Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #37

I want quiet.

I want to take a nap. Has that ever happened to you all? It happens to me all the time. But, I have this nasty habit of not being able to sleep at night after I nap. This typically doesn’t bother me, but I’ve got doctor’s appointments to go too. Isn’t that just the best news of all?

Anywho, about writing, I did absolutely nothing yesterday. I was wiped out, and took a nap, then got in bed like two hours after I napped. So, there wasn’t much time to do anything. Hell, I didn’t even look at the outline I’ve been doing for my new bookish sort of thing.

I am excited about that though, about my new little story. Technically, it will be a novel, but only in the very loosest sense. It’s going to be a children’s Chapter Book, and the thing that I find most strange about that is the word count requirement.  It’s 12,000 words, well up to 12,000 words, and they suggest the story be like a message, a lesson or a moral, that sort of thing. And, I really don’t think that way. I don’t think that way when I’m working. I’m writing to entertain. And, I typically have nothing major I want to get across to other people. I just want to entertain them, and I think the story I’ve got planned out is going to be entertaining :)

It’s a story about Bunnies. A story about Zombie Bunnies. And, that’s going to be the bulk of the things that I’m going to say now. Lol.

As for Cold Lunch, I didn’t write yesterday, but the day before I managed to crank out a scene, just one, but it was 2,000 words long. So I did feel good about that.

Anyway, that’s it for me. Let’s see if I can get some real writing done. Lol.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 6
                Pages Written Total: 115
                Pages Typed Today: 6
                Pages Typed Total: 202
                Word Count Today: 2,031
                Word Count Total: 55,673

Advertisement: Go to your nearest Pizza Hut, and buy everything on the menu. Then overnight it to me.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #36


Progress.

I have a label called progress, and I usually use it after I’ve written about a half a dozen scenes or something, lol.  But, today I really felt it, last night I really felt it when I wrote my quota for the day. I felt that it was going to be possible to finish this novel, again, and that I was going to sell it. I felt frigging great after writing it, even though I didn’t get it finished till after one in the morning. (The only reason that happened is because I spend a lot of time dicking around when I’m supposed to be writing.) I don’t even know how to go about explaining it.

It was a feeling beyond what I can comprehend.

And, now my brain has stopped working. Lol.

I hope I didn’t jinx myself. I hope to keep working on this novel at the rate I’ve been going. I hope to keep this pace and see it through to the end. And, I think I’m getting repetitive.

So, what else is there to talk about?

The Mets, maybe?

It’s not the right time of year for baseball is it? Lol.

I don’t know why, but I feel naked. I feel like something I said, just opened up my soul for all to view, and now I’m feeling  sensitive about it. So, I’m trying to cover it up with humor. Or something like that.

Anywho, yeah, I got two scenes done yesterday. I typed it, which has worked out much faster than hand writing has, so far. And, it also means I’ve got stats for everybody today.

Now, I’m going to go and curl up in bed and hide under my blankets, and try not to feel so naked. Lol.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 9
                Pages Written Total: 109
                Pages Typed Today: 9
                Pages Typed Total: 195
                Word Count Today: 3,319
                Word Count Total: 53,641

Also, I’ve gotten almost the entire snowflake done for my bunny book. Lol. It’s going to be a lot shorter than what I expected, but them’s the rules of the genre. If I don’t like it that short, well, then I’ll just write it longer. Lol. And, still try to sell it.

And, another thing, if you really want to know a good example of how I felt last night, with this video with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #35


A tale of two scenes.

Yep, I’m damn proud of myself. I got two scenes written today :) I would like to do a third, but it is now 2am, and my wife would be rather upset with me if I stayed up another two hours to write another scene.

Meh.

I also did something I rarely do. Instead of hand writing the scene, I typed the whole of it. Just sat down and started pecking away. Would have been cool to do it on my typewriter, but then I’d have to retype it into the computer, and I’m out of typewriter ribbon anyway. I need to buy some of that.

Anyway, the point of that statement is simply that typing the scene straight into the computer would save me a complicated step, and possibly increase the speed at which this novel is produced. Or something like that.

But, then, I kind of like the aesthetics of hand writing and working late into the night. Though I really need to take into account how long it’s taking to get these things done. In fact, I still have a novel that I haven’t typed a single word of. Before I can even start a second draft on that one I’m going to need to type it. So, I think I’m going to make typing the official medium of Mr. Ryan Smith.

I also had an awesome idea for a kid’s book, comic book, sort of thing. I dunno. I’m not going to share it here, cause I don’t think the idea for the book has developed well enough. I will say, however, that it is inspired by the Bunnicula books, which I still need to read.

Anywho, that’s all for me tonight.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 8
                Pages Written Total: 100
                Pages Typed Today: 10
                Pages Typed Total: 183
                Word Count Today: 3,244
                Word Count Total: 50,321

PS: I am now almost halfway to my word count goal. I think this book might turn out to be longer than I expected. For instance I’m still 10 scenes/chapters away from where I’ve got “the middle” of the book. So, I kind of think I’m running over my estimated word count with just about every scene. Lol.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #34


I’m shorting out.

I think that’s a pretty good topic for today, seeing as I’ve set down to write and now my brain seems to be leaking out of my ears. I dunno, I just seem to be unable to think at the moment. Hell, I can’t even think to try and write my blog post.

I should have bought some Excedrin while I was at Walmart yesterday. Normally, I treat this blockage like a headache (since really, that’s what it is) and the Excedrin kicks its ass and I get on with my life. Today I have no Excedrin.

So, I guess I’m going to try and write my way through the block. Today might be a longer post than we’re used to here in Ryan World.

Now, what I’ve got up my crawl at the moment is the loss of two of my outlines. And, what’s funny is the fact that they  disappeared before we started to move. One was for a children’s/middle-grade novella/novel I was going to write called Dead Handy.  And, the other was an Epic I was going to work on, a zombie novel based on Dante’s Inferno. I was going to call it Inferno. Lol. And, I was thinking about serializing it and self-publishing it. Most of the time traditional publishers won’t touch Epics. Unless they’re by big name authors. There’s usually not much money in it considering the costs of production, and the market and what not. Of course I could be wrong there, but I think I’m kinda right. Anyway, they were both books I was really excited about working on, and now the outlines are gone; which means I’m going to have to rewrite the outlines, and I’m going to worry that the outlines I come up with now aren’t going to be as good as the outlines I originally had. Not logical I know, but still something I’m bound to worry about. Hell, I’m even considering not redoing the outlines for that specific reason. And, they were books I was really excited about. Good lord, I don’t even know anymore.

Anyway, on Cold Lunch, I got the rest of what I’ve got written typed. So, I do have stats for today. Work just kicked my ass yesterday, and I didn’t get anything written. Hell, I got out of the shower last night just after 8 o’clock and got in bed. Went straight to sleep. Mel told me I was dead to the world when she got in bed, and I don’t even remember her getting in bed.

And, I was supposed to work today, but I went in and they told me they didn’t need me and sent me home. So, driving to Logan this morning was a serious waste of time. Oh well, I came home and I got back into bed. Then when Mel got me up for the second time I was much crankier than the first. So, I realized that when I have something to do, getting me up is easy. But, when there’s nothing to do, I might as well be a bear crawling out of its cave after a long winter.

Anywho, I think I’ve worked through my blockage pretty well, and now I’m going to get on with the writing.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 0
                Pages Written Total: 92
                Pages Typed Today: 4
                Pages Typed Total: 172
                Word Count Today: 1,504
                Word Count Total: 47,076

As for advertising today, the new chapter of In the Morning Light up, and if you don’t mind swing by The Out of Towner and tell her, her ending sucks and she needs to add more to it. And, go to In the End, There was Love and tell her she needs to update more of the story…NOW. Thank you for doing so, and have a nice day.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #33


In which I feel like an ass.

Yeah, I really don’t actually have a reason for that title. So, far as I can tell I’ve done nothing ass worthy today, it just seemed like the thing to say at the time.

As for having anything else relevant to say…

That doesn’t happen often for me. Having something relevant to say I mean. I usually just let my fingers do what they want, and I think I talked about that some yesterday.

Anywho, the schedule for our real new place just got moved up, by a whole frigging lot. Our neighbors, who are awesome people, are going to let us rent their trailer when they get their new modular home set up. Originally they weren’t supposed to get the house until March. Today we found out that they’re getting the modular home next week. So, yeah, that feels like awesome news!!!

In regards to Cold Lunch, I’ve done pretty much nothing but type today. I wrote one scene, and typed all but the scene I wrote. Lol. I’m also going to have to take another early hiatus from Cold Lunch for a few days. Just long enough for me to get more material written for In the Morning Light. I won’t be taking the hiatus until after Friday. Then I’ll have only one more post left for In the Morning Light, and I’ve only got to write seven scenes to finish out the next quarter of the fanfic.

Other than all that, I’m really out of things to say. And, I’m going to bed now.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 3
                Pages Written Total: 92
                Pages Typed Today: 18
                Pages Typed Total: 167
                Word Count Today: 5,467
                Word Count Total: 45,571

And, I can’t think of any cute little advertisements for tonight. So, later kids.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #32


Morning kids.

Hi everybody, I’ve been kind of absent lately, and there’s nobody to blame for that but myself. I could be really harsh on myself; in fact, I actually have been hard on myself for the last couple of days. It feels like I’m screwing up of some part of social contract.

I know that’s crazy, because everything I’m doing here is absolutely voluntary. I don’t get paid to sit here and write a three to four hundred word blog post every day. If I did, I’d probably hate it. Something about it feeling like work probably. But, it feels like something I need to do, and I’m not sure why.

I like blogging, even though I don’t think I’m very good at it. I don’t blog like other people, who usually sit down with a set topic to blog about; I just sit down, and really treat it like a sort of public journal. And, I’m thinking that’s the way blogging started out. And, I have no idea where I’m going with this.

Basically, for me, blogging is like a way of venting. I get on here, and I talk about the most random shit on the face of the planet. I don’t treat it like it’s some big news thing, because, let’s face it, I don’t give two shits about what’s going on in the world today. I really only care about my little sphere, and I try to do things to make my little sphere better. Like blogging, I have a selfish reason for blogging. I’m not a particularly social person, blogging is a social thing, but it’s also a tool that can be used to build an audience. Now, I’m not really good at playing the popularity game that comes with building an audience, and from what it looks like on my blog is that I don’t have a very large audience. But, even though I want a larger audience, I want that audience because of the content of my writing and my blog, not because I went out and sprayed my name on every wall possible. Am I doing something wrong there? Probably, but I…I forgot what I was going to say.

Anyway, being completely honest; I like blogging, but to me it’s a tool, one that I need to use better and more frequently, if I’m going to achieve the goal I want: The larger audience in other words. So, I’m probably going to need somebody with some marketing experience to help me out, and that someone probably is going to have to beat me with a shoe or something to get the marketing part of getting my name out there.

Anywho, about writing. I’ve not stuck with my plan at all. I’ve got two scenes done over the last two days, and my hopes of getting more than that done today are pretty slim. I can’t apply as much time to writing as I would like too, simply for the reason that there are other things to do. Also, I haven’t typed anything since I last posted, so there are no stats for today. Yay for public accountability failure.

That’s all from me today. Talk to you kids later.

Ryan

Monday, January 21, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #31


Been a while.

So, it’s been a little while since I last posted, and I really don’t have a reason for why I haven’t. I could say it’s because I felt sick the other day, and while I did feel sick I could have typed for fifteen minutes to get a blog post out. I did however, go to bed at like seven o’clock that day. So, maybe being sick wasn’t really an excuse. And, yesterday I was just plain worn out from work and in a large amount of pain. I did little more than sit on the heating pad, and finish the half scene I wrote the day before. And, until today that’s all the writing I’d done since I last did a blog post.

Today, however, I was super productive, I got two and a half scenes done, which is one scene more than my typical quota. And, in the hopes of getting this book done just a little bit faster, I’m going to keep trying to do two and a half scenes on my days off. I really don’t want to tax myself that much on the days I have to work. Might be a good way to burn myself out on writing.

I plan on getting this quarter finished this week (if I can keep up with the two and a half thing on my day’s off, I should be able to), then I’ll take a break for a day or two, and start writing the third quarter of In the Morning Light. I’ve only got two more weeks of already written material. And, I was really hoping to have more than the second quarter of Cold Lunch done before I had to write more of In the Morning Light. But, my plans have this way of not working. Might be because I’m lazy, but I really try not to be.

Anywho, I have one last thing. My friend Jenna lost one of her friends this last week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 13 (over last 4 days)
                Pages Written Total: 89
                Pages Typed Today: 9 (Chapter’s 28 & 29 are all I’ve got typed, wrote up to C 32)
                Pages Typed Total: 148
                Word Count Today: 2,972
                Word Count Total: 40,103

I might be doing my math wrong, because I feel a little crazy about all of that. Who knows? But, I’m to lazy  to go through and double check.

Anywho, keep Jenna in your thoughts and prayers please.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #30


A simple note about an idiot.

That’s the way I’ve felt today. Told you in the post yesterday that I wound up spending all night sitting up because of back pain, and I told you that I was going to go to the doctor today. Well, that didn’t happen. Instead, I laid back down after Mel got up to go to work, and before I laid down I set three alarms. I set three alarms. And, I slept through all of them. Well, not slept through. I woke up with each one, and closed my eyes for the five or ten more minutes the snooze button should give me. And, I did that right up until Mel got home. And, by that time it was too late to go to the doctor. So, yeah, felt like an idiot today.

What else to talk about?

Any clues?

I dunno, but I might wanna talk about the awesome progress I got on Cold Lunch. I actually wrote my quota today. A chapter/scene and a half. And, I got it typed. And, now I’m doing my blog post before I go and lay down for the night. Lol.

So, yeah, feeling like an idiot or not, I feel pretty damn good right now.

I am sad that my Zippo ran out of flint though. I need to buy some more, but I’m broke so that might not happen.

Also, I have good news that I don’t know if I talked about last night or not, and I’m too lazy to look. Basically, I’m going to have a stable schedule at work. 7-3 Thursday through Monday with Tuesday and Wednesday off. This schedule will also give me plenty of time to work in the evenings. And, by work I mean writing. That book deal looks like it’s getting closer and closer. Lol.

Anywho, I guess I’m going to go to bed now. I know this posts at like 7 in the morning, but it’s 11:30 right now, and I want to get as much sleep as possible before work. I don’t want to fall asleep on the grill and burn the hell out of my face. Later kids.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 5
                Pages Written Total: 76
                Pages Typed Today: 6
                Pages Typed Total: 135
                Word Count Today: 1,981
                Word Count Total: 36,441

Advertisement: Like Little Orphan Annie said, Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #29


In which I am productive.

Hey cats and kids, I’ve managed to be a little productive in the last couple of days. It’s not the level of productivity I want, but some productivity is better than none.

Anywho, over the last three days (today I haven’t actually written anything), I’ve managed to write three scenes, but I’ve only made progress of two scenes into the story. Basically, the first scene I wrote was utter trash, so I pitched it, and rewrote it, and I love the second version so much more. I also wrote the second scene of the new corner, and that scene wasn’t half bad at all. Lol. It does go along with my whole ‘everything I write should be better than what came before it’ policy. Which I believe I just made up on the spot, but it sounds good, so, I’ll run with it.

As for other news, I will be starting a regular schedule on Thursday, 7-3, and with that schedule I hope to get my writing schedule lined out as well. That way I can get back into the proper swing of production.

And, on top of all that, I think I’m sick. Joy. Going to the doctor tomorrow, (well today, seeing as I’m writing this at 3am), hopefully it won’t be the flu or anything like that. I don’t want to have to take sick time as soon as I start working. I know they can’t fire me for being sick, but I was just starting to feel good about making money again.

Also, I believe I’m going to ask if there’s anything they can do about my back pain. It gets worse every day, whether I’m working or not. Ibuprofen doesn’t touch it, and it’s really starting to interfere with my sleep schedule (hence the whole writing this at three am thing).

I start a lot of my blog post sentences with the letter A. I just noticed that, and I wonder if it’s a good or a bad thing. Shrug.

So, for now, I’m going to shut up, and see if I can get back to sleep.

Ryan

Stats:
                Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 7
                Pages Written Total: 71
                Pages Typed Today: 9
                Pages Typed Total: 128
                Word Count Today: 2,703
                Word Count Total: 34,459

As for advertising, Taste the Rainbow.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #28


And, I’ve got nothing done.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen I did absolutely nothing writing related yesterday except for posting my blog. I do have a good reason for the lack of progress, though. We went up to my mom and dad’s yesterday so we could celebrate my birthday. Lol.

Yup, I had a tasty breakfast meal at Bob Evans and we went to see The Hobbit. (The movie is badass, by the way.) And, I got to see my grandma for a bit. So, all in all, it was a pretty good birthday thing.

And, my brain seems to have shut down.

As for work, I started training at McD’s on Friday (might have mentioned something about that), and I’m so friggin sore from it, that the pain in my back has been screwing with my sleep schedule. I’m sure everybody realizes that McDonalds isn’t that demanding of a job, but you also have to take into account that it’s been over half a year since I’ve had a job where I’ve had to be on my feet all day. And, I’m working grill, which does happen to be one of the more demanding positions in the store. At least on busy days it does. Today was dead, and they sent me home early. Something about labor being high and I’m pretty sure that means they had more people on the clock than they were making money to support. I guess that’s what it means, anyway.

Anywho, I guess I’m going to try and write a couple of scenes for Cold Lunch. Might as well try to play catch up.

Ryan

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Cold Lunch project journal #27


Back to work.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, if you can’t tell it is now time for me to return to working on Cold Lunch. That is correct, the major player is back on the table, and I am so excited. Lol.

I finished the line edits last night (I’m not at my computer last night; otherwise I would do a comparison of stats). I had also hoped to get a scene or two written last night but, other things got in the way of that.

The first of those things was pain. I started working at McD’s yesterday, and it’s the first job I’ve had in about seven months where I have to be on my feet the whole shift. So, yeah, I hurt from head to frigging toe, and my back hurts the most. And, the crazy thing I’m thinking about doing is starting the exercise portion of my “diet” now. That way, when the soreness finally subsides I won’t have to deal with it again when I start exercising. Or something like that.

The other thing was the round robin with my friend Jenna. My head has been exploding with ideas about that story; I had to commit them to paper to keep them from literally blowing my head up. I sent them to her last night, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see what she thinks. (Jenna, if you’re reading this email me now. Lol.)

Also, I came up with a tentative name for my trunk novel. I’m thinking Dokkalfar. Dokkalfar is the Germanic term for the dark elves (drow if you’re a D&D geek), and the main male character of the story is a dark elf named Gangleri (another shot at mythology, Gangleri was one of the names/titles of Odin, it means the wanderer). Also, the story is something of a romance, and I’m not sure if I want to publish as a romance author. Maybe I can convert it to Urban Fantasy and leave it at that. Lol.

Other than that, I will be returning to work on Cold Lunch, and I will have stats for you tomorrow relating to Cold Lunch.

Talk at you kids tomorrow.

Ryan

PS: The new chapter of In the Morning Light is up.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Hiatus Journal #10


Work

By the time you read this, I will have officially started my new job at McDonalds. I go in at 7am for training, and I’ll find out what my work schedule is for the rest of the week. Or next week. Or whatever they want. I don’t know. I’m just going to go with the flow.

And, as much as I don’t want to work, it will feel good to contribute to the family again. I’ve had basically zero income over the last what? Three weeks? Maybe four? I don’t know, I kind of lost count. And, the only thing I regret is not getting more writing done in the time I’ve been off. But se la vie. (I think that’s how it goes.)

On the writing front, I had a great run today. Wrote a scene for my trunk novel that runs probably about two thousand maybe two thousand five hundred words long. And, it was one of those scenes that started off slow then took off like a bat out of hell. Those are so much fun to write :)

Though for the rest of what I wanted to do, the rest of the line edits for Cold Lunch, and the typing I wanted to do for the trunk novel, that kind of didn’t happen. Also one of those things about scenes taking on a life of their own and demanding to be written. They eat time like nobody’s business. So, I’ll just have to take care of that tomorrow after I get off of work.

And, yeah, it’s scenes like that, that make feel like I really am an awesome writer. And, that I was born to do this storytelling thing.

As for stats, I’m not going to report any today. Didn’t get anything typed. What I need to do with this novel is like what I did with In the Beginning, type what I have written, and then start writing again. Maybe. I dunno. And, it doesn’t matter. After tomorrow I will be back to work on Cold Lunch, so the whole point is moot for the time being.

Beyond that, I really don’t have anything to say.

So…

I shall talk at you kids later.

Ryan

PS: I don’t really have one today, but I promise I’ll think of something witty for tomorrow.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Hiatus Journal #9


Happy Birthday to me.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, remember it as it will one day be a national holiday celebrating the birth of the greatest novelist the world has ever seen. Lol. So, now that my ego’s been fueled, I guess we can get down to the serious hard hitting stuff.

I don’t really have anything to bitch about right now, other than being 27 and still not having a novel published. Though if there’s anybody to blame for that it’s me, myself, and I. I’ve not been very good about getting my work done, and I’ve been worse at getting second drafts done, and writing query letters, and just making sure my work is out where it could get published. Hell, the last thing I even tried to submit for publication was a little over two years ago I believe. And, that was just a short story. Only my first novel ever got fired off to the agent rounds, and it came back with several big fat nos.

So, I think I might have developed a fear of failure. Hell, I know I’ve developed a fear of failure. So, I don’t send my work out, and I don’t do the query letter thing, or the second draft thing, because I don’t want to sit and look at the piles and piles of rejection letters. I don’t want to be destroyed by the industry I love. But, that’s part of being a writer, part of being a professional author. Carrie went through what, sixty-two, sixty-three rejections before it found a home at Double Day. I’m not comparing myself to Stephen King, I’m just saying that even one of the bestselling novelists of all time has had his fair share of no’s.

And, my mentor, whom I need to email or call or something, says that maybe I’ve developed a fear of success. (Strange right?) She says that I’m the caliber of author that would only fail to be published because I didn’t try to sell my work. (I’m also the most prolific author she’s ever had come through one of her creative writing classes. I’m also the only student she’s ever had who wrote a whole novel. And, at the time of this writing I’ve completed six of them, not far enough into completion that they can be sold, however.) And, all of that is absolutely wonderful for my ego, but…

But…

I don’t know. I sit here, day after day, in my little writing corner, and I pretend I’m in a different world. Sometimes I’m running alongside a man who’s haunted by vampires and zombies. Other times I stand to the side of a dark elf wizard as he tries to save our world from ultimate destruction. And, then there are times, when I’m just a guy lost in a storm, and I’ve got a partner in crime on that last ride. And, I wonder, a lot, if anybody will ever read these stories, if anybody will ever put down one of my books, and not go to sleep because of the nightmares they know will come. Or cry at the end when the hero falls like Boromir at the beginning of The Two Towers.

Sometimes, I just don’t know if I’ve got what it takes to get published.

So much for a Happy Birthday post, huh?

As for the writing, I’ve done the line edits for the first 15 chapters of Cold Lunch. 8 left, then I’ll be back to working on the story itself. I’m beginning to wish that I’d just done the line edits either the day of or the day after typing the scenes. Would have made for much less work on my part. But then hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
As for the trunk novel I’ve written maybe two scenes of it since the last set of stats, and probably typed the same amount. So, the going is much slower than I want it to be. It always is.

Anywho, I’m checking out for the day. Talk at you kids later.

Ryan

Unnamed Trunk Novel
Stats:
                 Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 2
                Pages Written Total: 104
                Pages Typed Today: 11
                Pages Typed Total: 49
                Word Count Today: 3,432
                Word Count Total: est. 36,000 (current typed: 13,695)

How many times must one pound their head against the wall to get some sleep?

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Hiatus Journal #8


Just thought I’d take a Hiatus from taking a Hiatus.

Yeah, kind of forgot to post yesterday. Everything has been so fucked the last few days that I’m still not sure what direction is up and what direction is down.

The first wonderful thing on that list is this. We got fucked over by the new landlords. I’m mentioning no names, so I can’t get sued for libel or slander or whatever the hell it is, but just in case someone wants to try, I’m angry during the writing of this, and will use as many swear words and run on sentences as proof of this anger.

So, yeah, back to the fucked over part. The landlord was supposed to have the breaker box inspected the week before Christmas, it still hasn’t been inspected. The landlord is telling one screwed up story about not being able to get in touch with the inspector or some shit, and we know it’s bullshit because Mel has talked with the inspector, she got his contact information from the guy’s grandson. And, they told us they were going to get someone else to do the inspection (probably one of their buddies), but Mel called the Housing Authority to see if she could get someone faster than the landlords could. And low and behold there’s only one person certified in Mingo County to do breaker box and electrical inspections, and he’s never heard from our landlords. He’s also the guy mentioned above. And, while they’ve been screwing us over about getting the breaker box inspected (again probably trying to use one of their buddies because they’ll save a buck or two), we’ve been waiting all to fucking patiently to get the power turned on.

No breaker box inspection, no meter installation, no power, means the house is unlivable or whatever the fucking word for it is. We were supposed to be able to move in by the first… And, we were supposed to be moved out of here by the fourteenth. Even if the breaker box had been inspected today, there was no guarantee that there would have been power in the house by the fourteenth. There would have been no guarantee of that unless the breaker box had been inspected any time from when we made the deal with the landlords up to the fourth.

Now, we’re just trying to get our money back, and maybe a couch (joking) out of the deal. It’s just fucked up one way of the street and down the other.

Another thing that straight up blows is work. Why? Not because I’m working at McDonalds, but because I’m not working. We had orientation on Thursday, and they were supposed to have our uniforms in by, oh, yesterday so we could start officially training. I don’t know any of the other people that got hired when I did, but I certainly haven’t gotten a call telling me my uniform is in.

And, this one is my own gd fault, I’ve forgotten to call Southern Community and Technical College for the last two days. This is the last week to register and I would still need to get my financial aid checked through the school. So, I might be able to start, and I might not. God only knows. (Intending to get in there and crank up my GPA so I can get into the Transition to Teaching program here in WV, or get an Associates degree in counseling, seeing as my bachelors qualifies me for absolutely nothing.)

And what would this sundae be without a cherry. I got to sit in the ER for two to three hours today, can’t remember how long it was. My best friend wrecked his car last night, fucked up his wrist, and probably has a mild concussion. This wouldn’t bother me, except for the fact that the doctor never even came and looked at him. They gave him a CAT scan and some ibuprofen and said take it easy for the next couple of days. They didn’t even say it was a minor head injury that we probably didn’t have to worry about.

I so want to strangle people right now.

Anywho, I apologize for the language. I’m just not in a good mood, and I’m tired, and I generally have no mental filter and say whatever I’m thinking. And, now it’s time for me to shut up and go to bed.

So, good night, good morning, whatever…

Ryan

PS: I have worked on my trunk novel, and I did a little bit of line edits on Cold Lunch, but I really don’t feel like posting stats tonight. Just want to go to bed.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Hiatus Journal #7


Technicalities

So, technically, I am back to work on Cold Lunch. I finally found the motivation to get up and start working on the line edits. I’m only doing five chapters/scenes a day though (I hate line edits), so I figured I might as well work on my trunk novel some too.

And, I’ve actually got some stats to report today, but I’ll leave those until the end of the post.

Which might come sooner than expected.

I can’t think straight at the moment, and therefore know not what to write about.

I could keep going on like this for a little while. Pretending I know what I’m doing, and just running off at the mouth.

Seriously, usually I can come up with something. Something in life to bitch about (and, I have plenty at the moment), anything to talk about. But, nothing’s coming. And, what I do have to bitch about isn’t something I want to make public at this time. Lol. Let the dying of curiosity begin. Muahahahahahahaha.

This sucks.

Okay, so, my brain has shut down, it had like a meltdown or something. I’m going to go and see if I can pound it against a wall enough times to get it started again. And, with that, fare thee well.

How many times do you typically have to hit yourself in the head to get the juices going again?

Ryan


Unnamed Trunk Novel
Stats:
             Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 3
                Pages Written Total: 100
                Pages Typed Today: 8
                Pages Typed Total: 33
                Word Count Today: 2,329
                Word Count Total: est. 36,000 (current typed: 9,270)

PS: What do vegetarian zombies say?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Hiatus Journal #6


Still haven’t done those line edits.

Morning, afternoon, evening, something, I’m not sure what, because this system posts on PTD time, and I have no idea where in the day they are, so yeah. So, yeah, let’s go ahead with today’s post.

As I’m sure you’ve noted by the title of this post, I haven’t done the line edits on Cold Lunch 1st quarter. I would say I’m not avoiding it, and that things I have to do keep popping up. But, that would be a lie. I am avoiding doing it. I hate doing line edits, even though my typing tends to be clean, I just write in a way that Mr. Strunk and Mr. White would like to murder me for. For example, fragments. I have a tendency to love fragments, because of the way I can connect them together. It’s a little repetitive, but I feel it’s a part of my style, and therefore deserves to remain that way. A publisher or agent might disagree with me later on down the road, and I might fix them then. But, Word doesn’t agree with me now, and I tell it to go to hell. Lol.

Regarding my trunk novel, I haven’t written a damn word. Lol. I lacked the motivation to do just about everything yesterday, though I think I did well on my diet, in a way. I had a double bacon cheeseburger and curly fries for lunch (definitely not diet food), but it was within my calorie count and the only other thing I ate all day was a $ .99 bag of peanuts. The bad thing on there might have been the liter bottle of Mountain Dew. Have to work on cutting out the pop a little bit better.

I’m thinking I might need to keep a physical record of what calories I consume in a day. That would probably help some. Then include in that what sort of exercise I do (currently that’s on the none side of the equation), and maybe I should hold myself publicly accountable for those things, Like I do for writing. In other words, I might just add a dietary stats block to the blog. Lol.

And, so far today, I’ve been pretty good about packing. Got a tote done so far, and I’m getting ready to load my car up with all the other things we have packed thus far for a trip to the new place. So, I’ve been somewhat productive today.

Anywho, this is me, signing off for the day.

Do you procrastinate when it comes to editing?

Ryan

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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Hiatus Journal #5


Meant to do.

Alright, so, I really meant to get back to working on Cold Lunch yesterday, but I got distracted in a way. Lol. I printed out the pages for the first quarter, and forgot to put page numbers on them, and I meant to get started with the line edits. Well, meaning to do something means nothing unless you actually get it done. At least it does in my book. So, where I’m at right now is pretty much nothing.

I did, however, write another scene for my trunk novel. That brings it up to 31 chapters, and that’s still not halfway through the novel. I’ve not typed any on it though, so, no real stats to put up, but I can tell you the scene was three pages long.

As for other things, packing sucks.

And, my brain seems to be made of bacon right now.

I need to get a new keyboard for my laptop. Buttons are sticking and its driving me crazy.

Anywho, none of what I could say from this point on would be intelligent, so I leave I will leave you with that.

How do you feel about things you meant to do?

Ryan

PS: New chapter of In the Morning Light is up.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Hiatus Journal #4


Lazy Day

So, today was totally a lazy day. I did exactly nothing. No packing, no writing, nothing productive. Lol.

Well, that’s not all true. I officially started my job at McDonalds. I made a whole two hours pay today. It was just the orientation, though, and I’ll officially start when they get my uniform in. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to wait for all that to come in. Meh.

I also took my kitten to the vet. She’s developed a hypersensitivity to fleas and, regardless of what we’ve tried to do, she’s been eat up with them and has scratches all over. So, took her to the vet, got her a steroid shot and an antibiotic shot to take care of the fleas and any infection she might pick up from the scratches. I’m hoping she’ll feel better in the next day or so.

As for not writing, I did write a little bit, it just wasn’t on my trunk novel. My pen pal and I have been playing with a round robin a bit, and I wrote some on that today. Kind of itching for her to email me back so I can see what happens. Lol.

And, now I can’t think of anything to do or say, so adios.

What do you do on your lazy days?

Ryan

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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Hiatus Journal #3


Work?

So, I might actually start my job at McDonalds today. There was a mix up last time and they hadn’t completed my reference check, but I talked to the guy yesterday and he told me to come in tonight. Hopefully, even with my current lack of faith in humanity, this will work out, and I’ll be bringing in money again. It won’t be a lot, but it’s better than nothing.

As for other things: We are still working on moving, and due to circumstances beyond our control it will still be little while before the power at our new domicile gets turned on. The inspector from the housing authority hasn’t come to check the breaker box yet (note: lack of faith in humanity), and until that’s done AEP won’t come to install the meter. So, we pushed back the date to cut our power off here until the 14th, the absolute last day we can be in this house.

And, my trunk novel, I didn’t do anything with it yesterday, so no stats for the day. I just felt really under the weather and went to bed at 8 or so. Slept like a rock until six this morning, and all I’ve done since then is watch Supernatural.

Need to find my motivation soon. I’ve got a cat that needs to go to the vet, a house to pack up, a novel to write, and line edits to do on Cold Lunch. The laundry list is long today.

What’s your to do list look like today?

Ryan

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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Hiatus Journal #2


Happy New Year, a little belated.

Happy New Year everybody, and as usual, I’m a day late and a dollar short. Anyway, yeah, I’ve been flaky again. I don’t even know what day I last posted on, at least not without looking. I think it was Saturday or something like that. Not sure.

Beyond that though, the process of moving is going ahead at a snails pace. The work on my half trunked novel is going slowly. I’ve gotten maybe one scene done a day. And, yeah, that’s slow, it’s not even two thousand words a day. Generally I try to write a scene and a half, which comes out to about two thousand words. One scene is roughly twelve hundred. And, when you’re dealing with books that are going to be eighty, ninety, or a hundred thousand words long, two thousand words just seems like a pebble dropped into a pond. And, thinking about it right now is really not something I want to do.

Probably going to give Cold Lunch a rest until Friday; focus on packing and such and trying to get all this crap moved. You never realize how much stuff you have, until you have to move it from one place to another.

I guess that kind of works with writing too. Outlining is like packing all the stuff up in your house, organizing it, and getting ready to put it on the Uhaul. The Uhaul, in this case, is whatever medium you mean to convey the story. For me, that medium is typically pen and paper, which makes keeping up with the typing hard sometimes. And, the moving is actually moving the story from your brain onto the paper. And, I just feel like I’ve ran out of gas, and the walk to the nearest station is about ten miles.

I’m tired a lot anymore. I guess I’m in a spiral. And, now I’m trying to depress everybody around me. So, I’m going to check out for the day.

What’re your resolutions for the New Year, and who did you kiss?

Ryan

Unnamed Trunk Novel
Stats:
             Snowflake Completion: Done
                Pages Written Today: 1
                Pages Written Total: 83
                Pages Typed Today: 6
                Pages Typed Total: 24
                Word Count Today: 1,920
                Word Count Total: est. 36,000 (current typed: 6,937)

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