Daring? Do.

September 16

The dare begins! We're shooting to do a story a week for a month, though really, as long as it gets us writing, the dare is a success.

Sean doesn't have a web page, so I'll be posting his word counts, and any other comments; I might post Heather's, too, though we haven't quite decided yet.

I actually ran into Sean this afternoon, whilst wandering in Berkeley. We sat in Au Coquelet for a bit and talked, mostly discussing our mutual admiration of Howard Waldrop's stories. Then he left to join the people he'd come to Berkeley to meet in the first place, and I wrote 700 words of my first dare story! The glass story, we'll call it, though it could just as accurately (if not as easily) be called the blown-glass-exploding-cars-head-injury-ghosts-of-regret story. As I told Sean tonight, I mostly just like to blow shit up in my stories... but occasionally my subconscious sneaks some more important matter into the narrative. The story is coming out well, in the allusive, discursive, exposition-around-the-edges fashion that I'd hoped for. I'm trying not to examine the process too much, but I think this story will serve to cope with some old emotional issues... which is good, because even if it sucks as a story, it could be therapeutic, right? I don't think it'll be tremendously long -- not a novelette, at any rate. Not sure what I'll work on after it's done. I have a few days, at least, before I need to worry about that.

In the meantime, here's what Sean has to say about his dare plans:

Here's what I want to accomplish:

1. Finish first draft of "Special Delivery." It needs less than 1000 words. I should have it done in the next day or three.
2. Finish first draft of "Five Guys Named Moe." I have a little under 5000 words written. It's going to need another 5000-6000 I think.
3. Revise "Wish You Were Her-." It's going to need some structural work and a highly revised ending. Polishing could take a while. First draft came out at 8900 words.
4. Write first drafts to two new stories.

I know the dare was for a story a week, but #1 is almost done and I don't want to delay the dare's start. I'm throwing it into the mix.

All right. We've commenced! Whee!

***

I sold a poem to Strange Horizons today, "Carcinodjinn". I love that title! I wrote a crappy story in high school (maybe junior high) called "Carcinogenie", and I'm glad I came up with another (much better) use for the idea. La la la.

Go read "Wantaviwer",, Mike's new story at Strange Horizons. It's a two-parter (this is the first part, 2nd part next Monday), and it's good stuff, as is to be expected from Mike.

Had a nice cuddly night with Heather, talking and frolicking; we didn't spend much time together this weekend, so it was good to make up for that a little bit tonight. I read a fabulous story in the Years Best F & H (which I'm finally getting around to reading!), the first one, "The Hunter's Wife" by Anthony Doerr. Poetic, moving, strange, altogether wonderful.

Good night!

Words written since February 1, 2002: 165,400

Words written since last entry: 700

Send me names and/or brief descriptions of fictional carnivorous plants.

Tim Pratt
P.O. Box 13222
Berkeley, CA 94712-4222

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