Tag Archives: Life

It’s life, but not as we know it.

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Work continues to dominate the majority of my free time. We’re in the market to hire another solid PHP programmer. If you know of any, send them my way.

On the personal front, the legal process continues to unfold. Lots of communication back and forth with the divorce lawyer, working out details on a possible settlement. It would be nice if we reach a fair agreement and get off this roller coaster. We’ll go to trial if we must, even if it takes another six or nine months to get to a fair outcome, but I hope cooler heads and reason will prevail.

Things around the homestead of been mostly quiet of late. We celebrated my 33rd birthday last week. Some nagging allergy-related health issues have slowed me down a lot. On top of the usual sinus issues, I’m fighting inflammations in both ears. After dealing with a daily diet of Allegra D for more than a year, I think it’s time to see a specialist and get to the bottom of things.

Writing is slow but steady. I have several stories under revision and a few others in varied states of completion. I feel good about the writing I’m getting done. I just wish it were getting done faster. It’s been a year since the Jim Gunn workshop and I can see the progress I’ve made since then. Now I need to push through, editing to the best of my ability, and get these stories back out the door.
I’ve had good days and bad days, but time goes on and on and on. It’s easy to get disheartened by the weight of stress and frustration, the slow writing progress and the everyday pangs of life. One foot after the other, with an occasional glance over your shoulder to see where you’ve been. There ain’t no way out but through.

I am…

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…blogging. I’ve been lax on posting updates and commentary, so this is my make-up post.

…tired. Work has been absolutely crazy lately. Long days, longer nights. I’m really looking forward to the days where I can delegate much more of the work. I never thought I’d look forward to taking more of a management role but in this case it means sane hours.

…writing. My serious writing push started last spring and really gained momentum following the James Gunn Workshop last year. This year I’m on track with writing one new story a month, keeping the finished stories in circulation, and I’m gaining confidence in my abilities each and every day.

…editing. Boy, does it suck. No, really. I tend to write the first draft of a story and let it sit for a few weeks, working on another story while the previous one airs out. Inevitably, when I return to editing I find things I could have done better. It’s a clear sign that I’m improving but still frustrating.

…living. The divorce is still pending and money is tighter than Ritchie Riches money clip. It’s good to know I haven’t lost the taste for Ramen noodles.

…organized. We’ve done a smashing job of cleaning house and rearranging furniture. I keep meaning to take and post pictures.

…happy. We’re doing what’s important right now, and that’s enjoying each others company and enjoying life. No matter what frustrations life throws at us, we keep each other balanced and focused.

Flu and Loglines

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Blogging with the flu might not be a smart idea. Please forgive any spelling/gramatical errors.

My brother was in town this week. He caught the flu from my mom, and then shared it with us. Runny noses, sore throats, fever, and body aches. Not exactly how we intended to spend Easter weekend. Sharing is caring!

In between fever dreams and restless bouts of sleep, I’ve been reading about loglines. I’d heard of the concept, mostly applied to script writer. Ray-Anne Lutener blogged about why loglines are relevant to fiction writers.

All too often I’ve tried to describe a story of mine to someone and ended up confusing myself. If I haven’t thought the story through enough to summarize it in one sentence, something is probably wrong. That logline can serve as a reminder as I write of what it is I’m trying to say.

I went back through some of my stories from the last year and thought about what the logline for each one would read. As I go back to revise or write new stories, I’m going to take a little time to write develop that one line summary, even if it’s only useful to myself as a writing tool.