And then, hopefully, writing. More on Swati, since I claimed I was getting Sharyn three chapters and a synopsis by Monday. Not that she's going to hold me to that, but I have nothing else I need to spend big chunks of time on today or tomorrow, so I really have no excuse not to get it done -- I'm halfway through chapter two right now, and more than halfway through the synopsis.
I'm also tempted to try to write something for Leviathan 4 -- it's city-themed, and magical realist in flavor. I'd love to write something set in Colombo, but I just don't know it well enough. Ditto Edinburgh -- I love that city, but my memories of it are pretty hazy. The obvious choices are Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, Chicago, maybe New York. But I suspect those will be heavily represented; I may go with Salt Lake City instead. I've set very little fiction there, and I did live there for three years. Hmm...now that I say that, I have the glimmerings of an idea for a ghost story, involving the cemetery just up the street from my old house, and a third wife who died young, probably in childbirth...must ponder some more.
Hmm...are any of you living in Salt Lake City? Willing to go up to that cemetery and do a tiny bit of research for me?
Hey, MA
I’ll be visiting City Cemetary sometime very soon (I move in three weeks) so let me know what you want to know. When I go up to take some last photos for my Cemetary project, I can check things out for you.
You’re an angel. What I’d love is a set of gravestones that are clearly a husband with multiple wives and children. I know I’ve seen at least a few up there. I’d like the details of what’s on the stones — the phrasing and names. I probably won’t use their actual names, but if I have the specifics to work off of, it’ll sound much more authentic. If you find more than one set, send ’em along, as many as you care to. And if you can e-mail me photos of the stones, even better. Thanks so much!!!
just an idea (which I may write myself) – I could easily imagine writing a magical realist story about the cities of our memory, the ghostlike wisps of images, scenes, sounds, and smells that recall places we love but are no longer rooted in the reality of…
just a thought.
Dammit, Mary Anne! I don’t have time to write a story right now, and after you mentioned this — which I had been blissfully unaware of, a story crawled into my brain and is now curled around all the important bits threatening them with violence if I don’t write it.
Shannon, it’s a nice concept, but I don’t think it’ll satisfy that anthology’s requirements. I’d read the actual call (thanks, Ralan!) before going with that, if you want to try to sell to them.
Zak, just write the damn thing. What’ll it take you – a day? You can spare a day. You don’t write enough fiction.
See, I’ve got houseguests coming down for the weekend tonight, a convention planning meeting at 7, I have to clean house, and at the moment I’ve got a headache that keeps teetering on the edge of making me sick. whine
On the other hand, I already started this story a long time ago, and I think I can pretty easily get back into the mood of it… and… shuts up and starts writing…
Hmmm, reading the guidelines gives me some ideas… though guess I’ll have to leave out the monkey and the friendly vacumn cleaner 🙂
I have an idea however… *sigh* guess I’ll be in the office this weekend afterall… (my laptop’s on the fritz at the moment)
thanks however – looks interesting.
A link that may be useful:
http://www.gravestonestudies.org/
Okay, will do. Looks like I’ll be going one evening this week (the weekend has turned out to be far too busy). Pictures should be doable as well.
Talk to you soon.