Okay, I’ll admit, my vacation wasn’t that long. Therapeutic, yes, but over. I finished three different video games (Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 1, Shadow of the Colossus) and started a fourth (Galerians). I ate Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, entire pizzas, McDonald’s, Subway, and finished a giant bottle of red wine. There’s nothing more indulgent than taking a big glass of wine down to the computer and drinking and playing Resident Evil.
But no writing happened. But that’s good – it’s good to clear your mind for a while. Especially when you’re in idea generation mode. It can get frustrating when you try to think of how you’re going to get from point A to B and have it make sense or flow well, because it’s too close to scene C or negates scene D.
But I’ve been… concentrating. While I’m waiting for my wife to finish reading Black Hole Son (she’s on page 40! … of 239), I’ve been forming the outline for Mermaid Story. Parts of it are going well, parts of it are not, and I’m wondering how the hell I ever got Black Hole Son together, because this seems like a mish-mash with bigger gaps and holes than a Minnesota road after winter. The easiest part has been the beginning. The hardest part is the ending. And by ending, I mean the last 40% of the story. I’ve often caught myself staring off into space, trying to fine-tune, work backward, or just wait for divine light to shoot out of my head. Some days I get nowhere. Some days I get one good idea, and even from that I’m pleased. But it’s not like I’m on a deadline.
My biggest fear is that this won’t be as “fun” as Black Hole Son. I’m not sure the characters are likable or people you’d want to be with. But I haven’t given them tangible traits yet, so I shouldn’t worry. The story is still as malleable as Jell-o.
No, I’m not working on short stories for a while. For one thing, I’m waiting on some to pass through the Critters sphincter. Also, I’ve been doing some beta-reading for others, in exchange for my own novel. So it’s not like I’m letting my skills atrophy. All the ones I have submitted are still in limbo, but it’s been a while since I got a rejection.
