Without Crutches

Several years ago now I wrote a story called “Without Crutches.” Ah, distinctly I remember, it was before the wonderful journal Glimmer Train closed down. I was going through one of my phases of actually reading journals before submitting, and I’d read a tale or two in said Train about characters with addictions.

Perhaps going back to the almost mythic Edgar Allan Poe, writers have struggled with mind-altering substances. Those of us who write see the world so differently and crave new experiences in an almost manic way. Alcohol, drugs, and even religion can lead that way.

“Without Crutches” was a story defending writing without using foreign substances. As the child of an alcoholic, this path looks quite dark to me. Besides, my imagination has a healthy libido. Yes, even sex can lead to altered states of consciousness. Of course, my story found no publishers.

I recently read about Stephen King. Actually, I read about him often. I hadn’t realized he had a cocaine period. I was disappointed. Must writers of the macabre indulge in drug-fueled voyages? Isn’t it possible to use the existential terror of just getting out of bed to drive this vehicle whose windshield is so dirty you can’t see clearly what’s in front of you?

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the occasional drink and even sometimes get story ideas after having a beer. I don’t drink to inebriation, though. It’s too dangerous. And if my work ever gets noticed I don’t want someone to say it was an after-effect of some controlled substance.

Life is scary. I’ve never used drugs. They’re too scary. I don’t judge those who do, but as my stories show, religion can be just as dangerous. I’ve given up on finding publishers for “Without Crutches.” The story exists as a testimony, and that’s enough. The world can look distorted without being seen through the bottom of a glass. And we limp along.

Comments

Pacing

A criticism that I’ve occasionally received concerns pacing. The short story, which today means up to about 7000 words, is a limited amount of space to establish mood. My writing partner Elizabeth was reading a Poe short story recently and commented on how long it seemed. We’ve been accustomed, by the internet, to shorten things. Flash fiction is in. Say it in 1000 words or less. What’s the correct pacing for a 300-word story? I’ve been editing a number of my complete, but unpublished, stories lately. I’m trying to bring the word counts down. I don’t want to be thought of as a plodding writer. At the same time, I’m no action writer. My stories are thoughtful. Some time ago I started reading Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire . Dark, moody, and sensuous, this is a slow-paced novel. Focusing on subtleties and emotions, she paints a writerly picture of the inner life of the undead. If I were an editor to...

Creativity

Maybe you’ve noticed this too. When you step away from fiction writing for a while, your creativity becomes flaccid. I’ve had to step away from this blog for a while because I was writing my sixth nonfiction book. God, I’ve missed fiction! Now that I’ve entered that phase of waiting for publishers to respond, I’ve turned my limited writing time back to fiction. I submitted a couple of stories this week and am waiting to hear about those as well. When you’re a writer, waiting is a way of life. Opening my software where I store my fiction stories, I was amazed by how many I found. Some of them are bad—so bad that they’ll never (rightfully) be published. Some are surprisingly good and have been sitting around while I finished up my nonfic. The vast majority, however, are unfinished. Some years back I realized that when I’m writing in the heat of inspiration but don’t have time to finish a story that I need to write down where I...

Patterns

There’s a pattern I’m noticing. For fiction publishers. Even if you aim low you’ll find it a struggle. Part of the reason is the pattern. Lots of websites list publishers. The smaller, hungrier presses either eventually close or get to a place where they require an agent to get in. That’s the kiss of death. Although my stories have won prizes, and been nominated for prizes, I can’t get an agent interested. I’ve queried well over a hundred, so the agent route is one of diminishing returns. This too is a pattern. Back to the smaller presses. I check many lists. What I write, you see, is highly idiosyncratic. It’s literary but it’s weird. Publishers don’t know what to do with it. If a smaller press published stuff like this, I’d find it. The pattern includes writers who never get discovered. Ironically, a number of editors of fiction literary magazines (mostly online) tell me they enjoy my wor...

K. Marvin Bruce

Search This Blog