Go then. There are other world's than these....

Hey, all. I've been on a bit of a reading sabbatical. Ever have one of those? Just throw everything aside, and say "Fuck It! I'm readin'!"

My go-to books when I'm feelin' down and out of touch with the Magical Fiction Machine are the Dark Tower Cycle by Stephen King. There's magic in those pages. The first book has its own stark and poetic voice, one that goes along with the crumbling western towns and desert vistas. The phrases and patois of the borderlands and an imaginary place called Mejis gets into my head and everything's "Aye, so it tis," and "Let it be so." "If it does ya," is another gem. I'm not saying this stuff out loud... that would like, make people talk and stuff, but I say it inside my head where all such things are acceptable. 

I take a reading sabbatical when my production and motivation take a dip and I begin to wonder... what is it all about again? Oh. Right. Other worlds. Magical portals to slip through, forget about your worries, maybe pick up a few phrases from another time and place. I have another term for it. Lighting out for the Territories. Or unpacking your adjectives. In the Dark Tower, Stephen King refers to listening for the song of the Turtle - Ves'-ka Gan. (The world is balanced on the shell of a turtle - did you know that? Don't ask what's under the turtle... it's just turtles all the way down.) 

These are imaginary terms for doing imaginary things. But writing requires positive action. Sitting your ass down and writing, or editing. To summon up the magic of the doors and create a new time and place. And nothing kills that magic like thinking about selling it to someone else. Selling is the exact opposite of Ves'-ka Gan - I don't know the language well enough to write "The Silence of the Turtle" - but you can imagine for yourself what it might sound like. Wind through the trees, I guess. There's been a lot of wind around here. But tomorrow, we turn down the radio and turn off the internets and we listen for the song of the turtle. We let the Prim rise, and we don't think about things like queries or synopsisis, or agents or even beta readers, and we definitely don't think about selling. May it do ya fine.