“Rise for the Chorister,” said the gun. “Is that you?” said Esker. “Because that woman coming toward us—well, it’s not that I’m against standing for a lady, but I find you more persuasive at this time.” Esker felt a jerk upward on his collar and stood. The gun’s hand couldn’t quite follow him all the… Continue reading Words 1-8-2015
Tag: JaNoWriMo
Development diaries, 1-7-2015: The possibility that Esker’s mind is damaged
Good day. I worked more or less straight from 8:15-12:45, minus at least five pee breaks, and dialed in about 3800 words. From 12:45-1:45 I exercised and ate, and by 2:15 I’d hit my quota of 4200 words. I was afraid I’d be distracted, staying home to work, but this may be the most focused… Continue reading Development diaries, 1-7-2015: The possibility that Esker’s mind is damaged
The Moorcock model
“So I feel very little in common with those miles of fat fantasy books and feel almost guilty that, in the wake of Tolkien, I reinvented the Victorian three-decker (a lot of them weren’t that long per volume either!). I could write 15,000 words a day and gave myself three days a volume. That’s how,… Continue reading The Moorcock model
Development diaries, 1-6-2015: Do what we tell you and we won’t kill you
Another slow day — 2800 words between 9:12 and 12:35, the remaining 1300 between 2:30 and 4:15. Hit quota, but things are still really slow. I blame my tiny son (who woke up at 3:30 for a nurse and 5:30 for the day) and staying up past midnight getting the Wattpad and WriteOn bits set… Continue reading Development diaries, 1-6-2015: Do what we tell you and we won’t kill you
Words 1-6-15
“The Amen-Enkh has his way, then,” said Epaphos, “as he is accustomed to do. But one day he will meet someone who is not so indulgent of his foibles.” “As long as that day is not today,” said Ozier; and he led the way down the black gravel road, toward the bridge. # It was… Continue reading Words 1-6-15
Development notes 1-5-15: The trees were bending in the wind
This morning, I recycled my New Jersey Transit and SEPTA schedules. When I went outside to take the trash out, the trees were bending in the wind: Huge forces colliding, high and far away. It seemed like a good omen at the time. These will be daily notes on the day’s writing. There will be… Continue reading Development notes 1-5-15: The trees were bending in the wind
Words 1-5-15
PROLOGUE: BLOOD ON A LINED PALM There was, on paper, a passenger car on the train from Heru City to the village of Metu at the end of the line; but the bean-counters at the Ministry of Rail had calculated the cost in black silver of carrying an empty passenger car and, knowing it, had… Continue reading Words 1-5-15
The plan
On December 31, 2014, I’m quitting my job as a research professor in the psychiatry department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. From a writer, one typically expects such a sentence to end with a coda like “to focus on my writing, damn the torpedoes and dental insurance.” But I’m not there yet.… Continue reading The plan