That Instant of Clarity
December 1, 2000
7:24 a.m.
Another suggested read: Try out Robert Reed's "Crooked Creek" in the January F&SF. I'm turning into quite a Robert Reed fan. I've only read his short work, but I've got to say that his stuff leaves me with the feeling that he's in charge, and that he knows where he's going. His work finds a message, it hits a mark at the end that leaves me with that tingling aftermoment where the world becomes clear--at least for an instant. That's what I'm shooting for--clarity of vision. I'm struck by this because I'm again looking at "Searching for Ghandi" again. Quite honestly, the thing cries for a novel because it has several viewpoints that need to be examined. I've talked about needing to focus on a secondary viewpoint previously, and I have. And I still don't think the thing is "finished." The real problem is that I'm working with a big idea. The piece continues to expand--I think I'm up around 14-15,000 words and have hit upon a whole different mindset. I didn't come to this one with a novel in mind. Actually, I didn't really come to it with anything in mind. It just kind of grew, you know? This is what I get for not thinking things through at the beginning, I guess. I've picked and poked at it for nearly a month, constantly telling myself that I'm going to focus on a novel after this thing is done, and only now am I realizing that if I'm going to work on this thing, I need to make a totally different decision: I either truncate my thought process on "Ghandi" and write this thing as a one point short story, or drop back and roll this large work into my overall "career" plans. In other words, I have to add clarity to the story I want to tell. Then I need to tell it. It's all so simple when you look at it that way, huh?   Have a great day.  Yeah, Ron, clear as mud Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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