I can see clearly now
Posted on | February 14, 2007 | 4 Comments
Got my new specs last night. The second prescription I’ve had with progressive lenses. These ones are more sophisticated than the previous. They handle angular/peripheral differently in addition to being stronger. They’re taking a little getting used to, but I noticed an immediate improvement when I put them on yesterday, so I guess that’s good. It’s gotten to the point where I have to tilt my head to find the “sweet spot” for whatever distance I’m trying to see.
I just submitted a 300-word bio for my appearance in the next issue of Apex Digest. Hell, that’s nearly as long as the story.
I’m loving my new iPod. Last night I transferred all the albums I’ve purchased through iTunes onto it. I have over a day’s worth of listening on the thing, and it’s just over 3% full. Remember the days when we were pleased to be able to take an hour’s worth of music on a cassette tape—and later on a CD? Now we can easily carry a month’s worth in a gadget a fraction the size of the original Walkmans.
I took the morning off from writing. If I get up at 5 a.m. every weekday, by the time Friday rolls around I’m pretty wrung out. Since I’m between projects, it seemed like a good day to skip. Tomorrow I’ll edit my Storytellers essay to get it ready for Saturday. I know what market I’m going to write a story for next, and I’ve been doing some research, but I don’t have a plot yet, just the shadowy, vague concept of one. This weekend I plan to read the rest of the research material I downloaded and then do some serious cogitating about the nature of my protagonist (I kind of know him, but not quite). I know the setting and the circumstances, but not the details nor the outcome. I may not start the story this weekend, but I want to be ready to start it next week, since the deadline is in early March.
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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.
February 14th, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
how do you find the inspiration to keep writing every day? i can always find inspiration to keep knitting, but when i have to write creative stories about how the items came to be, i’m always stumped.
February 14th, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
I have enough irons in the fire that if I can’t think of something to do on one project I can do something else. I always have my Cemetery Dance columns to fall back on, which are ongoing during the two months between deadlines. Or a storytellers essay, or a book review. Or I can pull up an old, unsold story and review it to see if it should be revised. Or I can manage my submissions and see if I have a delinquent story that needs a new market. These are all good fallbacks.
But once I start something new, be it story or novel, it’s full speed ahead. Add to the end or revise the existing parts or research something, but usually it’s new words.
It’s not really inspiration—it’s just work. And channeling.
February 15th, 2007 @ 4:35 pm
You’re right, sir. That was one impressively long bio!
February 15th, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
You said < 300 words, so I took full advantage! My normal bios are only 1/3 as long. I can easily trim it if I went overboard.