Important Writings (A Post Not For The Timid)

I've got a great new idea. It's one of those "put up or shut up" kind of things, taking a line I say in a given situation and running with it. As always, I want to elaborate before I say what the idea is.

As long as I can remember, I've had ideas for stories. Most of them are some sort of fantasy, wether it uses that label or another, such as sci-fi or horror. I think of myself as a science fiction writer, or, more specifically, a biopunk writer. My newest idea even holds true to that.

Still, every once in a while, there comes a story, be it short, long, or a novel, that is given a list of labels. Important. Relevant. Socially conscious. Even though it's not fiction, Silent Spring is a good example because, without it, there'd be no such thing as environmentalism. The original Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? is probably a better example of what I'm thinking, since it is fiction, but deals with a present issue of the time.

I never thought I'd have an idea that would get one of those labels. I never really wanted such an idea, but I'm not one to fight the ideas I get. That's the price of being creative--you take the ideas you get and run with them.

On to the idea. First of all, this thing doesn't have a title, but when it gets one, it has to be a good one. As I'm sure you may have guessed, this thing is going to deal with the gay marriage debate, specifically, my theoretical explaination of why it should be allowed:

I say to people against gay marriage, especially religious types, "How would you feel if one day a bunch of gay people got together, took over, and said you can't get married any more? How would you feel? Basically, I think it's a case of 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.'"

The small difference between the setting of this story and the real world is that the only permitted form of marriage is between two women. Which brings me to the next point of the setting. Having watched Children of Men recently (go see it, it's incredible), I've been increasingly interested in the book it was based on. I know this book has a lot more going on in it, mainly the fact that it is built more as a political struggle than a fight for species survival. What I'm going to do, is make the large difference between the world of this story and the real world be a world where males are deemed an obstruction to the continued survival of the species.

Before anyone asks, males aren't being eradicated; they're being diminished, downsized. There is only one purpose for a male in the world of this story: sperm production. Males are in the process of being expunged from society, since the time period will be toward the end of a multi-generational phasing out of the male gender. I haven't determined the full reason behind this yet, but it's a key function of the setting.

Still with me? Good. Now I can tell you the plot. There's a girl who is starting to eye one of her classmates. This girl lives with her grandfather, one of the last free males, and a man of past historical note. This girl, is for all intents and purposes normal, except for the secret that she barely acknowledges, a secret only her grandfather will admit, and then, only in the quietest voice when no one is around. This girl's secret, as I'm sure a few of you have guessed, is that she isn't a girl at all.

But this girl is still drawn to her classmate. And one of that classmate's parents is a government agent who spends all day looking through other people's trash, looking for evidence of unregistered males living outside government control. Naturally, our main character has to deal with the fact that she's attracted to someone who was born from a person who could destroy her life.

In closing, I'd like to point out the pronouns I used to describe the main character. Those are the kinds of pronouns I intend to use through this story--and I assure you there is a reason for doing that.

Progressing Thoughts

Here are a few linked observations I made throughout the day. These are linked at least in a small degree and they show some of my mental processing a little more accurately than I'd like sometimes. Still, I think I should share. Here we go.

2:10 PM--
Paranoia--I think I'm out to get me.

The good news is that the bookstore isn't as much a desert any more. There's plenty to do and plenty of people to talk to. Having said that, superhearing is both a blessing and a curse. Today, I'm leaning toward curse.

The girl I like, Ashley, came through the store and I overheard part of a conversation she had with another coworker, about what, I'm not exactly sure. What I do know is that Ashley was carrying around a Victoria's Secret bag and her discussion (which to my defense was only 5 feet away from me) included talk of a "he" speaking to people close to Ashley. My coworker also said, "If you're happy, I'm happy."

My analysis--the girl I like has gotten back with her old boyfriend. My streak continues. I hate being deductive sometimes.

3:40 PM--
I'm calmer now. I do think I've been deluding myself. See, just because a woman is attracted to a man doesn't mean she'll go out with him. Much like The Matrix, people will embrace the fear, pain, and hurt they know rather than the hope they don't.

6:25 PM--
At what point does the next best thing become a good thing? Is there such a thing as the next best thing? Truthfully, I abandoned pursuit of one girl in order to pursue Ashley. Maybe it's time I stopped that path and found another one.

Giving Up Density--gotta love it.

10:00 PM--
I can't help but think that I'm really some sort of sensitive misogynist. I'm just bitter toward women in a lot of ways. No, that's not true. I'm just bitter at my history of romantic failures.

Now--
Since I've got all that crap out of my system, I'm better. My final analysis is this: if someone I like, no matter who that person is, is too stupid to realize that I'm better than someone who will treat them like shit, then that person doesn't deserve me.

OK, let's get a short story in the mail.

Facing the Desert

The last time I worked, I looked at the daily assignment sheet and noticed something was seriously lacking--coworkers. We were running a skeleton crew, just enough people to make sure the store functions. It was creepy and depressing. Aside from a serious drag in customer service, it's just eerie to not have anyone except for managers or maybe one other person to call on for help. It also means there's almost no one to talk to.

That's when I became convinced that I had to do something better. I'm not quitting my job by any means--I'm lucky to have not only hours, but the same amount of hours that I usually get. Having said that, I know there are better things for me to be doing than quietly observing a barren bookstore for hours on end.

Which is why I had the thought of doing something with these short stories I've been working on as of late. When there are lags at work, which don't come often, I'll jot down a note or two on what I should do with a short story that's on my mind. Sometimes, this becomes an entire story on its own.

So, I've cracked back out my Writer's Market and I'm looking for places to send one, two, maybe three of these things I've got backlogged. More information as it becomes available.

Stored Nervousness

There's been one thing in my life I have never been able to face down, at least not very well: a girl I'm interested in. I'm a surprisingly confident person on a lot of levels, but not when it comes to pursuing cute girls. I've only asked two girls--stratch that, three girls--out before. The score stands at YES, 0; NO, 2; Maybe Later, 1. I bring this up because of the recent increase in the number of girls I've asked out, as well as the bearing that has on my writing.

I'll start with the latter. Over time the influence these girls have had over my creative process has diminished more and more. Both of the "NO"s have inspired characters that interact with Commander. I've tweaked both of them in such ways as to protect their privacy and so that I can separate the character from the person who inspired it. Both of these characters embody different struggles/plot threads. One is the cause of, well, damn near everything, since her birth triggers the telekinetic natural disaster known as "The Golden Hollow." The other, being a person of faith, embodies the struggle of a person understanding their faith.

Unless something radically changes, the one entry in the Maybe Later category will not embody any plot point. Why? My imagination does my creative work now. That's a large part of the division between inspiration and character forming, which is a good thing. I'd hate to fall into the trap that Laurell K. Hamilton fell into after her marriage fell apart--she turned one of her strongest characters into a pathetic puppy.

So I tried asking a girl out again today. I wasn't told, "No." I found out that my intelligence wasn't as good as I thought it was--only broken up for days, not weeks; she didn't know I was interested before now. It turned out OK in the end. I know what to expect, but not necessarily what to do.

And the lesson I took from this: Weaknesses, such as nervousness, can be turned into strengths, such as starting a discussion on nervousness.

Complaints about Diamond Slippers

A few times in my life, I've felt like a specific person inspired something I've written. The other day, I was speaking with an attractive young lady from the cafe and she said a few things which spurred me to come up with a new short story.

Something in her commenting to me about her morning difficulties, made me take a few pieces of creative thought and patch them together into a short story. This 441 word epic, "Family Matters" (tentative title), is a conversation between the ruler of the world and his stepson. I got the whole thing ironed out from start to finish in less than three hours.

How did I do this? I had little else to do and my creativity collided with some personal thoughts I'd been having. All because of a very simple conversation with someone at work.

Love, lust, loneliness--I don't care what to call it. All I know is that I got some short story work done. Impressive, since one of my goals for 2007 is to write two short stories. More good news: I've already got the plot of the next one finished.

Every time I get on a little kick like this, I try to keep it going. I'd like to, but I'm not quite sure how. I've got (most likely) two of my coworkers swooning over me, a thesis that needs to end, a handful of novels that need to be written, and an apartment that needs to be cleaned.

You might say that it's just another day for me.

Consolodating Recent Thoughts

Between the holidays and work, my computer has recently been taking up the hobby of "large paperweight." Luckily, I think that title is getting tossed. Here's what's been happening in random order:

1. Played a lot of video games. I've got a full stack of PS2 games now, so I don't have much reason to be bored. I also got a nice mp3 player for Christmas and get a lot of use out of it.

2. Plotted a short story in around two hours time. No title for the story yet, but it is another tale of Commander going up against the forces of the Blue psychics. (Note to self: explain the color types here at a future date.)

3. Got upgraded from "temporary" to "seasonal" at work. This means I'm not fired. In fact, it means that I'm firmly part of the staff.

4. The villain of my childhood died. Saddam Hussein was hung the other day and I'm just now starting to really absorb that fact. Think about it--how often does the bad guy get caught, tried, convicted, and executed?

5. Was invited to go to a party by a nice, cute girl. Pity another friend of mine couldn't put the verbal fencing on hold for 30 seconds so I could say, "Yes, I'd love to go." I might make a play to rectify this situation in a couple of days. Not the verbal fencing, but the interaction with the nice, cute girl.