So I'm into the rewrite! Let's get last weeks totals first:
Mon: 2009
Tue: 2102
Wed: 2120
Thu: 1178
Fri: 1437
TOTAL: 8846
So it's a FAIL. But I also wrote a handful of short stories (okay, two short stories) that impeded my writing time by a little bit, making this failure a little more acceptable. Either way, this week: No fails. Seriously, I'm back on this damn horse and I don't care who knows it.
Rewriting has been an interesting experience. First, I'm finding myself cutting a lot and I find myself shifting a lot of scenes to make the narrative more streamlined. Right now, the book is at 9274 words, and I'm at the same spot that is 15,000 words into the original draft. I like what I'm writing a lot more, that's for sure. Cutting all that has made more room for me to flesh out the ending and add a little more action to those points. The biggest cuts will likely be in the middle, though, and I'm excited for that part. In any case, I need to actually get writing! More to come!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Rewrite Time!
So, while I have a handful of projects ready to go for my next novel, I've shifted my priorities some. It's time to work toward publishing, in some capacity, and as a result I've decided to rewrite my first book, for a couple of reasons.
The primary reason is that I love that book, but I'm not the same writer I was when I started it. I'm much better, writing more concisely with consistent voice and overall, better habits. As I said, I still love the tale itself, and I want to preserve that. It perfectly sets up the universe I write about, has some memorable and fun characters (more on them in a moment), and really works as a story.
As I said, I love the characters in this book. They're also the characters in books two and three of the same series (obviously), and after writing one and a half more books about them I really feel like I know them better than when I had started book one. So, going back to rewrite (especially the beginning chapters) of book one, I'm getting a chance to write them as they should have been and much more consistently. They're coming across even stronger than the first time I'd written them and I love that.
The last reason I'm doing it this way is more professional. It's always been my plan to get my work out there in some capacity, and I've been practicing and writing my ass off to try and make that happen. Not necessarily in traditional publishing circles, but at least in a self-publishing effort. My first book is one that I would like to self publish, and would want to self publish its sequels eventually too. I think it has a chance with a publisher/agent in a traditional way, but not as much as one of my current works in progress, which I plan to finish after I rewrite this book. That work, its own standalone story, will likely be the one I push for real, traditional publishing, while trying to market and make a name for myself with the series I self publish.
What does this mean for you, my blog reader? Well, nothing, really. Yet. It means that I'm working to publish something, something of mine you can read as fiction and this blog will then sort of make sense. It means that the word counts I'm putting up will now be in line with the work I do on that rewrite. And of course, it means that I've changed my mind yet again about what I'm working on.
In any case, Friday will bring a new word count total. I know I did over 2K yesterday, but only about 1,100 on Monday. So we'll have to catch up! Also, I am still planning on posting some of my short works and flash fiction for you to read, so be ready for that!
Bishop
The primary reason is that I love that book, but I'm not the same writer I was when I started it. I'm much better, writing more concisely with consistent voice and overall, better habits. As I said, I still love the tale itself, and I want to preserve that. It perfectly sets up the universe I write about, has some memorable and fun characters (more on them in a moment), and really works as a story.
As I said, I love the characters in this book. They're also the characters in books two and three of the same series (obviously), and after writing one and a half more books about them I really feel like I know them better than when I had started book one. So, going back to rewrite (especially the beginning chapters) of book one, I'm getting a chance to write them as they should have been and much more consistently. They're coming across even stronger than the first time I'd written them and I love that.
The last reason I'm doing it this way is more professional. It's always been my plan to get my work out there in some capacity, and I've been practicing and writing my ass off to try and make that happen. Not necessarily in traditional publishing circles, but at least in a self-publishing effort. My first book is one that I would like to self publish, and would want to self publish its sequels eventually too. I think it has a chance with a publisher/agent in a traditional way, but not as much as one of my current works in progress, which I plan to finish after I rewrite this book. That work, its own standalone story, will likely be the one I push for real, traditional publishing, while trying to market and make a name for myself with the series I self publish.
What does this mean for you, my blog reader? Well, nothing, really. Yet. It means that I'm working to publish something, something of mine you can read as fiction and this blog will then sort of make sense. It means that the word counts I'm putting up will now be in line with the work I do on that rewrite. And of course, it means that I've changed my mind yet again about what I'm working on.
In any case, Friday will bring a new word count total. I know I did over 2K yesterday, but only about 1,100 on Monday. So we'll have to catch up! Also, I am still planning on posting some of my short works and flash fiction for you to read, so be ready for that!
Bishop
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Surgery
So I had some surgery.
That's the main reason I've been gone, but the other is just life getting in the way. The surgery I had was a septoplasty and bilateral turbinate reduction. They fixed up my nose, and for a while there I was completely unable to breathe through my nose and experiencing serious sinus pressure headaches. In any case, the air is returning to my nostrils and with it my will to write and post and all that. I've been a flake on this, my own blog, for a while now and I really want to get back into the habit of writing here.
SO! In the interest of starting fresh... I finished my latest novel not long before the surgery, and am starting one of three new projects that I have planned and partially started. I'm working on about the first 5-10k this week and the week before and will have a good chunk of story to see which I think has the most potential. Next week begins fresh, accurate counts and good meaningful posts.
That being said, for now I'm writing casually on these three projects, getting just a little in for each, probably around 1K words a day for them. It's relaxed, and it's helping me get back into the swing. Also, I'm going to start a third category of posts on my blog... my actual writing. I do a lot of flash fiction for a competition on the web each month, and I'm going to start posting some of the shorts I've written, or maybe even some of the chapters of one of my novels--we'll see on that part.
Stay tuned!
P.S.
Apparently, when the hospital asks for an emergency contact, if you say "Scarlett Johansson", they don't look up her number and call her. It was a real disappointment.
That's the main reason I've been gone, but the other is just life getting in the way. The surgery I had was a septoplasty and bilateral turbinate reduction. They fixed up my nose, and for a while there I was completely unable to breathe through my nose and experiencing serious sinus pressure headaches. In any case, the air is returning to my nostrils and with it my will to write and post and all that. I've been a flake on this, my own blog, for a while now and I really want to get back into the habit of writing here.
SO! In the interest of starting fresh... I finished my latest novel not long before the surgery, and am starting one of three new projects that I have planned and partially started. I'm working on about the first 5-10k this week and the week before and will have a good chunk of story to see which I think has the most potential. Next week begins fresh, accurate counts and good meaningful posts.
That being said, for now I'm writing casually on these three projects, getting just a little in for each, probably around 1K words a day for them. It's relaxed, and it's helping me get back into the swing. Also, I'm going to start a third category of posts on my blog... my actual writing. I do a lot of flash fiction for a competition on the web each month, and I'm going to start posting some of the shorts I've written, or maybe even some of the chapters of one of my novels--we'll see on that part.
Stay tuned!
P.S.
Apparently, when the hospital asks for an emergency contact, if you say "Scarlett Johansson", they don't look up her number and call her. It was a real disappointment.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
IT Intel 1
A good chunk of my job in the IT department at my company is to take calls from field managers where they are having issues with their local networks and servers. These managers are often better suited as managers than as computer technicians, so my team and I provide on the phone support for them for the tech aspect. As you can guess, as with any job out there, there are the technically illiterate people among us. That isn't to say they're not skilled or intelligent; they're just not great with computers. So much of my job is taking calls that end with simple solutions. Restart the computer, SHAZAM! It's fixed. That sort of stuff.
Most of these people on the other line, I've never met in person. I come up with images of them in my head, and ideas about what they're like. In fact, I have characters in my mind, and whenever I receive the call, I sometimes have to have them repeat what they said because I was busy daydreaming about their 'character' attempting to hit the computers with a ball peen hammer.
Other times, I wonder what's going on that I'm not hearing. Like the other day, I had a call from a manager who began to speak, but then was immediately cut off. I expected him to call back immediately, as they often do when they cut out, but so far it's been six hours and he's not responded. I tried to call him, and his phone rings for a while and goes to voice mail.
I chose to believe that he is, in fact, not just a manager with my delivery company, but an international super spy, and that the conversation would have gone like this in a narrative format:
"Patrick. I need your help, the computer just started--*click*" Jackson looked at his phone, bemused by the 'no signal' indicator which had, only moments ago, five bars. The silent air of the office filled with a low, rumbling laughter, and Jackson's eyes narrowed at the familiar sound.
"Agent Jackson... We meet again." The voice echoed from the doorway as Professor Malestorm turned and entered.
"Malestorm." Jackson said, closing the laptop in front of himself with one hand and putting down his ball peen hammer with the other.
"I wouldn't drop your only weapon, Jackson." Malestorm reached into his long silver lab coat with a gloved hand, producing a laser pistol. "I'd say this fight will last six hours, minimum."
Jackson cracked his knuckles. "Guess I won't be calling him back..."
I mean, that's realistic, right?
Most of these people on the other line, I've never met in person. I come up with images of them in my head, and ideas about what they're like. In fact, I have characters in my mind, and whenever I receive the call, I sometimes have to have them repeat what they said because I was busy daydreaming about their 'character' attempting to hit the computers with a ball peen hammer.
Other times, I wonder what's going on that I'm not hearing. Like the other day, I had a call from a manager who began to speak, but then was immediately cut off. I expected him to call back immediately, as they often do when they cut out, but so far it's been six hours and he's not responded. I tried to call him, and his phone rings for a while and goes to voice mail.
I chose to believe that he is, in fact, not just a manager with my delivery company, but an international super spy, and that the conversation would have gone like this in a narrative format:
"Patrick. I need your help, the computer just started--*click*" Jackson looked at his phone, bemused by the 'no signal' indicator which had, only moments ago, five bars. The silent air of the office filled with a low, rumbling laughter, and Jackson's eyes narrowed at the familiar sound.
"Agent Jackson... We meet again." The voice echoed from the doorway as Professor Malestorm turned and entered.
"Malestorm." Jackson said, closing the laptop in front of himself with one hand and putting down his ball peen hammer with the other.
"I wouldn't drop your only weapon, Jackson." Malestorm reached into his long silver lab coat with a gloved hand, producing a laser pistol. "I'd say this fight will last six hours, minimum."
Jackson cracked his knuckles. "Guess I won't be calling him back..."
I mean, that's realistic, right?
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Critiquing the Idea
For those who don't know, I'm a member of a writing forum. One of the things I've seen asked a lot is for people to give advice on or critique an idea for a story or a novel. It's something that's difficult for me to get a full grasp on, because until recently, I've always been rather private with my ideas (see: how this blog has very little of my actual ideas written out!) and have never really sought advice in that stage of the process. These people obviously have a different mindset, and it makes me wonder how they're approaching the process.
Mainly, I'm curious how others' advice affects their ideas. If I were to say, here's my story: A, B, and C, and you were to say, "Change C to D", I'm not sure I'd make the change. Mostly because my thoughts would be on 'well, that's not how the story is supposed to go'. But it's not the fault of the suggester: They only have the barest of bones on the tale.
A wise man once said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" (I said 'wise', not 'grammatically astute'). How can anyone know what's wrong with a story when there's no story? How can an "idea" be broken? No one knows what the story really is yet because the story doesn't exist. I worry for these writers because I think they're getting too plagued by the starting line.
If you ponder over ideas, making changes and asking questions about just the spark of inspiration you received, how will the story ever get made? Some writers go in with a chapter by chapter plan of their story, and some of them might start exactly as I've described here; checking up on the idea first. But I know for a fact that there are writers who get bogged down in this opening stage so much that they soon find themselves months, maybe years later with this great idea, but not a single word written toward it.
I suppose if I were inclined or qualified, my advice would be to get an idea and then write the story. Close the world out until "The End" is written, and then critique it yourself. Edit it, clean it up, leave it alone, and clean it up some more. Then, show it to the world and see what they think. You'll probably need to make more changes once other people see it, but I doubt they'll be as sweeping or story-altering as they would have been if you sought advice with just that idea. Instead, the critique will focus on style and structure, making your writing better rather than trying to make your story better.
Mainly, I'm curious how others' advice affects their ideas. If I were to say, here's my story: A, B, and C, and you were to say, "Change C to D", I'm not sure I'd make the change. Mostly because my thoughts would be on 'well, that's not how the story is supposed to go'. But it's not the fault of the suggester: They only have the barest of bones on the tale.
A wise man once said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" (I said 'wise', not 'grammatically astute'). How can anyone know what's wrong with a story when there's no story? How can an "idea" be broken? No one knows what the story really is yet because the story doesn't exist. I worry for these writers because I think they're getting too plagued by the starting line.
If you ponder over ideas, making changes and asking questions about just the spark of inspiration you received, how will the story ever get made? Some writers go in with a chapter by chapter plan of their story, and some of them might start exactly as I've described here; checking up on the idea first. But I know for a fact that there are writers who get bogged down in this opening stage so much that they soon find themselves months, maybe years later with this great idea, but not a single word written toward it.
I suppose if I were inclined or qualified, my advice would be to get an idea and then write the story. Close the world out until "The End" is written, and then critique it yourself. Edit it, clean it up, leave it alone, and clean it up some more. Then, show it to the world and see what they think. You'll probably need to make more changes once other people see it, but I doubt they'll be as sweeping or story-altering as they would have been if you sought advice with just that idea. Instead, the critique will focus on style and structure, making your writing better rather than trying to make your story better.
A Month of Failure
Greetings internet! It's been a short while, eh? Let me explain. So when we last talked, I'd not been here in a while because things were getting busy around me. Well, just when I thought the storm had cleared, I got floored! My boss came in with the news that she got another job elsewhere (a better one!) so while we were all very happy for her, it did make for some real changes here in the office. We had to restructure a few things and one of the senior members of the IT team got promoted to her place. We're a medium sized delivery company, as you might know, and we also get more deliveries going in the summer because the weather makes things easier to work with. So all in all, my office time was mostly spent either working for real, or writing my book. I just didn't have time for the blog, I'm sorry to say.
I also went to a convention, got a tattoo, joined a new gym, and have been preparing for a minor surgery (nothing scary!). So my time's been pretty monopolized and what little free time I've had at home has been spent relaxing with my wife, Bishopette. So I apologize for having been a dead duck for a couple of weeks. For now, let's get the counts over with, I got more to say!
Summing up the last couple of... erm, I just looked at the date, and it's been a month. SO: Summing up the last month:
Week 1: 2597 (This was the convention week)
Week 2: 7677
Week 3: 4548
Week 4: 8625
As I said, it's been hectic. It's safe to say July was a month of failure. But, I am making progress in "Observer", the latest novel, and am about 70,000 words in. Things are really moving in the story and it's coming together beautifully.
So that sums up the return-to post, let's get to the discussions!
I also went to a convention, got a tattoo, joined a new gym, and have been preparing for a minor surgery (nothing scary!). So my time's been pretty monopolized and what little free time I've had at home has been spent relaxing with my wife, Bishopette. So I apologize for having been a dead duck for a couple of weeks. For now, let's get the counts over with, I got more to say!
Summing up the last couple of... erm, I just looked at the date, and it's been a month. SO: Summing up the last month:
Week 1: 2597 (This was the convention week)
Week 2: 7677
Week 3: 4548
Week 4: 8625
As I said, it's been hectic. It's safe to say July was a month of failure. But, I am making progress in "Observer", the latest novel, and am about 70,000 words in. Things are really moving in the story and it's coming together beautifully.
So that sums up the return-to post, let's get to the discussions!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Not Dead!
>.>
<.<
^.^
No! I'm not dead! Wait, you didn't notice? Oh... okay... Let's go to the counts! FOR TWO WEEKS!
Mon: 4032
Tue: 2605
Wed: 3602
Thu: 2700
Fri: 2067
TOTAL: 15006
Mon: 2011
Tue: 2061
Wed: 2026
Thu: 2135
Fri: 1579 FAIL
TOTAL: 9812 FAIL
I'm calling it a win. Nearly 25K in two weeks is not bad, if I do say so myself. Deal with it!
So what's been going on? Well, not a lot. What's up with you? Okay, okay, I've been busy lately. I've been working on judging a short story contest, making a costume for a convention coming up rather rapidly, making a video game, writing this book, and to top it all off, we had a massive data issue at work recently that ate up a lot of time. It is, in fact, the sole reason for the Friday failure in the second week up there.
So what now, you may well ask... I'm taking a break for this week. Not to say there's going to be no writing, but I've got a lot on my plate right now and will only be at work half of this week (leaving town on Thursday for the costume thingy :D ) and deadlines for the short story contest, said costume, and some work stuff are all taking priority right now. But I'll be back later this week with an "adventures" story and for now I'm going to go read more short stories and work at work, I suppose!
<.<
^.^
No! I'm not dead! Wait, you didn't notice? Oh... okay... Let's go to the counts! FOR TWO WEEKS!
Mon: 4032
Tue: 2605
Wed: 3602
Thu: 2700
Fri: 2067
TOTAL: 15006
Mon: 2011
Tue: 2061
Wed: 2026
Thu: 2135
Fri: 1579 FAIL
TOTAL: 9812 FAIL
I'm calling it a win. Nearly 25K in two weeks is not bad, if I do say so myself. Deal with it!
So what's been going on? Well, not a lot. What's up with you? Okay, okay, I've been busy lately. I've been working on judging a short story contest, making a costume for a convention coming up rather rapidly, making a video game, writing this book, and to top it all off, we had a massive data issue at work recently that ate up a lot of time. It is, in fact, the sole reason for the Friday failure in the second week up there.
So what now, you may well ask... I'm taking a break for this week. Not to say there's going to be no writing, but I've got a lot on my plate right now and will only be at work half of this week (leaving town on Thursday for the costume thingy :D ) and deadlines for the short story contest, said costume, and some work stuff are all taking priority right now. But I'll be back later this week with an "adventures" story and for now I'm going to go read more short stories and work at work, I suppose!
Monday, June 16, 2014
Momentum
Ever felt like something was coming to you and going so fast that you felt like gliding through it was almost effortless?
Mon: 2207
Tue: 3200
Wed: 3665
Thu: 2000
Fri: 3312
Sat: 1636 BONUS
Sun: 1016 BONUS
Total: 17036
Finally! A week with NO failures! And look at that total. Whew, I'm loving this new book. It's coming along swimmingly, as you can tell, and the plot is advancing nicely.
I don't want to say that it was the flash of inspiration for this novel's idea that led to this sort of momentum, but there's something about the fresh perspective and new characters that have really brought my stride into high gear. I'm really enjoying writing this one and will continue to until the end. For now though, back to work!
Mon: 2207
Tue: 3200
Wed: 3665
Thu: 2000
Fri: 3312
Sat: 1636 BONUS
Sun: 1016 BONUS
Total: 17036
Finally! A week with NO failures! And look at that total. Whew, I'm loving this new book. It's coming along swimmingly, as you can tell, and the plot is advancing nicely.
I don't want to say that it was the flash of inspiration for this novel's idea that led to this sort of momentum, but there's something about the fresh perspective and new characters that have really brought my stride into high gear. I'm really enjoying writing this one and will continue to until the end. For now though, back to work!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Retail Recap 1
One of the many jobs I had before I was blessed with my position in IT was at an electronics retail store. I won't say which, for obvious reasons, but I will say it's a small-box electronics retailer that's been around a long time, and most people wonder why it's still relevant. Even the employees wonder this.
In any case, my wife (then girlfriend) worked there in college for a summer and when she left, I took the open position at that store. I went to college in a very small town, and keep that in mind as it becomes relevant to the story later on. I worked as an associate there on and off for my last years in college, and I learned a lot about small town living. I'd like to share a few of those observations (since my current adventures are a little boring!).
Lesson 1: People sometimes walk into retail establishments with no intention of buying anything. They just want to talk. Sure, some people come into a store to check out the merchandise and to price match, or even scout out competition for another store. That's all well and good! But there are some people (especially in small towns) who come in just to... have a chat.
My fifth manager at that small town location (yes, it went through 5 managers in the lesser part of a year) and I became friends. Mostly because we were of like ages, but also because we were both "city boys" who were living in the small town against our will. And neither of us really cared much for retail, just had it as a job. One month we were having horrid sales. It's not that we really tried overly hard on the normal months, but this month in particular no one was coming in. So he asked me if I had any ideas on how to attract more customers. Being dumb, I suggested we could get a coffee pot for people, encourage them to stick around more, look around the shop, and possibly buy cell phones (our primary revenue driver, despite having poor selection and we were a 3rd party retailer).
"No," he said, "We do not want that."
"Why?" I asked.
He reached over and patted me on the shoulder and said, in the nicest way, "That's the dumbest idea you've ever had, and soon you'll know why."
Not one week later, I was sitting in the back room playing Angry Birds on a tablet that was supposed to be for store demos. It was early morning (9-930ish) and a weekday, and that meant no customers, so kick back and finish your McDonald's breakfast, Patrick. And so I was. Soon, I heard the door chime ring and I got off my butt and paused my Angry Birds and made for the sales floor.
A middle-aged gentlemen was walking in the door. He looked like he had recently come out of a cave that he had been in for a few short decades. His coat was denim, dirty, and had holes all over. His hair looked closer to cobwebs than an actual byproduct of the human body, and his face was craggy and rigid. I greeted him and asked him what he was looking for.
"Oh, nuthin'," he said, in an awkward gravelly country drawl, "Jus' lookin'."
I nodded, "Sure, well, if you have any questions, let me know." He proceeded to look around the store by turning his head ninety degrees to the left, then turned back to me and leaned on the store's counter.
"How's bid'ness?" he asked, smacking his lips after the words exited. This was the first of a few dozen questions, all of them as idle and mundane as the next. Each time he asked another question, the miniature version of myself that inhabits my head would slam his own body against the walls of my skull in a small and rebellious attempt at suicide. But, being retail, and being trapped by the big brother eye of the security footage, I had to be polite and had to remain at my post. The district manager was rather strict.
"Ya know," he said at one point, "Ya'll'd do good to have sum coffee in here, Ah could go fer a cup!" And then, right then, I understood how suggesting a coffee machine was the stupidest idea I'd ever had.
But, being the semi-college educated man that I was at the time, I formulated a plan. I had an old flip-style cell phone. I reached a hand into my pocket and thumbed at the dial pad, lucky that I had remembered to mute it so that the customer couldn't hear the tone it played when I pushed the buttons. I slowly and painstakingly found each number and pressed 'send'.
"So, Ah put tha' corvette's engine into mah pickup, ya kno' the ford 250 Ah was tellin' ya abou'?" He went on and on as I waited. The words typed above were literally the words out of his mouth, and I know nothing of cars or whether it's possible to transplant a Corvette's engine into a Ford 250, but I surmise anyone who had the idea to mutilate a Corvette in favor of a pickup truck is in need of a shift in their priorities. In any case, as these thoughts rang through my head, I was saved by another type of ringing.
The store phone went off, my call had finally gone through. I excused myself from the conversation that had been going on for (according to the store's clock) over thirty minutes. I answered the phone and heard only the sounds of my pocket on the other end. But I--using the best acting skills I could muster--pretended the other end was an interested customer. I gave a wave to the man-who-speaks-forever and said into the phone, "Sure, let me see if we have those in stock," and went to the back room. From there, I watched the man-who-speaks-forever on the security monitor, and only after five long minutes of standing at the counter doing nothing (possibly talking to himself, warming up for my return) he finally left.
I knew then that having free coffee for customers in a store like that was just begging for people to come in, stand around and have a chat. And as much as I enjoy meeting people and being polite, there's only so much a retail person can take. Some of them do have other work to get to. Some of them just really want to beat their boss's scores on Angry Birds.
In any case, my wife (then girlfriend) worked there in college for a summer and when she left, I took the open position at that store. I went to college in a very small town, and keep that in mind as it becomes relevant to the story later on. I worked as an associate there on and off for my last years in college, and I learned a lot about small town living. I'd like to share a few of those observations (since my current adventures are a little boring!).
Lesson 1: People sometimes walk into retail establishments with no intention of buying anything. They just want to talk. Sure, some people come into a store to check out the merchandise and to price match, or even scout out competition for another store. That's all well and good! But there are some people (especially in small towns) who come in just to... have a chat.
My fifth manager at that small town location (yes, it went through 5 managers in the lesser part of a year) and I became friends. Mostly because we were of like ages, but also because we were both "city boys" who were living in the small town against our will. And neither of us really cared much for retail, just had it as a job. One month we were having horrid sales. It's not that we really tried overly hard on the normal months, but this month in particular no one was coming in. So he asked me if I had any ideas on how to attract more customers. Being dumb, I suggested we could get a coffee pot for people, encourage them to stick around more, look around the shop, and possibly buy cell phones (our primary revenue driver, despite having poor selection and we were a 3rd party retailer).
"No," he said, "We do not want that."
"Why?" I asked.
He reached over and patted me on the shoulder and said, in the nicest way, "That's the dumbest idea you've ever had, and soon you'll know why."
Not one week later, I was sitting in the back room playing Angry Birds on a tablet that was supposed to be for store demos. It was early morning (9-930ish) and a weekday, and that meant no customers, so kick back and finish your McDonald's breakfast, Patrick. And so I was. Soon, I heard the door chime ring and I got off my butt and paused my Angry Birds and made for the sales floor.
A middle-aged gentlemen was walking in the door. He looked like he had recently come out of a cave that he had been in for a few short decades. His coat was denim, dirty, and had holes all over. His hair looked closer to cobwebs than an actual byproduct of the human body, and his face was craggy and rigid. I greeted him and asked him what he was looking for.
"Oh, nuthin'," he said, in an awkward gravelly country drawl, "Jus' lookin'."
I nodded, "Sure, well, if you have any questions, let me know." He proceeded to look around the store by turning his head ninety degrees to the left, then turned back to me and leaned on the store's counter.
"How's bid'ness?" he asked, smacking his lips after the words exited. This was the first of a few dozen questions, all of them as idle and mundane as the next. Each time he asked another question, the miniature version of myself that inhabits my head would slam his own body against the walls of my skull in a small and rebellious attempt at suicide. But, being retail, and being trapped by the big brother eye of the security footage, I had to be polite and had to remain at my post. The district manager was rather strict.
"Ya know," he said at one point, "Ya'll'd do good to have sum coffee in here, Ah could go fer a cup!" And then, right then, I understood how suggesting a coffee machine was the stupidest idea I'd ever had.
But, being the semi-college educated man that I was at the time, I formulated a plan. I had an old flip-style cell phone. I reached a hand into my pocket and thumbed at the dial pad, lucky that I had remembered to mute it so that the customer couldn't hear the tone it played when I pushed the buttons. I slowly and painstakingly found each number and pressed 'send'.
"So, Ah put tha' corvette's engine into mah pickup, ya kno' the ford 250 Ah was tellin' ya abou'?" He went on and on as I waited. The words typed above were literally the words out of his mouth, and I know nothing of cars or whether it's possible to transplant a Corvette's engine into a Ford 250, but I surmise anyone who had the idea to mutilate a Corvette in favor of a pickup truck is in need of a shift in their priorities. In any case, as these thoughts rang through my head, I was saved by another type of ringing.
The store phone went off, my call had finally gone through. I excused myself from the conversation that had been going on for (according to the store's clock) over thirty minutes. I answered the phone and heard only the sounds of my pocket on the other end. But I--using the best acting skills I could muster--pretended the other end was an interested customer. I gave a wave to the man-who-speaks-forever and said into the phone, "Sure, let me see if we have those in stock," and went to the back room. From there, I watched the man-who-speaks-forever on the security monitor, and only after five long minutes of standing at the counter doing nothing (possibly talking to himself, warming up for my return) he finally left.
I knew then that having free coffee for customers in a store like that was just begging for people to come in, stand around and have a chat. And as much as I enjoy meeting people and being polite, there's only so much a retail person can take. Some of them do have other work to get to. Some of them just really want to beat their boss's scores on Angry Birds.
Monday, June 9, 2014
A New Project (Again!)
Alrighty! Some big things happening now, let's hit the counts:
Mon: 1689 FAIL
Tue: 2099
Wed: 2025
Thu: 1039 FAIL
Fri: 2020
Sun: 1510 BONUS
Total: 10389
"What's that bonus mean?" you may well ask. So, Monday was Deletion Day. You already heard a little about that if you read last week's update. I cut back 30,000 words. Part of those words were the 1689 that I had already written, so I stopped for the day after that and worked on some editing. The next day I started in on the standard fare, going on where the deletions left off. Failed legitimately on Thursday, and was way behind for the week. Yesterday, I got an idea for a new novel. As all my novels are, it was set in my universe of sci-fi fun and I've been working on it since Sunday as my primary project. No, I'm not abandoning my third novel in my series, I'm just taking a break from it. Everything was going really well on it, I just got distracted by the new awesome. We'll get it all finished! Though right now that does mean that I have four works-in-progress, all set in my lovely universe! It's a good thing.
Anyway, since the weekly goal hit, I'm taking this as a success! Also, the reason you've not seen any "Adventures" posts these past couple of weeks is because... I've had no real adventures. Been mostly hanging out with my wife and my friends, so it's been slow, but fun. This weekend, on Saturday I'm working, BUT I'll be reading and judging entries for a short story contest, so I might be too busy to put in another day of bonus writing. We'll see!
Bishop
Mon: 1689 FAIL
Tue: 2099
Wed: 2025
Thu: 1039 FAIL
Fri: 2020
Sun: 1510 BONUS
Total: 10389
"What's that bonus mean?" you may well ask. So, Monday was Deletion Day. You already heard a little about that if you read last week's update. I cut back 30,000 words. Part of those words were the 1689 that I had already written, so I stopped for the day after that and worked on some editing. The next day I started in on the standard fare, going on where the deletions left off. Failed legitimately on Thursday, and was way behind for the week. Yesterday, I got an idea for a new novel. As all my novels are, it was set in my universe of sci-fi fun and I've been working on it since Sunday as my primary project. No, I'm not abandoning my third novel in my series, I'm just taking a break from it. Everything was going really well on it, I just got distracted by the new awesome. We'll get it all finished! Though right now that does mean that I have four works-in-progress, all set in my lovely universe! It's a good thing.
Anyway, since the weekly goal hit, I'm taking this as a success! Also, the reason you've not seen any "Adventures" posts these past couple of weeks is because... I've had no real adventures. Been mostly hanging out with my wife and my friends, so it's been slow, but fun. This weekend, on Saturday I'm working, BUT I'll be reading and judging entries for a short story contest, so I might be too busy to put in another day of bonus writing. We'll see!
Bishop
Monday, June 2, 2014
A Step Backward
Today's a rough day... let's look at last week's numbers:
Mon: OFF
Tue: 2116
Wed: 2295
Thu: 2074
Fri: 2076
Took Monday off, but really these numbers are irrelevant because...
Today I deleted over 30,000 words! Okay, not really DELETED, but I removed them from the work (saved them in another file, just in case) and am considering whether I want to keep it or not. I really got bored with what I was writing, and that to me spells disaster. I had originally planned for this novel to go one way, then it ended up going another. Somewhere (74,000 words in) I realized I hated that new direction. So I went back to a major moment in the plot and hit "cut-paste" and tossed the trash into a fresh document (in case I want to change my mind, or revisit some section).
The reality that hit me was that things were getting too heavy-handed and too cliched in some spots. The overall story was boring the hell out of me, and I was losing track of a lot of the characters. The lesser issue is that the "science" part of "science fiction" was being loosely used. It wasn't too bad, but it was making me uncomfortable enough that it all added up to removal. It's the first time this has really happened to me, where I had to delete a massive chunk of a story to start again, essentially, but I'm in no real hurry with this book.
I'm a little upset about it. It's a lot of work that I'm essentially resetting, but I really think I can make this story a lot better by doing this. We'll see. I'm going to plan out a little tonight, see what fresh ideas hit, or see if I want to revert to the original plan. Either way, this whole project may end up getting restarted. We'll see, and I'll keep you posted!
Mon: OFF
Tue: 2116
Wed: 2295
Thu: 2074
Fri: 2076
Took Monday off, but really these numbers are irrelevant because...
Today I deleted over 30,000 words! Okay, not really DELETED, but I removed them from the work (saved them in another file, just in case) and am considering whether I want to keep it or not. I really got bored with what I was writing, and that to me spells disaster. I had originally planned for this novel to go one way, then it ended up going another. Somewhere (74,000 words in) I realized I hated that new direction. So I went back to a major moment in the plot and hit "cut-paste" and tossed the trash into a fresh document (in case I want to change my mind, or revisit some section).
The reality that hit me was that things were getting too heavy-handed and too cliched in some spots. The overall story was boring the hell out of me, and I was losing track of a lot of the characters. The lesser issue is that the "science" part of "science fiction" was being loosely used. It wasn't too bad, but it was making me uncomfortable enough that it all added up to removal. It's the first time this has really happened to me, where I had to delete a massive chunk of a story to start again, essentially, but I'm in no real hurry with this book.
I'm a little upset about it. It's a lot of work that I'm essentially resetting, but I really think I can make this story a lot better by doing this. We'll see. I'm going to plan out a little tonight, see what fresh ideas hit, or see if I want to revert to the original plan. Either way, this whole project may end up getting restarted. We'll see, and I'll keep you posted!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
A Break
Okay, so let's just dive into the numbers:
Mon: 2108
Tue: 2131
Wed: 1122 FAIL
Thu: 302 FAIL
Fri: 0 FAIL
Total: 5663 FAIL
I'm posting late because I took a bit of a break this holiday weekend (and some of the week, as you might be able to tell from the numbers). I pulled myself away from writing and internet and sort of enjoyed life for a weekend. It was nice, it was refreshing, it allowed me to catch up a little on my reading and my editing, so I'm feeling better. I'm working on today's total right now, and have gotten about 1233 words in, will be jumping back into it after I blog this stuff.
And yes, I took yesterday off as well. It's a holiday, after all! Okay, yeah, that's flimsy excuse, but still! Anyway, as I said, I'm feeling 100% again and I can get back on my goals. There will be no misses this week (and in fact, I'm going to try and make up for missing Monday as well).
Breaks, if you ask me, are a difficult concept for a writer (or any creative mind). It affords some time for the artist/writer/musician/sculptor/slam poet to step away from their work and de-stress in order to get back into things, but at the same time, it leads to what you see above: Failure. It's one of those situations where balance is necessary, and my trouble with breaks in the past is that I end up taking a break that never really ends. This is really what led to my first schism with the craft when I was drowned in work after college.
So when I take a break, I need to have a clear endpoint in mind. I was really burnt out by Wednesday last week, which is when I considered taking a break. I did a little work on Thursday, but not nearly enough to constitute anything, and I just decided then that I was going to take it easy the rest of the week and work on editing of other people's work--which in of itself is still helpful to better my writing, but not nearly as much as actually writing.
Anyway, the time for breaks is over. I don't want to spiral into sloth. I'm getting back into things today and vow to hit my goal for this week! All I need to do is keep the internet at bay.
Bishop
Mon: 2108
Tue: 2131
Wed: 1122 FAIL
Thu: 302 FAIL
Fri: 0 FAIL
Total: 5663 FAIL
I'm posting late because I took a bit of a break this holiday weekend (and some of the week, as you might be able to tell from the numbers). I pulled myself away from writing and internet and sort of enjoyed life for a weekend. It was nice, it was refreshing, it allowed me to catch up a little on my reading and my editing, so I'm feeling better. I'm working on today's total right now, and have gotten about 1233 words in, will be jumping back into it after I blog this stuff.
And yes, I took yesterday off as well. It's a holiday, after all! Okay, yeah, that's flimsy excuse, but still! Anyway, as I said, I'm feeling 100% again and I can get back on my goals. There will be no misses this week (and in fact, I'm going to try and make up for missing Monday as well).
Breaks, if you ask me, are a difficult concept for a writer (or any creative mind). It affords some time for the artist/writer/musician/sculptor/slam poet to step away from their work and de-stress in order to get back into things, but at the same time, it leads to what you see above: Failure. It's one of those situations where balance is necessary, and my trouble with breaks in the past is that I end up taking a break that never really ends. This is really what led to my first schism with the craft when I was drowned in work after college.
So when I take a break, I need to have a clear endpoint in mind. I was really burnt out by Wednesday last week, which is when I considered taking a break. I did a little work on Thursday, but not nearly enough to constitute anything, and I just decided then that I was going to take it easy the rest of the week and work on editing of other people's work--which in of itself is still helpful to better my writing, but not nearly as much as actually writing.
Anyway, the time for breaks is over. I don't want to spiral into sloth. I'm getting back into things today and vow to hit my goal for this week! All I need to do is keep the internet at bay.
Bishop
Monday, May 19, 2014
Graduation Situation
So, this weekend was a big graduation weekend for many schools across the country. In the windows of cake stores (and by cake stores, I mean that section I walk by in Walmart that makes me want to buy a cookie cake ‘just because’) you’re probably seeing a lot of graduation-themed cakes. Yes, ‘tis the season for diving into a horrendous job market… And ‘tis the season for sitting in a huge room listening to inane speeches about the next steps of your life. Which is how I spent my Saturday morning.
As avid readers (all one of you!) know, I’ve been sick this past week. I do not sleep well when sick, and despite wanting to spend all my time in bed in a coma induced by Nyquil, I find myself doing things like mowing the lawn without provocation, because why? (I actually mowed the lawn while at the worst of my sickness—what’s wrong with me?) I also tend to stay up late as it is, and have had a particularly hard time sleeping this week, so when Saturday rolled around, I had plans to be in a coma. See “Nyquil” above.
My lovely wife, Bishopette, had other plans. It’s not her fault, it’s a family event kinda thing, but I had to go to my brother-in-law’s fiancée’s graduation. Writing that sentence reminded me that were it not for marriage, I would have no idea who this person was, and would never have had to go to her graduation at EIGHT A-FREAKING-M. Seriously, who plans graduations? Shady Acres Retirement Village? Saturday is a wide open day, most everyone on the planet can attend things at eight, nine, ten, even noon. Let me sleep, higher education!
I’ve been to a few graduations, including my own, and I know what they entail for the most part. So, as you can guess, I brought my Nintendo 3DS. My wife didn’t mind, one of the earmarks of why I married her, and in fact brought a book for herself to read (which now reminds me I really should have brought a book, read a little, became a better writer through it… but the monsters in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate are not going to slay themselves). As we sat, listening to a keynote speaker talk about… something… I was fighting a Lagiacrus, scourge of the seas. This great water serpent and I were in mortal combat, and the middle aged woman next to me seemed none too pleased with her seating arrangement. Every few moments, I’d hear the speaker say… something… and then she would say, “Ooh,” like it was the most poignant or moving grouping of words she had ever heard. Clearly, she was the speaker’s groupie.
As the day went on (by GOD did it go ON AND ON), she continued to “ooh” and “ah” EVERY FREAKING SPEAKER that went up there, and there were a lot of them. Yes. I get it, it’s sweet that he built a school for disadvantaged youths, but I am trying to concentrate on quelling a great monster of the seas here! All while I was swinging my great sword, she would casually look in my direction (I never actually looked at her face, as Larry the Lagiacrus was still breathing) and give an “Ugh” of disdain in the fact that I was entertaining myself rather than losing three hours of my life to speeches about… something…
This middle-aged woman (let’s call her Helen!) never actually said anything to me directly, but with each of Helen’s condescending grunts of displeasure, I felt more assured in who I was. I was reminded that even though I had already graduated from an institute of higher learning, had a stable job and a wife, and generally began to feel my youth slipping away… I would never be a Helen. It’s my goal in life to one day be forced to go to a graduation for my brother’s grandchildren (I’m not having children of my own—they’d cut into my monster hunting time) and I will bring my 3DS. I’ll sit next to someone my own age, a future Helen, and pop that thing out and mutter curses under my breath while Son of Lagiacrus (Louis the Lagiacrus!) attempts to murder my hunter. I’ll receive a mindful helping of “ughs” and other snorts of derision, but it will all be worth it as I know that in some small part, thanks to video games… I’ll always be a child.
As avid readers (all one of you!) know, I’ve been sick this past week. I do not sleep well when sick, and despite wanting to spend all my time in bed in a coma induced by Nyquil, I find myself doing things like mowing the lawn without provocation, because why? (I actually mowed the lawn while at the worst of my sickness—what’s wrong with me?) I also tend to stay up late as it is, and have had a particularly hard time sleeping this week, so when Saturday rolled around, I had plans to be in a coma. See “Nyquil” above.
My lovely wife, Bishopette, had other plans. It’s not her fault, it’s a family event kinda thing, but I had to go to my brother-in-law’s fiancée’s graduation. Writing that sentence reminded me that were it not for marriage, I would have no idea who this person was, and would never have had to go to her graduation at EIGHT A-FREAKING-M. Seriously, who plans graduations? Shady Acres Retirement Village? Saturday is a wide open day, most everyone on the planet can attend things at eight, nine, ten, even noon. Let me sleep, higher education!
I’ve been to a few graduations, including my own, and I know what they entail for the most part. So, as you can guess, I brought my Nintendo 3DS. My wife didn’t mind, one of the earmarks of why I married her, and in fact brought a book for herself to read (which now reminds me I really should have brought a book, read a little, became a better writer through it… but the monsters in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate are not going to slay themselves). As we sat, listening to a keynote speaker talk about… something… I was fighting a Lagiacrus, scourge of the seas. This great water serpent and I were in mortal combat, and the middle aged woman next to me seemed none too pleased with her seating arrangement. Every few moments, I’d hear the speaker say… something… and then she would say, “Ooh,” like it was the most poignant or moving grouping of words she had ever heard. Clearly, she was the speaker’s groupie.
As the day went on (by GOD did it go ON AND ON), she continued to “ooh” and “ah” EVERY FREAKING SPEAKER that went up there, and there were a lot of them. Yes. I get it, it’s sweet that he built a school for disadvantaged youths, but I am trying to concentrate on quelling a great monster of the seas here! All while I was swinging my great sword, she would casually look in my direction (I never actually looked at her face, as Larry the Lagiacrus was still breathing) and give an “Ugh” of disdain in the fact that I was entertaining myself rather than losing three hours of my life to speeches about… something…
This middle-aged woman (let’s call her Helen!) never actually said anything to me directly, but with each of Helen’s condescending grunts of displeasure, I felt more assured in who I was. I was reminded that even though I had already graduated from an institute of higher learning, had a stable job and a wife, and generally began to feel my youth slipping away… I would never be a Helen. It’s my goal in life to one day be forced to go to a graduation for my brother’s grandchildren (I’m not having children of my own—they’d cut into my monster hunting time) and I will bring my 3DS. I’ll sit next to someone my own age, a future Helen, and pop that thing out and mutter curses under my breath while Son of Lagiacrus (Louis the Lagiacrus!) attempts to murder my hunter. I’ll receive a mindful helping of “ughs” and other snorts of derision, but it will all be worth it as I know that in some small part, thanks to video games… I’ll always be a child.
Bishop
Like... Bay Of Pigs Levels of Failure
I’m actually afraid to go to the counts this week…
Mon: 1035 FAIL
Tue: 2179
Wed: 1156 FAIL
Thu: 1222 FAIL
Fri: 1530 FAIL
TOTAL: 7122 FAIL
How is Tuesday my victory day? I hate Tuesdays. Like seriously, Tuesdays are the worst!
Anyway, sorry I didn’t post this all on Friday, but it’s been a fairly busy weekend and I’ve been trying to beat the living hell out of the rest of my cold so that I can get back to actual work on my book. I’ve also got books I need to critique and so I’m basically behind in every aspect of my life, hence the horrors of those numbers above.
So, for now I’m going to close this post because I’m posting an “adventures” post today and still have 2000/2000 words to write and two chapters minimum of people’s work to critique (plus one short story!) so I’ll be going now…
Bishop
Mon: 1035 FAIL
Tue: 2179
Wed: 1156 FAIL
Thu: 1222 FAIL
Fri: 1530 FAIL
TOTAL: 7122 FAIL
How is Tuesday my victory day? I hate Tuesdays. Like seriously, Tuesdays are the worst!
Anyway, sorry I didn’t post this all on Friday, but it’s been a fairly busy weekend and I’ve been trying to beat the living hell out of the rest of my cold so that I can get back to actual work on my book. I’ve also got books I need to critique and so I’m basically behind in every aspect of my life, hence the horrors of those numbers above.
So, for now I’m going to close this post because I’m posting an “adventures” post today and still have 2000/2000 words to write and two chapters minimum of people’s work to critique (plus one short story!) so I’ll be going now…
Bishop
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Coughing II: The Return of Cough
I hate to go into more detail about being sick (as it might make this part of my blog seem like nothing but my whining) but really, that's all that's going on right now so...
Last night was fun! If you read that line sarcastically, then good. If not, go back and read it again and emphasize the exclamation point as much as possible in your head. Or out loud, provided you're either alone or don't care what those around you think about you talking to yourself. It's okay, I'll wait.
Okay, so last night my cough had been well contained with cough medicine, a substance I worry my body is growing a dependence on, and I was feeling pretty good. Riding high on wings of wax, I flew high up to the sun, feeling that if I was doing so well, I should be able to stay up a little later. On any given work night, I stay up until around midnight, sometimes one. I work nine-to-five and get anywhere from six to seven hours of sleep. Yes, I know I'm supposed to get more, but video games. So last night I stayed up until 12:30, and decided to try and get some sleep.
Bishopette and I are sleeping separately. No, we're not fighting, it's just that with both of us sick we temporarily decided to put me up on the spare mattress (note: not a full bed, just a mattress) until the coughing we each have subsides. And I'm glad we decided this because...
When I went to bed, my throat began to tickle. It started as a "tee-hee my throat's tingly!" and quickly descended into "every breath causes your mouth to feel like and your brain to believe that there's a spider in your larynx and so it will immediately force you to cough and dry-heave uncontrollably until you vomit."
And that's what happened. It was awful, even breathing through my nose made me cough sometimes. And then, but by the grace of whatever unloving deity dominates this realm, my nose became too congested to breathe. So someone wanted to make sure my throat received the proper tickling it deserved. Needless to say, I was up until three in the morning, possibly later. I'm supremely exhausted right now and I'm sucking on a coca-cola like a baby's bottle, praying that someone comes into my office with an IV drip of epinephrine. Or whatever substance stops my throat from tickling.
Last night was fun! If you read that line sarcastically, then good. If not, go back and read it again and emphasize the exclamation point as much as possible in your head. Or out loud, provided you're either alone or don't care what those around you think about you talking to yourself. It's okay, I'll wait.
Okay, so last night my cough had been well contained with cough medicine, a substance I worry my body is growing a dependence on, and I was feeling pretty good. Riding high on wings of wax, I flew high up to the sun, feeling that if I was doing so well, I should be able to stay up a little later. On any given work night, I stay up until around midnight, sometimes one. I work nine-to-five and get anywhere from six to seven hours of sleep. Yes, I know I'm supposed to get more, but video games. So last night I stayed up until 12:30, and decided to try and get some sleep.
Bishopette and I are sleeping separately. No, we're not fighting, it's just that with both of us sick we temporarily decided to put me up on the spare mattress (note: not a full bed, just a mattress) until the coughing we each have subsides. And I'm glad we decided this because...
When I went to bed, my throat began to tickle. It started as a "tee-hee my throat's tingly!" and quickly descended into "every breath causes your mouth to feel like and your brain to believe that there's a spider in your larynx and so it will immediately force you to cough and dry-heave uncontrollably until you vomit."
And that's what happened. It was awful, even breathing through my nose made me cough sometimes. And then, but by the grace of whatever unloving deity dominates this realm, my nose became too congested to breathe. So someone wanted to make sure my throat received the proper tickling it deserved. Needless to say, I was up until three in the morning, possibly later. I'm supremely exhausted right now and I'm sucking on a coca-cola like a baby's bottle, praying that someone comes into my office with an IV drip of epinephrine. Or whatever substance stops my throat from tickling.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Major Failure 05/12/2014
Well, this is depressing... let's go to the counts:
Mon: 2008
Tue: 488 FAIL
Wed: 0 FAIL
Thu: 2141
Fri: 0 FAIL
Total: 4637 FAIL
My first weekly fail. Sigh. The reason for it is my sickness. I've been just plain exhausted and barely able to do my essential work at my job, so writing has gone by the wayside this week. I'm still coughing relentlessly and when I'm not coughing my body is trying to tell me to go to sleep immediately. So my waking time is either my body churning out coughs of death or is trying to not be awake.
So the hell continues. Today (Monday, because I was too dead to even post anything on Friday--I even took that day off work, which I HATE to do) I'm halfway through the day and I'm running on three and a half hours of sleep and haven't written a thing yet. I plan on trying after I finish this post, but I worry that I'm just drained right now. And unfortunately, that's really all I have to say. My brain's just fried from not getting rest all weekend, so I'm just going to sign off. Worst. Week. Ever.
Bishop
Mon: 2008
Tue: 488 FAIL
Wed: 0 FAIL
Thu: 2141
Fri: 0 FAIL
Total: 4637 FAIL
My first weekly fail. Sigh. The reason for it is my sickness. I've been just plain exhausted and barely able to do my essential work at my job, so writing has gone by the wayside this week. I'm still coughing relentlessly and when I'm not coughing my body is trying to tell me to go to sleep immediately. So my waking time is either my body churning out coughs of death or is trying to not be awake.
So the hell continues. Today (Monday, because I was too dead to even post anything on Friday--I even took that day off work, which I HATE to do) I'm halfway through the day and I'm running on three and a half hours of sleep and haven't written a thing yet. I plan on trying after I finish this post, but I worry that I'm just drained right now. And unfortunately, that's really all I have to say. My brain's just fried from not getting rest all weekend, so I'm just going to sign off. Worst. Week. Ever.
Bishop
Thursday, May 8, 2014
First Adventure: Coughing
So, as promised, I'm adding some snippets of my own life and mental insanity... here's the first.
My wife, Bishopette, is a teacher. This means that every few months she comes home with fresh germs from her students (who I'm sure are lovely, but I picture them as walking amoebas at this point--usually with cigars hanging out of their mouths, spreading pestilent fumes) and offers them to me by way of "breathing." I'm not sure why, it could be an immune system that was tempered by my childhood of swimming in a lake by my house that was (and is) comprised of 98% duck poop, but I only get sick about once or twice a year.
It's that time of the year!
Bishopette has had a nasty cough for a few weeks now, and her's has become a full-blown flu. I'm seeing the opening ends of it, meaning that I have SO MUCH fun coming toward me. I'm already coughing and spewing strange globular substances when I do, and my coworkers have taken notice of this. The reason they have taken notice of this is because the five of us that make up the IT department share an office with desks strewn about, and being five computer nerds... our social skills are greatly lacking. This means, at any given time, the noise level in our office is approximately -5 decibels. Any higher and we scurry away under our desks and hug our computer towers for protection.
So when I started coughing and wheezing, I caused a minor disturbance. One of my co-workers, who we will call Rico (I'm naming people in my life after characters from classic science fiction novels), had some cough drops readily accessible at his desk. By "readily accessible," I of course mean "had five different flavors and brands in his desk drawer". I was offered one and I took it on Monday, when my coughing began.
As I mentioned before, computer geeks like us sometimes have poor social skills, so throughout this whole week, I have been coughing and choking without really realizing that everyone around me is being made to listen to this noise:
"Huacccck! Chuuuaaaaak! Yuuugggghhhhhrrrrk!" Every five minutes. Rico, however, has noticed.
He constantly has reminded me throughout the week of his arsenal of cough drops by taking a few ever-so-silently from one of the bags and chucking them across the room like bolas. The resulting impact onto my brain reminds me of the noise I'm making ("Grrrrraaaaaauauuuccchcchchckckck!") and I sheepishly unwrap the cough-drop shrapnel and suckle at it, weeping silently as I remember why I have so few friends. Okay, that last part was a little dramatic.
I have some pretty awesome friends.
My wife, Bishopette, is a teacher. This means that every few months she comes home with fresh germs from her students (who I'm sure are lovely, but I picture them as walking amoebas at this point--usually with cigars hanging out of their mouths, spreading pestilent fumes) and offers them to me by way of "breathing." I'm not sure why, it could be an immune system that was tempered by my childhood of swimming in a lake by my house that was (and is) comprised of 98% duck poop, but I only get sick about once or twice a year.
It's that time of the year!
Bishopette has had a nasty cough for a few weeks now, and her's has become a full-blown flu. I'm seeing the opening ends of it, meaning that I have SO MUCH fun coming toward me. I'm already coughing and spewing strange globular substances when I do, and my coworkers have taken notice of this. The reason they have taken notice of this is because the five of us that make up the IT department share an office with desks strewn about, and being five computer nerds... our social skills are greatly lacking. This means, at any given time, the noise level in our office is approximately -5 decibels. Any higher and we scurry away under our desks and hug our computer towers for protection.
So when I started coughing and wheezing, I caused a minor disturbance. One of my co-workers, who we will call Rico (I'm naming people in my life after characters from classic science fiction novels), had some cough drops readily accessible at his desk. By "readily accessible," I of course mean "had five different flavors and brands in his desk drawer". I was offered one and I took it on Monday, when my coughing began.
As I mentioned before, computer geeks like us sometimes have poor social skills, so throughout this whole week, I have been coughing and choking without really realizing that everyone around me is being made to listen to this noise:
"Huacccck! Chuuuaaaaak! Yuuugggghhhhhrrrrk!" Every five minutes. Rico, however, has noticed.
He constantly has reminded me throughout the week of his arsenal of cough drops by taking a few ever-so-silently from one of the bags and chucking them across the room like bolas. The resulting impact onto my brain reminds me of the noise I'm making ("Grrrrraaaaaauauuuccchcchchckckck!") and I sheepishly unwrap the cough-drop shrapnel and suckle at it, weeping silently as I remember why I have so few friends. Okay, that last part was a little dramatic.
I have some pretty awesome friends.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Trying Creepy 05/02/2014
Another week down! Let's go to the counts:
Mon: 2146
Tue: 2120
Wed: 2057
Thu: 2133
Fri: 2288
Total: 10744
Woo! No failures! Then again, no days broke past the 2500 mark, so that's a bit of a bummer. But, either way, here we are.
I'm enjoying working with 1-week posts, I get to write more about what's going on and I feel like my posts are more substantive. If you want, you can still check in everyday and pretend I'm here with you, blabbering on about writing. Anywho, this week, I've gotten to a nice point in book 3. I'm just under 47,000 words in and I've got the characters in some stick situations. This third installment has a bit of a horror element to it. It's designed to be darker and (hopefully) scarier than the other two books. The part I'm writing now is the beginning of the frightful element. I've been told by some of my beta readers that I'm good at writing suspense into the narrative, and I think at the very least these scenes will have enough tension to keep the reader wanting to turn the pages. I hope they're 'keep the lights on at night' scary, but I don't think I've got enough experience in horror writing to actually master that quite yet. So for now, creepy suspense is my goal.
I like to think that I dabble in some new things with each book, I guess it's part of trying to discover my favored writing style, but its also just because that's the story I'm seeing in my head at the time. I'm nothing if not honest with portraying the exact tale that my head wants me to tell. So, here I am, trying to be a little scary and hoping it works, all just because it fits the story!
See you next week!
Bishop
Mon: 2146
Tue: 2120
Wed: 2057
Thu: 2133
Fri: 2288
Total: 10744
Woo! No failures! Then again, no days broke past the 2500 mark, so that's a bit of a bummer. But, either way, here we are.
I'm enjoying working with 1-week posts, I get to write more about what's going on and I feel like my posts are more substantive. If you want, you can still check in everyday and pretend I'm here with you, blabbering on about writing. Anywho, this week, I've gotten to a nice point in book 3. I'm just under 47,000 words in and I've got the characters in some stick situations. This third installment has a bit of a horror element to it. It's designed to be darker and (hopefully) scarier than the other two books. The part I'm writing now is the beginning of the frightful element. I've been told by some of my beta readers that I'm good at writing suspense into the narrative, and I think at the very least these scenes will have enough tension to keep the reader wanting to turn the pages. I hope they're 'keep the lights on at night' scary, but I don't think I've got enough experience in horror writing to actually master that quite yet. So for now, creepy suspense is my goal.
I like to think that I dabble in some new things with each book, I guess it's part of trying to discover my favored writing style, but its also just because that's the story I'm seeing in my head at the time. I'm nothing if not honest with portraying the exact tale that my head wants me to tell. So, here I am, trying to be a little scary and hoping it works, all just because it fits the story!
See you next week!
Bishop
Friday, April 25, 2014
Romance Me! 04/25/2014
Aha! Here's this weeks totals:
Mon: 2806
Tue: 2859
Wed: 2153
Thu: 3001
Fri: 1795 FAIL
END: 12614
As you can see, I'm failing today. At least for now. It's the end of my work day soon, and I have a horrendous headache and I'm having trouble deciding where things are going to go in the book right now, so I'm cutting myself a break. Also, I got 2K above the weekly goal, so on some level I still call it a win. Especially yesterday: Did you SEE 3001? I love it. I need more days like that.
One thing this book has me writing a lot more of is romance. When I first started this book series, I was thinking I would kinda bypass the romantic ideas. One of my closest friends, and a man who reads a book every three days, told me that there has to be two things in a good book: A girl that you always think the guy's gonna get with, and he eventually does; and a dog. I'm not so sure about the dog thing. I know he says that because he loves dogs (and I do too, let's be honest) but the first part, I somewhat agree with. I wouldn't say for EVERY book, but I think most books, particulary series where we see characters develop over a few books, there should be some element of romance.
It's important that it's not forced or overstated, hell, it might not even end up going anywhere. But love, and the inevitablility of desire is something that's present in our lives on a daily basis. It should be present in the lives of the characters as well. In my book, I have two characters who have been dancing around one another for a while now and in book three things really take off for them. There's some drama that comes from it, and obviously lots of conflict, but ultimately theirs is a love story.
I was afraid of writing it at first. I understood love, being a married man, and though I still have trouble understanding women sometimes (okay, a LOT of times) I was worried I might not come across as honest or sincere in that department. I'm happy to say I was wrong. I not only feared for no reason at all, but I was missing out on something I found myself to be competent at, which also added an element of realism and conflict to my story that I think readers will enjoy.
But I suppose we'll just have to see...
Bishop
Mon: 2806
Tue: 2859
Wed: 2153
Thu: 3001
Fri: 1795 FAIL
END: 12614
As you can see, I'm failing today. At least for now. It's the end of my work day soon, and I have a horrendous headache and I'm having trouble deciding where things are going to go in the book right now, so I'm cutting myself a break. Also, I got 2K above the weekly goal, so on some level I still call it a win. Especially yesterday: Did you SEE 3001? I love it. I need more days like that.
One thing this book has me writing a lot more of is romance. When I first started this book series, I was thinking I would kinda bypass the romantic ideas. One of my closest friends, and a man who reads a book every three days, told me that there has to be two things in a good book: A girl that you always think the guy's gonna get with, and he eventually does; and a dog. I'm not so sure about the dog thing. I know he says that because he loves dogs (and I do too, let's be honest) but the first part, I somewhat agree with. I wouldn't say for EVERY book, but I think most books, particulary series where we see characters develop over a few books, there should be some element of romance.
It's important that it's not forced or overstated, hell, it might not even end up going anywhere. But love, and the inevitablility of desire is something that's present in our lives on a daily basis. It should be present in the lives of the characters as well. In my book, I have two characters who have been dancing around one another for a while now and in book three things really take off for them. There's some drama that comes from it, and obviously lots of conflict, but ultimately theirs is a love story.
I was afraid of writing it at first. I understood love, being a married man, and though I still have trouble understanding women sometimes (okay, a LOT of times) I was worried I might not come across as honest or sincere in that department. I'm happy to say I was wrong. I not only feared for no reason at all, but I was missing out on something I found myself to be competent at, which also added an element of realism and conflict to my story that I think readers will enjoy.
But I suppose we'll just have to see...
Bishop
Friday, April 18, 2014
Back from the Dead! 04/18/2014
Hello internet! Miss me?
Let's start with the counts for this week, shall we? Starting on Sunday of this week, I totaled 14,761 words into book three. Here's the breakdown:
Sun: 2079
Mon: 2545
Tue: 3038
Wed: 2962
Thu: 2054
Fri: 2083
Total: 14761
That's a good week! Things have been heating up in book 3, we just got past the first fifth or so, and I'm really enjoying where it's going. It has a long way to go--this one might actually come in at 150k or more--and I'm really enjoying writing it.
That all being said, I think I'm going to blog once a week from here on out. I'll do it on Fridays, so expect a count much like the one you just saw above every week, plus a little about how I'm doing or a writing topic I feel like getting on my soapbox about.
This week, I had a bit of writers block. Okay, it was really just a bit of writer's block in the past hour or so. I wrote my 2k and in doing so I came very close to resolving a major subplot, but once I finished I thought it over and realized it was far too early to bring that plot to a close. The book has a long way to go and it's a major arc between two of the characters, and the last thing I wanted was for it to just fall out in the first chunk of the book. So I had to stop, delete over 1500 words of text and start it over. The subplot remains intact, and is now a much more suspenseful section, and has the potential to weave throughout much of the book, or at least the first half. I'm really exhausted from the rewriting, as I had to actually brainstorm how I wanted to do it rather than just writing. I stared at a blinking cursor for over an hour trying to think of what was going to happen in place of those 1500 words. But as I said, it's over now and it's going to be worth it.
I also finished the first edit of book 2, and have sent book 1 out to some beta readers. Hoping to get feedback soon!
Bishop
Let's start with the counts for this week, shall we? Starting on Sunday of this week, I totaled 14,761 words into book three. Here's the breakdown:
Sun: 2079
Mon: 2545
Tue: 3038
Wed: 2962
Thu: 2054
Fri: 2083
Total: 14761
That's a good week! Things have been heating up in book 3, we just got past the first fifth or so, and I'm really enjoying where it's going. It has a long way to go--this one might actually come in at 150k or more--and I'm really enjoying writing it.
That all being said, I think I'm going to blog once a week from here on out. I'll do it on Fridays, so expect a count much like the one you just saw above every week, plus a little about how I'm doing or a writing topic I feel like getting on my soapbox about.
This week, I had a bit of writers block. Okay, it was really just a bit of writer's block in the past hour or so. I wrote my 2k and in doing so I came very close to resolving a major subplot, but once I finished I thought it over and realized it was far too early to bring that plot to a close. The book has a long way to go and it's a major arc between two of the characters, and the last thing I wanted was for it to just fall out in the first chunk of the book. So I had to stop, delete over 1500 words of text and start it over. The subplot remains intact, and is now a much more suspenseful section, and has the potential to weave throughout much of the book, or at least the first half. I'm really exhausted from the rewriting, as I had to actually brainstorm how I wanted to do it rather than just writing. I stared at a blinking cursor for over an hour trying to think of what was going to happen in place of those 1500 words. But as I said, it's over now and it's going to be worth it.
I also finished the first edit of book 2, and have sent book 1 out to some beta readers. Hoping to get feedback soon!
Bishop
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