While I have not made much more progress on the pseudohypertext narratives that I’m planning for the Spring issue of otto, I have at least become involved in the last two stories (posted recently) that show promise.
It has been difficult to write without the wordflow that had always started and completed narrative previously with little effort on my part in the creative process as more than almost a channeling experience, with the main effort put into editing and rewrites. Whether it is the current obsession with real scenarios carving their paths in my life right now, or whether it is the focus and awareness on technique of storytelling brought about by reading thems that’ve been published and the resulting intimidation in the face of majesty, I seem to have stalled for several months in my own creative endeavors, but have seen just the slightest light from a door left ajar.
With these two new stories I may be able to make my way through and beyond. I’m thinking of even self-imposing a deadline (I’ve grown lax since being out of the academic urgencies of a classroom environment) by submitting one of these stories to our Narratives group for critique even before it is finished. That would give me a week’s deadline to aim toward and Lord knows, I still have it in me since childhood to not disappoint or fall short of a goal without a heavy accompanying load of guilt.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology