Fantasy Not Found

I murdered my longtime writing website and have begun picking at its hypertext husk, harvesting the usable bits to Frankenstein this blog into existence. Welcome to 404 Fantasy!

I made my web switcheroo to this ultra-minimal blog to keep my interwebs time and energy focused on writing. I plan to establish a rhythm of publishing SFF-focused content, including short stories (<1500 words), writing-related stuff, project updates, and occasional reviews of books and movies.

Backstory

Not long after turning 40, I was broadsided by the realization that I was halfway to my dirt-nap. This triggered a torrent of existential questions and a marathon of introspection. This time of navel-gazing ultimately led to some decisions and course corrections. It was also when I was confronted by the novel I’d never written.

I’ve always loved books and, as a teenager, I became enamored with the thought of writing my very own. Though this passion grew and endured, I allowed the hustle and chaos of life to push it aside. In the clarity of my half-dead analysis, I decided it was time to take action. I began writing.

That was eight years ago. Eight. Do you remember the music video for Epic by Faith No More? Did you ever see 2001: A Space Odyssey? How about Office Space? My fiction-writing experience thus far is a mixture of the flopping and gasping fish from the Epic video, the Neanderthals smacking at the monolith in 2001, and the printer scene from Office Space.

Books, Brains, Brutality

I’ve done lots of technical and business writing over the course of my career. I’m good at it and have enjoyed some success in this domain, with some of my work published or used in interesting ways. I thought this experience would help me with my novel. Pffft. Nope. Writing fiction uses entirely different muscles and regions of gray matter. If anything, decades of crunchy writing has forged habits that need to be unlearned for fiction.

My brutal inner-editor also shoulders much of the blame for my slow progress. I do my best to keep him bound and gagged in the janitor’s closet of my amygdala, but he’s a crafty sumbitch. He inevitably escapes and wreaks havoc on my drafts, demanding destructive edits in pursuit of unattainable perfection.

Still, I’ve made significant progress in spite of myself. Today, my tent is pitched above the tree line on Mt. Undone. I'm sitting on a great big pile of rough words, with several long-form sci-fi and fantasy projects in progress, each sitting in the 30,000 – 80,000 words range. I also have a stack of short fiction projects that I’m tidying up to share here.

Deadlines & Other Mythical Beasts

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

God willing and the creek don't rise (whatever that means), I will finish my first fantasy novel this year. My goal is to have the manuscript ready by Festivus 2025, with self-publishing activities to commence immediately after sugarplum season.

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