Blog No. 48
There are a few things happening in my life right now but I don’t think any one of them is going to be enough to fill a whole post so I figured I could tackle a few at once and just jumble them together into something that at least looks like a post. (All I need to do is add a beginning paragraph and make up some bogus conclusion that has keywords from each of the points – half way there already!).
Halloween is right around the corner and I am as excited as little kids around the world (in the places that there is Halloween). Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. From the dressing up to the candy there is very little to dislike. Last year was unfortunately a bit of a bust for me. A big group costume thing (which cost a lot of money and took a lot of help from a good friend) fell through and I was left with a sweet Green Lantern costume, a bill for services rendered and no one to go out with. It was a real drag, especially since I had been busting my butt to make sure I didn’t look like an out of shape slob of a Green Lantern in the spandex.
This year I am planning around striking out on my own (just in case it comes to that). My costume is a solo theme and much easier than last year’s (though it’s starting to become almost as expensive). I splurged on a new jacket and spent more than I normally would have for a piece of a costume, but I couldn’t find a nice enough one that wasn’t ridiculously expensive so I opted to get a nicer jacket that I can use for Halloween and beyond. Now I have to hit the town to find some red pants. Anyone know where a guy can get some red pants?
I almost didn’t get the jacket. It all depended on how much my car would cost. My car came with a Haynes Manual when I bought it. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an extra manual that you can buy for many cars that has (among many things) a complete tear-down and rebuild of the car and a complete maintenance schedule. According to that schedule my timing belt was due to be replaced and if you know that much about cars you’ll know a timing belt isn’t a part you want to break on you – it will often take the whole engine with it. I can’t have that, so I took the precaution of having the part replaced before it can cause all that damage. There is a benefit to scheduling a car repair. I knew it was coming ahead of time so I managed to put the money aside and I still had enough to pay for the jacket.
Planning isn’t easy, but it’s been paying off lately. My car is the biggest example I have lately but planning has also been helpful with writing too. As I said last week, I am finished writing my latest story but I still have the typing and editing to do. Next Monday is my week to post and I am already done the typing for it. I have also managed to sit down and write more days than not in the last couple weeks. It’s not as good as the every day I am working towards, but it’s a pretty good start. Even though I am coming to the end of the first year of this renewed blog and the new Adventure Worlds blog it feels like a beginning. It’s a pretty good feeling to see the small every day writing add up and start taking form as a story. I am starting to push the bolder down the hill and I hope I can build up enough momentum to end up on a roll. (Does the metaphor work? Too obtuse? Oh well, I’m keeping it).
While my writing has been getting better (I mean I have been getting better at spending the time writing, I can only hope my writing is improving in the process) I have been struggling with reading. I always have plenty of books I would like to read and I should have more time than I seem to but I have been struggling. It may not seem like a big deal, especially since writing is more important and I have been getting more of that done, but a key to writing is reading. The quality of writing improves with reading and there are few methods as good as reading to learn what makes a good (or bad) book. It also helps you feel like you are part of an industry and not so isolated – not to mention it is a great way to spend your time!
I find that my reading goes in waves though. I start and it builds and I can’t seem to do anything but read, then it fades and I have trouble just picking up a book. But I managed to plan my car repair and save enough money for my Halloween costume and I have managed to get better at spending time writing, I’m sure I can manage to get back into reading more too. (And I managed to awkwardly put them all together in one conclusion sentence – Excellent!).
Ben Van Dongen 