I can’t go a whole day without a hit of L & O. Love my Law and Order. All those flawed and clearly-delineated characters, all that fabulous writing, all of Jack McCoy!

Yes, I wouldn’t have to go cold turkey. It’s syndicated on TNT. But, OMG, even with umpteen seasons, eventually I’ll have seen them all and just as it’s happened with Jerry and the gang, I will grow slightly weary from repeated viewing.

Actually, I haven’t seen every episode yet. I’m keeping track. I printed a list from TV.com of every episode of L & O. I’m working my way through, one episode a day, from 1990 with George Dzunida, Chris Noth, Michael Moriarty, and Richard Brooks through 2009 with Anthony Anderson, Jeremy Sisto (most cute since Benjamin Bratt), Linus Roach, and Alana de la Garza, AND of course, Sam.

Watching all these episodes has been tons of fun. Some of the shows haven’t lived up to its own high standard, but that’s to be expected after so many years on TV, but over all the writers, producers, directors, and stars deliver high quality drama episode after episode. And there are some jewels: “Who Let the Dogs Out?” “Bodies,” and several others I forgot to highlight on my list. Maybe the next time through.

BUT I hope it stays on the air. With each new cast change the show has twisted and turned and yielded fresh new situations and some damn good TV times.

Lack of talent has always hung over my head, the idea I’ve got none. Growing up I sometimes felt a spark of clear thinking in the creases inside my cranium, but most of the time, it seemed to me I knew nothin’.

I was under the miscomprehension that if I had no talent–writing for me, but it could be anything a person wants to do–I might as well not bother trying. Even if I had a little talent, I shouldn’t bother because there are geniuses out there who wake up in the morning, sit down at the computer, and spin marvelous tales without effort. After all, every book I picked up at the library seemed to be filled with whole worlds that sucked me into adventure and drama, dissolving my hours into days.

I’m older now, and I hope just a little wiser. I realize even Shakepeare had to work at writing. What I didn’t see back then, couldn’t see, was that there are other components to the whole creativity gig: effort, perserverance, desire, practice. Who knew it was such a complex thing? Not me. Sometimes I look back over the years and wonder just how many times the mummy tape circled my head because that’s how I felt, paralyzed, unable to move forward, my whole body wrapped in thick gauze.

But we grow up and when I finally figured out how doing something over and over again would actually make me better at it, I began to push myself. I never had done that before. Stick to it? Even when I got antsy, worried, tired, bored, frustrated, and disillustioned?

I did things okay without too much exertion and for way too long, I never understood that doing things “okay” isn’t enough. I get it now. To be good at something, really good, I can’t get lazy. I can’t let myself become satisfied with meager effort. I have to push myself, challenge myself, discipline myself. Yes I do.

But in that mix, the other lesson I’ve learned is to remember why I write. The answer is because it’s fun. It’s like finishing a Sunday crossword puzzle, but better. It’s like winning 1st place or getting an acceptance, but better. Sometimes, when characters take over the story and hours melt into days, it’s even better than sex.

Read more at Flash Fiction Chronicles.

Meanwhile there is work to be done. The finalists for the first-ever HINT FICTION contest must be selected and forwarded to Stewart O’Nan. He will then choose a winner.

Rob will need to fill the balance of pages in the anthology and I’m sure he’ll be looking for submissions in the near future so keep an eye out for the word.

We’re writing new law here, kind of. Genre-bending, at least as far as length is concerned. The buzz around the net is mostly positive curiosity, “Hint” being a new sub-sub genre, a story–or rather the hint of a story–in twenty-five words or less. Is it a fad or a legitimate endeavor? Will fiction this short get life or the axe? Or will it be sent on to a court of appeals?

I suppose it depends on what comes out of the 200 + submissions made via the comment section at Rob’s blog. Some are probably quick attempts to join an A-list of sorts, to be one of the first; others will be sincere efforts, each word carefully chosen for both its literal and figurative meaning. If they are brilliant, perhaps we’re seeing the beginning of a new abbreviated kind of story-telling. If not, well, I still have my pet rock.

Be assured, though, the briefs will be carefully, respectfully culled, ranked, talked about, argued over, and finally, presented to Chief Justice O’Nan.

And while the jury is out, the submitting writers must wait to hear what the final verdict will be.

Davy’s Toy Box at Every Day Fiction
Cloning the
King at Big Pulp
The Unbelievable Non-Adventures of Gasbert and Zephyr at Every
Day Fiction
20,000 Light Years to Lilliput in Darwin’s Evolutions #2
Cloudcutter at Every Day Fiction
Gandolo of the Watchful Eye at Every Day Fiction
Junkyard Rats at Every Day Fiction
Priority Won at Every Day Fiction
An Imperfect Swordsman at Every Day Fiction
Mightier Than the Sword in Flashing Swords # 9