March

Blog No. 275

We are officially into March, ending the longest February I have faced since I was a child. Time does a funny thing as you get older. Each year represents a smaller and smaller fraction of your life, so they just keep getting faster. I’m not even forty and I am constantly shocked at how quickly time is moving. (I’m sure it’s that much worse for people with kids). It’s mesmerizing and kind of terrifying. With that in mind, it seems like it’s been a thousand years since 2018 started. The days move by in a flash, but the time feels monumental. If any of that makes sense, you are smarter than I am, because reading it back, it’s kind of insane. I wrote it though, so I’m keeping it.

I missed my chance to get The thinking Machine out in February, but I knew that would happen. (I was resigned to it). I did think I would be farther along on the unconnected sequel thing than I am. I actually had a moment the other day where I was trepidatious to get back to the story. It had grown so much in my head without getting any writing done that I was scared to mess it up. It was a taste of the fears that stopped me from writing in the first place. I was, thankfully, able to shake the feeling (by diving into dialogue) and got back to it, but I am behind where I want that to be.

It’s a vicious cycle that I still have to break. Get behind on the goals I give myself, amend them, get behind on that, and make a proclamation that I will do better. Do better for a little while, get behind on the next thing. I’ve said it many times before, but it’s all down to routine with me. The moment that routine is disrupted, I fall to pieces. I’m getting quicker at putting them back together, but I’ve got to do better. (<- There’s that proclamation). There are always excuses (and some of them are pretty good). Even having cut back on my obligations already, I’m in over my head. There is a never ending stream of things to do, things to do better, and opportunities I’m not prepared for. I do have to do better, but I have to be able to prioritize and let some things slide.

A local Photographer and Anchor Coffee House regular offered to take some author photos of me for his portfolio. He made me a terrific offer and since I have a new book coming out (and I don’t have any real author photo anyway) I took him up on the offer. We got together to talk about it, and I’m excited with the stuff we came up with. With his talent and my willingness to look like a dork, we should be able to overcome that thing my face does when people take pictures of me. Thankfully, I was able to take this opportunity. I’m really excited. But, it’s a scramble to get things together and organized. I want to do it right, to really take advantage of the opportunity, so I’m taking my one day off this week to do the shoot and rushing around to find props. I don’t want that to sound like a complaint. I am thankful for it, but since I am missing my other usual writing days, the time commitment is daunting. At least I’m going to have something to show for it!