Good NEWS!!!

Today was supposed to be a blog post about Han Solo, but I think I'm going to hold off on that post till tomorrow.

Why?

Because I have good news that I can and can't tell you about.

What's the good news I can tell you about?

Well, I'm starting work on a new book. It's a fantasy story that encapsulates one of my number one favorite Dungeons and Dragons game moments. I would tell you what that moment is, but it would ruin the story. Let's just say that it involves a halfing and a dragon. Yes... it get's you all excited doesn't it?

Anyway, what's the good news I can't tell you?

That would be the publication date of this story. I have a date in mind, and my calenders and goals are all marked towards this, but I'm not going to get to far ahead of myself.

All I will say now is that I am going to self publish this book, and I hope to have it on the market by the time fall rolls around. We'll see how that goes with me working on it and what not. And, I'll let you know more the closer I get to my goal.

Also, if there's an artist in the audience who would be willing to work for next to nothing I need to get some cover art for the book. That might have to wait though.

Anyway, peace out.

Ryan

6-18-14

Yarn

So, earlier today, I sat down to write my blog post. It was a post about yarn. Well, it was supposed to be a post about yarn. What it turned into is not something I want to go through again. So, we’ll go back to the original topic.

Yarn. What is it?

Google defines Yarn in two ways. First it says that yarn is a spun thread that is used in knitting, weaving, or sewing. And, second it describes yarn as a long or rambling implausible story. I agree with both statements.

In a way, I’ve been obsessed with yarn for the last few years. While I was still in college, (taking weaving classes at the time, I believe) I came up with the idea of working with yarn professionally. Basically running my own little internet store, where people could come and commission different types of yarn based products (so long as they didn’t involve knitting) and I would satisfy that commission to the best of my ability. I’m actually rather good at crocheting, and I can weave some… though it’s been a long time. And, it’s still something I think about doing.

Just a fun little on the side business where I make blue and black scarves for Mingo Central’s football games for just a tiny bit of profit. Or do a series of blankets/afghans/something big and sell them on ebay or what not. But, I’ve never done that. I think it’s because I’m not that dedicated to the idea of the yarn business. It’s just not something I see putting my whole life into.

But, in a way it is.

I want to write stories for a living. I want to look into my dreams and show the people the magic that hides right behind the clouds on the bright sunshiny day. I want to show them the terror in the bent broken tree with its shadow crawling across the courtyard… getting ever closer to your shoe… I wonder what would happen… (I just got chills. lol) And, now I want to keep going with that idea. Lol.

I want to write yarns. I want my stories, as improbable as they might be, I want to see them spread far and wide. I do want to dedicate my life to yarn. And, I guess today is as good a day as any to do it.

For the last 8 years my New Year’s Resolution has been the same thing. I want to get a book published. I want to get a book published. I want to get a book published. I’m going to stop wanting this year. I’m going to stop failing at that one little resolution. I’m going to be a published author by the end of 2014 if it kills me. I might not be making my money living off of what I write, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to supplement my income in just that fashion.

And, this still isn’t the fun, lighthearted post I wanted it to be. It’s serious, and it’s one of those breaking point moments. They’ve come this far and no farther, and all that hubbub. (I think that’s from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers… it might also be 300… not sure which.) The point I’m trying to make though, is that I am admitting I have a problem. I am not a published author. I want to be a published author. And, today is the day where I finally dedicate myself towards pushing for that goal. Today I shall stand in front of the great beast and cry YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!

I hope some of Mel’s students are reading this. Because that’s exactly what she says about you :P Lol. Just kidding. She loves ya just as much as she loves me… and that’s saying something because I go out of my way to annoy the crap out of her.

My brain got lost somewhere in there. But, yes. This is a public declaration of my goals. My goal for the year of 2014, become a published author. I would like to say that’s my goal for the next three months, but I think it’s going to take a wee bit longer than that to get my book ready to go. So, I’ll start work on it as soon as I get off work tomorrow, and you’ll get a daily update of when it’s going to be ready. J

And… now I have to remind you that I’m also writing a D&D adventure, and that might take some precedence, since the group expects me to have new stuff for them to do every week. But, I will dedicate some of my time to my novel. I promise.

On that note, I’m going to say anywho, because I don’t think I used it anywhere else in the post, and I’m going to let you all go for the day.

Later kids.

Ryan

1-25-14

Sort of on top of things

Today has been good. I really can’t lie. Today has been very good. I actually feel like I’m on top of shit.

For example:

It is 11:30 am and I’ve already done most of my to do list. Once I finish this post all that will be left are the extras on the list. The core goals (walk, The Goal That Shall Not Be Named, and blog post) will all be done. I’ll have the rest of today to do whatever I wish. And, number one on that list of extras is going to be a nice long nap. After I post my stats.

…

Cricket.

…

Hmm, it seems like good days don’t give me as much material to write about. Sooooo…..

I guess I’ll talk about other things.

Like Dungeons and Dragons!!!

DnD has been my favorite game since I was 17, and I curse my mother (kidding! lol) for not playing it when she was young and introducing it to me at a much earlier age. I know my kids are going to be much younger than I was when they first get exposed to it. Hell, they’ll be exposed to it in the womb (right along with the Stephen King audiobooks I’ll be playing without ceasing… you’re damn right I’m going to make my children nerds, I wouldn’t have it any other way.).

And, now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say…

Oh, right, Dungeons and Dragons! I’m going to try and make a career out of it, which will be kind of funny considering the number of times Mom told me I should be studying rather than pouring over my DnD books. Ah, the little ironies in life. Beyond doing that… I’m stuck again… Damn it.

Friggin brain isn’t working right.

It must be where I’m trying to get ahead. My brain is revolting because I’m making progress!!!

Oh, My God!!!

Nah, it’s probably just where I’m not used to writing at this time of day. Writing is as much like anything else, as it is habit forming. If you set yourself into a certain routine (like waiting till midnight to write) then naturally one’s mind is going to be disagreeable. It’s like breaking a habit. It’s hard to do. But, when one is trying to get there life straightened out then breaking habits, and making new ones, is a necessity.

Which is another reason behind my goals. I want to make them into habits so that I do without thinking about it. And, when I don’t have to think about what I’m doing (like when I’m walking) that thing gets much easier to do. Pretty soon my goals will be second nature and you all won’t have to listen to me bitch about not getting them done.

And, now that the moment of positive inspiration has passed, I think I’m going to go lay down. Give me brain a break, then when I get back up hit the DnD adventure as hard as I can. If I’m going to make a career out of it then I need to do some work in that direction. Lol.

Ryan

Journal 7-16-13

Anybody know what's going on in life today?

I missed it. Lol.

I dunno, I've missed a lot lately. I've been really busy, which is the main reason I haven't been posting here. I should have made time to post here, but hindsight is twenty-twenty or something like that.

Anyway, we are moved into the new house. It's still not finished yet, but even with the contractor here, and only being able to use half the space in the house, it's so much better than our old place. Plus, if the contractor's right (I'm not holding my breath), it should only be two or three more days before he's finished and we get some breathing room.

I've also fallen behind on a couple of other things. Writing mainly. I haven't been posting here. I haven't been doing Hubs. And, I haven't been doing any creative writing...

Well, that last statement is kind of a lie. I have been doing some creative writing. I've got a neat little short story going, but it's not anything related to a possible money making project. And, I still haven't decided if I'm going to publish it on HubPages, or see if I can possibly get it published through a magazine or some such thing. Anything is possible. Especially when I'm involved.

I have been doing a couple of neat things though.

I've been playing with fire. Lol.

The new landlord's have something of a mess in their backyard from the renovations done to the trailer, and I've been burning the leftover bits of wood and flooring and whatnot. Nothing that's harmful to mother nature. Just a pretty, hypnotizing flame. Sitting and staring at it might be one of the reasons I haven't gotten any writing done. Maybe.

Another is construction. I've begun working on a something. I have and haven't decided what it is yet. Right now it's four two-by-fours nailed together using two smaller two-by-fours. I'm thinking it's going to be a bookshelf. Maybe. And, that's only because I haven't decided to feed it to the fire yet. I'll take some pictures of it in the next day or so to post here and on facebook. It'll be nice to have some physical type of art to show off. Lol.

I think there was something else. But, I'm really not sure. It's bedtime for me, so, it's kind of hard to remember things.

I'll talk at you kids later.

Ryan

Jounral 7-10-13

Excitement!!!

Not really, lol. Things didn't go quite the way I expected, and we won't be spending our first night in the new homestead. I did have a revelation though.

I don't take to change well, and this whole situation has been so extremely stressful for me that cupcake says I'm not even acting like I normally do. I can believe that. So, last night, I was sitting in my new writing room, looking at the walls I painted, and I started to imagine where my things were going to be. The way I was going to orient the desk. And, the futon, and the TV (when I have the money to put one in there), the entertainment stand for said TV and my recliner, and book case, and through all of that I realized it had clicked. I was looking at this place, this new wonderful place as if it was home, and I cried.

I didn't cry because I was sad. I cried because I saw the opportunity we've been given. The opportunity to better ourselves, and to live up to the standards this place is going to demand. We will be better people for going through this move, and adjusting to this new life. And, maybe, for those of us who're depressed all the time, it might let in a little ray of Hope. The one that Pandora didn't let out of the box. Maybe that ray of Hope will bring us this new home, and the ability to enjoy it. I know I want to enjoy living there.

Anyway, enough of the semi profound mumbo jumbo. That's what it sounds like to me.

As for the daily report. We moved the washer and dryer. We learned that the dryer power outlet was fried, and that it took our power cord with it. We're going to replace the power cord instead of getting a new washer and dryer. I wanted to get a new set. We also moved the two big dressers in the bedroom, leaving only the chest of drawers and the bed to move (there's also a night stand I keep forgetting about) and the bedroom will be moved. I've been meaning to move the stuff out of the old writing room for the last four days now, but I keep forgetting. Couldn't tell you why, it just flies right out of my head when I'm thinking of the need to do list.

And, when it comes to writing... you're looking at the only thing I wrote today. It's killing me. I need to get my pen back on paper and get to scribbling. At this point I don't care if it's a Hub or a short story or a novel I just need to write something before I go insane. (Probably another reason why my stress levels have been so high.) But, things will improve. I'll get to set my new writing room up in the next week or so, and then I can bend over the desk and get to work. Maybe not even taking the time to look up as I power through whatever project comes to mind first.

Now, I'm going to go to bed. I have to be at "the most wonderful place on Earth" at five am. I hate you McDonalds. Lol.

Ryan

Journal 7-9-13

I don't remember what I wrote yesterday, and I'm too lazy to see what it was. But, it's not nearly as important as this news broadcast.

This, right now, is very likely the last night I will spend on John Ramey's property. (If you don't know who that is you're lucky. I wish I didn't know who that was.) that's right ladies and germs. It is time for the move to HAPPEN!!!!

At least I think it is. Lol.

Beyond that, there's still not much to talk about. 

I'm still working at McDonalds.

I still dislike the contractor.

I still think I'm going to get rich when I publish Cold Lunch.

And, I still think I'm the best thing since sliced bread.

Yeah, that's just how awesome I am.

That insanity aside, I came up with a new story idea :D 

A short story idea anyway. At least it's a short story idea right now. It might turn into a longer idea depending on how the story grows, and whether it feels compressed or not. I'm not sure how the conflict will evolve. 

But I love the concept. 

It's probably been done a hundred times, and will probably be done a hundred more times, but anyway. It's simple. This "thing" (I'm not going to say exactly what) has the ability to detect a persons sins, and uses that ability to get the person to own up to it. To confess and beg for forgiveness. And because the creature is slightly sadistic, he convinces these sinners to take their own lives. Still damning their souls to hell.

And, yeah, with that concept, I don't know how the conflict is going to evolve.

Eh, I'll figure it out.

Anywho, it's nappy time for this little boy.

Gnite!

Ryan

Journal: 6-26-13

It is not my fault I didn't post yesterday.

Yes, it was my fault I didn't post the day before. At least, I think I didn't post the day before... I can't really remember right now.

Anyway, I cannot be held accountable.

The internet went out. I don't know why, but there was a statewide internet blackout for any consumer who used Frontier as their provider. I don't know why it happened. I would like to know why it happened. But, whatever the cause, I don't mind too much. When we got internet back again, it was moving at the actual full speed we're supposed to be getting (3 megs down, I think) instead of hovering around the middle marker.

But, yeah, I probably wouldn't have posted yesterday anyway. I had been busy packing, and moving, and helping lay the floor down in our new place, and I hadn't given much thought to posting anything at all. I'm not even sure if I put any new HubPages material up. And, what I just finished setting up to post wasn't even written today. It was an article I wrote almost four months ago, and just now remembered. So, yeah.

As for today's activities, I kept them pretty slim. I tore the carpet out of one of the bedrooms in the new place to set up for putting down the new floor. I moved some of the owners stuff out of the back room and onto the back porch, so that when we get the flooring done in there we can start moving our stuff in. That will be either tomorrow or Friday.

I'm hoping for tomorrow. I'm eager to get out of this hell hole and into a home where I can really feel at home. That's something I don't think I've felt since we moved out of the apartment in Athens...

And, I am going to publicly swear to each and every one of you, that I am going to be responsible for the upkeep of our new home. I will make sure it is clean. And, I will be the one doing the necessary and unpleasant yelling when something isn't done.

Just kidding.

But, I will be the one making the chore chart, and thus it will be my responsibility to see it filled out and completed.

Also, I'm going to have a new writing room SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, I think I'm going to set my desk up in the closet. Lol. i don't know why. It's a good sized closet, not a walk in, but it's certainly a place where I can disappear from the rest of the world. And, if I feel like pretending to be Doctor Who, it can be my Tardis :) And, now I have to paint the door blue.

That reminds me. I need to go and buy the paint for my room. Seeing as I'm special, and want it a different color than the rest of the house.

God, I can't wait.

Anywho, I'm going to cut this off now. I'll talk to you all laters.

Ryan

Journal: 6-24-13

So, I almost wrote fourteen instead of thirteen for the year, and I was like, why in gods name do I want it to be a year from now!?! I mean, I'd be okay with it, if at that point in time, I was a full-time freelance/blogger/novelist/writer thing. Yup. That would be okay with me.

But, there are a lot of changes that are going to occur in the next twelve months, hell, I literally won't be sitting where I'm sitting at right now this time next month.

We're moving, the first of the changes I suspect. And, within the coming month (by July 14th to be exact) we have to be in our new place. Which shouldn't be hard. It's literally on the same property we're on. It's just owned by a much nicer landlady. She's been renovating this thing for a while, since she got her modular home in back in December. And, the work is now at its apogee. just a few more things, and the house will be livable. There will be a few things that will have to be done after we move in, such as painting, and kitchen cabinets, and... I think those are the only two actually. But, yeah, it's pretty much done.

The other change I'm sensing on the wind is my job. I plan on, within the next couple of weeks, to have a better job, either in travel time, meaning less money spent on gas, or a job that pays more than what I make right now.

And, of course, I'm going to continue to try and figure out how to make money online with my own writing. HubPages is just the tip of the ice burg. I need to find out how it ticks, then I'll take that information to another site that's similar in nature. And, another. And, another. And, another. I might monetize here, and do things a wee bit differently. I don't want to get rid of these posts. I like the here's what I did today posts that I do. The little posts that make it feel like I journal. But, what I might do is monetize the blog, and begin posting things like my fiction and fanfiction and what not on here. I don't know yet, though.

If I did try to turn this into a money making machine, what would you all suggest?

• Keep the blog as is, just add ads to it.
• Make a new blog, one for fiction, fanfiction, and advertisements while leaving this one alone.
• Add what you want, and try to use the pages system to make navigating the site a little bit more easy.
• Talk to Kristen about getting my WordPress website going, then worry about monetizing that site. Or something like that.

Yeah, I really don't know. Its frustrating. And, I'm not very good at this.

I need to do some research on this type of career, and see how other people pull it off before I get myself in way too deep.

Anywho, good night.

Ryan

Admission: 6-13-13

So, I completely forgot to write a blog post last night. I was so hyped up that I was being productive (I got an article and a half done) that the thought of posting went right out the side of my head.

Anyway, I got an article and a half written yesterday. I'm going to finish that half article today, and I'm going to do my best to write another two articles. And, I probably won't be going for my walk today. It's been pissing cats and dogs here on and off today, and supposedly there's supposed to be a derecho on the way. I don't even know how to pronounce that word. Anywho, that's my reasoning for not going on my walk.

As for what else I did yesterday. There wasn't much. I went to my doc's appointment, had a good chat with her, and came back home.

I did turn in two of my applications. But, I couldn't find the printer cable to get my resume printed off. I was going to staple that to the application. Try and make myself look a little better. I'll do it for the other three though, if I can find the damn cord. I might even take the resume into the locations I already turned the apps in. It still might make me look better than other applicants. And, I don't even know if they're hiring. I hope they are. I want out of McDonalds hard core.

And, that was yesterday in a nutshell. So, now, I'm considering a nap, after I get my article done.

Laters,

Ryan

Journal 5-31-13

I did it!

I finally managed to actually do it!

And, you’re a perv…

Anyway, I managed to do my list of things to do one right after the other. I just took my walk, did my hygiene duties, and now I’m sitting at my computer writing my blog post. I feel accomplished.

I just don’t know what to talk about now. I’ve been giving you “a day in the life of” sort of posts since I came back from the beyond. My views jumped sky high (for me anyway) and now they’ve dropped back down to 15 or 16 a day.

What happened?

Do I not post enough funny pictures about cats?

Or do I bitch too much?

I probably bitch too much. I’m good at that.

I am going to think of an interesting topic though. Right now… it’s going to be a good one… and all I can think of is the dude who ate the homeless guy’s face down in Florida. I’m not sure if that’s an interesting topic anymore or not. I think it’s creepy as hell, but it’s just one of those insane things that people do. There was another story that came out around the same time as the “face eater” and it was a guy who was cutting open his stomach for some reason, and when the police tried to help him, he started throwing his intestines at the cops. What the hell?

I don’t know.

What goes through these people’s minds? Do they plan this shit? Or is it completely random? And, if it’s random, what breaks in the brain to make it happen? And, I think we see those sort of issues on a small scale each and every day. I don’t mean people who are going to eat your face, or throw intestines at you, but what about the people who cut and burn themselves? Is the pain a release? A cry for help? What makes you want to do such a thing?

I had an experience similar to that before. I’ve got a huge burn on my hand that I tell everyone is because I touched my hand to a hot engine block. But, it’s not an accidental burn. It was a cigarette, one that was applied time and time and time again until there was no way to feel the pain I was inflicting. I can tell you now, I don’t know why I didn’t. It was like I wasn’t me, and I was just watching it happen, like it was on television.

Is that what happens when somebody cuts, or burns? Do they watch themselves do it from the outside, like they’re watching some person, some other, destroy their skin and send pain travelling up and down their arm? Is that a release?

I didn’t feel any sort of release after my burn. I looked at my hand and knew it should hurt, but I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t gain anything from the situation except for a scar I lie about. And, now, the scar breeds empty curiosity. I look at it and think; why did I do that? Was there a reason? Was there ever a reason? I don’t know the answers to those questions.

And, that became a really serious topic without me meaning too. I’m sorry about that.

Anywho, I am currently working on typing my next Hub, so the link will be on my Facebook page tomorrow at some point. If twitterfeed doesn’t do it automatically, then I’ll go in and post it by hand. Also on the writing front, I’ve got most of another article written :) I still haven’t worked on Cold Lunch. I think I’m avoiding it. I dunno.

That’s all for today. I shall talk to you cats later.

Ryan

Journal 5-23-13

Good News!!!

Yeah, I’m excited, because today is the first day I actually managed to do each of my important things right in a row. It makes me a wee bit happy. :D

Anyway, most of today sucked. I had to work, that was bad enough, and I was in just the worst mood and was ready to curl up into a ball hidden in the corner by about an hour into my shift. That was fun to get over.

Then, my car battery died. This wouldn’t have been bad if it hadn’t been…

Raining Sideways!!!

Yes, it was raining so hard, and the wind was so bad that it was coming in vertically. And that was when I got off work, when I had to jump my car. And, the first thing I had to do, before I could jump my car, was push it out of the parking spot it was in while it was raining SIDEWAYS!!!

Yeah…

Sorry about that. I had to complain a little bit.

Anywho, I got started and finished writing my next Hub. But, I didn’t finish step three of the Snowflake Method in the article. So, I’ll probably wait until I’ve got all of it ready to post then start posting them. Probably a day apart, like the first one on Monday, the second one on Wednesday, and so on and so forth. And, I’m not sure how many of these there are going to be for Step 3. So, it might be one week, and it might be two. But, yeah, that’s the plan there.

Next, I’m probably going to look for another site similar to HubPages. Another site that pays for advertisements and what not. Then if I’m doing good on HubPages over the next month or so, maybe get another one going, and see if that improves the cash flow. Then I also need to start my little audio book project or whatever it’s going to be on youtube, eventually.

And, that’s all for today folks.

Ryan

Stats:

Pages Written: There was no typing or writing today.

Pages Typed: So…

Pages Not Typed: There are no stats.

Word Count: But, I’m having fun. :D

Cold Lunch project journal #39

Playing Catch Up.

So, technically this is also going to take the place of the last of the FanFiction journals for this time. Basically, what happened is I finished writing the In the Morning Light material for this quarter, but didn’t get it typed until a few minutes ago. And, I wrote and typed a Cold Lunch chapter last night. So, yeah, we’re pretty close to being finished with the second quarter of Cold Lunch. It’s not as far along as I would like it to be; but then, there are a lot of things that aren’t where I would like them to be.

Like right now, I would much rather be rich and sleeping in a bed with four posters, and a huge dragon carved into a relief over our bed. That just seems like it would be a lot cooler than living in the dinky little trailer we do now. If I had a camera, I wouldn’t show you pictures of it, mainly because, it’s a mess, and I don’t mean our stuff is a mess. The trailer is a wreck, and about the best thing that could be done with it is a good bonfire. I probably shouldn’t say that in a public forum, but it’s been said.

Now, what else was important about today? I don’t know. Nothing really I guess; just another day in the neighborhood where I try to avoid my neighbors as much as possible. It’s not because I don’t like them (I don’t like them), it’s mainly because I’m afraid of getting shot if I go knocking on doors. And, I really don’t have much of a social life, so, yeah. I’ll just stick to sticking with myself.

And, this is the point where my brain shuts down completely, because it’s too tired to function properly. Of course, I guess I’ll hit that point much quicker tomorrow. I have to work, and with the back pain and all, working just beats the effing hell out of me. I know a lot of people say that, and I’m no different. But, I’ve worked as a taxi driver for almost ten months, and now I’m back on my feet and bent over all the time, and sweating like a pig, over the grill at McDonalds.  It’s making everything hurt. Though I should use this time to start exercising, that might be a good way to keep from hurting so much twice. Lol.

Anywho, I’m going to leave you, with two sets of stats today. And, I’m going to go to bed.

Ryan

Cold Lunch

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 4

                Pages Written Total: 123

                Pages Typed Today: 6

                Pages Typed Total: 216

                Word Count Today: 1,980

                Word Count Total: 59,675

In the Morning Light

3^rd Quarter Report

                Pages written total: 69

                Chapters/Scenes: 21

                Word Count: 34,314

Final note: I would just like to point out, that In the Morning Light has exceeded the amount of words I expected when I started. Starting Goal was 33,600 with an average of 1200 words per scene. Current total is 34,314 with an average of 1,634 words per scene. If I keep going at that rate I’ll add another 11,438 with the final quarter of In the Morning light. This will put the final total at 45,752 with a total difference of 12,152 words between the target goal, and the actual count. In the Morning Light is almost at the point where it can be classified as a novel. I’m thoroughly impressed with myself. Lol.

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.

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.

Cold Lunch project journal #26

1/4

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce to you that I have reached the end of the first quarter of Cold Lunch, and it is now time for my second hiatus. Lol. I didn’t mean to take one so early in the first quarter, I prefer to wait till the end of each quarter to take a little break. But, last time I was running dangerously close to the end of my prewritten material on In the Morning Light. So, now comes time to decide what I’m going to do during the second hiatus, and I don’t know. I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Anyway, I’m excited. I’m one-fourth of the way through my novel. Any writer of whatever will understand that this is an accomplishment, and for me it feels like a thousand times that. I don’t concentrate well, so sticking with something this long is a wonderful feeling. Sort of. Lol.

I was sitting there, and I hand write everything, and I was writing the chapter. It’s two-ish pages long (college ruled paper) and I flew through it. I felt it flow from me like water from a cleft rock, and I got to the end of the scene. I set down the notebook, and my first thought was ‘is that it?’ It felt like there should be more to it, like I should have put more effort into the scene, struggled more to get through it. But, I don’t know. I mean, I’ve read the scene, twice, and it’s got absolutely everything I needed for it to have in it. It’s very smoothly written, and felt like it was some of my best work writing it, but I don’t know.

I guess it might be where I was looking forward to the end of the first quarter, to the accomplishment, just getting that far. And, when I did it, I felt just like I did at the end of every other scene. No fireworks went off, there were no explosions, and millions of people didn’t proclaim their love for me. It was just the end of another scene, at the end of another day’s writing. And, putting the pen down, knowing I could have kept writing, could have kept going for another scene or two, but I also knew that I was going to stop working on it for the next week. It felt like I was abandoning it. But, rationally, I know that I’m going to come right back to it, and when I do, I’m going to work straight through to the end of the second quarter, putting me at the halfway point.

So, yeah, I think I’m rambling a bit.

Anywho, let’s go over the stats at the end of the first quarter:

                Cold Lunch: Part One

                Pages Written: 64

                Pages Typed: 118

                Number of Chapters: 23

                Total Word Count: 31,737

And, with that, I’m out of stuff to say today.

What achievement points do you find when working on your book?

Ryan

Advertisement: Thinking about making a facebook page for myself. Think it might be nice for the ego.

Typing project In the Beginning #5

We’ve got a new place!

So, things worked out alright this week. I thought it was going to be a terrible one, what with all the drama and the thinking that maybe we were going to be homeless, and all that wonderful fun shit. Yeah, and my head hurts right now. The TV seems to be running, and that’s distracting.

Anyway, we’ve got a new place to move into. We’ll be signing the lease agreement and paying the deposit and what not tomorrow, and we won’t have to worry about losing our hot water, or the place burning down because of a bad breaker box (its brand spanking new in the new place). It will be nice. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s two bedrooms. With our roommate (my best friend since like fifth grade), I won’t have a writing room. This is something I can deal with, because the kitchen is separate from the living room. So, when I want to write without the TV I can just move to the kitchen table, or set up a corner in my and Mel’s room.

We’ll also have room for a treadmill, either in the living room, or in one of the bedrooms, and getting the treadmill is going to be free (roommate’s parents are giving it to us), so there’s going to be no excuse for us not to get exercise. And, I think that will be good for us. Getting in shape, getting healthy, that’s important. I don’t want to get into my thirties and forties and have to worry about a heart attack taking me away from my family. Yeah, I don’t know where I was going with that.

Anywho, I’ve got the line edits done for In the Beginning, and I still don’t know what to do with it. Do I try and sell it to a traditional publisher like Harlequin, or do I self-publish it? I don’t know. I really don’t know. I guess I could try to sell it first, and if that doesn’t work out I can self-publish it. I’m a poor decision maker. A very poor decision maker.

So yeah, I guess I’m just going to do something, about something, and maybe something else, then say ‘Good Lord, why did I do that?’

What sort of good news do you have this week?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: N/A

                Pages Written Today: 0

                Pages Written Total: 18

                Pages Typed Today: 0 (single spacing)

                Pages Typed Total: 28 (single spacing)

                Word Count Today: 106

                Word Count Total: 14,328

                Line Edits: Done

                Final Word Count: 14,328

(Missed a paragraph in the original typing. Lol.)

Advertisement: Read more Stephen King, and R.A. Salvatore, and Lawrence Block, and Hell, just read more in general. Lol. Then buy a lot of my books, whenever they start coming out in stores.