WIP Wednesday: Taking Back the Man Cave

Yes, you read that correctly. Today I take back the Man Cave.

Maybe I'll do some writing later. In the Man Cave. Ah, that's the stuff.

One of my favorite books--top five (seriously)--is Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. If you're familiar, skip ahead. If not, well, it's a collection of stories (sort of) and a novel (sort of). O'Brien served in the military during that awful tragedy in Vietnam, and The Things They Carried follows a platoon through combat, coming home, and even fictional Tim's experience before the war. Or is it fictional Tim? Are the members of the platoon fictional? Just how much of this book is true, how much is made up?

Damn, it's a good book when it has you asking those kind of questions.

My last visit home really inspired me. You've seen the pictures. I've had this seed of an idea to write a novel/collection (kindasorta experimental) with my hometown as the base. Yes, it would be horror-esque. More dark fantasy and magical realism, I think. Yes, I would break a few narrative conventions, ala The Things They Carried. Visiting home again, I just knew this was the right thing to do. Maybe a little too ambitious for a writer of my skill, but hell. I'd rather try to climb a mountain than roll down a hill.

It's been brewing for a while. I better just write it, huh? In fact I've already started:

Elroy Jantz’s first death was an accident.

I've Been Evicted from the Man Cave

True. My sister-in-law is living with us for the summer, doing an internship in speech/language pathology at a local retirement community, and she's living in the Man Cave.

*sigh*

So my new "writing area" is the dining room table with an old laptop from school. Maybe it has some ghosts I can take advantage of...

In other, happier news:

In the category of Cate Gardner clued me in: "The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable", while not making the top ten in the storySouth Million Writers Award, Jason Sanford has posted his short list, and well...I'm humbled to see "Malleable" included. I need to write more stories like that, eh?

"Ranching the Sleore" is definitely not a story like that...but Comet Press released the TOC for their forthcoming Sick Things anthology a couple weeks ago. Looks like a nasty line up. And by nasty I mean good...in an anthology of extreme creature horror, anyway.

Okay, I feel better. (miss you, Man Cave)

The Roar of the Man Cave

Well, Jameson kicked up the Man Cave ante. Impressive spread.

My personal writing space is currently under full roar. The reason: it rained all night last night, the first genuine thunderstorm of the spring. I love those thunderstorms, but it makes the sump pump in the basement work overtime. The poor thing has been pushing water all day. And roaring.

So I'll make it quick. Check out Fifty-Two Stitches this week for a dark piece from Barry Napier. The last line is one of those that lingers.

I'm juggling three manuscripts right now: the gutting of Springdale Saints and first passes on Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and The House Eater...and, I'm actually enjoying myself. Saints is really getting carved to bits. The prose is so much leaner, meaner, and ready for action.

Cheers, all.

The Man Cave

A couple of months ago, Aimee mentioned my writing space to a friend, calling it "The Man Cave". Somehow, the name stuck. What do you think of when you hear the words man and cave?

For me, the term conjured images of swimsuit models, sports, and raw meat. The real "Man Cave" however, couldn't be further from such testosterone laden pursuits. It's really just a spare bedroom in our basement that I refinished last year.

Let me reveal the secrets of The Man Cave:

Yes, that's my computer. Yes, the desk is very messy. If you look closely, you can make out my submissions page from Duotrope onscreen.


I like Legos. I think Star Wars Legos are too cute. A few years ago, I made a killing on eBay selling the little minifig dudes. These are the survivors. The black plastic dragon has been with me since I was six. Buddha was at the birth of both of my sons.

Ah, the bookshelf. It was my first piece of "real" furniture purchased after high school. These are my favorite books, mostly speculative fiction of some kind.

And...what's that? The walls of The Man Cave are lavender?

Scandalous!

Looking over me as I write is a print of St. John the Evangelist from The Book of the Kells. Aimee and I picked it up in Ireland on our honeymoon.

So...no raw meat. No swimsuit models. No sports memorabilia to speak of.

But some weird stuff goes down on that computer. Weird stuff.

Quiet. Foggy. Day.

I'm not much of a fingernail nibbler, but I have a few subs out that are twisting my gut into little knots. Shimmer opened to subs again this week, and I would love to find my way into that pub. The in box has been so silent lately...

I'm cruising on the YA novel. I've hit 30K (with probably another 3K I need to go back and add to earlier parts). The book is in full third act mode, plenty of climax, and I can't seem to write fast enough to satisfy my craving to see how it all works out. I predict about 40K by the end. I don't know how folks can do those word count meters...I had no expectations when I started.

Outside: Fog. The world is quiet in north-east Kansas.

Inside: I wish I was home, locked in what Aimee calls "the man cave", writing my fingers to the bloody stubs, because today is perfect for The House Eaters.