Back to Civilization (Older Short Story)

The blog has been quiet a few days while I bust out a novella (Spooooky Funfair) and a short story (Ant Tower) simultaneously, so I thought it would be alright to put up something a bit older. I wrote this piece in December ‘07 and liked it a lot, so I submitted it to a local mag. It became my first ever rejection. Go me!

Re-reading it now, I can’t see too much I’d change. Maybe make the central themes a little less blunt and obvious, but that’s the limit. I haven’t actually figured out anywhere that might like to publish it, so I might as well share. Any feedback you can give, as well as advice on any magazines or publications that like this sort of thing, would be massively appreciated.

Anyway, enjoy!

Click here for Back to Civilisation – December 2007

The Ant Tower (in progress)

Another short story in the works. I usually work on my shorts along-side my bigger projects – for example, I’m busting out 1000-1500 words of my “Spooooky Funfair” novel each day, and then when that’s done I settle down to add a scene or two to a short. It keeps the edge off, otherwise big projects start to grind real fast.

So, the Ant Tower. It’s the first fantasy-esque thing I’ve written since I was 13 and I gave up on the Piers Anthony shenanigans. It’s about a small group of hired soldiers being led to a gigantic termite mound out in the desert by a mysterious magician. Wank, yes, but don’t all fantasy novels sound like wank from the blurb?

Regardless, I’m liking how it’s developing so far. Tell me what you think of the first few paragraphs.

How do you write?

I hear a lot about people’s writing habits. In high school, one teacher confided that he could only write after 9pm, in the hour between his favourite programs, with a beer at hand. Any other time of the day resulted in staring at a blank page for hours and wishing he was elsewhere. Other folk have that enviable ability to write anywhere, anytime – on a plane, between meetings, on the bus, in the living room surrounded by screaming kids.

Is that a learned ability? I’d like to think so, because it’s one I’m trying to build.

Like every budding writer, I’ve had to overcome a lot of writers block over the past few years, and I’ve slowly constructed a routine (or more a list of cheap tricks) that squeeze out my daily wordcount. That wordcount has grown pretty steadily since I started taking this seriously in ‘05, and the tricks have become more a part of my day. I don’t know if they’ll help anyone else, but sharing never hurts.