More Milky Way

Oh, now that's shameful - I'm surfing around, working, scribbling, and otherwise taking care of business, and I look at Blogger and see I haven't blogged since the 17th. There goes work, getting in the way of life again.

Here's a little more Milky Way. My hero Kevin's wandered out of the cold into a Lutheran church basement supper and just look what ensues:

But the invitation to sit down was enough for Kevin. And in a minute some of the churchgoers, who really did all seem to look a bit like people Kevin had seen around Crystal Lake but weren't, moved over on the long benches to make room for the pair, and the talking and laughing began again, and the dishes were passed, and soon Kevin and Jan had plates full of roast pork and potatoes and dried-apple crumble in front of them. Kevin felt warmth and the expectation of food flooding his body with relief. He determined to mind his manners and not devour his meal in one gulp like one of those voracious McAllister louts, and picked up his fork.

But before he got a bite in his mouth there was a ruckus at the bottom of the stairs. Miss Fortune's and Miss Demeanour's voices got quite sharp, and a big man, a very big man, bigger than Kevin had ever seen, burst into the church supper. Kevin thought at first he was in a giant costume for some kind of Christmas show. The man wore a great green overcoat and heavy green boots. Kevin had never in his life seen boots dyed bright emerald green like that. He and Jan were separated in the bustle and movement that followed as diners made way for the giant, who strode to the middle of the room and stood there among the long tables, looking around with his green eyes twinkling like bottle glass, and boomed out,

"Who's up to a Christmas challenge, then?"

And when there was no answer, he cried out again. "Anyone? Anyone at all? Don't tell me there are no takers!"

"I'll answer that call," said a man a little to Kevin's right, startling him. The man was slight and lean and long-fingered, with ginger hair and a mustache, rather like Kevin imagined Mr. Arthur would have looked when he was younger, if he had ever stopped to think about it.

But Kevin was thinking of the flash of red cloth he thought he had seen just a moment before, in the back of the church basement.

"No . . . I will," said Kevin, stepping forward.

Now, Kevin didn't know what Lucy would be doing out at a Lutheran church basement supper so late on Christmas Eve. Maybe Mr. Arthur was there, too, and he didn't see him. But Kevin knew that red hood. He hadn't forgotten how Lucy looked at him after he dove to sweep the wandering George out of the way of the dun cow's kick. He would have liked to see that look again.

"I'll do it," he said again. He didn't particularly like the amusement that showed in the big man's green eyes, but he looked into them all the same. "What's the challenge?" he asked, at the same time realizing that maybe he ought to have asked that before.

And a New Project: In the Milky Way (from Deep in Burbank)

Tip: Don't Make a Big Deal Out of If

Now this is a touchy one. Writing is what you love. Maybe getting published is your dream. Either way, writing is very important to you, and in that sense, of course it's a big deal.

But I'm remembering Natalie Goldberg's words in Writing Down the Bones, when she tells you to get an office. She says to just get a room. "Don't make a big deal out of it." And I think that's important.

I see so many new and emerging writers who believe they can only write under perfect circumstances, in a pristine, carefully arranged environment. The perfect desk, the perfect room, the perfect view in front of them. Sometimes only when they have a specific amount of free time. They end up having to spend more time arranging that environment than writing. (Kind of like a relationship, you know? Those ones where there's more analysis than content?)

Of course, you should have the tools and sound level you need. But do try to relax. When you make your writing space so sacrosanct, it gets very high stakes. That makes you tense. Tension makes it hard to be creative.

So relax. Whip out a story. Spend a reasonable amount of time revising. Pop it off in the mail, not too attached to the outcome. Meantime, do another one. Or work on another chapter of your novel on the bus. Throw in some variety. Pitch an article to a local paper. Play with a one-person show idea. Pitch a radio story. Just get out there. Relax. Like you're dating, absent the serial monogamy. This is supposed to be fun!

Another useful site

I was looking for a site called shortshort.com, and found instead collectedstories: the story on short stories. It appears to have absorbed shortshort.com. But it publishes short stories, has a linked list of short story contest deadlines and calls for manuscripts, a way to submit online (no fee - I will never direct you to an outlet that charges a fee for you to submit your work except for flawlessly reputable contests charging minimal ones), and other useful things. Check it out and see if it's helpful.

Another Glimmer Train Contest

It's easy to enter if you are so inclined, just check out the site, you can do it all online. This is a reputable contest and magazine. Here's their spiel:

Competition: Glimmer Train's Very Short Fiction Award.

Eligibility: Open to all themes, all subjects, all writers, published and
unpublished. Your original, unpublished story must not exceed 2,000 words.

First-place winner receives $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories,
and 20 copies of the issue in which it is published. Second- and
third-place winners receive $500/$300, respectively, and acknowledgement
in that issue.

To submit your story, go to our site, www.glimmertrainpress.com, log in,
and click on VERY SHORT STORY AWARD. Reading fee (payable by visa or mc)
is $10 per story.

Entries will be accepted through July 31st. Winners will be called by
November 1st. Top 25 list will be emailed to all participants by that
date.

We are eager to read more of your work!

Writer Adam Langer Is Touring, Go See Him!

Adam Langer, a very nice guy, former editor of Book Magazine, who was kind enough to name me an "emerging author" and was actually in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Chicago with my sister about twenty years ago (what are the odds?) is touring with his debut novel, Crossing California.

He's at:

Monday, June 14
Pasadena, CA
7:00 PM
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd.

where I'm going to go see him, and for my Northern California friends, he's at:

Saturday, June 12
Corte Madera, CA
7:00 PM
Book Passage
51 Talma Vista Blvd.

He's also all over Chicago and the Midwest, so keep a lookout if you're from there. Authors always feel great to see a reasonable crowd at a reading! (As all of you writers will find when it's your turn.) His book has gotten great reviews. I quote Publishers Weekly:

"In Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood in 1979, California Avenue divides the prosperous west side from the struggling east. Langer's brilliant debut uses that divide as a metaphor for the changes that occur in the lives of three neighborhood families: the Rovners, the Wasserstroms and the Wills."

Head over and say hi.