While the wee man sleeps I have to somehow discover the most productive hours of my day - or watch that tiny sliver of free time disappear without a word being written.
At the same time, however, fatherhood has brought a new perspective on life, and a new professionalism that asks - no, demands - that I learn to stop wasting time and knuckle down to do the hard graft (and the hard drafts) whenever and wherever I can. I've learned to write on the iPad a few sentences at a time, to jot down every inkling of an idea before it disappears forever. When you only have a couple of hours a day to write, every word becomes precious.
Becoming a father also allowed me entry to an elite club of writer-dads. Many of us stay home to look after our kids, having the kind of job that almost allows for that. More importantly, it also meant that I was able to write a story for Daddy Cool, the latest anthology from Artistically Declined Press. Edited by indie-lit guru Ben Tanzer, Daddy Cool assembles some of the hippest, savviest writer-dads (and me) for a collection of writing for fathers, and for their kids. The end product is effortlessly cool, uncannily timely, and also a damned good read from start to finish.
My own story, 'The Claw', combines some of the elements that I most enjoyed in stories from my own childhood. There's a mystery, and a superhero, and a tragically geeky narrator to appeal to budding book nerds everywhere. There's even a Scooby-Doo reference or two. It's aimed at 9-12 year olds, but hopefully the adults will discover a chuckle or two along the way. My 15-month old even laughed at the opening page as I read it to him. Although he laughs at his own feet sometimes, so...
Daddy Cool is available now from the Artistically Declined Press website, or via Amazon (for UK sales, click here).
Comments
Post a Comment