Passersby

I am beginning to realize that if I really stand a chance to convert the concept of the novel into an actual novel then the first step in getting there is breaking away from all distractions, which may or may not include taking a partial sabbatical from all things The Missing Slate. So I'm now on the look out for a Managing Editor who will quite simply be shouldering all the editorial responsibilities, leaving things open for me to focus on what I [at this moment at least] should really be doing best: writing. If you think you're qualified for the job, email in your resumes to jobs@themissingslate.com. Expect an interview on Skype though; I don't take the position lightly. In fact, nothing about TMS is...light. Ha!

There are rumblings in taking it to print asap, or at the very least, get the company behind it a registered and legal entity and secure a print license. The rest, as they say, will come.

Having taken the time and the critique and feedback received in workshop and used it to my advantage, I've re-realized old visions and concepts for the Untitled Project, and rewritten the ending which was really the originally conceptualized ending rewritten. So now I know where it's going and in the weeks that follow, will have a more specific idea of how to get it there in terms of narrative structure. I'm playing with time here and it's something I have't always done before, at least not for a full-length novel. After a conversation with Paul, a friend and one of the writers on the course [not to be confused with Paul Farley who's one of the professors], there is a very nebulous idea forming at the tip of my mind fueled by our conversation: a set of short stories with a theme, linked into a series of short stories. That's something I'm going to have to pursue, if for no other reason, than to spread my wings into literary journals and get my name out there in publishing circles.

Writing goes beyond therapy: it's an itch I can't always scratch, it's there in the forefront and in the background of my mind taunting me. I've lived with the characters of Gray for the past six years: these are old hands, they are my familiars and that other story whose characters haunt me: Numb, will be put to bed sooner or later. There is much to be rewritten, much to be tightened. But thankfully, that will all come later.

What happens when Gray is over? There's Numb and The Carousel Man to work on, but in between I must write about other socio-religiously relevant pieces. Generation Y, my generation, has already started to branch out of the political leanings of generations past. It remains to be seen what impact that will have on the reading public.