Non-fiction marathon
Posted on | September 12, 2006 | 2 Comments
I think I finally have my Cemetery Dance column for issue #57 under control. These things take a long time to write. It’s basically a work in progress for the two-to-three month span between issues. Then, as deadline approaches (this Friday), I have to whip the unwieldy thing into some semblance of shape. Robert Morrish, my editor has asked me to keep them below 6000 words. In the early days, most columns were 7500 words or longer. This one will come in at 5500, unless something happens in the next few days that needs addin’ in. I also have to amass the accompanying graphics. I send along a ZIP file with more than enough for Robert to choose from. Sometimes I use stock photography (book covers, movie ad sheets), but occasionally I get reader-contributed artwork, which is great because then it’s unique and interesting.
After that deadline, I have a Storytellers Unplugged column to write before Sunday. I’m starting to get an idea of what I might write about, but since I haven’t yet put pen to paper (so to speak), that might change.
Than, after that, I have a September 30th deadline to get something in for an Overlook Connection catalog article. I started that article, but am far from close to finishing it. I also have a batch of books I’ve read recently that I want to review, but there’s no deadline on them. I do like to write the reviews soon after I’m done reading the books, though, so the details are fresh in my mind.
I’ll be glad to get all of this non-fiction out of the way. I received an invitation recently to submit a story to an anthology. I’ve been rolling ideas around in the back of my mind ever since I read the guidelines. Last night, after I went to bed, concrete images started forming. I know who the main character is and some of the circumstances of his plight. I know details of his past that may or may not come to light in the story but which inform his personality. I have ideas about a strange occurrence that propels the plot. So much of this crystallized in my mind so quickly that I had to get up, grab my bedside ledger, and jot it all down. I have a strong suspicion that these ideas will stay with me even without writing them down, but sometimes there is nuance that happens at the moment of inception that doesn’t persist with the same intensity. That’s what I like to try to capture in the journal.
I’m not ready to start writing the story yet, but I feel like my mind is preparing for the moment when my desk is clear. (HA! As if that will ever happen.)
However, since I’m a perverse sort, I just sent off a query to a newspaper pitching an article based on my Citizens’ Police Academy experiences. I’m always looking for more things to write about. I have a query letter sitting on my computer waiting to be sent to someone that, if it leads to something, could mean a lot of work. Fun work, but work nonetheless. Guess I’m just a glutton for punishment.
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About
Bev Vincent is the author of The Road to the Dark Tower, the Bram Stoker Award nominated companion to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, which was nominated for a 2010 Edgar® Award and a 2009 Bram Stoker Award.
His short fiction has appeared in places like Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, From the Borderlands and The Blue Religion. He is a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine and a member of the Storytellers Unplugged blogging community. He also writes book reviews for Onyx Reviews.
September 12th, 2006 @ 12:54 pm
By Overlook catalog do you mean their e-mail newsletter or is Dave going back to the old snail mail catalog format?
September 12th, 2006 @ 1:09 pm
Remains to be seen.