Return to Phae

I guess I really hadn't realized just how little sleep I have had recently.  Chronic Insomnia lets you get used to sleeping for only a couple of hours a night.  In the summer, the extra sunlight helps.  Now that fall is in full swing, not having enough sleep makes life hard to deal with.

Yesterday I had a good long nap (which I sorely needed after two far too early mornings in a row), and then went back to bed early, and slept for about 12 more hours.  Today is sunny, and brisk, and I feel better than I have in weeks.

For a long time, I had such trouble with coming up with ideas for stories, and now, my ideas are kind of spinning out of control.  They are mixing together and changing and growing faster than I can keep up with.  Luckily, though, I have some plotting and character exercises that should help me to solidify things again.

I am beginning to think that while I do want to write a short story this month, I might not worry about the guidelines of the contest and just go ahead and start on putting my own collection together.  I'll worry about contests once I have managed to refine my technique again.

--Phae

I get email notifications for this contest every year. I have only entered the once. I think I might give it another shot this year. Short stories are hard for me, but if I don't practise, then I won't get any better.

I have been thinking of what I could write, and I think I have decided. I was in the book store yesterday (picking up a copy of Anne Rice's The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty), and I realized that it has been a long time since I have found a good vampire story.

Now, I define a good vampire story as something that has more to it than just sex and biting. There are other issues that I think could do with exploring.

In thinking about it, I have had flashes of some cool ideas for my own vampire coven (including a vampire who wears only the brightest primary colours). I haven't decided all the details of my vampires yet, but I think that I might write a bit of an introduction to the story, and send it in to the Literary Awards.

I figure that the worst that will happen is that I will lose $20.  I think I can live with that if it in any way helps to advance my writing career.

--Phae