2000 words, gone in a flash
Today’s one of those crazy days when I have far too much to do and far too little time to do it all—except it all seems to be getting done. I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a week and won’t be around a computer while I’m gone.
Over the past two mornings, I’ve turned a 6900-word short [...]
Second draft
Since I’m going out of town on Wednesday for a week, I decided to get the current story, called “Adrift,” back in the hands of the editor. I called what I sent him a second draft, but in reality it is more like a tenth draft. It’s been a long time since I’ve edited something [...]
Where did the summer go?
I know, I know, summer doesn’t end for a while, and it’s still hotter than blazes, but school is starting up again soon and it feels like summer is over and I somehow missed that it even started. I’ve had my head buried in work and writing and haven’t taken much time off except for [...]
Doors Open
I finally sat down and read the 15-part serial novella “Doors Open” by crime writer Ian Rankin that has been published in the NY Times Sunday magazine over the past several months. It’s a tad under 40,000 words, 2500 words per installment. Michael Connelly did the same thing with his story The Outlook and later [...]
Editing redux
Got through another few pages of the short story this morning. It’s slow going, but worth it, I think. I’m still making some fairly major structural changes, moving paragraphs and sentences, deleting, adding, smoothing. Maybe by the end of tomorrow’s session I’ll have made it to the end and I can print the beastie out [...]
I forgot to add a title to yesterday’s post
I usually title my posts. I like the way the titles break up entries when I’m viewing my friends’ posts. Without a title, sometimes it’s hard to tell where one ends and another begins.
This morning I did a solid edit of the first six pages of the story in progress, and I think I have [...]
469
I spent all day yesterday working on a new draft of the story-in-progress. It’s really tough work because I want to get it exactly right. I still haven’t told the tale I want to tell all the way, but I’m getting there. I completely rewrote the first page. I have a habit of starting with [...]
Evil Dick lives to fight another day
We’re supposed to get more rain from TS Erin today, but so far it’s been clear. Yesterday we just got a good soaking, though there were many streets that flooded downtown and a couple of roof collapses (at least one fatal) during the storm.
My new Storytellers essay Are Critique Groups Worthwhile? is now up. Take [...]
Getting ahead of the writer
How do you feel when you work out something in a story/movie/TV show before the “big reveal?” Do you feel proud of yourself for putting something together or cheated because something was obvious and yet the writers danced around it like it was a big mystery? Take for example this week’s episode of The Closer. [...]
Dustin the wind
I’m pretty close to being finished with my Storytellers essay. I’ll read it over again once more, then record it for the Podango podcast tonight. I usually find a couple of rough spots when I read it aloud.
I was really impressed with Jen on Big Brother 8 last night. The way she planted doubt in [...]
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.
