No writing to report today, unfortunately. But I've been thinking a lot about writing, however, so that's gotta count for something. So I thought I'd jot some thoughts down here. That, and I don't really want my last entry (the one about the killer jelly beans) to be the one to start off the new week...

I've been thinking a lot about writing and what I've been writing and what I'd like to write in the future. I know, that's all pretty vague, but...

Well, you see, I've been reading some old William Gibson. SF readers and writers probably understand already what I'm talking about. Gibson was The Writer in the 80's, the guy who wrote Neuromancer, a book about cyber-cowboys/hackers who set off a whole slew of similar books with down and out anti-heroes in the world of cyberspace. His stuff is GOOD. Amazingly good. And very, very stylistic.

And that's what I've been thinking about. Here's a guy who, over the past 20 years, has written 7 novels, one story collection, and one collaborative novel. Not a massive output. But all of his books have caused a stir, including his recent one, Pattern Recognition.

And here I am, working hard to finish my current novel, my 4th, so I can dive into novel #5. And I'm thinking, well, is that really the right course for me as a writer? Am I just in this to churn out product? Or...what?

Probably not the most productive way to think, as I haven't gotten to work on my current project, including the short screenplay based on my "cyber-cowboys-in-rehab" story, "Unplugged" (which was the whole reason I was reading Gibson again in the first place)! But it's been interesting, thinking about these things. Is it the process of writing, creating art, or is it the end product I'm interested in? Or something in the middle?

Just some random thoughts, here on a Sunday night, as I digest some amazing stories from Gibson's Burning Chrome story collection and start reading Neuromancer again. One thing's for sure -- he was ahead of his time. And the writing is phenomenal, on a sentence-by-sentence level. Very meticulous and well-constructed. Very...impressive.

And fun to read. I can't remember the last time I've read so much in one day! Kind nice! Later.

Now Playing:
"Fumbling toward Ecstasy," Sarah MacLachlan

Now Reading:
Neuromancer, William Gibson

Stories out to Publishers:
21