Category Archives: Blogging

Jun 10 2013

Two Years Ago Today

Me: Today is the two year anniversary for the blog.

You: Hey, Congratulations!

Me: Thank you. This is actually the third blog of mine, but is the first to last longer than 10 months. Of course, since I have taken breaks from posting several times during the two years, I can call it a win, but not an accomplishment as such.

You: That’s not true. Most blogs don’t even survive their 4:20 warranty.

Me: 4:20 warranty?

You: 4 posts or 20 days. The internet is littered with abandoned blogs. Over 95% of all blogs are effectively abandoned.

Me: 95%? Is that a real statistic?

You: According to a 2008 Technorati survey. I made up the 4:20 warranty though.

Me:  I had a feeling.

You: Sadly, the original source page for the survey is gone. I know how you find that important.

Me: It is important. You can’t trust other people to cite information properly.

You: Not all of us have the pedantism to get a PhD, but you’re right. Everybody has a bias. If you want to formulate your own opinions, go to the source.

Me: That’s the least of it, but I won’t lecture. … Not today anyway.

You: Good. You lecture people way too much for someone who gave up on education. So has your blog been everything you’d hoped it’d be?

Me: That’s an interesting question. I think so. Like most bloggers, 90% of the time I just want someplace I can put my thoughts out to the world. I understand that ultimately, I am flushing them into a virtual ocean of information. One or two people, which may or may not include myself, will read my words and then they turn into digital jetsom forever sinking under the next digital layer.

You: Wow. You sound depressed.

Me: Ha! Not at all. I’m just not delusional about my place in the universe. There’s an Urban Myth that (for some reason people believe) there are more people living now than have ever lived. This is ridiculousness. I have read estimates that the total number of people who have ever lived is between 80 and 120 billion. Here’s a recent survey that comes up with 107 billion. Because of evolution, definitively answering the question “when was the dawn of man?” is not easy to answer.

You: You said no lectures.

Me: Sorry. As I was saying, I accept my place in the universe. More specifically, human history. If we accept the estimate of 107 billion people having lived, how many of those people can you even name off the top of your head? A few hundred? How many are even named in history books? A few thousand, maybe a few tens of thousands. that means less than .0001% of all people to have ever lived have made any impact on history what-so-ever, and the rest, impact or no, will never be remembered.

And yet so many people dream about having 15 minutes of fame? Why do you think crappy reality shows are so popular? Most claim it’s a guilty pleasure. The truth is, deep down, most people know their impact on the human condition will be insignificant. Watching a bunch of no-talents tempermentally act out at the behest of a director gives them hope they too can be remembered. After all, if you can’t be legitimately famous, you may as well be repugnantly infamous.

You: That’s bleak. You sure you’re not depressed?

Me: Really. I’m fine. Just because I’m not filled with blind hope and unrealistic optimism doesn’t make me a negative person.

You: I think it might. Either way, I’m not sure I fully accept your premise. Not all reality television revolves around the negative side of the human condition. There’s shows like Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, and American Idol. Well, if you ignore the preliminaries. But if your premise is true, what’s to stop the millions of reality TV viewers from running out the front door and becoming the next Bonnie and Clyde?

Me: You mean aside from morality, ethics, and an evolved penchant for communal survival? Or can I just use that as my answer?

The truth is, most people want to be famous and enjoy the concomitant benefits without having to deal with the negatives. Yet paradoxically, the biggest benefits to being famous are also the worst negatives.

You: What’s that?

Me: Expectations and responsibilities. When you’re famous, others have expectations of you. Most people love being adored, though there is a constant pressure to live up to whatever made you famous. You are expected to go beyond those boundaries and are expected to somehow be magically qualified in other areas as well. After all, if you’re special, you must be special in every way. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what people expect whether they realize it or not.

Since most people look to avoid unnecessary responsibility, they wouldn’t be able to handle being famous or expert in anything. The truth is, most people can not even handle the expectations and responsibilities that are required to become an expert, let alone to actually being at expert. And as such, they will never approach fame or infamy. You can take that as the principle reason so many blogs fade away even before they’ve begun. Almost anyone can get a bur under their skin and feel compelled to write a few times. The self-imposed expectations and responsibilities to reproduce and surpass those results are usually more than they can endure. So they quit.

You: You must think you’re something special for making it two years then.

Me: Yeah right. Being in the top 5% is so special considering we’ve already discussed that less than .0001% of us will ever make an impact. As I said in the beginning, this is my third blog, so I’m only a two-time loser. Actually, based on the Technorati criteria of not having posted in a four month period, this blog has already died twice and been reborn. That’s better than…

You: Don’t go there.

Me: Fine.  What I’m getting at is this: I know this is it for me and I’m okay with that. I write and blog because I enjoy it without obligation. I’ve tried to use this site as a platform or vehicle for my writing, but after two years I’ve come to realize that’s not me and probably not what I want. I’m fine with what I have and what I do. I’m pretty sure I don’t want all the expectations and obligations of actual fame.

I’m still open to infamy though.

Apr 12 2013

The Huffington Post is Gay

Me: The Huffington Post really has a tendency to fly off the deep end. Check out this article.

You: Vaccines Produce Homosexuality?

Me: Crazy right? Some old Italian (so-called) doctor still thinks being gay is a disease. Some days I just can’t wait for these old bigots to kick the bucket so their lame prejudices can die with them.

You: That’s a little harsh. You can hardly blame the elderly for their prejudices. It’s the way they were raised. Fifty years ago, being gay was practically synonymous with being a pedophile. Is it any wonder they have such differing opinions.

Me: This isn’t a differing opinion. It’s morally wrong.

You: I’m not disagreeing with you on that point. But from their perspective, if being gay is akin to pedophilia, can you blame them for thinking that being gay is the morally wrong choice?

Me: Yes. They need to update their world view. Homosexual behavior is nearly universal in the animal kingdom.

You: Come on. You know most people don’t stay abreast with current scientific news. Especially the Baby Boomers, an entire generation of elderly and soon to be elderly, with a world view filled with skepticism for authority figures, like scientists.

Me: Don’t get me started with the Baby Boomers and their New Age – Egalitarian – Everybody’s opinion is equal bull crap. Some people become experts and their opinions bear more weight than others. They should deal with it.

**SHOUTS** Hey old people: Science! It works bitches!

Getting back on point, this isn’t new news. I first started hearing about traits of homosexuality being universal over a decade ago. This research has been ongoing since the 80′s. That’s 25 to 30 years they’ve had the chance to acquaint themselves with modern science and reality in general.

You: Try not to alienate too many people will ya? I thought you wanted people to read this blog. Your thoughts are all over the place. What point is it you’re trying to make?

Me: Hmm, what point indeed… I think I’ll go right back to to the top: The Huffington Post. I firmly believe printed news is effectively dead. Which means those of us who want quality news are going to have to look for it online. Unfortunately, the masses tend to shun actual science news. Even worse, most people will head straight to the low hanging fruit when it comes to news aggregation. I think it’s the responsibility of modern news organizations to report the news accurately. They should filter out obvious nonsense.

Just because someone writes a press release, it doesn’t mean you have to print a story based on that press release. On the contrary, you could even print a story saying: “Hey! Look at this old bigot and his fake scientific bologna.”

You: Now who should update their world view? Besides, the article isn’t uncritical. The author states, “Some of Vanoli’s arguments, however, have been disputed for more than 30 years.”

Me: True, but not really true. This style of reporting is uncritical in my opinion. By treating “all opinions as equal” this automatically lends credibility to a guy who is an obvious fraud as a doctor. Consider his own words:

“The problem will especially be present in the next generations, because when gays have children, the children will carry along with them the DNA of their parent’s illness. Because homosexuality is a disease,…”

He’s talking as if being gay is a disease that one can contract, but he’s also talking as if being gay is genetic and passed on through DNA. Which is it?

You: In his defense, their are some diseases that can be passed on from mother to unborn child. But I get your point, most of those diseases are passed through the blood and if being gay is a disease that passes through the blood how does it also get passed through DNA? Of course, you’re also missing the point that gay people don’t breed in the numbers that heterosexual people manage, so how are we going to be inundated with gay people in the coming generations?

Me: Oh, I wasn’t forgetting that. I just found it too obvious to mention. Like if being gay is passed through the blood, say from mother to child, why don’t EMT’s, doctors, and nurses who get exposed to other people’s blood suddenly become gay?

You: I’m sure he’d say that heterosexual people so exposed are adults and already have their sexual identity set, or something along those lines.

Me: That’s called “special pleading“. It’s a logical fallacy that people should be taught to see through and respectable news organizations should reinforce proper logic in their readers by asking the “next question” rather than taking his comments at face value. There are plenty of experts out there that can refute this guys nonsense and expose it for the mystical mumbo-jumbo that it is.

I’m not even a medical doctor and I can see through this crap. What’s wrong with the reporter? You see, I do live in the real world, and I know most people aren’t going to critically read that article. Which means that even if they don’t buy into it, they’ll have the nagging suspicion that maybe, just maybe, there might be something to what this quack says when very obviously there is not.

You: So what do you suggest? People stop reading the news?

Me: No. People should stop reading generic news aggregation sites like the Huffington Post. I know they’re convenient, but getting your news from more specialized sources, written by appropriate experts that take a more critical look at the news can only improve one’s understanding.

You: Basically, you’re asking people to push themselves mentally? You got out of education because the average student all but refuses to intellectually push themselves and you want people to do it with their daily news because it’s good for them?

Me: Yes?

You: I thought you said you were living in the real world?

Apr 3 2013

The Corporate Touch – A Vendor Contract of Responsibility

You: You’re not going to go on another rant are you?

Me: I don’t know. I think it’s building though.

You: I don’t understand why anyone would go on a rant like you do. I don’t even know why you’re so upset. It didn’t happen to you.

Me: Maybe not. But we’ve all been there. At some time or another, with some company or another, we’ve all been there.

You: Probably, but just ranting about it doesn’t solve anything. If you want to change something, you have to act on it.

Me: That’s not true. Every piece of social change starts with people just talking about it. If people don’t talk about it first, then most don’t even realize there’s a problem.

You: Fine. Go ahead.

Me: I’ll start with a brief description of my friend’s problem: I’ll make everything anonymous, because the actual companies involved aren’t important. This sort of thing happens all the time, and scandals have been discovered where presumably reputable companies rip-off their own customers. Take American Express and Bank of America for example. 

Anyway, my friend recently bought a new cell phone online direct from one of the major cell companies. Somehow the Carrier screwed up and charged her debit card twice totaling over $500. As a result one of her checks for under $50 to a local grocery store bounced. She should have had plenty of money in her checking account, but due to the error, the bank is going to charge her $35, the grocery store is going to charge her $25 and post her “bad” check on their wall of shame. Now she’s being charged for fees greater than the value of the check. Of course, to add insult to egregious injury, she had to spend over an hour on the phone arguing with the carrier about whether or not she was charged twice. When they finally admitted their mistake, all she got was an apology and a promise that the money would be refunded to her account within a couple of weeks. Weeks to get her money back!

You: It’s egregious.

Me: Don’t be patronizing. My friend, along with two-thirds of this country lives paycheck-to-paycheck. Just because you may be one of the persons in three who doesn’t have to worry about it, doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.

You: True, but it’s not the problem you’re currently ranting about.

Me: Fair enough. What I’m really ranting about is the lack of protections people have against these sociopathic corporations.

You: Did you watch “The Corporation” recently? (Aside: YouTube Link)

Me: I haven’t seen that in years. Like any documentary, it’s a bit agenda oriented, but it does make some fair points. Now stop interrupting! You’re screwing up my chi!

You: Sorry.

Me: As I was saying, I think consumers should hold corporations accountable for their actions. I think their customers should respond in kind, tit-for-tat.

You: How so?

Me: Whenever you open a bank account, sign a cell phone contract, TV cable contract, all those types of corporate contracts where you are forced to agree to their policies, extra fees, etc. I think someone, presumably a lawyer, needs to draw up a contract where the company has to sign to get you as a customer. A contract that will hold the company liable for their mistakes and dare I say, punish them for when they screw a customer over.

You: You speak as if your friend is without recourse.

Me: She has options. Mostly, she’ll have to go to the store and the bank and explain things and HOPEFULLY, they’ll understand and not charge her the extra fees, but they are under no legal obligation as far as I know. Maybe they are, but I doubt it. If she is forced to pay the fees, and the carrier won’t readily give her the money to cover the fees, her only option is to sue the national carrier in small claims court. She’ll win, but how much time and effort is that going to take? What recourse does she have for her time?

We have Customer Agreements, why is it the customer doesn’t have a Vendor Agreement available to them? A document stating the company is responsible for their mistakes and requires them to make good on those mistakes, posthaste, lest they start paying extra fees.

You: You’re dreaming.

Me: I may be dreaming now, but if people are going to demand a minimal level of social responsibility to protect the little guy/gal, it has to start somewhere. Someone has to start the conversation.

Mar 21 2013

Some Days

You: What are you doing?

Me: Uhhh-I’m looking to procrastinate from working.

You: You really should get to work.

Me: I know. I’m rationalizing that I don’t have a lot to do until I get to the courthouse later this afternoon.

You: I see. But, if you’re not going to do some real work, why don’t you get some writing done?

Me: I was just thinking that. I thought a quick blog post might get the writing motor running.

You: How’s that been going? The writing, not the blog post.

Me: Alright. Not as productive as I would like, but I’ve managed to get in three thousand words this past week. So I haven’t been completely useless.

You: Not bad. It’s at least a little something.

Me: Still, if I’m going to procrastinate, I really should learn to be productive with my procrastinations. You know, rather than watch TV or some other time waster, like a browser game, or some other mindless nonsense, I’ll do some cleaning, or go to the store. Other things I generally budget time for, I’m trying to get done during my unproductive periods.

You: That’s probably a good idea.

Me: Thanks. … You’re being awfully nice today. Why is that?

You: Nice? What do you mean?

Me: You’re not being critical, sarcastic, or ironic.

You: That’s being nice?

Me: For You, it kind of is.  Besides, some days, I think that’s as nice as the world gets.

You: **Sigh** Sadly, you’re probably right… About the latter, not the former.

Me: That’s more like it. Contrariness for its own sake.

You: Whatever.

Me: Something has to be bothering you. You’re much too subdued.

You: I don’t know. Maybe it’s just one of those days.

Me: What does that mean? I’ve never really understood what a “those days” are.

You: Like I said. I don’t know. Ever have a day where you’re sort of uninspired; Not up or down; Not happy or sad. You’re just Being. You’re just numb.

Me: Sure. We all have “those days”. I think those are the days where it’s most important to motivate yourself into doing something. Preferably something you enjoy. If you can push through, be productive. Make yourself enjoy the day in spite of yourself. I think those days are the most satisfying. It’s like you took a little something away from the soul-sucking aspects of the world and gave it back to yourself.

You: Hmmm. **Nods** I like the sound of that. You should get on that.

Mar 4 2013

Wound Up

Me: When I get bound up I find a pound of carrots will usually do the trick by the next day.

You: Wha? … What? I said, “wound up”. You should do a post about being “wound up”.

Me: Oh, … so uh, … OH!

Carrots

Carrots (Photo credit: chriscook04)

You: Yeah! Get your head in the game.

Me: Sorry, I mis-, …. Nevermind. Yeah, actually I am a little wound up. I finally finished a huge project for work, so that stress is out of my life, for the most part.

You: Such things can always come back to bite you when you least expect them.

Me: Of course. My boss could always say, “Now we need this…”. Mostly I am excited because the local courthouse expanded its hours so that people like me who have to dig through the records won’t get locked out.

You: Locked out? Of a public building?

Me: You don’t really want to know. The details are even more boring than looking through old documents.

You: But you like looking through old documents.

Me: Yeah, but most people don’t. Actual dig your heels in and get your hands dusty research is not something most people enjoy. Suffice it to say, the courthouse has been so busy with researchers like me they had to start limiting the number of people in per day. Things have gotten so bad in recent months they had to increase the number of hours the records room is open. The upshot is that now scheduling a time to get in is a breeze. In fact, my favorite time to do this sort of work is in the evenings when it’s least busy, so I can get even more work done.

You: Is that why you’re so wound up? You can look through old documents for longer?

Me: Sort of, though mostly I’m pleased because this type of schedule leaves my early mornings open. This means most days I’ll be able to get back into writing first thing in the morning.

You: You could have done your writing in the evenings all this time.

Me: This is true. And I should have, but I guess I just feel more creative in the mornings. It’s no excuse mind you, but this is a start.

You: Speaking of starting, why haven’t you?

Me: Uhm, because you told me to blog more. You told me to blog about being wound up. Look, I even added a picture of carrots because supposedly pictures will help drive traffic to the blog. … I’m not sure how though.

You: And you have to do everything I tell you? Everything some “supposedly expert blogger screwball” tells you?

Me: No, but sometimes you give good advice. The blogger screwballs I’m not so sure about.

You: Thank you. My advice now is to get writing. And that goes double for the two people that’ll read this.

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Oct 31 2012

Happy Halloween

Ack! Has it really been 15 weeks since my last post?

No. I guess it’s only been three-and-a-half months.

As much as I would like to use the excuse that I’ve gotten a new job, training my replacement at the old one while training at the new one, I really can’t justify such a long absence, so I won’t. Worse yet, I’ve gotten almost no writing done during this time frame either. If I had some work to show for the time off, I’d be okay with the aforementioned excuse.

I suppose this begs the question: Why are you writing a blog post now?

I guess it’s to proclaim my annual interest in NaNoWriMo. The last two years my job has overworked me so that I’ve ended up quitting very early on in the month. My new job works me just as hard, but I do get to set my own hours, so I am hopeful that I can at least make it half way into the month before quitting.

Is that an appropriate goal?

Probably not.

The writing project I have in mind is actually for my benefit alone. I want to write the Universe Bible for my Dim Speak series. I have a bunch of notes in a bunch of different files, but nothing formal. I’d like to write up my character sheets and culture sheets for the various worlds. I think getting this stuff down will help with rewrites and future projects. This is also the kind of thing I’d like to post on the web site for future fans should I defy the odds and a few come along.

I’d like to think getting this done will help me start my writing flow so I can begin the second draft of Blood Speak some time in November.

Job willing…

Jul 14 2012

Prediction: Dislikes – No Thanks – Not Interested

The interactivity of the internet has really changed the past couple of years since the “Like” buttons arrived on the scene. Honestly, I don’t use them at all, with the exception of liking other people’s blog posts. Mostly, I do that because it has become inappropriate to leave two-word comments like: “I agree”. And I must say this convention keeps the blogosphere a bit less cluttered, so I’m all for it. Besides, since I have lost so many brain cells to the internet, I have to confess an odd fascination of clicking through the “like” pictures every now and again after I read a blog post. I.e., there’s great time wasting in them thar links.

As I’ve said before, I don’t really see the value in Facebook, and I’ve been too lazy to get into twitter (but soon,… soon).  Because of my anti-FB predilections, I assume this is why I don’t bother with the more general likes that can be found on essentially every page these days. I admit it. I ignore the number of likes. They don’t tell me much, except that if I were a stats nut I could probably come up with formulas that tell me what percent of page views “likes” represented. So, don’t care…

What I’m curious about is how long it will take before the “Dislikes” button comes out. When it comes to regular pages, most sites aren’t going to want to post how many people disliked the page, unless the point of the page is to be controversial and anti-establishment in some way. Then the number would be worn like a badge of honor. Besides, no one likes negative people anyway.

However, I do think the “dislike” button is coming soon to an internet near you.

Why?

For the same reason the like button has become so ubiquitous. It’s knowledge, it’s quantitative, and thus has value. Any extra knowledge that can be garnered from you, businesses will want to know about it. Businesses like Amazon, and…, and… Wait, is there any other place to buy stuff online?

Well, those places too.

I believe “dislikes” are on the horizon. They may be disguised as “No Thanks” or “Not Interested”, but they will essentially yield the same information.

When I was browsing Amazon this morning, I noticed (which happens once in a while) all the “suggested” stuff and “Best Sellers”, and it occurred to me that I wasn’t interested in any of it. This is information Amazon would want to know, and thus, one day they are going to get it. If I could click a “not interested” button for “Fifty Shades of Grey”, they could blast me with something that is actually marketed toward my demographic.

As usual, I may be behind the curve on this one, but that is my prediction for the day*.

.

*This statement does not suggest or imply that I will ever make another prediction. Results of prediction are not guaranteed. If said prediction becomes actualized in any fashion, this result is no guarantee of future results on, as yet, unactualized predictions.

Jun 14 2012

Blog Kwon Do

I was notified of my 100th “like” today. It’s nice to know that some one other than me was counting.

After receiving a trophy, even a pixelated electronic one, it is customary to say a few words.

*cough* Ahem *cough*

Thank you.

Now that that is over with, I have to say once again, I am always surprised when someone stumbles onto my blog. I mean I never advertize it or anything. I don’t cross post with anyone to draw in readers. I don’t even post more than a few times a month. But slowly over the past year (Yes my blog did turn one last week. I ignored it.) I have gotten more and more followers and page views, until my last two posts actually received 8 likes a piece.

I imagine each post standing on the shoulders of the ones before it, jumping in the air, spin kicking the millions of other blog posts out of the way in the graceful electronic art of Blog Kwon Do. Now that I have a years worth of post, a hundred likes, I get a new aerial maneuver that will…

No, that’s stupid.

Blog Kwon Do should be envisioned as a peaceful and meditative experience. A search for knowledge. A search for truth, justice, and the American Way!

Well, two out of three at any rate. (Or maybe that’s three out of four?)

I am a firm believer that a person is worth, on average, 30 minutes of your time. Some people you can assess and dismiss in a couple of minutes, and others may be good for a couple of hours before you realize their shaved head really does mean they’re a Neo-Nazi and not just trying to stay cool during the summer.

After that “intro” period, you have to decide whether or not this person you are meeting is worth your time. What are you willing to invest in them?

Most of the time, the answer is: Not Much!

Things may slowly change. A new person may slowly grow into one of your best friends, but the fact remains after that intro period, most people land in the periphery, or just disappear off the radar altogether.

It turns out the same is true of bloggers. The only difference is that the average person doesn’t blog. Most bloggers are more creative and more interesting than the average person. That’s kind of why they’re putting themselves out there. Sadly, the amount of time we get to assess people for that trial period remains the same. More likely, because this is all done electronically, you get the time it takes for people to read one post, maybe two. If you’re lucky (or interesting?) they skim your “About” page.

So in this context:

Thank you!

I know it takes a lot to get someone to interrupt their own Blog Kwon Do meditations to read mine. I’m just glad I can say something intelligible and interesting once in a while.

Jun 8 2012

Doing Well, but not TOO Well

I know! I know!

I keep meaning to get back here and blog more, but I really have been focusing on my writing. And since I don’t have any real fans anyway, I’m not really disappointing anyone but myself.

That is a firm rationalization, if I ever saw one, and I challenge anyone to poke holes in my logic.  ;)

I have amped up my writing in lieu of blogging. Almost two weeks ago, I finished the first draft of Blood Speak, my sequel to Dim Speak.

I then wrote an erotica short story. I did that mostly for fun. It’s surprising what kind of filters one must assuage in order to write about sex. I’m sure it’s easier for others, but I had to set aside some of my own writing norms. It was very educational. And since the story makes me giggle, what more can one ask of erotica? Besides, uh, hrmmm, never mind.

Next came the congestive heart failure of one of my best friends. She’s 43 and wound up in the hospital for four days. I had to work 50+ hours that week, since she owns the hotel I work at. In fact, there was a 72 hour period where I worked every minute of the day at some point, except for the 45 minute span from 11:15pm to midnight. 35 hours in three days, not bad, right?

Anyway, now that that disaster has passed…

What? Oh, yeah,… My friend is now walking around with a battery pack that is prepared to zap her back to life in case her heart stops. Apparently, in three months they’ll be implanting something in her chest to do the same thing. For now, she has to heal a bit, but she is alive and claims to be doing better.

So anyway, now that that disaster has passed. Yesterday, I started a novella in my Dim Speak universe. I have three of them planned. I want to release Blood Speak and these novellas by the end of the year. This will finally give me some product to sell. I have not bothered to advertise Dim Speak, because what’s the point? With only one book for sale I’d spend hundreds in adverts for only one product. If I’m going to spend money on such a thing I should have a number of items for sale.

This week, I also submitted Dim Speak to Evolved Publishing.  Since I’ve only sold six copies (and have given away two). If a small press were to pick it up, I wouldn’t have any qualms about revising it one more time with a professional editor. (No offense to Kaitie, who edited it for me line-by-line for free! Thank you once again!) Additionally, I like Evolved Publishing’s author-centric co-op model. It is precisely the type of business model that I think will be the future of publishing. If you haven’t heard about the sort of work they’re doing, you should check it out.

They promise a three week turn around. We’ll see if anything comes of it.

Also starting yesterday, I began the edits to Blood Speak. Alas, I am already a couple of months behind on my schedule for this book, but such is life.  I’d like to spend the rest of June and July doing a second draft while working on the novellas mentioned above.

In last post, I know, three weeks ago,don’t remind me… In my last post, I mentioned learning something about my own writing process. I found that first drafts are really hard for me and I work much better and faster when editing and rewriting. I have decided to do my best at keeping more than one project going at a time. Preferably, a first draft project where I can scrape together 500-700 words a day, which seems to be my limit on most days. And an editing project where I can edit/rewrite some amount. I hesitate to put a word goal on such things because it will vary so wildly with the state of the previous draft.

These two processes takes different parts of my brain. They overlap a bit, but I think I can be most efficient if I work on two things at the same time. I’ll have to blog the results later.

Just for kicks, here’s an edited line from the first page of Blood Speak:

Well, the genocide AND the three Angels I was suspected of harvesting while staying in Heaven had been enough to get me banished. That’s why Faith and I were here. She wanted to prove I was innocent of the harvesting charges. I was probably guilty of the genocide though.

May 17 2012

How Does a Writer Think?

I probably should apologize for neglecting the blog this past month, but honestly, this blog isn’t the most important thing for me at the moment.  Have you ever had someone tell you that they are trying to find a direction for themselves? I’m sure most of us have. Finding a direction for yourself is only half the problem, and believe me, I know it can be a tough half!

The other half, actually traveling the path can be just as hard. Sure it’s easy at first. Once you decide you’re going to do something, motivation abounds. The energy for your new projects/hobbies/lifestyle whatever it is you’re looking to change about yourself flows like a freshly tapped well. After the shiny has worn off, that’s where the adults are separated from the little boys and girls. I mean, if you’re truly looking to change yourself, you have to be that person even when you feel like all motivation is gone.

As I’ve mentioned on this blog, I had high hopes for this year in terms of getting a lot of writing done, but it just hasn’t panned out. Mind you, I’ve done okay. Just nowhere near what I was looking forward to accomplishing. I spent some time thinking about it, and rather than lament squandered opportunities, I focused on gathering knowledge about myself.

I came to a conclusion. I wasn’t thinking about being a writer enough.

I was thinking plenty about my writing, but I wasn’t thinking like a writer should. Or at least, the way I presume a writer should be thinking at this early developmental stage where I’m at.

How does a developing writer think, you ask?

Beats me.

I’m sure it’s different for everyone, though it seems reasonable that step one is finding a process that works for you. I’ve spent over five months working on my sequel to Dim Speak and I had hoped to be done with it in about four. One of things I’ve been thinking about a lot this past month is why it has taken me so long. If I’m to write and make promises about my writing in the future it seems I need to know what I am capable of and why I couldn’t write the first draft of this story in that time frame.

Additionally, much of my efforts have gone into actually finishing the story, and I should be done in a couple of weeks. I’ve already decided on at least one darling I shall have to kill during the edits, but that is what edits are all about. Chopping that which doesn’t work no matter how much you love it.

Anyway, I’m getting off track. In summary, I wrote more in the last month than I have any other 30 day period this year, and I have been focusing on my own process in order to make myself more efficient as a writer.

It seems to me that a “pre-published” writer should be focusing on these two things.

I’ll get more specific soon.