Finally, The Undisclosed Location is hooked up to the modern era. I have me some Internet!
After having been wired for so long, it was insanity inducing to have nothing at night but your computer, a little music, and your words to keep you company. Yes, I was going a bit nuts, because even if I’d been locked up in a hotel room–and I have for weeks on end before–you have access to the outside world.
This was just me. That’s a dangerous thing.
It was nice to be back up at my other house. The biggest problem with that is I really slacked off on writing. Nothing on Friday and nothing last night. And as they say in The Wall, “This will not do.” Because you should write. You should keep the stories coming.
On the other hand, you should also listen to William Gibson, who said if he’s got nothing to write that day, he doesn’t force himself to write. He finds something else to do besides trying to force out a few hundred words that he knows are going to suck.
And I’ve found that good words to live by. I’ve had people tell me, “Sometimes you need to take a break from writing,” and that does seem true; sometimes you need to sit back and recharge the batteries and let the words build up. They’ll know when it’s time to come out.
Besides, I did write. Yesterday’s post was almost 2,000 words, and if someone would care to say that wasn’t writing, I’d like them to post their comment at the end of this post and tell me why. Because it was, and it was very personal for me.
Even when I do a story like Couples Dance, which does have a lot of strange things going on within, it feels like a form of therapy. I feels like I’m really exposing myself to the world and letting them take notice of this person sitting over on this side of the room. My writing says something about me, it’s pulling things out from deep within, and exposes those fears and fantasies and ideas in the public forum. It’s one of the things this blog does very well, and it’s a wonder people haven’t actually at back and said, “Dude, you are strange,” after a quick read.
Such is life, right?
So, back to the story tonight. When I get home it’s a quick thousand words from the journal my main male character is reading in the Salem Public Library, and his continued feeling that his old life is gone and this new one he’s been suddenly immersed in is going to be heaven or hell, but no in between. Maybe I’ll even get into a groove and finish up Chapter 8, and get ready for the true strangeness that will be Chapter 9.
This new story is almost over. I’ll have it finished maybe by the end of this week, maybe by the middle of next week. But it’s almost over.
And then comes the read fun–
Figuring out what to write next.
Yeah, writers are strange. I’m in good company.
