I've been giving fairly regular updates on this — word counts and the like — on Facebook and Twitter, but I thought I should weigh in here in a bit more detail. Well, sort of. The details are a bit limited at this point, for a couple of reasons.
The big news is that I'm writing again — actively writing. First draft, four a.m. writing. It's been a while since I've done that, and I have to say, it feels good. The muscles are loosening up, the routines are re-establishing themselves, and I'm reminded (though how could I have forgotten) just how good it feels to do this.
The occasion? I've been commissioned to write a short story. To write it NOW. It will see "print" in less than two weeks, so there's not a whole lot of room for fucking around.
As for the details, and why I can't provide you with too many?
Well, the nature of the publication and the venue needs to remain vague for just a shade longer. It's not a huge secret or anything, it's just a matter of getting the words on the page before saying too much.
Which, now that I think about it, is actually why I'm not going to be forthcoming on details about the story itself. I've mentioned my muse here before, right? And how… possessive… she is about what she gives me? In case I haven't, the short version is this: I get one chance to tell a story, which leaves me with a choice. I can spend that story in passing – recounting it in a bar, or describing it, hell, even outlining it can use up the opportunity – or I can write it down. Writing it down seems to be the better option, really.
What I CAN say is this: it's a Christmas story. It's a Christmas ghost story, actually. It's set in Henderson. And it's going to be sad. (That last one probably shouldn't come as any surprise by now, but it's tricky — to my mind, it's not sad-sad, it's bittersweet, and ultimately a happy ending. Sort of. But then, I feel that way about Before I Wake and The World More Full of Weeping, too, so take that with however much salt you require.)
I know – sorry about the scantness of information, but take comfort in the fact that you'll be reading the story in less than two weeks. That's not TOO much suspense, I don't think.
In the meantime, though, the minutiae I promised.
I'm a big fan of author's notes and afterwords and things like that, bits of ephemera that give a glimpse into the writing process. I assume I'm not the only one, so:
I'm getting up at 4 am these days. Well, the first alarm rings at 4 — I'm generally out of bed before the third alarm at 4:25.
The story is being written in a Moleskine notebook, with a Pelikan M215 demonstrator fountain pen, tweaked with a Binder .7 italic nib, using Noodler's Black ink.
The music: so far, it seems to be a combination of Bach's Cello Suites, as performed by Yo Yo Ma, and various pieces by Estonian composer Arvo Part (including Fratres and Te Deum). The Part seems to be working quite well — it has the perfect wintery, sad, holy tone that I'm looking for.
Okay. Time to get ready for work.
Looking forward to reading it, wherever it is!
Lovely