is getting her first tooth and requires a bit of extra attention. We made another long trip today to see if we could pick up Neil Gaiman's American Gods. The bookshop must have had all his other novels and several copies of them, but Gods was sold out. I do make the trips mostly to entertain my baby girl, though, and give her mother a break.

500 words a day

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 20 words.

Sad is all it is: 20 words. I might as well post them:

“I’ll show you where it’s dug.” The kid set off towards the river without looking back.The boy followed.

 Actually those are, probably, just nineteen words. I wrote a temporary title, "Crossing", as well.

After I finished my blog post yesterday, I did refill my coffee, and then turned straight to writing. After those twenty words I thought:  "This is a nice start. I'll take a little break and write the rest afterwards."

I want to write 500 words, minimum, every day. No days off. It is a work ethic that countless great authors have kept to and it makes sense. A day off from a story only creates a distance that you don't really want. You stop thinking about the story. I am still thinking about the story that those 20 words will hopefully turn into, but if I write nothing tonight, it will slowly slip from my mind.

Stephen King, I believe, writes 2000 words a day. His only days off are Christmas and his birthday. I read that, I think, in On Writing, a really great book about his experiences as a writer. Hemingway wrote 1000 words each morning. He first read and edited the 1000 words he wrote the day before. This I've read somewhere, I can't remember. He would sometimes stop at exactly 1000, so he'd really want to finish the sentence the next day.
I am pretty sure that I don't write the same way Stephen King or Hemingway write/wrote. I have never read anything by Ian McEwan - he is on my reading list - so I don't know if I could identify with his style or method, but I saw this little video on YouTube:

500 to 800 words on a good day sounds more like what I can manage. That doesn't mean I couldn't write more. Writing a blog post like this takes little effort. I find it difficult, however, to write good fiction, at the same pace I write a blog or a diary or a journal.

The story, "Crossing", of which I got twenty words down on paper yesterday, is about two boys who want to cross a river. That is my idea for the story, together with the first line of dialogue, mentioned above. I don't know if I'll drop it for something else tonight, but soon, I hope, I'll find something to stick with until I feel that it is good enough to send into some magazine for consideration.

First!

Daily Goal: 500 words.

Yesterday I wrote 0 words.

Another plateau in my life, another blog. This very space held my last attempt at a blog about writing, but with a new start I've revamped the blog and changed the concept as well.

I aim to get published. Each day I've set myself a goal of writing 500 words. Each Sunday I hope to finish a short story and send it to some publisher for consideration.

The idea about finishing a short story each week I got from a YouTube video featuring Ray Bradbury:

The lecture he holds is about an hour long. Unless you are a fan, I wouldn't recommend watching it all. He rambles on about how great writing is and how he got started. The advise I took from the lecture - about finishing a short story each week - is about the only useful thing he says about the craft of writing.

The structure of this blog I thought would be different from Bradbury's lecture. Sure, I'll probably ramble a bit, but I'll try to get one tip, trick, advise or thought about writing into each post. Today's tip is the one from Bradbury :) I'll also keep it simple, casual and fast. If I am to get into the habit of making a daily update, I need to be able to write a new post in half an hour or so.

I thought I'd finish each update with writing about what has happened since my last post: both in terms of writing and in general. Since I didn't write anything yesterday or today (never mind the fact that there hasn't been any last post to count from), I'll tell you about how my day has been so far.

I woke at 6 o'clock in the morning - or rather my almost 8 month old girl woke at that hour. It took about an hour to get her to take her first nap, which lasted 40 minutes. She napped in her stroller (or baby carriage), with me pushing it, so it didn't provide much of a break.

The next nap she spent with her mother, it gave me a two hour break, which I spent sleeping.

Since then I've been taking care of the baby, doing the dishes, and I had a long trip, with the baby to a bookstore to see if they had Neil Gaiman's American Gods. The trip was fine, but the shop didn't have the book. I want to get it for my brother-in-law, whose birthday is coming up.

My half hour has come and gone. I'll give what I've written a quick read-through, before I post. Then I'll refill my cup with coffee and hope to churn out 500 words or more.