Dear Diary . . . day by day

Saturday, January 13th, 2001 - Writing, Cats and Dancing

I had a great idea for a SF story last night as I was drifting off to sleep. I told myself I ought to get up and write it down - it was a good idea for a short story (all the stories I've written lately have ended up in the 4000-6000 word range) and I knew I could write it easily and well - but I was so close to sleep I lost the battle and ended up snoozing instead.
Damn. Of course, it's gone. This has happened more than once - I think that's when I get my best ideas, right when I'm falling asleep. I usually can forgive sacrificing them during the workweek, but on a weekend night it's unforgivable.
Ok, anyway. I still have my ideas on how to revise/finish "Forest" (from last summer). This rotating of stories - work on one story one day and another story the next - is new for me, but it seems to be working. It has the added benefit of making me feel like a honest-to-goodness-writer, working on several things at once.
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately on what kind of writer I am. I am pretty sure I'm not the kind of writer who will end up editing lots of anthologies and giving panels at cons - although the latter may seem more feasible as I get more knowledgeable/comfortable with my vocation. But I think my strength comes (when it bothers to) in my ideas and the way I splay them across the pages. I've always been told I'm extremely creative (sometimes more creative than is good for living in our society, I think), and I think it's vital for me to have an outlet for that creativity. So, I'm writing everything I get excited about these days. This might mean even more half-written items in my "fiction scratchings" file that never see the glory of the "Fiction - Polished" file, but the fact that old stuff is getting a reshine (like "Forest") is encouraging. I'm beginning to realize I have to have open pathways for that creativity to flow, and eventually the gunk will get cleaned out. But, especially right now, when I hardly have time to write, it's impossible to think of devoting writing time to something like editing. A con or a workshop seems closer to my goals, that's for sure.
I bought a silly book yesterday, "Dancing with Cats" by Burton Silver and Heather Busch. I think I inteded this as a gift, but I'm keeping this one now that I've looked it over. Some of the text is god-awful, but the pictures are astounding - humans and cats moving in perfect unison, imitating one another, cats leaping very high into the air . . . As I was reading/looking at it last night, I realized that this book was giving me ideas for my "Cat Enchanter" revisions. Hell, I think it was a combination of seeing the "Dancing with Cats" calendar last year and buying David's cat, Jasmine, a cat toy that inspired the story in the first place. I did some research on cats while I was home and in the furry midst of Mom's 6 cats (plus Gryffyn, who is MINE!), but this book is triggering some of what I wanted to put in the story.
I have two birthday presents sitting in my room, wrapped, waiting patiently for the 23rd of this month to arrive so I can open them. I could go on Amazon and reveal the already purchased items and figure out what's in them - I'm pretty sure they're all from Amazon, as Mom got free shipping in December from them (and then made me take the gifts home in my carryon when I came home from Xmas) - but I really would rather be surprised. 10 days. I can wait 10 haunting days, right?
It's a gorgeous day. I ought to write, but I may just have to dig up someone to go hiking with instead. Have a good one, kids!

Exercise log:

Writing log:
Got those 1500 words back, but I'm off working on "Forest" again instead. Ah, well.
I'm currently reading:
Starlight 2 anthology edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Still Flipping Through:
Dancing with Cats by Burton Silver and Heather Busch
The Writer - Janurary 2001 (magazine)
Still reading, off and on:
Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier

My new PO Box is:
Heather Shaw
P.O. Box 13222
Berkeley, CA 94712-4222

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