Meandering Thoughts (#16)

This was a stormy day at the beach.
There is something about the sea that calls to me.
Yet, I have no desire to sail upon it.
Instead, I admire its terrifying beauty from its shores. 

For those who did not notice, I skipped last Sunday's blog post. For those who did spot it, my apologies. It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, and, in order to celebrate, my family rented a house on the beach . The view was beautiful, and there was much merriment. Although there was plenty of time to accomplish personal goals, I put them aside. Except journaling, which I did daily. After a ten hour drive home on Saturday, I began preparations for the Christmas season. While it would be easier for me to skip this week of blogging, I decided against it. My routines have been ignored long enough. It is time to reinstate them.

On This Thing Called Writing (#8)

In last week's blog post, I mentioned how, after consuming a ridiculously large amount of Halloween candy in a absurdly small amount of time, an idea struck me. Well, there were many that hit me upside my head that morning. However, one in particular, left an impression. 

On This Thing Called Writing (#7)

I wrote a post about a year ago, in which I mentioned my desire to finish a novel before my fiftieth birthday. That leaves me four-and-a-half years. In addition, I discussed my two major attempts to complete the NaNoWriMo challenge. In 2015, during my first foray into serious fiction writing (since high school), I wrote a measly 18,000 words. Seven years later, I exceeded the official goal of 45,000, by at least 5,000 words. However, the final product was in no way a complete novel. Yet, it was progress. 

Revelations (Part 6)

Do you see those two full firewood stacks? That's where two old beds stood.
One of them is in the foreground. Where the half empty stack is standing,
were two full stacks, one in front of the other.
And all that dirt in front of them? Uneven, patchy grass. 

In preparation for tonight's post, I reread last Sunday's musings. It took four straight days of intense labor to tear down, fix up, rebuild, and refill those two garden beds. Most of it occurred in the late morning, early afternoon--I do have other responsibilities and chores. But their completion was paramount, a lynchpin in starting on other projects. If I did not move them, I could not start work on the firewood racks. Without that storage space for the wood, the area around my shed would remain a mess, preventing me from building a properly contained compost heap. No compost heap? No dethatching my lawn. And my lawn needs to be dethatched and aerated, all of which needs to occur before the first frost. 

Meandering Thoughts (#15)

Damn. My meals are telling me like it is.
Stuff is getting real. 

Tonight's post references several thoughts from last Sunday. If you need a refresher, here is a direct link. Please note, last week I paraphrased a quote from one of my favorite animations, Adventure Time. However, I failed to attribute it explicitly. So, I went back and edited it. Then I remembered that I had discussed this theme from the show before. If you are interested, you can find the actual quote beautifully presented, in an old entry. It connects perfectly with last week's conversation. 

My First Writing Challenge (#3)

I made these shelves for my daughter. Yes, they were easy and simple,
but it felt good working with wood again. Occasionally, I forget
how much I love working with my hands, building things.

As of late Friday night, this writing challenge, along with this blog. were officially over. Tonight, the former still holds; the latter, not so much. 

My First Writing Challenge (#2)

At the Well by Daniel Ridgway Knight
Not sure if my characters will look anything like them.

 

Sorry, tonight's post does not contain any progress on the Jack and Jill story. I almost did not blog. However, the need to keep one habit going inspired me to get on the computer and type away. Hopefully,  I will return next week with more about our two orphans and their new "friend".

My First Writing Challenge (#1)

At the Well by Daniel Ridgway Knight
Not sure if my characters will look anything like them.

Each Sunday, until the new year, I will post a piece of fiction that I have worked on during the week. It will not be my best; I doubt it will even be decent. However, at this point, for me, it is the best way to work on a habit: writing fiction daily. At the very least, dear readers, I hope you find it entertaining. Maybe you will learn something. Perhaps even be inspired to do some writing of your own. 

A Deep Breath (#26)

"Know your enemy, know yourself, and you shall win every battle."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Seriously, that thing looks like it's rubbing its ass on my cucumber plant.
(Yes, I noticed the double entendre in that sentence.)

"Next Sunday, I will either share my outline, or have the first fictional work completed." 

That was from last week's post. Today, neither is going to happen. I would love to say "I was busy". However, unless someone is surviving day to day, what they really mean to say is "I did not prioritize it". A lack of time is not my problem. The will to place this goal towards the top of my daily to-do list is at fault. If I would only follow through every day, even for thirty minutes, it would eventually become a habit. Then I could produce something weekly without struggling so much.

A Deep Breath (#25)

Sigh. Something has devoured my cucumber plants.
I believe it is a groundhog, but I am not sure
how he is getting in there. It is very disappointing.

It is 8 pm on a Sunday straddling between summer and fall. Woke up early, and did a bunch of chores. Then drove four straight hours in order to pick up my daughter and her friends from a wedding. Came home and served up the pork shoulder that had been breaking apart in the slow cooker. Spent the past two hours lounging around watching television. Decided to write that blog post despite feeling sluggish and tired. But not before surrendering thirty minutes in order to clean up the kitchen. 

At least the laundry was done yesterday (I planned it that way, knowing I would be traveling today). 

Two weeks have past since I last posted. That time was spent determining a direction for this blog. I believe I have discovered a new path. And it is thanks to a YouTuber named Struthless, whom I mentioned over a year ago. 

Finding himself struggling to produce video content, he devised a challenge. Each week, for the next twenty-six weeks, he could produce a single video. But he established specific parameters and constraints. These limits keep the endeavor focused, and provide motivation. Making it all public offers accountability. However, the most important part is that Struthless is allowing himself to create imperfect content. Because of the limitations, he will never produce a perfect product, and he accepts it. The goal is not to create something great, but to create on a regular basis, so it becomes a habit.

Well, I have decided to take this challenge and modify it for my situation. Namely, I want to write fiction on a daily basis, and I want to continue to blog weekly. So, combining the two, I have decided that each week, for the next fifteen weeks, I will upload a fictional piece I have created. One constraint is that it will be short. Exactly how short? Not sure. I am still working out the parameters and constraints. Also, it should be in a final form, or as close as possible. My hope is to use the six days leading up to my blog post in order to draft and edit the story to completion. Finally, by putting it out there, I am forcing myself to commit.

Having written all this out, I realize that more planning is needed. Tomorrow I will rewatch Struthless' video, paying closer attention to his guidelines. In order for this challenge to work, structure is necessary. Next Sunday, I will either share my outline, or have the first fictional work completed.

We shall see.

Just do not expect my best work. After all, that is not the goal of this challenge.