(character count, with title: 99)
The Cynic's Civic Duty
Nothing changed. Nothing would ever change.
But there was always a bake sale.
The Cynic's Civic Duty
Nothing changed. Nothing would ever change.
But there was always a bake sale.
Hello readers, Over four months have gone by since the appearance of the last Twitterstory. Since that time, A Little Soul has become available for all digital readers (iPad, iPod, iPhone; Kindle; Nook; Kobo) and also a slightly revised print-on-demand version. The reasons the weekly installments stopped are numerous, but ultimately negligible. And, yes, there is an intention to produce another collection at some unknown date in the future, but there's some famous quote about intentions that I just can't think of right now. The good news is that with this installment the weekly Twitterstory returns, with all new stories that have not appeared on the site or in any version of the book. As always, thank you.  (character count, with title: 107) Condimental "Excuse me, ma'am? You wanted the mayonnaise on the side, right?" No one ever called her ma'am again.  So I've finally decided to jump off the cliff and write a novel.
That sentence will have one of many reactions, depending on the person: 1) The most common reaction: absolutely nothing, because most people won't read this blog post so they won't be aware of this momentous (for me) decision. 2) A modest shrug of approval to themselves followed up by the immediate forgetting that this is taking place. 3) "Why the hell are you telling us about this?" said to self, and sometimes coupled with the thought of "instead of actually just writing the damned thing." 4) Encouragement and support by well-meaning, kind-hearted people who will probably forget about it immediately upon reading this post or seeing this headline on the many social media venues where this will appear. This person's reaction will be along the lines of, "Oh, that's great. I'm sure he'll tell us about it when it's done." 5) And the least common reaction from people: a barrage of questions not limited to, but including, the following: "What's it going to be about?", "When will it be finished?", "How long is it going to be?", "It's going to take you HOW long?", "I think you should write a book about..." But, yes, I have decided to write a novel. For those who know me, this is a huge deal. The idea of writing a novel scares the living hell out of me. I am not what most would call attention sufficient. (It has taken me about an hour and a half to write this far due to various distractions which, were I to list them, would make this post longer than our tax code.) I've always written short stories and over the years have focused more and more on shorter structures, perhaps due to the aforementioned lack of attention sufficiency. On top of the usual doubts that accompany the process of writing, I have decided this will be historical fiction. Which just increases the amount of doubts to a near crippling level: Do you conduct the research first and then start writing? Or do I start writing and then conduct research to fill in those details I am unsure of? Which voice/character starts the story? How much research is too much research? (And when will I be conducting research as a means of procrastination, instead of just writing the damned thing?); what if, after 200 pages, you realize you need to rewrite the entire book or the scene on page 250 is actually how you need to open the book, thus forcing you to rearrange the entire structure; or you realize you need to change the point of view from third to first person? With a short story, these issues are easier to handle: thirty pages is much more manageable to rearrange and cannibalize than three to four hundred. "Why would you do this if you know it's going to cause this much torment?" Good question, hypothetical reader. Over the past few years I have jumped off many proverbial cliffs in terms of pursuing life goals that for various reasons--none of which were any good--I decided to avoid for years and years and years and... well, you get the point. Since I was in the process of tearing down my own self-constructed scaffolding, I figured I would just jump at the next obstacle, the next goal, and deal with the fear and prospect of failure later. That was writing this book, the idea for which has been bouncing around my head for almost six years now. So for the next few years be prepared to be bombarded with blog entries about historical research, the frustrations of writing, and Cambodia. And the occasional writing-induced outburst. As always, thank you. Now that the print version of "A Little Soul: 140 Twitterstories" is available, it is time for a "Behind the Music" feature on the inspiration for the stories and titles. Some readers and friends have noticed that some stories share the name as certain pop songs. To this I must say these readers have great tastes in music. But they are correct: song titles and lyrics heavily influence my writing and did play a part in the making of this book. With the exception of "A Little Soul", I have listed the songs in the same order as the story it influenced appears in the book. I have also made note of the very few instances where a story appeared in the print version but not the eBook version. Good listening and, as always, thank you. "A Little Soul" (A Little Soul - Pulp) "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave" (This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave - Pet Shop Boys) "Was It Something I Said?" (Was It Something I Said - OMD) "It's a Long, Long Way From Where You Want To Be" (Pandora's Box - OMD) "'Singer In the Band Made Me Want to Cry'" (Country Mile - Camera Obscura) "Motivational Tactics" (He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot - Grandaddy) "Unrequited" (Bowl of Oranges - Bright Eyes) "Violet" (Velvet Morning - The Verve) "Temptation" (print version only) (Temptation - New Order) "Know By Heart" (print version only) (published in different form as "Conclusion" in eBook) (Know By Heart - The American Analog Set)  I did not realize it had been over two months since I last updated Scribblings & Bibblings. That said, I can't say I'm going to update it on a much more frequent basis. That would be like claiming you're going to follow through on every one of your New Year's Resolutions, or vowing to never do something again after you've embarrassed yourself. ("I am never drinking/watching Real Housewives/eating that many donuts/talking to her/him [fill your own blank] again.") But I will say that I will try to try to update this more frequently. As most everyone who knows me knows, I am training for a marathon in October: the Hartford Marathon to be specific. Back in November 2011, I posted what songs I usually go running to, or what songs I listen to before I go running. Since that time, I have added many songs to my running list, and some of those on the original post have gone by the wayside. Listed below are the songs I listen to most often before I go running. There is a common thread of hyperactive electronic beats and fast-tempo melodies or guitar riffs. (Lyrics I tend to ignore.) As someone who is a minimal runner--I don't wear headphones or bring anything extraneous (watch, phone, key, beverage) with me on a run--I try to listen to one or two of these songs repeatedly before I go out. Presently, the Weezer and New Order tracks dominate my pre-run ritual. As before, what songs do you go running to? And, having updated this list, I'm now going to run. New Order - Temptation Of Montreal - We Will Commit Wolf Murder 1000 Homo DJs (side project of Ministry) - Supernaut Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To Of Montreal - Heimdelsgate Like a Promethean Curse Three weeks left: explanation to follow shortly. This story also did not appear in the collection A Little Soul: 140 Twitterstories. Bonus story. Twitterstory 57: You Can't Run Away From Yourself (Character count, including title: 118) "On an island I'll finally escape," he thought. But his thoughts were still with him. 
(character count: 106, including title) On The Subway He hopes it comes across as placid contemplation. Really, he hopes no one notices him at all. 
(character count, including title: 118) This Must Be The Place I Waited Years to Leave "Why can't you write something nice that will sell, like a love story?" 
This week's twitterstory represents a bonus, as it will not appear in A Little Soul: 140 Twitterstories. It was written the other day, after the book had already been sent for eBook conversion. I hope you enjoy. (character count: 162; without title: 137) New User Advisory Label (Inspired by and dedicated to my good friend Mike Hancock) To prevent irreparable damage to equipment, do not place contents of cell phone into microwave. Customer: Who was dumb enough to do that? 
(character count: 36) Motivational Tactics I hope you can. 
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AuthorDarren Cormier lives in the Boston area. He is the author of A Little Soul: 140 Twitterstories. His fiction has appeared in Opium Magazine, Meetinghouse, Amoskeag, Every Day Fiction, Raft Magazine, Arch Literary Journal, and One Forty Fiction, Ether Books, and Seedpod Publishing. Writing peeves: there should be a comma before the "and" in a set of three or more items; it is "A historic" not "AN historic"--the 'h' is pronounced; would've, could've, and should've are contractions and should never be written as "would of," "could of," or "should of"; and "ATM machine" is redundant. ArchivesAugust 2013 Also Read. Please
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L.A. Kuehlke - author of Pursuit Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind - Sarah Weinman Dale Bridges - Always runs with Scissors Soap Box - Erin Bradley Guide to Literary Agents CategoriesAll |
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