I decided to start on science fiction research for the short story book first, as it seems I’m going to be working with two stories in the genre. As I slowly begin to process my story ideas, it seems both are getting away from the original intent, but I’m unsure if I am working from a place of fear or if I’m “being clever”. One story is clearly not science fiction, it is a pulpy boy adventurer story that happens to be set in space. I want to avoid the trappings of realism for that story, so science fiction is being clearly left in the cold on that one.

For the other story, I was thinking of instead writing what I suppose could be a period piece, a satirical look at utopian science fiction. Back when everyone thought flying cars were going to come along just after cell-phones. Either way, I can’t fall into my usual intellectually lazy trappings. If I’m going to parody it, I need to know it, so that is a call I’ll have to make after I read some books.

I should probably focus on short fiction to start with, as the sci-fi story itself would be 8-12 pages.

I’ve had a few blogs in my time. Not all of them good. Some sensible people would go as far as to say these blogs were a magnet for low commentary and a general sad state of affairs. Many would call them journals and they would be correct.

This one begins with a shift in perspective. I’m going to keep most of my day to day triteness over at the old LiveJournal, as I do have an incomprehensible desire to share every moment of my life with people I’ve never met, but I thought I’d focus this one on my work. Primarily, this means the blog will be about writing.

The current project I want to begin documenting is a book of comic short stories. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to acquire the services of some amazing artists, with whom I will be collaborating. It feels ridiculous, that I get to have so many fantastic people at my disposal. Either they feel some pang of pity when confronted with me, or they actually have a little bit of faith in my abilities. Today, as I am riddled with flu-spores, I suspect it is a little bit of both.

But I digress in my usual, tiresome, self-effacing way. Over the next few days,  I am going to begin researching science fiction, as I will be writing in that genre for the first time.  As an adolescent, I read a lot of Asimov and Clarke. A couple of years later, I became fairly obsessed with Warren Ellis, especially his high concept work. I don’t really know what sci-fi is about anymore and I’m out of touch with anything created in the past decade. Mostly, from what I have seen on Boing Boing, it includes very terrible Photoshop book covers and a hopeful Creative Commons license. I hope on this little journey of mine I find some interesting contemporary work.

And none of that steam punk nonsense.