Years ago, I read an interview with Mike Nichols, the brilliant director. He said that if you get one good idea, give up for the rest of the day because you won't get another.
I think Nichols is absolutely right.
Today I wrote a short story that I've been mulling over for months, a ghost story that had been missing some elements. It was to be based on real events in my life but I knew I had to abandon some truth and use imagination instead.
This morning, I discovered it had to be written in the first person. The main character had to have a substance abuse problem. I needed to do some research on flowers.
Once I had those elements, the story wrote itself in about an hour. At noon I did a re-write and at four pm did the final editing.
I showed it to Donna and Pat down at Sissy's. Donna said I was seriously warped. She meant that in a good way, I think.
Check it out for yourself at http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com
Tomorrow, I'll work on another project. but once the story was done, I had tea with Susan Manzke, one of the four of us who will be signing books on November 14. We caught up on each other's lives. Susan had a small stroke a few weeks ago and says she hasn't totally recovered yet. We talked about times past and discussed our writing. She's working on a children's book, I'm going to go back to my novel once the short story collection is out.
One thing after another.
***********
After last night's panic in the rain, I didn't sleep well worrying about Koala, the Siamese. This morning I went over to Elaine's and there he was, calmly eating his kibbles. He must have been inside all the time.
As Gary always says, cats are strange people.
I think Nichols is absolutely right.
Today I wrote a short story that I've been mulling over for months, a ghost story that had been missing some elements. It was to be based on real events in my life but I knew I had to abandon some truth and use imagination instead.
This morning, I discovered it had to be written in the first person. The main character had to have a substance abuse problem. I needed to do some research on flowers.
Once I had those elements, the story wrote itself in about an hour. At noon I did a re-write and at four pm did the final editing.
I showed it to Donna and Pat down at Sissy's. Donna said I was seriously warped. She meant that in a good way, I think.
Check it out for yourself at http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com
Tomorrow, I'll work on another project. but once the story was done, I had tea with Susan Manzke, one of the four of us who will be signing books on November 14. We caught up on each other's lives. Susan had a small stroke a few weeks ago and says she hasn't totally recovered yet. We talked about times past and discussed our writing. She's working on a children's book, I'm going to go back to my novel once the short story collection is out.
One thing after another.
***********
After last night's panic in the rain, I didn't sleep well worrying about Koala, the Siamese. This morning I went over to Elaine's and there he was, calmly eating his kibbles. He must have been inside all the time.
As Gary always says, cats are strange people.
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