I got reinspired to get back into editing the novel (I've only got a few chapters to go)... actually inspiration wasn't what was really preventing me from doing that, but I got redetermined to work on the novel regardless of whether I had an four hours, or forty-five minutes. In doing so I came across a section I had forgotten about and got to experience reading it for the first time, which is such a trip. Maybe the niche I should try to get into is being the writer who writes novels while in a fugue state.
Bah, I recognize that fantasy; that's the same thing I was talking about in that rant in part one of Guillotines + Playgrounds.
The other thing that happened on vacation, was... well this requires backstory: A few years ago I met this writer, Jonah Baker, out there (in New Mexico) and I ended up helping him think through some of the science fictiony parts of his novel. This year he asked to collaborate on a comic book he's writing set in the same world. I haven't written dialog for a comic since The Vultures, which was about a family of vampires who prey exclusively on murderers and serial killers. Not a bad concept considering my buddy and I were fifteen when we came up with the idea. Anyway so I'm told my piece will be set at a steampunky version of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, but I may cool the steampunk down a bit make it more like victorian Waterworld. Forget steam, let's keep the water in its liquid state. So anyway that's exciting.
And finally, the house my wife and I were waiting to move into was finally made available to us, and while it's in no condition to move into, we've been pouring all of our non-working hours into fixing it up.
Here's a little visual sample of what we're up against:
This is the bedroom, out of which we had to rip a disgusting purple shag carpet. It wasn't originally though, it became shag from years of having never been vacumed. It had a layer of dog hair and food felted into it. Getting that out improved the smell greatly. The walls were a faux wood panelling that just drank sunlight like a little kid slurping down the purple milk after a bowl of Fruitloops. So I'm ripping all that out and the plan is to repaint with Venetian plaster.
I tell you all this to illustrate that I'm very busy, and feeling like the RFF project is taking time from other endeavors, and I am suspending regularly schedules updates. Though I hope to keep using this site to let y'all know what's going on with my ongoing creative projects. And if anyone wants to volunteer to record an episode of RFF Read it For You, please let me know.
-Tyler