Last summer, when I wrote “Bring Out Your Dead” it was the first short fiction I’d written since the concussion. The first that almost, nearly, sort of, had a true narrative arc. Short fiction is not my main talent. My agent asked if I’d consider writing a story for a particular editor & anthology, and buoyed up (believe it or not) by “Bring Out Your Dead,” I took a week to see if I could write a “western” SF story. To my surprise, the ideas came immediately, were the right size for a short piece, and consented to be finished. Whee. Off to the editor it went.
I’m now working through the Editor’s Letter on it, and when he approves the edits I’ve done, it’ll be my first short fiction sale since the concussion. I’ve never written anything like it. ..though I think it’s a distant relative of the Chicks in Chainmail stories in that it’s funny in a weird way. After it sells and when I have a release date for the anthology, I’ll let you know.
Back at the ranch…and to work.
This is awesome news in multiple ways, that the ideas came, were continuous enough to consent to be finished, and that it’s not like anything you’ve ever written before. Looking forward to reading it is nice too, but your progress on the journey of recovery from concussion makes my day better.
I continue to get ideas, but they don’t hang around long enough to become much of anything. I suspect it is because my head is full of the various demands of teaching biology to college students who would rather be playing basketball, caregiving, and ministry. How is New Book handling the interruption?
NewBook seems OK with it because it’s in the natural pause before (in some but not all books) the final chapter jells. It’s in the re-reading and decision phase…the first part of revision when I’m not rushed to accomplish all of it in one swell foop. I’ve found a knowledge gap–something that I think definitely belongs in NewBook falls in an area where I just don’t know enough and don’t trust the internet stuff on the topic enough. So today I emailed someone I know who’s in that field (but not that exact track) to see she’s available for a price to help me out. Either a referral to someone who IS in that exact track, or she has enough knowledge of that herself. So the locomotive has power up, but is waiting patiently on a siding for the track to clear and some new stuff to be loaded.
Brilliant news 🙂
That sounds like fun! Cant wait to get it once its in print.
It must feel really good to have that under you belt!