Weeks in Review: October 10 - October 22, 2022

Two weeks summarized in 500 words

Last week I ran out of time before I could publish my weekly recap. So instead, you’ll be reading two reports smashed into one. Let’s begin.

Writing

I finished writing a short story yesterday afternoon. Turned out to be 2,900 words in length. Like most of my stories it’s a strange tale with a mashup of different elements. I’m not sure which genre I’d classify it in or if the story even works, but that’s not really for me to decide - that’s the reader’s job. My primary focus is to write the stories as they come to me and put it out to market (see Heinlein’s rules #4) and keep it there (see Heinlein's rules #5). It’s imperative to operate on a standard “write and release model” for this personal challenge. The fastest way for me to get better is to keep writing and send out stories consistently over time. Keep writing and sending out stories. Everything else tends to fall into place.

Reading

Below is a list of what I’ve read these past two weeks.

Short Stories

• Traumerei - Charles Beaumont

• The Jungle - Charles Beaumont

• Free Dirt - Charles Beaumont

• Song For A Lady - Charles Beaumont

• The Statement of Randolph Carter - HP Lovecraft

• The Cats of Ulthar - HP Lovecraft

• In the Forrest of Villefere - Robert E. Howard

• Riches Beyond Dream - Louis L'Amour

Poems

• The One Black Stain - Robert E. Howard

• Recompense - Robert E. Howard

• A Word from the Outer Dark - Robert E. Howard

• Exorcism - Clark Ashton Smith

• Amithaine - Clark Ashton Smith

• Cycles - Clark Ashton Smith

• Outlanders - Clark Ashton Smith

• The Last Night - Clark Ashton Smith

• Ode to the Abyss - Clark Ashton Smith

• Retrospect and Forecast - Clark Ashton Smith
  

Novel

• Casino Royale - Ian Fleming

Plenty of spooky stories and tales of terror from last week. If I have time next week I will try to reflect my thoughts on each piece in a few sentences. I finished Casino Royale and will definitely be on the look out for more of the Bond books. Fleming is a terrific thriller writer and knew how to grab a reader. I'll be covering the works of Robert E Howard, Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith more in-depth by the end of the month as I continue to read their respective works of prose and poetry.

I picked up two western novels at my local library after watching “A Fistful of Dollars” for the first time last week. I've come to appreciate the Western genre in film as I’ve gotten older and want to dive deeper into some of the books. After a little bit of digging I found Showdown by Louis L’Amour and Bad Man’s Gulch: A Western Trio book of three short novels from pulp fiction master Max Brand. If all goes well this might prompt an essay about the Western pulps in the near future.

What’s Next?

I’ve got an idea for a story that has been running around in my mind for a few days that I think would be fun to tackle. Other than that it’s back to the reading and studying of craft.

‘till next time.