Day 2 - Flashes and Title Games

Second day of the New World Order.  I screwed around a little....

Okay, I screwed around a lot.

I spent too much time on social media and then watched TV while paying Risk USA on my iPad.  I realize that the early part of the day just doesn't work for getting much done.  Tomorrow I'm going to try swapping excessive social media with Kerfuffle Management.  (Which I will explain when I actually succeed at doing it. One hopes this will be tomorrow.)

Today's Progress:  Finished "No Regrets" which is now 1400 words, half of which are new.  I probably destroyed 500 anti-words in the process.  And when final editing is done it may be shorter. I'm hoping to polish it on Sunday or Monday, and maybe submit to EQMM, though because it has a supernatural element (a battle with the devil story) I might send it to Asimov's first.  I think, though, that it has a "crime" sensibility.

Story Game:  More Title Games. I want to write a lot of short stories.  And though I'm concentrating on writing crime fiction, I'd like to add more children's fiction and especially horse stories, to follow up other stories I've got.  One of the problems I'm having with the children's horse stories, though, is that my mind wants to slip into cliches and tropes.  I need a "mixer" element to get me out of a rut.

So I decided to expand on the idea I'm using for the 26 Story Challenge.  I'm collecting a huge list of titles from all different sources. I'm also creating game wheels of options for various genres -- things I want to write about. I'll select titles from it, and then spin the wheel to see what I'm going to write about.  I've got a couple of variations in mind in case the elements don't match up.  But you never know.  Even an unlikely pair could lead to an interesting story.  (Title "The Dark Whisper" Genre Element: "First Riding Lesson."  that's not going to lead to your usual "Hands and heels down, head and heart high" story.)

And yeah, I just made up those two elements on the spot, but I think I'll keep them.

Meanwhile:

Eating, Watching, Reading: Leftovers, no reading today (other than nonfiction -- mostly political wonks), and I watched a little more of the George Raft version of The Glass Key.

I also watched a little bit of a strange little movie titled This I My Affair (Fox 1937).  Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Brian Donlevy and John Carradine.  It's like a madcap romantic comedy crossed with a crime thriller.  I kinda half expect to see Robert Preston show up in it, though he's not in the credits.  (I'm thinking Brian Donlevy is going to have that role of the romantic rival/crook.)

Anyway, onward and upward.  I need to get to sleep on time tonight so that I can get on with the kerfuffle hunt early, which should settle me down to work properly.

See you in the funny papers.