Category: Writing
- A Very Serious Poem
I can feel my soul calling out for respite.My eyes tear of their own accord.Unrelenting sadness inhabits my being with no source.Let’s eat some ice cream. My body betrays my spirit.A cruel melodrama reigns over my existence.There is nothing that can break the storm,Except maybe Ben & Jerry. I run…
- 4/19/2022: Arrow of Light
This was inspired by my daughter’s Arrow of Light ceremony she participated in tonight. It’s a ceremony performed in Scouts BSA to celebrate scouts’ completion of their Weblos rank. Candle to candle Flame to flame Light upon light Mind upon mind One touch, a trigger, a spark Setting ablaze souls…
- 4/18/2022: Meh
I missed posting yesterday, and I won’t make excuses for it. I could have fit it in. Today, I don’t feel much like writing an essay or fiction or even a poem. I just feel kinda… meh. I’m starting to feel pulled in the direction of working on more technical…
- 4/16/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part VII
After ranting for 6 posts about my old jobs, I finally write some things that might be useful for me, and possibly others. You can find links to the other posts here: one, two, three, four, five, and six. Sweet Jesus! I finally get around to something more interesting than…
- 4/15/2022: Ray of Light
Today, I want to highlight a special little guy in need of a good home soon. Ray is the sweetest little (big) guy I’ve come across in a long, long time. Trigger warning: there’s cuteness but also a picture of a dog’s stitches after an amputation. We foster puppies a…
- 4/14/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part VI
In our last adventure, I got a job at Domino’s, took on more responsibility, started to get burnt out, and took a job to work at a startup with a friend. In this post, I’ll discuss that experience. You can read the previous parts here: I (link), II (link), III…
- 4/12/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part V
To recap, I worked a lot of different jobs in a short amount of time (8 jobs in 8 years) in my early career. I start maturing and settling down a bit now. You can catch up here if you haven’t read the earlier posts: I (link), II (link), III…
- 4/11/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part IV
Okay, so in parts I (link), II (link), and III (link), I complained about the beginning of my career. In this post, I’ll delve into the middle part of my career and maybe not spend so much time on each specific job. There are so many that it’ll just fly…
- 4/10/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part III
This is part 3 of a series on what has led to what I feel is career burnout. You can read parts I & II here and here. In the last installment, I talked about how I felt like I got a shot at my dream job, and then it…
- 4/9/2022: More Than Death, Part II
A few days ago, I began writing what was a surprising enough story to me. I don’t read or watch a lot of horror, but I loved the old Universal monster movies when I was a kid as well as Godzilla and King Kong. Today I continue the story of…
- 4/8/2022: Those Three Words Are Not Enough
I decided to write a poem today. I hope you like it. My body attenuatesOn a frequency all its ownMy mind wraps around itselfMy heart beats for nothing but herNorth is wherever I seeGolden hair and diamond eyesLove is but a paltry friendSyncopathic and false comparedTo the rabid emotionSitting but…
- 4/7/2022: More Than Death, Part I
Weeping sores oozed dark red ichor onto the creature’s shattered frame. Human no more, the ghoul quivered and spasmed with the pain that racked its entirety: body, mind, and soul. The only part remaining vaguely human, its heart, pumped the ichor through its broken body. Bone and flesh and tendon knitted themselves of their own accord. Unnatural speed yielded unnatural pain, and the ghoul yowled like a cat struck by a hot poker. Tears filled the dark pools that remained for its eyes.…
- 4/6/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part II
Yesterday, I began a discussion about what feels like career burnout to me. Below I continue about the experiences that have led me to my current state. Trigger warning: I talk about code. And allude to sexual harassment. No, I wasn’t harassed or do any harassing. Just the read the thing.…
- 4/5/2022: Diary of a Burnout, Part I
I started off writing the beginning of what would be a sci-fi short, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. Why? Because it was kind of shitty and meandering, and I’m in a mood. Fuck you, it’s my website and I can publish what I want when I want! Anyway, back to my mood.…
- 4/4/2022: Fighting Through the Fog
This story I think epitomizes the way I felt this morning. Somebody’s got a case of the Mondays… The land lay enveloped in a thick, grimy fog. Argvid smelled naught but the rank peat that made up the swampland he and his band traversed. He knew they were out there,…
- 4/3/2022: Thought Experiments & Gratitude
In which I ramble about what my life would have been like hundreds of years ago and realize it’s probably way better now. If I were alive 150 years ago, what would I be doing? Members of my mother’s ancestors emigrated to Canada from Germany and then crossed into Michigan…
- 4/2/2022: Call The Banners
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 4/1/2022: Bullshit
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/31/2022: A Mist in the Valley
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/29/2022: Fear & Resistance
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/28/2022: A Limerick
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/27/2022: An Auspicious Meeting Part I
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/26/2022: Cheerio
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/25/2022: On Death and Dismemberment
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/24/2022: A Trickle of Water
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/23/2022: Norton Hears a Whodunnit
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/22/2022: Andrea & Archie
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- 3/21/2022: Archie & Andrea
I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and…
- Why Most of the Writing Advice I Read Is The Same
Confessions First confession: I don’t know what I’m doing. Anyone who knows me isn’t surprised by this. Second confession: I read, listen to, and otherwise (taste?) consume writing advice. I haven’t published a thing aside from this blog, so it’s not surprising that I’m relatively early on in my journey.…
- Resistance is… Inevitable
Originally, I intended to write a thematic analysis of The Lost Boys, which I might still do, but the weekend got away from me. Partly because I watched The Lost Boys and six other movies in a horror marathon at my local theatre. Part of that is due to Resistance.…
- Here’s What You Get Instead
I had intended to write a well-researched article, or at least a lightly-researched one, about opening a book store, since it’s something I’ve thought about off and on. I even found an article about one in Texas that did okay despite the pandemic. Maybe next week. Here’s what you get…
- Broken Streak
Moving. That’s what broke my writing streak. And whiny children that don’t want to sleep at night in a new home they’re not familiar with and no melatonin to ease the transition to sleep, which means I don’t get to sleep at night. Or write. I made it 54 days.…
- Work in Progress
I have written approximately 13,000 words so far in my current work in progress, 10 minutes every day for the last 39 days. That’s not a lot of words per day (334), but it’s more than I would have had otherwise. I’ve mostly enjoyed the process, but I do find…
- Cultural Appropriation
I watched Back to the Future with my 11-year-old daughter over the weekend. It’s been a few years since I’ve watched it. Writing and film-wise it’s held up well over 40 years. However, there were a couple of things I noticed that hadn’t occurred to me before, that I recall…
- The Third Week Ends
Three weeks have passed since I started back on the path of my writing journey. I have written at least 10 minutes every day still. I have not posted every day, nor have I been keeping the statistics I was before. I think this is fine since writing essentially the…
- Days 16 & 17
I wrote yesterday and today, but I didn’t track metrics for today. I have the choice to either stop tracking metrics altogether or consider it an aberration and track the rest of the time. To be fair, I don’t think it matters over the long term. It’s for my own…
- Day 15 / What I’m Reading
I had a full head of steam today and wrote for longer than usual. Helped that I removed some distractions and also that my children were asleep. Here are today’s stats: Time spent: 25 minutesWords written: 638 As I promised on Day 13 / Distractions and again yesterday, I’ll introduce…
- Day 14 (Two Weeks!)
Well, I’ve made it to the two-week mark! I’m happy to have made it this far without missing a day. Let’s see where we ended up for the day: Time spent: 18 minutesWords written: 480 Not too shabby. I seem to be stopping early when I could keep going, but…
- Day 13 / Distractions
Since I don’t want to say a lot about what’s going on in what I’m writing, I will take this opportunity to complain about my own bad habits. I know I’m not the only one who struggles with distractions when they should be doing something more “productive.” In my case,…
- Day 12
Another good, though short, session yesterday afternoon. The sorcerer is still dealing with goblins. Tricksy they are. Time spent: 15 minutesWords written: 397…
- Day 11
Our sorcerer is dealing with some goblin mischief in our latest scene. They’re not really threatening creatures so much as nuisances if you know how to handle them. I have no idea where this is going. Time spent: 14 minutesWords written: 355…
- Day 10
We went to a drive-in last night at the Historic Howell Theater to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (affiliate link). We got back late, but I got my time in just under the wire! I miss going to the movies, so the drive-in has been nice. I…
- Day 9
Some things took a turn I didn’t expect while I was writing last night, but I really like it. I’m pantsing this whole thing, which is kind of unusual for me. We’ll see how it goes. Chapter 2 is done, and things are not going as straight-forward for our Rumpelstiltskin.…
- Day 8
I did write yesterday, but it was just before bed, so I didn’t have time to do a post. I did record my stats, however. It was a little more productive than similar-length sessions. I think this was because it was a lot of dialogue and I seem to come…
- Day 7
I hit the one week mark! It’s a meaningful milestone in this process, at least for me. It won’t be long it feels like before I’ve made it a month, I hope. Not much to say about the work in progress. Still on chapter 2. I don’t want to share…
- Day 6
Not much to say other than I’ve begun writing the next chapter, which begins with a magical ritual that hopefully I can convey in an interesting way. I don’t recall ever reading anything similar to what I’m attempting, so we’ll see. Time spent: 13 minutesWords written: 267…
- Day 5
I got a nice, long uninterrupted period to write today while most of my children were out of the house and my wife was napping. A whopping 42 minutes! Then I finished the first chapter and decided to stop, which was probably a bad idea in terms of momentum. I’ve…
- Day 4
I almost forgot to write last night, but I got in exactly 10 minutes under the wire. I didn’t get as many words as I have before, but meh. It’s about the time, not the words right now. Our mysterious old man is still trying to convince our young lovers…
- 10 Minute Author
I read Ten Minute Author by Kevin Partner a couple of months ago, and I got really excited to put his words into action. Then we sold our house and moved into a hotel. Work was busy. I had a bunch of excuses. We’re still in the hotel, but things…
- Day 3
I only wrote for about 10 minutes before being very much distracted by my dogs barking at a small child whining in the hallway outside my hotel room. My family and I have been living in a hotel spread across two adjoining rooms for the past month while we wait…
- Day 2
I wrote some more the night of August 26 (Day 1), and then some more yesterday, August 27 (Day 2). I haven’t written yet today, which is technically Day 3, but I figure I ought to post for Day 2 first. Anyway, I’ll stop babbling now. Maybe. I introduced a…
- Day 1
I ‘ve decided to start writing for at least 10 minutes every day. Every day. Afterward, I’ll write a little post about it. This is for accountability more than anything else, but it’ll also help me to track what I did and what decisions I made along the way. I’m…