Yesterday, I finished reading the March F&SF by reading Albert E Cowdrey’s “The Revivalist” and wow, what a great story. 18,ooo words short, I read the entire thing (while laughing out loud a half-dozen times) in a single sitting. Terrific stuff.

I spent a good deal of time today rewriting a story entitled “Twenty-Pound Hammers” that’s a spin on the John Henry myth. This story very nearly sold just before Clarion and would have been my first. I tore the thing down, rewrote it about nine months ago, and have since sent it to a couple places. I just got it back on Friday and I decided to give it a once-over before I released it back into the world. My first thought? I can do better than this.

One of the more infamous entries in Heinlein’s Rules of Writing is that you should only rewrite to editorial request. Yes, you can keep tinkering with a story forever as an excuse for not sending it out, and yes, an editor might buy the same exact story a different editor passed up. However, for newbies like me I think it’s a good idea to take a hard look at a story and honestly assess it.

My biggest problem is I need time—-like six months—-to purge a story from my memory banks. I lose perspective on my own stuff with a bewildering speed. I hadn’t looked at the story in question for a long time and when I did read it, I understood immediately why it had been rejected. Did I fix it today? I dunno. But I’m sure that this version is better than the one I just sent out.

I’m also settling down a little. Yes, I want to sell another story sooner than later but I appreciate that I need to earn it. I think my stories are pretty good, but I also understand that I don’t have the skill to pull off an 18K-worder like Mr. Cowdrey’s “The Revivalist.” Yet. Mr. Cowdrey’s been in the game a lot longer than me, too.

Patience. Hard work. Determination. More patience. Repeat.

The Ars* lost again in the English Premier League, this time to Blackburn who leapfrog them in the table. The Gooner now lie seventh in the table, just ahead of West Ham who have a game in hand. Can it be that les detestables won’t even qualify for Europe? God, would that be sweet. :grin:

The biggest threat to Tottenham’s league position is Bolton, a team I am beginning to hate. They’re likely to overhaul Spurs in the next couple weeks as they have a relatively easy schedule.

Tried skiing today, sans dog. We’ve had sunny days which melted too much of the snow, then it got cold and froze everything over so the tracks were either icy or bare ground. I gave it fifteen minutes then came home. I think I only had fifteen minutes of energy anyway.

Current Mood - Sunday night already? |
Currently Listening To - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - “Global A Go-Go”