Angry Streets

Image: Raymond McCrae

I remember when I lived in Glasgow I would get the feeling every now and then that the city was angry at something. Walking home after work some nights, it was as though the city itself, a living breathing entity in its own right, had had a bad day and the frustration it felt was somehow shifted onto the people that lived in it. You could feel the anger, smell the bitterness, and some nights it was such a relief just to get back to my flat.

Edinburgh’s the same but in a different way. After sleeping in for the second day in a row, I should have guessed my day would go along the same lines as Monday. And I was right. It was like someone had come along and squeezed the city so all the pieces were left disjointed.

Edinburgh’s streets don’t exhibit the anger that you get in Glasgow, instead it crawls back into its corner and everyone seems to want their own space and are prepared to push anyone and everything else out their way to get it. It’s a latent anger, whereas Glasgow’s is in your face. Thank goodness it only happens every now and then.

Of course, these feelings make total sense after reading Devon’s comments in yesterday’s post. I’d always been sceptical about the whole moon thing, but perhaps my attraction to using it in my writing and these feelings about the emotions of the bricks of a city have something in common after all. Maybe I should pay more attention to moon phases because there is a comfort in knowing the reason why I feel a city wants to knock me down. Mercury Retrograde, it would seem, is prime time for angering the streets.

I’ve worked out a whole new bunch of deadlines to meet—submissions and competitions—all good challenges to keep the peripheral (to my chapbook and long fiction development) juices flowing. Some of these subs and comps are good for challenging me to write about things I wouldn’t normally. They also make good prompts so they are very worthwhile and I’m glad I included them in my GDRs for the year.

Speaking of GDRs, at the end of this post is my monthly wrap up for September, the first month of my writing year. Looking back I have got loads done and am well pleased with my progress, although my inability to decide on story endings is becoming a bit of a problem.

Tonight won’t see any work getting done at all. I’m going out to the Peacock Inn with the family—it’s my birthday today.

Fiction
* Complete writing Baccara Burning – not finished yet
* Complete editing of Greener is the Grass – not started
* Develop short fiction ideas – done for various ideas and aspects
* Re-submit any rejected/recalled short stories – done
* Enter a couple of writing/poetry competitions – done

Poetry
* Write at least one poem per week – done
* Develop ideas for new chapbook – IP

Editing
* Launch RR Issue 8 – done
* Stay on top of RR submissions – done
* Start preparing RR issue 9 for December – almost complete

Freelance
* Get a few gigs to review for NotW – done; Ray LaMontagne & Theoretical Girl
* Check out potential new website client – done; 2 new clients this month (3 new projects)
* New Compass Freelance business cards designed and ordered

Web
* Amalgamate web design and freelance writing websites – compassfreelance.co.uk has now launched
* Launch Man in the East site for publishing music reviews – done

Marketing and Promotion
* Publish September newsletter – done
* Keep website(s) up to date – added another review, few small edits, new video
* Look for book marketing ops – new video published
* Bring Podcast ideas to life – pending; mic is pretty kack
* Bring YouTube ideas to life – new video advert done
* Complete MIS sound bites – recorded and published first spoken word recording on blog

Reading & Learning
* The Butt by Will Self – IP; not much reading
* Sisters in Time by Ginger Simpson – done

Non-Writing
* Re-launch diet plan – don’t make me larf!

Things That Turned Up
* Launched gallery and login system for photography client
* Took over webmaster role at SDR; new design in the offing
* GDR “writing year” changed to Sep-Aug – uses EBF as motivational refreshment in year
* Interview with Biblio Paradise
* Interview with Blazing Trailers
* Guest blog post at Ink In My Coffee

Submissions Made
1 fiction to Fringe Magazine
1 fiction to Be A Better Writer
3 poems to PSH competition
5 haiku to World Haiku Competition
1 fiction to Spinetinglers competition

Outstanding

Fiction
Barcelona Review 1
Every Day Fiction 1
Spinetinglers 1
Flash Fiction Online 1
Gemini Magazine 1
Fringe Magazine 1
Identity Theory 1
Be A Better Writer 1

Poetry
World Haiku Comp 5
National Poetry Comp 1
PSH 2009 Contest 3

Slick still with 2 publishers

Successes
* Easily managing to keep the levels of motivation and creativity up and as a result am writing a broad range of stuff, meeting deadlines, and really enjoying what I’m doing just now.
* No publishing successes this month, but with my speed of rotating pieces and writing of new ones, I have this feeling more good news is on the way.
* Lots of promo opportunities met through interviews, guest blogs, video and audio recordings.
* Lot of website work completed and have picked up 2 new clients; one paying, the other for the love.

Failures
* Would have preferred to have gotten more on my two novellas done.

If you managed to read this far I humbly thank you for sticking with it. As a treat, here’s a wee blast from the past. Anyone remember Bod?

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