Friday, February 13, 2009

Long night

So I have pretty much been up since 2:30 when my boy got me up and didn't go back down until 5:30. Unfortunately the dog didn't cooperate and neither did my weather radio (we are in a winter storm warning apparently) for letting me get back to sleep until my normal out of bed time at 6:30 so, while the boy is still sleeping, I am doing something I haven't done in a while. I am writing fiction in the morning.

It is nice actually. I have over a 1000 words in so far today and with any luck I will have an afternoon nap (the boy not me) to write on.

I am noticing that, even though I chose not to outline this particular story, my characters seem more complex and real to me than anything else I have written. I don't know why and it could be an illusion caused by sleep deprivation. I also think that the first draft of this is going to be much smoother than the last book I wrote. Just a hunch. I have actually dreamed about these characters and what happens next. And I don't usually remember my dreams, not unless they are really graphic. I hope I can keep this up.

In other news: I have six subs out to anthologies right now. Two of them I am pretty excited about the stories (okay I like all of the stories I have out but these two stand out). One is to the Return of the Raven Antho (a tribute to Poe) When I wrote the story originally it was not for any particular market and it was intentionally in the model of Poe's psychological stories. The only problem with this market is they will only contact you if the story is accepted. (I know, what the hell?) The other is for Devil's Food but I don't know what is going on with that one yet. I just know I haven't been rejected yet so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My fingers are crossed equally tight for the Devil's Food antho. Best of luck to you!

Cate Gardner said...

I don't seem to be able to keep up with the antho submissions at the moment.

If I'd been up since 2:30, I would be taking a nap at the same time as your boy.

Aaron Polson said...

There are a lot of open anthos at the moment...perfect time for me to be writing that YA novel. (slaps self with mackerel)

Jamie Eyberg said...

Barry- something tells me it isn't going to be as gruesome as it sounds. (sometimes the subtle can be much more effective)

Cate- I have a feeling my daughter will be getting out of school early due to a snowstorm in the area so a nap is out for me. (I can't sleep in the daytime anyway. Something about the light)

Aaron- I find it best to work on whatever you fancy at the time. Better work comes from it.

K.C. Shaw said...

I used to write in the mornings almost exclusively--I'm a morning person, and when I write too late at night, my characters tend to act all sleepy. Good luck with the new project!

Fox Lee said...

See, this is why I can't have kids. I can't see getting up that early for anyone but Ying. And he'd have to be really naked.

Jamie Eyberg said...

What is the difference between kinda naked and really naked? On second thought- never mind.

Jamie Eyberg said...

K.C.- thanks for the encouragement. Something about this piece feels different than the other long pieces I have tried. I hope I am right.

BT said...

Sleep deprivation can be a wonderful thing at times, but if you're dreaming about this story then it really needs to be written down - good luck with that.

I'm still working on my Devil's food sub. Just checked - I still have a bit of time before the deadline.

I agree the subtle side of things will work best for this one, my anthropology story should hopefully fit the bill - or is that menu...