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Author’s Note
Good things are happening. Stay tuned.
Letter To The Editor
Jun 21, 2010 in Life
I’m not sure the timing could have been better if I’d planned it myself. Today is summer solstice, the high point, the winding down. I’m sitting on the floor in my office. I’m typing a letter to my editor. I couldn’t resist going old school on this, and I hope that there is enough humor in it for me.
I finished today. Twenty days after the original deadline, I wrote the last words in my manuscript. I took it out and had it printed, all of those months and thousands of words lasered onto sheets of paper. They’re all together, bundled up nice—nineteen different little tales and the nineteen different illustrations that inspired them.
Now it flies off in the mail, away from me, to a fresh pair of eyes, to a nocturnal pen. In a few weeks time it will come back, likely covered in tattoos of redaction and thoughtful arrows. It will come back covered in spit so that I may take out my rag and polish once more. Once more with feeling.
But that’s then. This is now. Now is a bit of fancy old school carnival as I type a letter to my editor.
An Early Summer Update
I won’t lie to you. It has been awhile. Sorry about it.
More and more it occurs to me that this blog is turning into a live/work function. I mean that it’s my news ticker when something personally cool dislodges, rumbles around and finally occurs. Like bringing home a shiny new puppy to love and love and love. Or, winning a beauty pageant. (I have nothing to link to. That one hasn’t happened yet.)
In any event, I’ve been letting my daily crazies and finds and inspirations freakishly fly at my Tumblr blog and long-time followers (if any remain) and new supporters (if any exist) are more than welcome to visit me there. That would be aces.
Now for the news-y stuff!
Those that have made that Tumblr trek already may be familiar, but those that have stayed loyal to this hub, or those that have stumbled across me here only now may not know: I have written a collection of illustrated short stories. Above, as well as throughout this site, you’ll see some of the illustrations that may or may not be included in the book! Ooh, it’s a like a total mystery.
What is not a mystery, though, is that the artwork is all done, fantastically so, by the very large hand of Ian Dingman. He has a gift, and he’s allowed me to mooch off of it and write short stories inspired by his illustrations. You’ll find a few examples, which—again—may or may not be included in the final book, of this charming idea via the glamorous stories section on this here website of the Internet.
The stories have taken on a variety of shapes and sizes and lengths, as well as explored different themes and tones and styles in the telling. But it’s always been about making something inspired, something beautiful and unique. The writing process started a little over a year ago and picked up decidedly more steam just in the last four months. It’s been a labor and a massive confidence game to sit alone and tell myself that I was a worthy enough creator to debut a polished story collection. I still falter.
I set June 1 as my deadline to have the vast majority of writing done. I’m quite proud that next week I will be able to say that I am a very good boy in having done so. There will be bits and bobs that remain, as you shouldn’t really rush creativity, but the building blocks will be set into the ground. June will be a month of editing and tweaking and polishing as you would a pair of old shoes or something impossibly scuffed. Out the other side, blazing into July, the idea is to hold a sharpened stack of paper which can then be transformed just a bit more, morphed if you will, until it’s a stack of paper that you—yes, you!—can hold in your very hands. It’s a lot like magic, and I’m almost there. Ta-dah!
I believe this is the first official announcement here that a book is coming. We don’t have a title yet because we plan to arm wrestle over it later. I did want to announce it though. The quiet and the sound of crickets around here is not for lack of hard work or interest. I’m at this desk almost every day, very much like today, smelling like lemons:
Thanks for stopping by! Thanks, perhaps, also for the support and encouragement and personal interest in my work, or Ian’s work or the mating habits of mammals. And thanks for not sending me hate mail or telling me that I suck. Yeah. Most importantly, thanks for that.
Later on.
Royal Typewriter 1938
Feb 14, 2010 in Life
“Hello, Mister Typewriter. Welcome home.”
Those are the first words typed on my new (old) typewriter, a Royal Quiet Deluxe portable from 1938. I guess I didn’t plan to start collecting typewriters, but I am slightly obsessed. Where do I begin!
Cameron’s Aunt Jann called me over to the back of her van last weekend while we were up in Santa Barbara. She had a surprise for me. And this is what I found inside, protected within a black dust-covered, hardshell case. Incredible.
I brought it home and spent a chunk of time yesterday afternoon cleaning and restoring it to the best of my amateur abilities. Now she shines—free from years of cobwebs, grime and disuse. I imagine it sat in an attic or a garage for many years, but everything is still in perfect working order. The cleaning brushes are also still present, along with documentation that reveals the typewriter originated in Portland, Maine. Except for needing a new ink ribbon—this current one is, understandably, faded—it’ll work like new.
As a writer, the history attached to these things makes me crazy. I love to imagine what letters or documents it’s seen, what mind has put it to use. What happened over the years, nearly a lifetime, before it was brought to me? There’s an infinite amount of romanticism wrapped up in these machines, at least for me. It’s just enough to be near them sometimes, but it’s an honor to now call this one mine.
(Thank you, Aunt Jann. Thank you.)
Ommwriter
“Welcome back to concentration.”
That’s the tagline for Ommwriter, a new computer application for writers that transforms their desktop into a stark, wintry landscape. It can also be toggled to display a textured sort of burlap canvas or a plain white screen. Either way, all that remains is a blinking cursor and the endless expanse of the user’s mind.
Now write.
Cos that’s the point! Ommwriter blocks out all of the digital distractions that can hinder the creative process, leaving you alone with your thoughts. It brings along 7 different ambient soundtracks and a variety of ear-pleasing keystroke sound effects to encourage productivity. All in all: very Zen. When you’re finished, you simply click a button and save your file like you would in any other word processor.
I love the marriage of simple design and a word processor, and Ommwriter has really nailed a clever concept. I’ve been using it for a few weeks, in a daydreaming sense. It’s perfect for brainstorming, jotting notes and ideas.
Below the fold, check out the quick instructional video to see the app in action! Keeping with the program’s less-is-more theme, it doesn’t come with any documentation.
