Ben VS the Uncommon Cold

Blog No. 206

I work up on Sunday morning and knew something wasn’t right. My weekend had been the culmination of two solid weeks of work (no time off for good behaviour, or writing). Lots of terrible thing happened that had no choice but to be dealt with. Friday night was seven hours of crap that stuck to me through Saturday morning for my back-to-back shifts. While I managed to get a solid chunk of text written Friday morning, nothing was getting done on Saturday. As soon as I got home from my thankfully easier shift (minus having to mop the floors as the cleaners failed to do for the umpteenth time) I took a much needed nap and prepped all my stuff for Sundays RetroRama. No time for love Doctor Jones. I did my best to get to bed early Saturday night, knowing what was in store for me.

Horse Mask Party

Blog No. 205

Last week, I was on a bit of a tear with my novel. I was catching up after a couple of less than stellar months. It was a good feeling. I was getting things together for the long haul. Now, after a busy week of work (and really busy weekend) and too many tasks left for too long. To top it all off, I have the dreaded layout to finish. A huge jumble of micro tasks assembled into one element that, when one task is finished, it screws up something else, leading to a never ending stream of necessary fixes and adjustments. Like I said last week, it’s a doozy. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let it interfere with my writing, and I was partially successful. The writing related tasks didn’t disrupt my flow, but work, more basement construction, and a last minute invite to help out in a music video did.

Update

Blog No. 204

In January, I decided to stop writing the book I was working on and started writing another one. The idea was that I would be able to knock out 40 000 words in a few months and have myself a finished novella. It took me until the end of July to reach my original goal, but by then, the story was nowhere near done. I shifted gears and from then on I’ve called the story a novel (or short novel) and had the intention of hitting 60 000 words. From the beginning of August (sitting at near 40 000 words) to the end of September, I struggled to get another 10 000 words. It was a rough time. I did poorly.

When Will I Learn?

Blog No. 198

While it may not seem obvious, I’ve been working away on Pilot all year. I would agree with people commenting that it’s been taking too long and nine months to complete 45 000 words is sad. Yup. I’m right there with you. Still, it’s the longest story I’ve written (longer every time I plug away at it) and it’s only the third novel I’ve ever attempted to write. Again, having tried and failed twice before isn’t something I’m super proud to share, but it’s a fact, and I know I’m not the only person who’s been in that boat. The first try was just not a goo enough story to be a novel I made it to a forced fifth chapter, coming up with new things to add every day (padding out the lack of plot). Eventually I came to term with the faulty concept and moved on. The second one was much better. I was a huge idea and I managed to get to 35 000 words before floundering.

The Loss of Routine

Blog No. 192

The struggle continues and I’ve been given another reminder of how important routines are. Naturally, I am a person drawn to routines, so it’s no wonder that the more structured my time, the more I get done, especially with writing. I’ve heard other writers balk at the idea, and even argue against daily writing habits. While no one thing is ever right for everyone, I think most people can agree that a schedule and consistency tend to help when it comes to making progress (writing being just one example). It’s the same thing all over my life. I’ve kept up with going to my boxing class, but the extra work has been interrupted. Even my reading suffers from a lack of consistency, and I love reading. It’s just so easy to waste a few hours on the internet, or play another video game with my brother.

Original Goals

Blog No. 191

I’m tired today—unbelievably tired. I haven’t felt this exhausted in a long time. I can’t even remember when I was this wiped out. It’s not like I did anything extraordinary. I have had a few nights that went later than usual (some my fault, a few definitely not) thought that’s not terribly unusual. Perhaps the number of night in a row has become abnormal, but they really weren’t so late. The heat has affected my sleeping, and I have been sleeping poorly on top of that (for reasons I’m not allowed to know apparently). There seems to be no end in sight (for either the lack of sleep, or today, which is dragging like one of those dredges, or maybe an anchor). I’m not sure what that has to do with anything other than it’s the most prominent thing in my life today. When you’re tired, everything else seems to fade a bit. The amount of red squiggly lines I’ve had to go back and correct is absurd.

Manly or Progress

Blog No. 190

For the last few years I’ve been living at my brother’s house. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement (usually). He gets someone in the house who can keep an eye on things and help out a bit, and I get a cheap place to stay as I follow my financially ruining dream of becoming a writer. While we have been known to butt heads from time to time (a common thing for brothers). Luckily we happen to be good friends and most of the time we are able to talk out the majority of conflicts. Threats may fly, but blood is thicker than water (even though that saying means something different).

Half Way or Dreams

Blog No 187

Just a short one this week. It’s been too hot and I haven’t been sleeping well. I had a dream about being in school (which I haven’t been for some time). I don’t think I could call it a recurring dream (or a nightmare) but it’s something I’ve dreamed about before and it’s always uncomfortable. Having never been a fan of school (specifically the testing and grading, I enjoyed the learning) dreaming about it isn’t fun. Specifically it’s a dream where I am unprepared. The unpreparedness varied from not studying for a test, or not having homework finished, to having not attended classes all year. I believe it all stems from my early days as a student, when all those fears were real, because I didn’t pay attention and didn’t do any work. Eventually I got my act together, so having those anxieties now is usually related to other things in my life.

Choo, Choo

Blog No. 179

All my April events are done and it was quite a ride. I’m shocked at how three little events, two of which I didn’t have any part in planning, can be so hectic. It’s only five days after the last event and the first one seems years in the past. The relentless cold and surprising number of attendants of the Fogolar Flea Market is a fading memory. Thankfully I have the pictures to rely go back to. The excitement and nervousness from the Phog reading, my second reading ever, is a fading shadow in the light of this moment. The reading at the Essex Railway Station is still fresh, but every moment, the details slip further into obscurity.

Computer-less or Tools of the Trade

Blog No. 176

Once upon a time, many years ago, I was a high school student who wanted to write stories. I would tell people that I have stories, boring them with ideas, characters, and convoluted plots. Many times I decided to start writing a story, but never managed to do get very far. My first attempts were hand written (scribbled) on loose sheets of lined paper jammed into old, beat up, binders. I would come up with the title, write a few lines, and tell myself I’d get back to it later. The first story I can remember finishing was written for English class. I was ahead on our Shakespeare assignments (not sure how it worked out but I ended up being nearly a month ahead) so my teacher told me the next assignment was going to be writing short stories. He suggested that I get started (since I was likely being a nuisance in class otherwise).