Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS)

and its power over me.

SOS

It is a new year, and I will start by not chasing the new, shiny objects around me. I discussed in last week’s newsletter when I mentioned that I wanted to give up on the puppet build and start some other craft. But 2024 will be a year of finishing projects and doing them well. Because of that, you will not be reading Judas Black this week. You will not read Judas Black until I revise it to my liking. As I revise it, I see many things that need improvement, but I am tempted to let those go to start a new, shinier story. But I won’t do it. In the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, she references a quote from Annie Dillard that says you have to give the work before you all the best stuff you have, not saving up for later projects. I had to be honest with myself. Was I giving Judas Black my best stuff? Was I writing for the story, character, or this newsletter? The commitment is to the art. So I need to resist rushing so that it can be read—as tempting as it is to have something for the audience, it wouldn’t be fair to the reader to not give my best work. In the meantime, you can head to Amazon and pick up the Horrortube Anthology Lurking in the Dark. My short story, Stryga, is in it.

“In the beginning, when you’re first starting out, there are a million reasons not to write, to give up. That is why it is of extreme importance to make a commitment to finishing sections and stories, to driving through to the finish. The discouraging voices will hound you—”This is all piffle,” they will say, and they may be right. What you are doing may just be practice. But this is how you are going to get better, and there is no point in practicing if you don’t finish.

~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Covering

In the same vein, as I am working on completing the puppet build, I am tempted to get it finished, even if that means sacrificing quality. But I am not on a deadline. No studio demands that I have a puppet for them by next week. I have all the time in the world to complete it, so I am covering the puppet with fleece. It is best to hand-sew the fleece onto the puppet, and I suck at hand sewing. I never did it before. There is a stitch called the ladder stitch, also known as the muppet stitch. It is one of the best stitches that hide the seam—something you want on a puppet so the audience isn’t distracted by seams and buys into the illusion that the puppet is alive. So I have been sewing and then ripping the seam and starting over. I will continue to sew and rip until I am satisfied with its appearance. Notice I didn’t say, “until I perfect it.” Perfection leads to incompletion because you will never reach perfection, so you will never finish. But I am teaching myself that it is not just about finishing but finishing when the art is ready—putting the art first.

Rules for Writing

In the latest episode of the Writing Podcast, Regina and James begin a series of episodes on Robert Heinlen’s rules for writing, beginning with rule #1: you must write. It sounds simple, but all of the rules are difficult, which is why working on them increases your chances for a successful career in writing. Listen on your favorite podcast app.

YouTube Short

I have a new YouTube short on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, showing how he puts the reader into his world. Check it out by clicking below.

Thrift Store Find

I don’t have the thrift store find in my possession. At the local thrift store, I found a vintage copy of Alice in Wonderland. It was $4.50. I didn’t pick it up because I was running out of time. I had to pick up my son, and there was a line. I hope it doesn’t sell and can pick it up later. When I was writing Malice in Overland, I had been looking for a copy of Alice in Wonderland in the thrift stores. I have this silly idea that things often come to me in surprising ways when working on a creative project, letting me know I am on the right track. For example, I am writing about Alice in Wonderland, and there it is—the book. But this time, it was delayed. I already submitted the story, and it has been posted; why did it show up late? Maybe it is because I plan on submitting the story to other publications. Perhaps that is why I saw the book today—to convince me to submit it. Is there any evidence to support this wild theory? Not at all, but I like to think it is magic. If I pick up the book, I will post it in next week’s newsletter.

George The Cat #8

Happy New Year & Stay Gold,

James DeFeo