Month: March 2010

I believe that Mark Twain’s Daughter is done, and will soon be away. Thanks to all of you who gave me valuable feedback and insight.

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As it’s March and all, this means it must mean it’s time for the writerly update.

Appearing Soon Somewhere Near You

Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler: The last I heard, we are a go for April. I plan on reading from it for the first time ever at this year’s Wiscon.

Still Out There

Crystal Vision: Currently at Swill. It will keep making the rounds.

Empress Dark: Currently at Strange Horizons. It will undergo a tightening and revision when it comes home, and then will go back out.

Mark Twain’s Daughter: Almost currently at tor.com. It will keep making the rounds.

What I’m Working On

Viable Paradise Profiles: Yup. Got the raw data for the first one. I’ll be cobbling that together soon.

The Winter the Troll Danced with Old Nick: I’m going to be hitting this hard for the next two months. I’ll be playing and letting the story find out what it really wants to be, then doing some judicious pruning. I would like it to be ready for agent roulette early May. We’ll see. I’ve failed every goal I’ve set with this one.

*rolls up sleeves* Tomorrow is another day!

Catherine

Tiffany Trent wrote a great journal entry about the ideas she keeps returning to as a writer. The idea fascinated me, so in the great tradition of ripping off another writer, I decided I might also elaborate on this theme.

I’ve written quite a few stories and some books over the years. Yes, many of them are staying hidden where they belong, but these are the things I find myself returning to over and over.

1. The abused kid who makes good. This young hero or heroine starts life in less than auspicious circumstances, perserveres, and comes through as a worthwhile person, if a little broken. Gee, I wonder where this theme comes from? In addition to trying to work out my own demons from a rotten childhood, I’ve read waaaayyyy too much Dickens, who was trying to do the same.

2. The character whose origins are not what they seem. More melodramatic action from Chuck Dickens coupled with my hope as a child that I was an abandoned alien or one of those Witch Mountain Kids.

3. The character reversal. I love it when characters have surprising depth, and they take off in a direction I didn’t expect. It raises them above simplistic morality and makes them complicated.

4. The complimentary stalwart. If I can work a gentle big guy or a really decent sort into stories, I will. The story I’m working on sort of has one as the main character, even.

5. Witches and/or faerie godmothers. Much more interesting to me than princesses, I tend to tinker with themes of wisdom and age.

6. Folklore variations. I love doing research and learning about the myths and folklore of other cultures. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, because I have a tendency to insert knowledge to show off, rather than when it relates to the story.

7. Spunky YA and MG leads. You can almost always count on a funny, spunky kid heading up the cast in these kinds of books.

8. Literary reference. Read a lot. It’s bound to happen.

What do you think you continue to write about and revisit? Why do you think you return to certain ideas and things?

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In closing, here’s another wonderful, tongue in cheek muse reference from Sandy Ackers.

Catherine

And here we are at the end of another day, writing a quick plug. Julie Rose, my writing buddy who made it pretty far in the Amazon Writing Contest has a story, Spitfire at Expanded Horizons.

Jools writes a quasi-mystic, historical flavor of fantasy that I predict will make her a lot of lovely money some day.

Enjoy. I’m off to have some sushi.

Catherine

Just like that, it’s 12:35.

It has been a very busy morning. I had to squeeze a trip to the doctor in. I don’t want to get TMI on you, but we think the Tea Rush of the Yukon has caused some unusual topology. I’ve been ordered off caffeine for a while (mmmm…Sprite Zero), and there will be blood drawn, and magnetic imaging. No one is very concerned, but it did mean I lost the hour I’d use to write this exciting blog today.

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Now, for some real content. Julia Rios has a story out in I Do, Two, an anthology in support of gay marriage. Proceeds go to Lamda Legal.

Off to teach,

Catherine