Other voices, other rooms
I posted chapter five of “Rented Space.” I thought I might finish it today, but no time, and no go. Still think I might pound out another chapter tonight. We’ll see.
I almost scrapped chapter five altogether because it changes point of view to that of the main female character. I don’t usually like doing that in a short story. I felt like chapter five might have been a wrong turn and wanted to get back into Crabbe’s point of view, but Carolyn’s voice kind of took over. Eventually it seemed a shame to cut it, though it does shift the pov. Whether it is a convincing woman’s voice or not, I don’t know. I’ve never written in a woman’s voice.
“He do the police in different voices,” original title of Eliot’s The Waste Land, after a Dickens novel. Glad Pound suggested he change it.
This is still supposed to be a short story, I think, but I admit it has grown beyond what I originally thought.
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I must apologize. I keep meaning to go through and read your chapters and I never seem to find the time! Someday soon, I will though. I love your writing (and yes, I HAVE read some of it!).
And, as for short stories, they do tend to not seem so short after awhile, don’t they? I don’t think the length matters though. As long as you are saying what needs to be said.
Comment by shel — Wednesday, 27 April 2005 @ 7:24 pm
Don’t feel pressured to respond or even keep up. I’m not feeling neglected; I’ve never been happier in fact. I realize I’m producing a lot of words for people to keep up with, and the blog format isn’t necessarily the best way for readers to follow me.
Comment by Matthew — Wednesday, 27 April 2005 @ 10:39 pm
Sometimes I have a hard time keeping up, but if I have time, I always save your blog for last because I know that I’ll read it most thoroughly, because you always write so much.
This is a good thing.
I did like the change in the point of view to the woman.
You going to keep with this story? Because I think it could go a little longer.
On the other hand, it could stop right there, with the falling asleep, stream of consciousness.
But if it does go on, I’ll be happy to read it. I just read through and disappointed there’s not more.
Comment by Mel B. — Thursday, 28 April 2005 @ 1:48 am
Matt, I have wondered how you have been able to devote so much time to writing. You sound like a busy individual: your a husband, father, and worker. In all seriousness, how do you manage your time so you can work on your short story?
Comment by Brandi — Saturday, 30 April 2005 @ 1:27 pm
I devote about three hours a night, a couple nights a week, to writing. I might write from seven until ten on Monday and Tuesday, for example. I’d be happy with two hours of writing per night, two or three days a week, but I’ll take what I can get. I’ve gone through fallow periods, and I’ve learned that when the writing is chugging along reasonably well you don’t try to push the throttle too far too fast.
What’s more, Wedensday thru Friday I am too tired when I come home from work and feel only like vegetating in front of the TV. Weekends are family time. So the beginning of the week is my writing time. I kind of feel like I might break that rule this weekend however (rules are made to be broken, you know), becase I’ve been thinking about this character Crabbe a lot, and if I can break away from my family for an hour or two and not feel guilty, I may write the next chapter in his story.
I’m not the kind of writer who feels like he has to put in four or six hours of writing per day, or has to place himself on a schedule from which he never deviates. I’m too lazy for that, for one thing. I write when I have the time and when I feel like it. Lately, I’ve just felt a lot more like writing than almost any time in the past fifteen years. I was telling a friend the other day, I’ve written more in the past four months than in almost any year previously. That isn’t saying much, at this point. But it’s a sign of an up-tick in output, and I appreciate that. I pray to the muses every night that it continue.
Comment by Matthew — Saturday, 30 April 2005 @ 3:17 pm