Waiting to be Written

Having polished off 2 stories recently, I turned to my great spreadsheet of ideas to see what was next. Five more short stories are waiting to be written - though one of them is no more than a title so far. Four novels are also waiting their turn: one that I started a couple of months back, plus two sequels (optimistically) and another book.

Where to start...

Two Stories in a Week

I finished another story today, though it's been hanging around since February when I wrote the first draft. 200 words was all it took, and a change in the main charater's persona.

I didn't think I'd written much this year, but in fact that's the sixth story I've completed.

When Objects and Characters Take Over

I've just written a 3000 word story based on a setting and concept that I've had floating round my head for several years. I was thinking about the plot on holiday last week and had the opening scene roughly formed, but couldn't decide which way to go with it. As I was sitting there my eyes lighted on a telescope, and suddenly the opening scene coalesced and I imediately wrote the first 1600 words.

Then I was stuck again. The plot arrived at a certain point, but I had no firm resolution in mind. The next scene came slowly to mind and I started typing it today. The two main characters fell into a conversation, and I realised gradually where they were going and what would happen. I finished at a completely unexpected destination, becasue that's where the characters wanted to go. It's only 3000 words but I really connected with theor world and their lives. It's a strange experience to have your story taken over by your own characters.

Held for Further Consideration

In the past couple of years the number of stories I've had published has plumetted dramaticaly, which is sometimes disheartening. I'm continually aiming for some of the toughest markets though, so persistence is vital. Several of my stories are being held for further consideration at some exciting magazines. Progress may be invisible, but it's still there.

Also in the Office

Following on from my previous post, I also found out last week that someone I work with in our Dublin office is the cousin of Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl books and the sequel to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, among other things.

I'm wondering what other secrets I might discover in the office...

The Other End of the Office

You never know who you're working with. I spend most of my time at work on a site of about 500 people, and there are lots of people I don't know, so I was surprised when an internal email anounced a debut SF novel publication.

Simon West-Bulford works in an office a couple of hundred yards from me, across a carpark and past the restaurant. His hard SF novel The Soul Consortium has been published by Medallion Press and looks like the kind of enjoyably mind-blowing fiction I like to read:

In a future so distant that time is almost without meaning, death is defeated and immortality has been made reality through instantaneous cloning and synaptic transfer. But mankind, frustrated by the futility of timeless existence, chooses extinction. All but one man.

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

Random Interview Question: Kim Lakin-Smith

After writing several short stories that I enjoyed, Kim Lakin-Smith's novel Cyber Circus was recently published by NewCon Press.

Q. If you ran away to the circus, what act would you join?

A. If I could be any act in the circus, I would be an animal tamer. Wielding everyday household objects like a wooden chair or a bullwhip, I would commune with Vermicious Knids, take my vorpal sword in hand against the Jabberwocky, and set monsters off on a wild rumpus. The top hat is rather dapper too.

Random Interview Question: Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts has produced several entertaining and varied novels, including the Gulliver's Travels fantasy sequel Swiftly.

Q. Would you rather move to Lilliput or Brobdingnag?

A. I'm a shade below 6'2". My wife is 5'0", my 10-year old daughter approaching that height, my son 4 years old. I'm already living Gulliver's life in Lilliput. So the answer to your question is: I suppose I should probably give Brobdingnag a go, just to see what that's like. And, actually, if you've read Swift's novel you'll know that the Brobdingnagians are a much more civilised, reasonable bunch of people than the petty, belligerent Liliputians.

Random Interview Question: Gareth L Powell

I've been following Gareth L Powell's writing for a few years now, since we appeared in the same TOC in Aphelion magazine. Gareth's enjoyable space opera novel The Recollection was published last year. This question may not make much sense if you haven't read the book, but I don't want to spoil anything by explaining.

Q. If you were swallowed up by The Recollection, who (from anywhere or anywhen) would you hang out with?

A. If I were swallowed up by The Recollection, I’d get Jack Kerouac, Philip K Dick, Walt Whitman and Hunter S Thompson together for a night of wild talk; I’d argue about science fiction with JG Ballard, Douglas Coupland, Cordwainer Smith and Samuel Delany; and I’d get Stephen Hawking, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Marguerite Hay Drummond-Hay, and Brian Cox around a table and hang on their every word.

Promising Start

Several monts after finishing Gap Years, I've started work on Promised Land, my third novel. I've been working on the synopsis, plot summary and other supporting nformation on and off for several months, but the concept for the story has been developingin my head for so many years I don't remember when it started.

First 1000 words complete, 99,000 to go.