Coming Back
January 2, 2002
5:27 a.m.
If you are reading this you have either hung valiantly on through the bleak drought of "Daily" Persistence entries, or just managed to stumble onto my site at the most opportune of moments. For those in the later group, let me start by explaining that for much of the last three months I have been on a self-imposed hiatus from my SF work and have been focusing instead at getting better at a computer racing game (though I distinctly prefer to call it a simulation, he says with his nose rising in a hoity arc). Among the elements of the game is a place on the net that records y our lap times and compiles them into a single rank that allows you to see how you're doing against the rest of the population. On the last day of the year, after nearly three months of working on it, I finally managed to slip past John Bodin, my collaborator and very good friend. He is also the cause of this whole thing, but I'll not skewer him any further in this semi-public place, except to comment on his reaction to hearing that I had edged him out. He said, and I quote: "Don’t you have anything better to do, like go write some fiction?" I think John's related to Brian Plante. Of course, this didn't stop him from beating my time at Silverstone last night, so you might take his comment at less than face value. [grin] John's not the only one to make this kind of comment recently. My mom asked about it over the holidays, and my dad has mentioned the lack of entries on the site. Lisa raised an eye a week or two back, even after I told her my plans to continue hard with the game ... er ... simulation ... until the end of the holidays, and then return to something more balanced (no, Brian, I'll make no resolutions). But for the most part, I have to say that the world did not come to an end due to my little break. I haven't, for example, seen the publishing industry grind to a halt, nor have I had a flock of e-mails or messages on our answering machine from a flock of hand-wringing editors worried that their gravy train was leaving the station. This lack of expectation is perhaps the only benefit of being a new writer, so I suppose I should take advantage of it. Always look on the bright side, right? Being a new writer means not having a contract that ties you to the desk when you really want to take a shot at setting a new personal best at Watkins Glen. The wheels of progress were not, however, totally motionless. I still dabbled in putting words to the page, though much of my writing was in the form of race reports--which I have to say, were a blast to write. I also received and reviewed a set of page proofs for "The Vacation," a story that will soon be in Larry Segriff's anthology Future Wars. And I submitted a story or two around. And I received notice that Jim Bailey's Elysian Fiction will be printing "The Lingering Scent of Lightning" sometime soon. It may actually be out now, I'll have to run over there soon and see. As you might guess, I have a lot of catching up to do. You might ask me, was it worth it? Sitting here at the end of my sabbatical, was it valuable to step away? Did I lose anything? I have to answer that I don't know, yet. It's too early. Ask me again in a couple months. All I can really say is that I'm happy to be turning my focus back to my writing, and I'm excited by the idea of it. As I think about it, I think it's all about what makes things fun. I have told people a hundred times that if something isn't fun in some fashion, then you shouldn't do it. For me, every element of writing SF is fun. Yes, every element. I enjoy the challenge of staring at the blank page and making something happen. I enjoy reviewing and rewriting. I enjoy seeing my material heading to the market, and seeing stuff in print. I like attending conventions and meeting people associated with the industry. The exception that proves the rule is, of course, rejection. There's always one kicker, right? This has never changed. I have always enjoyed the act of writing. But like I said in my last entry, all those eons before, I was getting drawn thin. I needed a break. For a little while I wanted to be doing something else, so I did it. After more than ten years of working at this, I think I was due a little latitude, eh? A good friend of mine recently reminded me that writing is not life. Life is life. It's important to understand the difference.   I straightened my desk up a bit yesterday, and I did a little cleanup work on the site. This morning I waded back into this world of words full force. I'm looking at old stories and deciding what stays and what goes. Last night I thought about my next big project. I think I know where it starts. This feels good. Have a great day. I'll see you tomorrow.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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If you feel like you're in control, you're not going fast enough. Mario Andretti |
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