MikeBode.com

The oldest adage in writing is “write what you know”. This generally means that you’re far better off writing about things you’re familiar with since writing is so closely tied to experience. However, not all of us were blessed with entertainingly dysfunctional families that can serve as fodder for a lifetime of autobiographical essays a la Sedaris. The great equalizer between experience and knowledge is research.

For the current story I’m writing I’ve done searches on the following topics:

• Layout of Wal-Mart stores (google images)
• Teknetics Metal detector manual (teknetics.com)
• Wal-Mart Bra selection (walmart.com)
• How to shoplift from Wal-Mart (rotteneggs.com)
• Patek Phillipe watches (piecesoftime.net)
• Hallucinations in the Sane (wikipedia.com)
• Imaginary friends (tvtropes.org)

And of course since I’m writing so much about Wal-Mart it would only seem appropriate to mention peopleofwalmart.com…

I don’t intend to use my blog as an announcement board for my rejections (it’s terrible publicity), but this is a sort of milestone in my re-launched writing career so you’ll indulge me while I wallow in despair. And it’s not so much ”wallowing” as it is sticking my toes in it for a second, feeling how cold it is and then deciding to go back inside.

I received a physical rejection letter in the mail from Fantasy and Science Fiction.  This was not unexpected. However my SASE*  was misdelivered to my neighbor who opened it, then returned it to me this morning with a very apolagetic note explaining how the postman often gets confused on our names. I’m sure my penmanship didn’t help. Given some of the recent discussions I read about the antiquanted hassle of paper submissions, I now have a personal reason for never wanting to deal with a publisher who won’t at leas have the decency to send my rejection electronically.

On the plus side, they didn’t keep me waiting overlong and I can move on to other pastures that might be more receptive. Which I have just done. The story is now in halfway across the world in the inbox of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.

I like them better anyway.

*Self Address Stamped Envelope for those of you who might not be acquainted with the process of submitting a paper manuscript. In days of old a publisher saved on postage by requiring writers to send an envelope to return the manuscript and let you know their decision when they were done with it.

By way of xkcd, I ran across a site called Tvtropes.org. Essentially the site is a wiki catalog of tropes and idioms common in all forms of popular media from TV to literature.

As an example, we all know the routine where a character in a television show makes a commitment with two people on the same date. This would seem to be a rite of passage for any sitcom. Tvtropes covers all of this in detail.

It’s invaluable for writing as well since I could type in the topic for my current story, “imaginary friends”, and instantly know what’s been done before.

So I’ve been in Michigan for the last few days. As always I intended to get some writing done. However all I have is my iPhone.

I realize people in japan have written novels thru text messages but so far I find the experience unconducive to the creative experience process. For one, I can’t see my whole paragraph. (edit: let alone the beginning of my own sentence).

Otherwise I’ve come up with a few leads on potential stories for when I get back to my work space in Atlanta.