If I Were the Last Poet, I'd Write a Song for Robots

Drafts and Sidebar Dreams

Over the past few days, I've been considering a few things when it comes to my writing life. I'm thinking about putting up a sidebar of music I've heard and enjoyed recently, and maybe a sidebar with a few definite goals. I've already set most of these up courtesy of the 1,000 Words a Day Club. Here's a few of them:

Short Story Extravaganza - I want to write at least five short story drafts by the end of the year. That's five rough drafts in five weeks, if they're all 7,000 words a piece. They won't be spectacular, but they won't be terrible either. I've got the ideas, but I need to make time to write them down before they slip away.

First Draft of XIII Book One - I want the first descent, solid draft finished by New Year. I have to have an acceptable draft by Spring for my thesis, and I need to get started on revisions.

The Plot Thickens - I want to fully outline XIII as a series, so that I have some idea of where the series story arcs, as a whole, are going. So far, I've been sort of discovering as I go, but I want a much more definite road map.

Over the Threshold - I need to decide what to do after I'm finished with this series. Let's face it, I've worked on this story for so long, moving past it will be a labor in itself. I'll probably come closer to actual grief before we're finished, but I do need to have another large project planned after XIII is finished.

When the Last Poet Finds Himself Surrounded by Robots

The other thing I've been considering is a science fiction story I read for class. The story is called The Last Poet and the Robots, by Abraham Merritt and it seems to claim that in order to be human, one must be a creator, an artists, a writer, a scientist. I've been thinking this over today. And I wonder if creation is actually what "lifts" us above everything else. Or are we lifted by our ultimate powers of destruction? Is it our innovations toward beauty, or our innovations toward horrifically powerful science that makes us the dominant species on this planet? Just a thought or two that I think I might develop into a short story or novella.

Rain May Make My Snippets Run

Tomorrow is Friday, and that means Friday Snippet time. I hope Joce will send me her sketch of Dell (so amazing) so I can use it as an illustration. For the past few days, the rains have come down in torrent over the Rock. I've waded to class with water well over my ankles and while my feet do squish for the rest of the day, the storms make for great pictures. I'll post some later this weekend. I hope you are all safe and well!

So say we all.
Bri