Apr 08 - "...plenty of stories gestating"

Saturday, April 8, 1972 - Page 99
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

2:30 PM
F&SF showed me their rejection slip, for Demigod's Demise. They answered fairly soon. My collection is growing -- whoopee! I'm a writer.

Front of Rejection Letter

Back of Rejection Letter

8:00 PM
I'm reading "I Sing the Body Electric" by Bradbury to get the mood for a story I've thought of (Type Righter), and I'm sure I don't like his writing (I don't like my writing either).

Cover of the first edition, 1969

I'm going to make a valiant effort to clean up and organize my room tonight & tomorrow, then start writing. I've got plenty of stories gestating now: "B4 The Beginning," "The Blood Lust Biz," "Type Righter," "Time Fall," "Same Old Thing," "Morrison Epic," and "Tempus Fugitives." I've got a lot of plots to play with, I've just gotta write the damn things. The photo below is one taken from the Apr. 6 excursion -- 'nother example of back bay's wild life. On page 80 [March 20] is another shot, of a Shoal sign with a sea gull flying off it.

8:30 PM
(Incidentally, the three comic episodes that appeared on pages 42, 43, & 59 [February 11, 12 & 28] were put in a few moments ago. Just mentioned it to keep time unwarped.)

Mar 26 - Random writing chores

Sunday, March 26, 1972 - Page 86
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

(12:00:35 AM 3/27/72)
Goddup at 'bout 1:30. There wasn't anything worthwhile on the gradio (seldom is on early Sunday afternoon), so I couldn't waste my time typing. I finished reading "Space Lash," a 206 pg. Clement anthology from which I have obtained some technical terms for later stories. I've been reading it for the past month or so. Some decent radio programs were coming on, so I started typing. Got envelope & return envelope typed so I can send "Demigod's Demise" out to Fantasy & S.F. tomorrow.

Continued typing up market filing cards. Now I've got 36 finished and 3 to go. Then I'll figure out who to send "my" poetry to, and type that and send it. I've got a story idea for some mag that combines S.F., horror, supernatural, sex, action, humor, dialog, computer logic, and surprise twist ending. -- it's gotta sell somewhere. Will get to work on that eventually, and continue big TEMPUS FUGIT harbinger to be shot for Analog. At 11:00 P.M. I went out for milk, but the Liquor Store was closed at 9:00, but the guy (nice fellow) let me in to get the milk -- he had stayed to finish some work, lucky me. Onward. 12:11:45 A.M. Fini. 

Mar 09 - Mailed new story to Analog

Thursday, March 9,1972 - Page 69
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

10:09 PM
I slept "last night" somewhere between six & seven, then goddup to drive mom to work. Came back, took bath, went to school -- assembly schedule, got Driver's Training Cert., but GPA is at McNally (For insurance). Put $87.00 in Mariners, withdrew $40 from Centinella. Bought stuff at stationery store, got $2.00 of gas. Bought stuff at Sav-on. Drove to Sears to look for a hat -- unsuccessful. Back to school to give Lyons latest yarn -- returned Tim's Flotsam & Jetsam -- saw Peter & Fish. Mary was upset because I said she'd never see me again last time I saw her, so I said I wasn't really there because it was an unofficial visit. Left very soon.

Went back to Grandlydia for the mail. Mailed "Demigod's Demise" to Analog. Went shopping at 3:00 P.M. -- picked mom up at 4:15. Chunk came at 5:30 to paddle (I declined invitation) and I went to sleep at six. Woke up at 8:00 when L & M came over -- they left and I watched TV for a half hour and ate pork chops & dumplings. I'll pro'ly write a few more rejectable stories just to keep a healthy circulation of manuscripts in the mail. I want to collect rejection slips from every magazine in the business. It's a hobby.

Mar 08 - Finished "Demigod's Demise"

Wednesday, March 8, 1972 - Page 68
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

12:00 AM
I just finished "Demigod's Demise" (previously "Death of a Tyrant"). I'll type it and show it to Mary Lyons tomorrow. I did quite a bit of research -- in fact, ever since I've started my "free-lance writing career" I've been doing a lot of research... on things like flies, Adolph Hitler (erroneously referred to as Schicklgruber), comets (of which it is estimated there are 120,000), stars, the universe in general, dinosaurs, archaeology, the nature of Time, para-physiology, Latin, murder techniques, and various other unrelated topics. If I keep this up I may lose my amateur standing as an ignorant high school drop-out.

Yesterday I got to sleep at 5:30 or 6:00 A.M. and got up this morning at 1:00 P.M. Got the mail ("Analog" came today), and sunned for about half an hour on the raft -- it was pretty cool but there were no clouds -- too windy. I did the dishes. Chunk came over to paddle. I ran out of I ran out of ink again while writing. Larry called. The cat got another lizard. Mom made some Tapioca pudding. Dad worked overtime again. Mom went to a movie. I ended a sentence without a period

(4:09 AM 3/9/72)
"D.D." is a lousy story -- so is "M-Q." Realistically, and objectively, I've gotta say that they won't sell.