Writing Things

I'm writing again. This may seem an odd statement for me to make, given the fact that I've been maintaining a daily (and then some) blog for more than three years now. Yeah, I've been writing an awful lot for that, over 1200 posts and counting. Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) will likely continue its commitment to that schedule for at least the foreseeable future.

But I've also resumed writing short stories. I wrote a lot of short stories when I was a teenager, and they all shared the common trait of being terrible. Nonetheless, they were excellent practice. One learns by doing, and even these early, pathetic attempts helped me develop the craft of storytelling. The lesson served me well in nonfiction, which is where I was eventually able to earn a few paychecks as a freelance writer.

I never quite stopped dabbling--or attempting to dabble--in fiction. I tried to write comics, sending several lackluster efforts to DC Comics in the '70s and '80s. I thought of a bunch of novels I wanted to write, but didn't follow through with the actual writing part. Other than one wretched sword & sorcery short ("Thicker Than Water," which was a better'n-decent first page followed by page after page of irredeemable drek) and a failed stab at slappin' together the first incomplete chapter of a forever-unfinished mystery novel called Our Lips Are Sealed, I never got much of anything on to a page.



Keeping a daily blog forced me to want to write more. I exhumed my teenage notion for a Batman adventure and turned it into a complete pulp short story called "The Undersea World Of Mr. Freeze," a story I'll never be able to sell, but which pleased me immensely; I even started a sequel ("Paradise Does Not Believe In Tears") before belatedly coming to my senses. For now. I adapted a partial summary of one of my unwritten novels into the first chapter of a five-part celebration of the 2016 BRIGHT LIGHTS! rock 'n' roll show in Syracuse. I started writing a script for a Green Hornet '66 story called The Beat And The Sting (for which I also wrote a teaser blurb). I got five chapters into a proposed rock 'n' roll time travel superhero novel I called Eternity Man!  I concocted a phony rock 'n' roll movie called Jukebox Express, and I wrote fantasies about a 1976 Beatles reunion and my local rockin' pop heroes The Flashcubes becoming famous back in the '70s. The results varied, but I enjoyed writing each of these.

Late last year, I became aware of a potential market for short stories; even better, it was a potential paying market for short stories. And I wanted in!

Which meant I had to write something.

I started with something from inventory, an entry in my series The Greatest Record Ever Made chronicling a fanciful notion of Syracuse's beloved TV vampire Baron Daemon encountering an unnamed vampire slayer from Sunnydale. That story was rejected, albeit with compliments from the editors. I then wrote "The Lovable Lunkhead Returns," a brand-new confection about the 1960s comic-book version of Jerry Lewis participating in a universe-spanning DC Comics crisis tale. Also rejected. But encouraged to keep trying.



In the past week, I've written three new short stories. One is somber, one is willfully and (I hope) delightfully silly, and one is neither somber nor silly, but relatively straightforward sword & sorcery (the above-mentioned first page from the '80s, revamped and refreshed into a stand-alone piece). I pray that each is at least entertaining. I'll be crossing my fingers as I submit all three for consideration. Wish me luck.

I'm a better writer now than I was when I was a teen. Duh. I'm never going to make any kind of living at it, but I think I can do this. Even as I fail, I enjoy the process, and I keep getting better. Writing is its own reward. 

That doesn't mean I'd mind getting paid for it, too.

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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.