It's gonna be one of those weeks.
One of my coworkers won't be in this week, due to his father relapsing hard core on his cancer. Things apparently aren't looking very good and so my coworker will be spending as much time with his family as possible, rather than at work. I feel really bad knowing that there is little I can do aside from pray.
I'm an awful person. Because at the same time, I know that this week is pretty much shot. Someone's gotta pick up his shifts. Those someones are myself and my fellow Copy Center Associate. If I wind up working all 7 days this week (which really isn't the end of the world), I'll be clocking in around 49 hours of work.
49 hours.
I haven't done a work week near 50 hours since the beginning of my second year at Staples. On one hand it's great - more money to put into my student loans. On the other hand, I kind of want to crawl into a hole and die. If I'm remembering correctly, weeks like this made me hate Staples. Simply because I couldn't get away.
Worse though, is the fact that I literally have no motivation. Here I am, sitting with at least two hours of prime writing time, and I can't dredge up the gusto to even skim through Unity. In spite of the fact that I was only just on vacation a week ago, I feel drained. How does this happen so quickly?
A large part of me wants to kick myself and say, "Stop it! Just get back on the bandwagon and move forward!" Another part of me wants to just say, "Screw it. I wrote 5 books and a novella in one year. Time to take a breather!"
The larger part of me doesn't want to take a breather. There's so much story to explore! There are so many avenues and characters and aspects of this world that have yet to fully be brought to light. I can't just sit idly by and do nothing. Especially when I obviously have the time.
I gotta crack my back, take a deep breath, grab my coffee mug and explore my imagination again. There's bound to be something buried in there that'll shock me back into the flame of story writing.
Happy adventuring everyone! I hope you're not as lethargic as I am.
Currently Writing: I should really, really, REALLY do Zero Point. Maybe I'll start that tonight.
Currently Reading: Brisinger by Christopher Paolini
Currently Listening to: "Once Upon a December" from the Anastasia soundtrack
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Colds
I think God is testing me. Because not 24 hours after I told a coworker that I tend to not get sick often, I come down with some nasty head/nose/throat thing that has stuck to me like glue for the past six days. Normally that'd be no biggie. I'd just sleep and it would go away. I so wish I could just do that and it would this time. Because not only am I working nothing but closing shifts this week, but it's inhibiting my ability to write.
My head just feels inflated and breaking off any creativity I might have. It's even kind of difficult to write this blog right now. But I'm trying. And I think that's something everyone should do.
Sometimes we hit road blocks that make us stumble on what we're doing or trying to accomplish. Especially, I think as creators (artists, crafters, writers, etc.), we have to make time for our fun job. And sometimes we get sick or family emergencies crop up or we're just basically told "No, you can't do that" by the world. Because there's not time for something fun or creative in this world. Right? That's what we're told, right?
Well, it's wrong. I love being creative and I love having the opportunity to delve into a world unknown to others except the readers that follow with me. That, I think, is a gift not enough people encourage in others. So I encourage you, whoever you are, to be the best creative person you can be. Strive for something extraordinary despite what gets in the way. And above all, have hope & faith. God's got this.
In a closing note, I have no clue if any of this made sense. Foggy brain...
Happy writing!
Currently (re)Writing: Unity
Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Currently Listening to: THIS.
My head just feels inflated and breaking off any creativity I might have. It's even kind of difficult to write this blog right now. But I'm trying. And I think that's something everyone should do.
Sometimes we hit road blocks that make us stumble on what we're doing or trying to accomplish. Especially, I think as creators (artists, crafters, writers, etc.), we have to make time for our fun job. And sometimes we get sick or family emergencies crop up or we're just basically told "No, you can't do that" by the world. Because there's not time for something fun or creative in this world. Right? That's what we're told, right?
Well, it's wrong. I love being creative and I love having the opportunity to delve into a world unknown to others except the readers that follow with me. That, I think, is a gift not enough people encourage in others. So I encourage you, whoever you are, to be the best creative person you can be. Strive for something extraordinary despite what gets in the way. And above all, have hope & faith. God's got this.
In a closing note, I have no clue if any of this made sense. Foggy brain...
Happy writing!
Currently (re)Writing: Unity
Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Currently Listening to: THIS.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Accuracy
I've never written a story that has historical fact to it.
Okay, so Arthurian lore isn't historical fact. But, there is a universally known bit about Arthur. He was king of England at some point. He may or may not have worked with Robin Hood (who is also a fictional/possibly real character from history), and his tutor/educator was a wizard named Merlin. He had a half brother named Kay and a step-father/uncle named Sir Ector. He pulled the sword from the stone and was crowned king of England at a young age. In some levels of the myth, he's a bastard child of Uther Pendragon. He has a sword called Excalibur and spoke with a lady in a lake. He married Guinevere. She may (or may not), have had an affair with Lancelot, depending on which time frame you're talking about for the lore.
It's a lot that people tend to know or have some basic carnal knowledge of. While yes, I've written of real places before, this is different. There was a lot of research involved. It's kind of how it was when I wrote my novella. I sat down and read a lot before I actually started writing. I had cheat sheets to help guide me in the story and the characters.
This is a bit harder though. At least for me. Trudging through the sludge of may haves and may-not haves is difficult. Granted, it leaves a lot of room for play. I can mess with things because, technically, there's no real hard core proof that Arthur ever existed. He had a magician call snow out in the middle of summer for crying out loud. Probably a work of fiction that acted as a good story for kids back in the day.
So I keep reminding myself to have fun with it. Take what I know (and what the world knows), and make it your own. After all, we're messing with the way the world views things already in the current world-stream from the series.
Oh yeah, this story deals with the same world as my 5 book series. At this rate, I'm never going to be done with this world. Is it alright if I say that makes me smile? I'm having some fun though. Because I'm learning more about my characters along the way. There's a flip to that and that's simply this: plot holes! There's the potential for many of them to pop on up. I'm trying to squash them though and fill the cracks before they become craters.
That may prove difficult.
Happy writing everyone!
Currently Writing: Arthur
Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Currently Listening to: "What Makes you Beautiful" cover by The Piano Guys
PS - The Hobbit movie is going to be a 3 parter. I don't think I like that one bit.
Okay, so Arthurian lore isn't historical fact. But, there is a universally known bit about Arthur. He was king of England at some point. He may or may not have worked with Robin Hood (who is also a fictional/possibly real character from history), and his tutor/educator was a wizard named Merlin. He had a half brother named Kay and a step-father/uncle named Sir Ector. He pulled the sword from the stone and was crowned king of England at a young age. In some levels of the myth, he's a bastard child of Uther Pendragon. He has a sword called Excalibur and spoke with a lady in a lake. He married Guinevere. She may (or may not), have had an affair with Lancelot, depending on which time frame you're talking about for the lore.
It's a lot that people tend to know or have some basic carnal knowledge of. While yes, I've written of real places before, this is different. There was a lot of research involved. It's kind of how it was when I wrote my novella. I sat down and read a lot before I actually started writing. I had cheat sheets to help guide me in the story and the characters.
This is a bit harder though. At least for me. Trudging through the sludge of may haves and may-not haves is difficult. Granted, it leaves a lot of room for play. I can mess with things because, technically, there's no real hard core proof that Arthur ever existed. He had a magician call snow out in the middle of summer for crying out loud. Probably a work of fiction that acted as a good story for kids back in the day.
So I keep reminding myself to have fun with it. Take what I know (and what the world knows), and make it your own. After all, we're messing with the way the world views things already in the current world-stream from the series.
Oh yeah, this story deals with the same world as my 5 book series. At this rate, I'm never going to be done with this world. Is it alright if I say that makes me smile? I'm having some fun though. Because I'm learning more about my characters along the way. There's a flip to that and that's simply this: plot holes! There's the potential for many of them to pop on up. I'm trying to squash them though and fill the cracks before they become craters.
That may prove difficult.
Happy writing everyone!
Currently Writing: Arthur
Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Currently Listening to: "What Makes you Beautiful" cover by The Piano Guys
PS - The Hobbit movie is going to be a 3 parter. I don't think I like that one bit.
Monday, July 16, 2012
One of Those Silly Little Things
Writers of Fantasy and Science Fiction are bound to know what I'm talking about.
When we crazy writers decide to start writing a story about an ancient culture, new species, alien race, off-shoot Human culture, etc. we tend to come up with wacky names. Not only for our characters, but for the countries, roads, houses, mountains and the like. So, us being the semi-OCD people we are, we make our word processing software learn all of these names. Simply because the little red squiggly lines irritate us.
At least, I do this. For all I know, I'm completely alone on this front. Something tells me I'm not though.
Here's an example:
See what I mean? It's that one little thing that puts a hiccup into a computer transfer that most people don't need to worry about. Even very Human names, like Skylar and Alaster (which, by the way, are incorrect for Google Chrome too), come up as misspellings. Though they're used and, I think, fairly recognizable. At least Alaster is. Skylar is unique.
This is just one thing Science Fiction and Fantasy writers get to do. We get the honor of massive red squiggly lines adorning our manuscripts when we open them on other computers. We get to see special characters (like mine for book three), turned into some other random font the computer thought best fit that missing font. We get to teach our computer about our world just like we do our audience.
It's kind of fun doing insane things.
Currently Editing: Unity
Currently Reading: The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Currently Listening to: "Sleep" by Polyphony and Stephen Layton
^Random tidbit - this is my most listened to song on my iPod. Not even kidding. It's my absolute favorite.
When we crazy writers decide to start writing a story about an ancient culture, new species, alien race, off-shoot Human culture, etc. we tend to come up with wacky names. Not only for our characters, but for the countries, roads, houses, mountains and the like. So, us being the semi-OCD people we are, we make our word processing software learn all of these names. Simply because the little red squiggly lines irritate us.
At least, I do this. For all I know, I'm completely alone on this front. Something tells me I'm not though.
Here's an example:
All names copyright to me :)
See what I mean? It's that one little thing that puts a hiccup into a computer transfer that most people don't need to worry about. Even very Human names, like Skylar and Alaster (which, by the way, are incorrect for Google Chrome too), come up as misspellings. Though they're used and, I think, fairly recognizable. At least Alaster is. Skylar is unique.
This is just one thing Science Fiction and Fantasy writers get to do. We get the honor of massive red squiggly lines adorning our manuscripts when we open them on other computers. We get to see special characters (like mine for book three), turned into some other random font the computer thought best fit that missing font. We get to teach our computer about our world just like we do our audience.
It's kind of fun doing insane things.
Currently Editing: Unity
Currently Reading: The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Currently Listening to: "Sleep" by Polyphony and Stephen Layton
^Random tidbit - this is my most listened to song on my iPod. Not even kidding. It's my absolute favorite.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Growing Up
What if I don't want to?
Is it so bad that I enjoy being somewhat child-like? I assume that it isn't. Yet there is a time and place for maturity.
Thus, the college experience comes to a close and the "real world" looms on the horizon like an angry bee hive. There're swarms of people everywhere looking for jobs. As I search from day to day, a job that might have been perfect for me flies past at an alarming speed. How am I to apply for jobs when I have the odd hours only as my free time?
It's a hard experience, growing up. When I was a kid all I wanted to do was grow up and be an adult, live like an adult, talk like an adult. And now that I've reached it all I want to do is be a kid, live like a kid, talk like a kid, believe like a kid. As a child, I was able to believe in things more easily. My imagination could run rampant and that was okay - I was a child.
But now that I'm a learned individual (or so I hope after four years of college), my imagination must be tamed and put into a cage. It's only allowed out on the rainy days, when I have time.
Yet even as this is told to me, even as I'm instructed that this is what grown ups do, I rebel. My imagination doesn't stay in its cage. In fact, I removed the cage all together. It now walks beside me and at any moment it pounces on something completely innocent and says, "Look at what I have! Look at what we can do!"
And I follow where my imagination takes me. Why? Because I like where my imagination takes me. I like the places I explore and grow in and can create. I like the fact that when I close my eyes and think, I don't just see blackness. I see a myriad of colors and lives and plants and things and people. I see worlds yet to be explored. I see characters yet to live.
Even as I write this, I want to abandon reason, stay up all night, and write a book.
But I have classes in the later morning where I need to be at the very least, a little focused. Oh how classes take the fun out of being a learner. It's been great for my brain, I suppose, to learn all of this stuff. But it's been horrible for my education. I believe Einstein said that the only thing that hindered his education was school. I may be wrong on that quote, in fact I probably am.
There are a great many things I wish to learn. None of which can be taught in a classroom. At least, not a contemporary one. I want to learn how to write a ground breaking novel. I want to learn how to publish it and create a cover and decide how the wording should be and craft truly unique and good stories. I want to learn about mythology and legends and expound upon them. I want to delve into the deep and then fly into the sky.
Instead, I'll go to my Calculus class that is required for me to graduate to ensure that my brain is worked in a variety of ways. That way we'll know I'm a rounded individual.
And when I'm handed my diploma, I will smile with the knowledge that the easy part is over. The difficult part of the journey has only just begun.
Oh, and P.S. - I finished my third book in under two months. That makes two books in under six. That's 200,000+ words. I feel fairly accomplished.
Currently Editing: End Game: Genesis (Chapter Nine)
Currently Reading: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring & How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
Currently Listening to: "The Vikings Have Their Tea" from How to Train Your Dragon
Is it so bad that I enjoy being somewhat child-like? I assume that it isn't. Yet there is a time and place for maturity.
Thus, the college experience comes to a close and the "real world" looms on the horizon like an angry bee hive. There're swarms of people everywhere looking for jobs. As I search from day to day, a job that might have been perfect for me flies past at an alarming speed. How am I to apply for jobs when I have the odd hours only as my free time?
It's a hard experience, growing up. When I was a kid all I wanted to do was grow up and be an adult, live like an adult, talk like an adult. And now that I've reached it all I want to do is be a kid, live like a kid, talk like a kid, believe like a kid. As a child, I was able to believe in things more easily. My imagination could run rampant and that was okay - I was a child.
But now that I'm a learned individual (or so I hope after four years of college), my imagination must be tamed and put into a cage. It's only allowed out on the rainy days, when I have time.
Yet even as this is told to me, even as I'm instructed that this is what grown ups do, I rebel. My imagination doesn't stay in its cage. In fact, I removed the cage all together. It now walks beside me and at any moment it pounces on something completely innocent and says, "Look at what I have! Look at what we can do!"
And I follow where my imagination takes me. Why? Because I like where my imagination takes me. I like the places I explore and grow in and can create. I like the fact that when I close my eyes and think, I don't just see blackness. I see a myriad of colors and lives and plants and things and people. I see worlds yet to be explored. I see characters yet to live.
Even as I write this, I want to abandon reason, stay up all night, and write a book.
But I have classes in the later morning where I need to be at the very least, a little focused. Oh how classes take the fun out of being a learner. It's been great for my brain, I suppose, to learn all of this stuff. But it's been horrible for my education. I believe Einstein said that the only thing that hindered his education was school. I may be wrong on that quote, in fact I probably am.
There are a great many things I wish to learn. None of which can be taught in a classroom. At least, not a contemporary one. I want to learn how to write a ground breaking novel. I want to learn how to publish it and create a cover and decide how the wording should be and craft truly unique and good stories. I want to learn about mythology and legends and expound upon them. I want to delve into the deep and then fly into the sky.
Instead, I'll go to my Calculus class that is required for me to graduate to ensure that my brain is worked in a variety of ways. That way we'll know I'm a rounded individual.
And when I'm handed my diploma, I will smile with the knowledge that the easy part is over. The difficult part of the journey has only just begun.
Oh, and P.S. - I finished my third book in under two months. That makes two books in under six. That's 200,000+ words. I feel fairly accomplished.
Currently Editing: End Game: Genesis (Chapter Nine)
Currently Reading: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring & How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
Currently Listening to: "The Vikings Have Their Tea" from How to Train Your Dragon
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