What I'm (Apparently) Up To

So I've been writing a novel for my class, and I must admit I'm not as interested in it as I originally was.
I'm not giving up on it completely, but I've admittedly been dragging my feet while writing it and will let it sit on the back burner; writing bits and pieces as I get the urge to do so. Luckily I've managed to keep writing other things on the side as well.
I absolutely love writing short stories, which is complimented by the fact that a lot of the ideas I have are simple and meant for short stories (or perhaps I simply don't attempt to flesh them into larger narratives since I'm so content with short story-writing). In the past few weeks I've finished two short stories (one of which is twice the length of the other), and while they're still drafts full of imperfections, I'm incredibly proud of them and enjoy reading them myself.

So apparently I'm writing a collection of short stories. In the back of my mind I'd always wanted to do this, but I didn't consciously decide to do so. Another interesting thing to note is that the short stories I've written are all connected by characters and a few themes.

Again, I didn't plan to do this. I started overlapping characters because it was easier than coming up with new character names and back stories, and because it's just fun to have the stories connect with each other. As for overlapping themes, this came about because, as I'm getting more and more into writing, I'm discovering what themes and topics are most important or impactful to me at this stage in my life.

This is especially fantastic because it means that putting the stories together into a collection would make even more sense and give them a sort of adhesiveness to each other. It's also great because my fiction stories act somewhat as a nonfiction biography of my mind; they're what I'm thinking of.

On that note, I've also been slacking on my project that biggest impacts you, dear readers; actually releasing something of mine for you to read.
I want you to be reassured that this is happening, but I'm procrastinating because I want it to be perfect (and I'm admittedly a bit scared). Sorry for the delay, but keep checking back here for updates!

It feels nice to have things accidentally fall into place.
-Ryan

Keeping Opinions To Myself

As I become an adult, I realize that the world isn't as perfect as my child eyes thought it was.

Everyone is taking sides. Conservative or Liberal, Theist or Atheist. We live in a world of diversity, and so even within these four broad categories lies diversity.
Rodney King was once misquoted as saying "can't we all just get along?" (which holds more meaning than his actual phrase "can we all get along?") and the answer is simple: sometimes people don't want to get along, they want their side to be right, because they believe in their side.

There's nothing humanly wrong with this idea, because why would it be your opinion if you didn't believe it? The problem is, of course, that we can't all be right, and a lot of people want to prove each other wrong.

Yes, I'm one of those people. Who isn't?

The difference is knowing when to speak and when to shut your mouth. Over time, through trial and error, I've been learning to tell the difference between these times, for example it is often unwise to comment on a controversial topic on a public forum such as Facebook. I know that now, because I made the mistake of doing it a few times and realizing that controversy creates more controversy. As a result there are people I know who I thought of as my friends who have drawn invisible lines between themselves and I, ultimately severing the innocence of the friendship that was and turning it into a rivalry. I can think of at least three of these, and while I remain "Facebook friends" with them and keep civil, I cannot help but notice that something has changed and ruined our friendship forever.

And over what? A difference of opinion?
Take the following example:
I like blue and you like green. That's good for you, what did you do this weekend? Yes I realize that plants are green. Yes I realize that blue is the color you turn when you die. Fine, don't tell me what you did this weekend, we should argue this instead.

It's ridiculous. I think blue is awesome. I want you to appreciate blue, maybe even like blue as much as I do, but I definitely don't want you to bring up how much I "hate green" (I never said that) months later during a completely unrelated conversation. Besides, I respect that you like green and you have some very valid reasons for liking it (that I just happen to disagree with). If you can't live with that, don't be my friend. I can live with the fact that you like green and I'd like us to get past it so we can make aqua.

Okay, so maybe it's not that easy. After all, I get offended if you express an opinion that's drastically wrong compared to mine, but I promise to have a civil conversation about it if you do. Debate is healthy, after all; how can we make informed choices without being given our options first?

I admit that I'm still learning when to keep my mouth shut. I've heard that I should just keep my opinions to myself, and maybe that's true, but I shouldn't have to feel afraid to express myself, and neither should you. If someone brings up something controversial to you, feel free to bring up your side, but don't turn it into a mud-slinging argument. I've been trying not to, and I usually get mud on my face for it, but every once in a while the other person realizes I'm not trying to insult them and we have a decent conversation about our differing opinions. Those are the best conversations, even if neither of us converts the other.

I'm also a huge fan of putting cheese on everything.
-Ryan

A Slightly Larger Victory Dance

It's time for yet another small victory dance!

Last year I got a little poem about zombies accepted into my college student literary and art magazine. While that was fun, it was a bit bittersweet since I'm no poet and I wrote the poem in high school. I decided, as a result, that I needed to get something accepted into the magazine again, but only a prose piece that represented my current quality of writing.

I had just written a fantastic short story called “The Fourth Wall” that I wanted to share with everybody, but unfortunately it was a few thousand words too long. I decided to try my hand at some flash fiction (very short fiction).

The trick to flash fiction is that you have a very limited area in which to tell a story. If a novel is a cake, and a short story is a slice of that cake, flash fiction is one small bite of the cake.

My idea was to write a series of moments.

Of course, if I can only give the readers a taste of the cake, that taste has to be rich and delicious and lousy with flavor (I’m using “lousy” in the traditional meaning here, which is “full of”. My prose stylistics teacher would be proud). Inspired by some very small ideas for stories that I’d been saving in my memory banks, I decided that the weight my flash fiction needed was an emotional tie that everyone understands; the loss of innocence.

I wrote six flash fiction stories about the moments that change us forever, titled each of them after songs by Death Cab For Cutie, and called the collection “Crooked Smiles”. I submitted only five of these six stories, not because one was too incomplete or personal (on the contrary, I felt they were all incomplete and made sure to submit the most personal ones), but because I felt one of them didn’t fit with the rest.

After submitting these five stories, I read them over and realized that they did not represent either my quality or style of writing and instantly regretted submitting each and every one. I tried to be artsy and poetic, when I’d rather be informal and direct.

With the deadline rapidly approaching, I went back to “The Fourth Wall” and quickly conceived of a story that I could write from the main character’s perspective recounting the events that led him to where he is and then contemplating his next move. It would be both a sequel and a summary of the story I originally wanted everyone to see. I wrote it out in one sitting, (titled it “Padded Cell”) looked over it once the next day for edits, and submitted it.

A few months later I heard back, the magazine had accepted two of my submissions! One of which, “Steadier Footing”, was from the collection and the other was “Padded Cell”. The irony was that I thought “Steadier Footing” was the least likely of all the stories to be accepted as it held the least personal significance.

I hope to release "Crooked Smiles" soon,

-Ryan