And in other news, my flash fantasy piece, “The Box That Eats Memories,” has been sold to Daily Science Fiction. This is my first sale to DSF, and I’m really pleased.
fantasy
The Paper Menagerie in the March/April Issue of F&SF
My story, “The Paper Menagerie,” will be in this.
Fantasy Ideas
I just read a beautiful piece of flash fantasy tonight — the kind that makes you jealous and wish you had come up with it — and it confirmed something I’ve been thinking lately: good concepts for contemporary fantasy can be generated by literalizing metaphors.
This was what I did in “State Change” (your soul/spirit is literally an object). And it was also the idea in The Golden Compass (your soul/spirit is literally an animal). It seems that whenever you treat a metaphor as real, there’s the potential for an evocative, moving exploration of the metaphor as fantasy.
This is no doubt old news for many fantasy readers and writers, but it’s still exciting to discover tricks like this on your own.
The Chase
“The Chase,” a flash piece, has been sold to Every Day Fiction. Two sales to them in a row! I’m so psyched.
Formula
Taking a small break before going back to the novel.
Meanwhile, I’m starting on a new fantasy short story that’s written to follow a formula (no, not a mathematical one). It’s an interesting exercise, and I feel pretty good about it.
NaNoWriMo Done
And … we are done! About 112,935 words. My first novel (Lisa’s too), and now come the edits.
We’re celebrating tonight with some wine and steaks.