Harlan's Fault
July 28, 2000
7:31 a.m.
It's happening to me again. This is all Harlan Ellison's fault. I'm sure it bothers him. I have this problem with Harlan Ellison. I read his stuff, and it blows me away, and then for days and days afterward I find myself writing like him. Well. Not like him. I wish sometimes I could really write like him--hit people up side the head with a freshhewn two-by-four and make them happy for it. I'm no Harlan Ellison, though. My stories work differently than his do right now. At this stage of my career, anyway. But I find myself thinking in phrases and wordings that are of a similar style to his. I find myself spending long spans looking for forceful ways of saying things, interesting details, looking for ways to bring mythology and magic and dark forces into play in such a fashion as to make the story literally smell of them. I cannot help it. Yes, it's Harlan Ellison's fault. I think every writer has a few other writers that grab their attention. Every writer has people that make their blood pump with just a line, better yet a story. This is a good thing. Heck, yes. Of course it's a good thing. Generally. Except. Well, except I'm working really hard right now to bring this latest Analog story to its end. Yes, I know I can push through given the right pressure. That's not the point right now. The point right now is that I'm feeling pressure to finish this Analog thing, and I've been leaving it hanging for two weeks or more while I do other things, and now Harlan Ellison has me itching to write powerful fantasy-withchy-arcane fiction. Analog is not well known for powerful fantasy-witchy-arcane fiction. Analog is known for science, plot, and general senses of wonder-fun. The collection of stories I'm writing there are your basic "have fun with space opera-ish physics" kind of stories. They do not require a powerful fantasy-witchy-arcane mindset. No. In fact, one might say it's a detriment to bring that attitude--that mindset--into this particular game. I find myself deeply into a moment, writing internal dialog and describing stuff. I find my internal clock is running really fast. It's got to be, because I'm thinking something and writing and the next time I look at the clock it's 45 minutes later. Pulling myself out of the creative cloud, and looking at what I wrote I find myself thinking "oh geeze, this really doesn't go well with anything." But, under the guise of pretending that I can always take things out, I've left these pieces alone for now. And so the story has grown. I used to think I was almost done. Now I'm seeing it might be half way there. Assuming I ever make this any good, Stan Schmidt's still liable to shoot me for length. It's Harlan Ellison's fault. I'm sure it bothers him.   Have a great day.  Yes, Ron. But Harlan's good in space, too Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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