I’m back from vacation and have returned to work.

Can you feel the lack of excitement in the air? I know I can.

Thankfully it’s been a slow day these past few days at work. Between driving up to Oregon and flying out to Hawaii, I was in “other mode” for about 30 days.

Life… it’s another of those infamous four-letter words.

Over the weekend, since it’s been slow, I’ve been catching up on some youtube videos. I’m currently on video 21 of “Hiking with the Codgers.” Watching them has re-ignited my desire to go out and follow in their footsteps. Alas, my time wont be for about another 10 years. The trip takes about 6-months, and there is no way I could take another time out and go “FIND MYSELF” for such a long period without there being major repercussions.

Such is life…

As to writing, I submitted my chunk 1.5 to the group, and with the comments I got back… I really need to find a different group. Some of them were confused between ‘star system’ and ‘star system(s)’ as in how they are different. One is a single body, while the other is plural for more than a single system. The United States has more than a single state, it has at least fifty that I’m aware of. Commonwealths, Federations, Conglomerations, etc, can all have multiple parties/systems which come together, like individual states, to form a larger entity.

They also got confused with the year note I had included in the text. I color code things so you can tell the difference between what is there to be critiqued (normal/unaltered), and what is background FYI stuff (fonted orange, like the year format I’m thinking of using). Apparently, a number of them are color blind and I’m not being respectful of this.

Uuugghhhhhhh

The time scale I was rambling on about was the year 2016 C.Y.

C.Y. as in Confederation Year.

Not A.D. as what is used in our Western Civilization.

“But it’s 2023, so this takes place in the past? We don’t have spaceships zooming around to other planets.”

Hhrrmmm… Maybe the fact that I used a planetary name you are not familiar with would have been a clue.

“Yargooga-booga-fake-name” is not one of our 9 8 planets.

I’m not a professional writer, and neither are they. It’s a hobby for some of them. I’m trying to make it more than a hobby for myself.

They are amateur readers.

I don’t even think they are amateur sci-fi people.

They may not even be amateur followers of calendars.

Am I asking too much?

What is my target audience? Am I asking too much for them to know the 9 8 planets?

Anywho…

So I came up with another story idea. It involves another plot that is M. Night Shyamalan in nature. While I was in Hawaii, I was working on some of the background ideas and since being back, I’ve pounded out about 2,000 words. It’s not a lot but it’s enough for me to rekindle the fire should I decide to pick it up again post “A NEW DAY” ever getting completed.

What else…

I really need a vacation.

Didn’t I just have one?

No, honestly no. What I had was a family trip with two teenage children who went out of their way to make things difficult for my wife and me. They stuck their noses into their phones and didn’t want to leave the hotel any more than necessary.

Oh look, there’s Big Ben!

Such is my life.

Ten years until the Pacific Crest Trail… What year is this again?

😛

Tootles all.

So… my mother hijacked my train ride and got me a carpool ride down to Sacramento.

She’s “concerned about my safety” and all that crap.

Yeah, she lost her husband last week, I get it.

Suck it up Dave and appreciate her wanting to do what’s right.

Grrr…….

Will I be this way with my own crotch goblins? Am I now? Hard to say. They are both in their teen years, so I tend to think they do stupid things. Being in my 50’s, does my mother (still) think I’m doing dumb ass things? Hard to say.

Suck it up Dave…

So… this is new…

I had come out to the patio in front of her house so I could do some writing. I was putting myself in the mood by blarfing out this rant. She’s now sitting out here trying to converse with me. Sooo much for putting on my headphones and zoning out on one of my chapters.

Suck it up Dave…

(She thinks she knows best and she’s in mourning)

Suck it up Dave…

My time is not my own.

All week I’ve been hanging with her, keeping her company. Setting up online billing, washing dishes, going to the funeral home, all the stuff a “good” person does when trying to help out a person in distress.

Suck it up Dave…

Okay, that’s it.

I’m done with this post. I’ve now got to go deal with the dog that had a diarrhea explosion.

Suck it up Dave…

:/

I’m up in Oregon right now.

My stepfather passed away a few days ago. I’m up here helping my mom in any/all ways I can. She had come down in her car to visit us. I drove her back when we learned about my stepfather’s passing. That leaves me with no easy ride home as my mom lives in a rural area.

Using the power of Google, and my dreams of freedom, I looked up Amtrak. They have a train that runs from here down to Sacramento. The ticket isn’t that much either.

SOLD.

Only it leaves at night and arrives in Sacramento at 6:30 in the morning. That means if I’m (UN)lucky, which I seem to be in areas of writing, much of the ride will be done overnight. That means I’ll be sleeping. I won’t have the time to enjoy the scenery and fade into my thoughts to write.

So much for trying to sneak in a bright spot on an otherwise depressing trip up to Oregon.

My mom, strong as she is, is taking things day by day. I’m doing what I can by cleaning, clearing, grabbing, driving, and all the other tasks that come up.

I don’t know what else to do.

I can create and kill with the whim of a finger stroke in my works, but the real world doesn’t work that way.

The next question is, if I could possess the power of a god, would I?

I think things are way too layered and cross-threaded for my little ol’brain to fully grasp. Think butterfly effect only on OMEGA-LEVEL STERIODS.

This sucks.

Pain is part of life, it brings meaning to joy…

Doesn’t mean it still doesn’t suck.

I don’t like ending on a sour note. Life is TOO SHORT not to try and find some joy in each and every moment.

Have I ever mentioned me getting through a DUI checkpoint by farting? We rolled down our window as the officer stuck his head in. He didn’t even speak as he rushed to wave us through.

True story.

Enjoy each day for it could be your favorite last day.

Tootles all

😛

(p.s. FU Dwight)

So… the wife is sitting on the bed, looking through her phone for something *stupid and telling asking me to grab the sweatshirt on the chair and return it to its rightful owner.

*(Stupid is a biased assumption on my part, I’ll own that. I’m kinda grumpy right now.)

An hour later, I have yet to deliver the sweatshirt, I get the following text…

Okay, I’ll admit that there are a few ways I could have alleviated the confusion.

1. I could have slapped the phone from her hand and told her to focus on the conversation she was having. I mean only giving me half her focus was OBVIOUSLY wrong on my part.
2. I could have had her do it herself because women love doing things themselves.
3. I could have sung a little song while folding the sweatshirt in front of her. “Oh what a pretty little brown sweatshirt I am a folding… Ei-I-Ei-I-Ohhh…”
4. I could have noticed the other item in the chair, and being untrusting of women’s logic, questioned her sanity. My bad.
5. I could have grabbed both items. Isn’t two always better than one?
6. I could have MIND READ that she would set me up and forgive her ahead of time by alleviating my act of stupidity.

This then brings me to that sexist comment, “Happy wife, happy life.”

Or the better version, “Sane wife? I want one in my life?”

“Happy spouse, happy house?” is the better version. Where either party can make mistakes and POSSIBLY OWN WHEN THEY MESS UP? I messed up by not mind reading, unfolding the other item because I don’t trust her, and not slapping her phone out of her hand.

MY BAD

Okay, I’m starting to feel better now, much of my spouse-stration has been vented.

😛

Tootles all

🙂

I’ve been plugging away on chunk 48+ for a couple of weeks. It’s been both fun and taxing as all things go.

Today I reached a point of contention, a soured point of contention. A point where I have too many unexplainable happenings that require too much handwavium. I can’t do it. As much as it pains me, the current point I’m at in the story isn’t working. I just opened the document and found where my story started going awry. It was over 6,000 words ago.

Yeah…

I’ve now got to go back to that point and rewrite everything from that point forward.

It makes me kinda want to cry.

I just can’t see it standing on its own two legs. So far, my story has had some fantastical elements to it, but always within the realm of “Huh… and they say the truth is often stranger than fiction.” What I have now, at least the past 6,000 words worth, is plot weak. I have to pick through what I have and restructure it. It may require an entire rewrite, or hopefully just some creative surgical editing, we will see.

As much as I rip into my peer’s stories, I can’t allow myself to overlook something so… wrong.

Ggrrrr…

Okay, that is it for now.

Tootles all

:/

Oh, and suck it Dwight.

I’m already feeling better for telling the truth.

So yesterday I walked an hour to my local grocery store. I spent about a half hour there doing some writing, then walked another hour back home. Later that evening, after dinner, I walked back to the store a second time and did some more writing, only to walk home again. Each way is about 13.3 miles.

Doing some quick math here… 13.35 x 4 = 13.4

I included a quick trip to my mailbox on the last trip home which got me the extra .1.

I know I’ve mentioned wanting to do the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) once I retire from the state. I took this as an early practice dry run, ten years early. Now I realize that I wasn’t carrying any kind of load, I expect my pack to be around 50 pounds with gear, food, and water. That being said, my 13.5 miles took me roughly 4 hours. So long as I stay healthy and don’t have any long-term injuries, I expect my PCT trip to go well.

🙂

For beginner trekkers, it is recommended to keep your mileage under 20 per day for the first two weeks, at least until you start to build some tolerance.

Now today, I am feeling sore but it’s nothing a couple of Advils couldn’t fix. For the record, I’ve not taken any. I tend to ignore minor muscle aches, headaches however, those are my achilles-heel. (Do I get a Rim-shot?)

Okay, enough about that. Time to get started today on reviewing a peer fantasy story set in the dark ages where they use vocabulary words such as “conduits”, “toxins”, “inertia”, and other such oddities which only came about through industrialization and modernization. I swear, you can lead a dog to water, but there is nothing stopping them from pooping in their own water bowl.

(scratching my own head wondering what things of my own I am blind to?)

Oh, and I don’t mean to be cruel, but…

Is it that hard for the author to put a time stamp at the beginning of each of your sections with a timestamp/date, it doesn’t have to remain there permanently, it’s just so you can keep a good summary of how much time goes through each section of the story so you don’t end up with some long drivel that goes on and on and draws out time for unnatural lengths that completely boggle and confuse the time something could, or should, have taken so as to not confuse your intended reader with them trying to figure out what exactly is going on as the parts within it don’t seem to make chronological sense?

Was that a good enough example?

No?

Okay, it goes like this.

Jack and Jill, look up at the hill. Each is holding a pale of their own. Jack looks to Jill, “You ready?” Jill starts to nod but then says, “Wait, I want to change outfits first.” Jill then runs home and changes into her expeditionary outfit and then runs back. She then says “How do I look?” Jack’s reply is “You were fine before.” Jill scoffs and runs back home to change back into what she was wearing before. Upon arriving back she says to Jack, “Okay-” but then cuts herself off as inspiration strikes again. “I’ll be right back.” She runs home a second time and changes into a sexy red outfit. Upon getting back Jack says, “Really? You’re wearing that?” Agravated, Jill runs back home a third time and along the way, gets hit by a bus. She spends a few days in ICU and after another few weeks of healing, once again goes to meet Jack along the side of the hill. He’s still there, waiting for her, frozen in time. <<< THAT’S THE ISSUE

The timescale is WWWAAAAYYYY OOOOFFFFF

Okay, I think I’m done.

Tootles all

😛

Last night was the latest meetup with my writing group. People had very little to say about my story. Now is that a good thing or a bad thing? Are they not finding much with it or have they grown tired of it and are merely going through the paces.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME ANYONE?

Oh, today is April 20th. Happy 4-20 to you if you’re a patron of the willie-weed.

What else…

I’m going to try and see the Renfield movie today. Let’s see if one of my kids screws it up by going to their school’s office and calling because they need chapstick. YES, THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED YESTERDAY. My family is a bunch of weenies. Now I’m not going to go and say I’m the roughest-toughest person around, but sucking it appears to be a lost art.

I’ve been watching season 3 of both Picard Season 3 and The Mandalorian. I’m finding both quite captivating.

Have I mentioned I’ve added something to my bucket list? I’ve decided I want to do the PCT. I’m currently 52 and have about 10 years left before I retire. My plan is to go within a couple of months after retiring. That way I can go on some shorter duration, just as intense daily hikes, in order to get myself physically ready. Back when I was under 14, my dad would take us out on backpacking trips, they weren’t that long and the most we would travel was about 5 miles. I enjoyed the hikes and the quiet you would find yourself in. Back in the army days, we did 20-mile hikes with 50-pound bags once a year. I was always one of the first to finish. Granted I’m no longer in my 20s and I know things have started getting slower. Still, just this morning I did a 1.33-hour walk and cleared 4.55 miles. Yes, I’m aware that I wasn’t carrying any weight on my back. I have ten years to ready myself. I’m just saying, that at this time, I don’t see any issues with undertaking it, provided no health issues develop. The last backpacking trip I took, I was 36. My dad and I went together and I carried close to 70lbs of gear, with me carrying the bulk of it. We only went about 6 miles but I was outpacing him the whole way. What can I say, I’m a walking machine.

So… what else…

Jessica Day.

I’ve been reworking the last few chapters of Jessica, starting from the 90% mark and working onward again. I’ve been sitting on it for a while and didn’t like the way it was feeling. I had gotten to the 95% mark and had petered out. Going back to the 90% mark and moving forward again, it’s allowed me to get a better handle on the story. I’m liking the way it’s moving now and has reached the 95% mark again. This time I have a better focus on how it’s going and where I want it to go. Now my biggest issue is if I want to change its name from “A New Day” to “The Next Day.” I’m still leaning toward the original but both work for me. I think I’ll put the question in my final “The End” submission at the end for my peer review group.

Okay, I think I’m done for now. I’m in the mood to get back to Jessica again. I was feeling guilty over ignoring this blog for over a month… again.

What can I say, life is full of stupid, and I’m waist-deep in it.

Tootles all

Dave

😛

So as long as I’m not writing today, I might as well watch another couple of youtube videos.

I’m so productive

😛

One I finished a few minutes ago was this one, by Nalo Hopkinson.

In the video, she points out the differences between a cold statement made by the narrator and something more alluring or captivating to grab the reader’s interest and imagination.

It’s worth watching if you get the chance.

Now I’ve also read Stephen King’s semi-autobiographical novel “on writing”, in which he states he purposely doesn’t over-describe things, thus allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Both are right. The author needs to give let the reader feel or interpret what is going on without being told. Therefore the reader is able to draw their own familiar feeling mental picture.

Okay, I’m done.

My head is feeling starting to feel more foggy and sluggish as the day is winding down.

(I’m getting mentally tired and it’s getting later.)*

*But I’m guessing you already figured that out 😉

Tootles all

🙂

If any of you are fans of the Tolkien-verse, then some of you might recognize this derivative by Amazon?

Amazon purchased the rights to produce an earlier tail of the world from the Tolkien estate some years ago. That is where this clip is from.

Now, you may be asking yourself “why am I posting this”?

It’s because instead of writing, I watched another video about writing online earlier today.

To be fair, it’s much easier to watch something than to create something.

Eating a meal is always easier than cooking said meal.

In this video, the owner says some pretty brutal things, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

So why was I watching instead of writing? Because I couldn’t afford the headspace as today is a work day. In order to write, which I do enjoy, requires me to unplug myself from constant interruptions. The pings, blinks, emails, door-knocks, and everything else that forces me out of my mentally secluded happy place Doing so tends to put me in a foul mood. Something I know could very well come back to bite me in the ass. Another thing is that once you get in your zone, and something ruins it, it’s almost like pulling out before you’re finished… if you know what I mean.

😛

Alright, that’s it for now.

Tootles all.

I’m here again.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been reworking chunks 45 and onward of “A New Day”

What? I’ve had time to do this?

Yeah, over this past week, I’ve had no extended family visits and my children haven’t Buellered any sick days out of their mom.

The piece I’m re-working is around 20,000 words so it’s not going to be done anytime soon. It’s also the book’s final few chapters so it’s kind of important to lay things out correctly.

That is all for now.

Tootles all

😛