Writing Some Pulp Fiction

Inspired by the thoughts of the pulp revolution, I woke from bed that same day I blogged about it with a story idea unraveling in my dreams.  As I became more conscious, the idea emerged from the fog with me, and I fit missing pieces together.

Later that night, in a fit of frantic typing, I managed to bang out 1600 words—two-thirds of a first draft.  (I finished it today, totaling about 2300 words.)

That same day, also I came up with another story idea, or rather, resurrected one I’d had a year or two earlier.  Both, I decided, would be best served as flash fiction or very short stories.  Nice, fun pieces I could produce in a burst of creative energy and then send off to market, while preparing myself for the commitment necessary to finish a novel I started over a year earlier.

My goal for the summer, then, is to finish Deus Ex Machina, the sequel to Hungry Gods. But before I get back to that somewhat daunting task, I have a few quick, fun short stories to blow out, as I might blow the tiny parachutes from a dry dandelion to float about on the breeze.

(Not sure how that image came to my brain, but there it is.)

And the truth is, I was afraid to write this story.  It was a task to sit down and convince myself that I could start a new story, especially in the middle of the night while at work with sleeping patients; not the ideal environment for storytelling.

Starting is always the hardest part.  But once I got going…  it all came along as it should.  Turned out a little more longwinded than expected (much like this rambling blog post), but it’s a fun story.  It is intentionally set in the 30s or 40s (as you can hopefully tell by the language and scenery) and involves a young Egyptologist in love.  But, of course, things don’t go exactly as the love-struck research assistant hopes it will.

Alas, I cannot share the story on here with you now.  That would be considered “publishing it” and then no magazine or online zine would have it.  So let me send it around, see if anyone bites, and I’ll let you know where to find it if they do…