I Think I Get it Now

Blog Post No. 543

I’ve been working the New Day Job for just over a week, now and I think I finally get what people are on about when they say they struggle to keep work time and non-work time separate. I’ve read articles or heard anecdotal accounts over the years about separating work from home and how to disconnect from the office. In the time of work-from-home there are even more that describe the methods people use to stop working when their day is technically over but they’re still at the “office” since in some cases it’s the same place where they live.

Holiday Season

Blog Post No. 474

It’s hard to not write a post about the holidays, especially since this post is coming out just days before Christmas (which is the holiday I celebrate each year). Writing a seasonal post is becoming a bit of a tradition (like my little birthday and yearly look forward and back posts). I try to keep things interesting, especially with repeat type posts like this one. There is only so much to say about the end of the year holidays and I may have said it all, already. But, let’s see if I have anything new to add.

Working at Work

Blog Post No. 456

Since I’ve been called back to the day job, my schedule has fluctuated greatly. I may call my supervisor on one shift with a question and be offered another shift for latter in the week. Since, for the most part, the rest of my schedule consists of writing the first draft of Snow From a Distant Sky (the next novella) I’ve taken every shift that’s come my way. Technically, I have to if I want my income to continue to be supplemented, but I can also get that daily writing in almost any time (though I’ve almost completely lost my late night writing chops since I’ve been getting up so early for most of these shifts).

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).

Working in Coffee Shops

Blog No. 182

There is a running gag on the internet and television about people with MacBooks in coffee shops. It’s funny. The idea is that people are more interested in being seen than in actually doing work. Which is sometimes the case. Coffee shops and cafes are often filled with people either getting a quick lunch, enjoying a slow coffee, or the other thing. I’ve been in many places where nearly every table is beset by a laptop wielding individual (one per table). It doesn’t matter if it’s a Starbucks or local establishment. The coffee shop is a place to be.

Little Books

Blog No 156

Each week I sit down and write one of these blog posts. When I’m done (and it’s posted) I spend the time before the next one furiously brainstorming what to write about. Last week, due to the book I was given by my mother, I decided to write about book lengths. Instead I wrote about audio books, my mother, and a little about my brief time in another city. I don’t know how I got so far off track, but it happens, and I am happy with how that post turned out. Now I want to try again (this time more focused) and explore the topic of book lengths. I can only hope I manage to stay on track. You may need to check out the last post Thoughts about Books for this to make sense.

Currently I am working on the final layout issues of the short story collection that Christian and I are publishing. I’m also a third of the way through writing my first novel and picking away at a novella that I’m rewriting, hoping it will be the start of a series that has been on my mind for my years. They are all writing, but the lengths are very different and therefore they are written in different way. The story structure, the detail, and the plot vary greatly based on the length of each publication.

Collection Update

Blog No 125

I’ve done a novel update this year, but I have to admit, I haven’t done any work on it since then. I really want to, but I have so much other work that has to be done now (or a few weeks ago) that I’ve had to put it on hold and focus. The one project that is sucking up the most time is currently The Collection. The fabled collection is a set of short stories that Christian and I have been working on since before this time last year. I know that seems like a long time, but since they are short stories, there seemed to be lots of little things that would get in the way (like the first Zine, Finders, updating the website, Christian putting out his book and many others). They were just short stories, we had tons of time. Now it’s a year later and we are still working on edits.

Busy, Busy

Blog No. 81

I’m writing this on Wednesday night (which I sometimes do) because I am going to be away from Thursday to Sunday. I’m calling it a writing retreat but it’s really just a trip to Wheatley with the members of Adventure Worlds. We rented a house on the lake and are going to spend as much of the time as we can, writing and doing writing related things. (I’m not sure what those things are right now, but it’s all about the writing). The main idea (for me) is to have the full Friday and Saturday to see if I have it in me to do an eight-hour-day of writing – to see if I can treat it like a job. I expect to have to take a break or two, but I want to have a steady stream of words on the page and a steady amount of time spent doing it. I have a lot of little goals, finish the story I’ve been working on, get another small one done, sort out some novel and novella stuff, but as long as I’m writing, I’ll be content.