Blog No. 223
I’m back in Windsor for a while. (Not that I’m complaining). February was a chaotic whirlwind that I think I’m going to miss (but not until I catch up on my sleep and get back in my right frame of mind). In the two short months this year has throw at me, I’ve been successful in two opposite ends of the spectrum. January was all about writing (to the detriment of anything else). February was about events, travel, and alternate mediums. The sad part is, that while February was fun and exciting, and I was in Toronto twice in as many weeks, my writing took a hit. True, I’ve been doing more editing than writing (because once you do one, you’ve got to do the other) but the whole process suffered. I did do a live podcast on YouTube with my buddy though, so there’s that!
Writing is a funny thing in that, when you are in the first draft mode, it’s easy to measure. X amount of words in Y time = success. When you get into editing, it’s a bit more difficult to visualize. A particular passage may need a lot of work and take days, and the next couple chapters might fly by (usually due to slacking after being fed up with fixing it all). A bunch of my February was actually taken up with audio editing too, which is a whole new thing to me and therefore slow and arduous. Starting next week (if it all goes to plan) the same buddy who I did the first podcast with (Arvin by the way) and I have a new podcast starting. It’s called Flags and High Fives and it’s a documentary style look at Wii Like To Podcast. Adding up travel time, Summit planning time, reading and event time, podcasting time, and editing time, there wasn’t much room for editing. So, while I was on task in January, I wasn’t exactly slacking off in February either.
Thankfully, my next event is a local signing at Coles (in Tecumseh Mall on March 4th from 1 – 3 pm, be there!). Then it’s a whole month before the conventions start. (Comic Book Syndicon, April 2nd and Sarnia Pop Culture Show V, April 9th where I’ll be a guest a both, by the way). I’m hoping to get back into my routine before then, making time for the audio stuff for the new podcast. Thankfully we’re only putting out an episode a month, so the workload is spread out. Also, Arvin can handle all the web stuff, I just do the first couple passes of the audio. It’s exciting and the audio stuff is something I’ve wanted to add to my repertoire for a while. I hope to take the stuff I’m learning and do some stuff with Adventure Worlds any my own writing.
I do want to take some time to talk about the live podcast and last weekend though. It was a really special time and I felt like I really reconnected with Arvin, his family, and the old show. While our friendship has never really been strained, there have been times where we get busy with our own lives and the physical distance becomes a larger obstetrical. With my focus consumed by writing the last couple years (and my finances) and Arvin having a baby, we weren’t talking much.
The 10th Anniversary was a bunch of work and so much fun, but most importantly, it was a great excuse for a good weekend long hangout (mixed with a lot (like a lot) of work). Also, his wife is super awesome, supportive, fun, and busy with her own successes. To top it all off, their baby is adorable (and walks like a champ)! So, this weekend was exhausting, but exhilarating in so many ways. While I’m dreading the added work (still trying to get a handle on not being a lazy slob) I’m excited for Flags and High Fives. It’ll be a great compliment to the books I’m putting out this year (which are going to take a monster amount of edit, layout, and design work to boot). Last weekend was great, but there are a ton more good times to come!
Ben Van Dongen 