Ow! Just, ow!
Way back when I was in high school, I did Cross Country in the fall and Long Distance Track running in the summer and one year we even had Cross Country Skiing during the winter. I ran a lot. We usually ran six miles a day plus a hour of sprinting. On my better races I could do the three mile run in just under 18 minutes. I wasn’t the fastest on the team by any stretch, but I was quick enough.
So I went walking again yesterday. As I said before, my old friend shin splints were back in full force. It was incredibly painful. The first part of my walk takes me uphill and when I walk shorter distances I have a long stride. After doing some reading online it seems this is my problem.
I haven’t worked out in a few months and when I was working out before I had an elliptical trainer so I didn’t pick my feet up and put them down. I’m also walking on concrete. After what I read I’m doing a lot of damage to the muscle on the front of my legs. So after my walk and after reading this information I started stretching and doing some simple exercises to hopefully help with the problem. I really do want to walk every day.
Yesterday’s walk I had to stop several times due to the pain. It really was that bad. I tried to push myself forward, but my legs just weren’t having any of it. I turned around and headed back to the house. Even though I had stopped several times and didn’t feel like I had made it that far, I did1.65 miles in just over 24 minutes.
The worst part about that was I didn’t even work up a sweat. My pace was so slow due to the pain in the front of my legs and I stopped so many times that I didn’t feel like I got a good workout. I will, however, try again today.
I’m not a subscriber of the no pain, no gain. I understand weight lifting and know that motto and the stiffness involved with a good workout. This is highly different pain. This pain tells me I’m not doing myself any good. So today I’ll take smaller steps and likely go for a shorter distance. I still need to get better walking shoes. The ones I have are hard and didn’t help much.
On a positive note, I had a great writing day. I went to my daughter’s volleyball practice and stayed to watch her practice and talk with a couple of the other parents. I had brought my netbook and did intend to write, but once it was open the girls either started spike practice or serving practice. Each requires certain evasive skills. It was not an environment conducive to writing. I was still happy with yesterday’s output.
Today I strike out once again.
It felt good getting back to work. Today will see more productivity both at work and on the writing front. Speaking of which, I’d better get at it.
Until tomorrow.
WOO WOO!
Just me, and my shadow.
Hey! Look! It’s the Third and this is my third daily post. I know, I know. Hold you applause.
But seriously, I know many people blog multiple times per day. What I’m doing is just trying to get into that habit of writing a quick blog post each and every day. I’m only a couple of days in, but I’m on track. That’s what matters, right?
So yesterday, after lots of eating over the holidays, I decided to work on one of my unpublished goals. This one is simple; to have less of me around. Ever since we moved last year I’ve been sitting on my duff and getting little done. Adding on somewhere between fifteen to twenty pounds has done wonders with lowering my energy and lowering my motivation.
I was writing yesterday and decided, HEY! I can go for a walk. So I did. Perhaps it wasn’t the brightest decision to go walking for nearly an hour in flip flops during the hottest part of the day (it got up to 75 yesterday) but I did it anyway. Why? Because I need to. I know to have more energy I need to get some exercise. I need a good pair of walking shoes as my old nemesis from my running days, shinsplints, came back to haunt me. I puffed and wheezed more than once. All in all it was a terrible experience.
But I’m going to keep at it. I know the only way to get back into shape is to do something as often as possible. So I’ll be walking and tracking my progress. Yes, I walked for nearly an hour yesterday, but I have no idea how far I walked. I asked on twitter for a walking app for my Atrix and got the recommendation for RunKeeper. It tracks your time and distance using GPS. I love technology and this will be an awesome way to tack my time, distance, and progress. From what I can tell it remembers for you. At some point I’ll get a scale and start weighing myself, but not anytime soon. I want to worry more about my fitness level instead of my weight. With this little app I’ll be able to post weekly distance and times. Just another thing to keep me honest. Maybe I’ll do one of those maps to show how far I walk in a month or year. That’ll be fun.
As for writing, yes, I wrote a nearly 3000 words yesterday. I’ll be writing more today. I plan on writing tomorrow. I don’t want to lose my momentum. I’ll post my weekly word count (and walking distance) every Sunday. I also put a word count meter on the main site to keep track of where I’m at with hitting my yearly goal. It’s painful to see that I’m still at 0%, but it won’t move much on a daily basis unless I really crank out some words.
Speaking of writing, today is my first day back to work after a couple of weeks off. That will bite into my writing time I was enjoying over the holidays, but I still have the evenings. Words will happen. Speaking of words, I need to get back to work. During lunch…
Until tomorrow
WOO WOO!
Chipotle Chicken and Mini Pies
Yesterday was a good day. Not for writing, but it was a good day. I watched the Chargers eliminate the Raiders from the playoffs (always a good time). My wife made some awesome chipotle chicken that we took over to our friends house. There was much eating to be had and great company. Then I realized I hadn’t tried out my Christmas present.
Each year on Christmas with my wife’s family we do a white elephant gift exchange. Everyone buys one gift rather than trying to buy something for everyone. You have the option of opening a gift or stealing. I was second and didn’t want the first gift opened. I had opened a mini pie maker. I love pie! I really wanted this gift. The fourth person to open a gift also got a mini pie maker. During the course of the game, his pie maker got stolen and then mine got stolen. So I had to go steal the other pie maker locking the gift as mine. Happiness was also mine.
So after we had eaten dinner I remembered that I had gone to the store shortly after Christmas and purchased cherry and peach pie filling as well as pre-made crusts. I hopped in the car and went back hope to get the everything and in doing so I remembered that during our trip to Oregon over the summer we had gotten a couple jars of homemade apple pie filling. I grabbed one of those as well.
Making the pies was easy enough. The two packages of pie crusts was enough to make twelve little pies. We also realized that we could pretty much make any filling to put into the little pies. Pot Pie filling, eggs and ham, eggs and bacon, eggs and sausage. I think we may be making breakfast pies soon. I know this little toy will get a lot of mileage. It’s quick, easy to use, and makes yummy little pies.
Time to do some writing.
Until tomorrow.
WOO WOO!
A Post a Day
That’s one of my goals for 2012; to post at least once per day. Just a quick ‘hello, here’s what I’m up to’. These will be separate from anything else I post such as Unorthodox Writing Tips, Weekly Word Counts, Guest Posts, Book Reviews, and Announcements. I may even post a picture from time to time. I love to take pictures of birds and clouds, so if you think that might be interesting, I can post a picture from time to time. Just let me know.
As for how the New Year is starting, well, I’m writing this post. I’m currently watching the Chargers trying to beat the Raiders. During Half Time I will write like a mad man. During commercials I will write like a mad man. After the game I will also be doing some more writing before we head over to my friend’s house for a New Year’s day dinner. Before I go to bed I hope to get a little more writing in.
Oh, I’m also helping my wife while she’s making chipotle chicken. I love being a taste tester. The house is filled with the smells of onion, garlic, and chipotle. Dinner tonight is going to be awesome!
I will keep these posts short. Even though I have the ability to ramble, I will endeavor to keep these posts under 500 words. I just want to try and get into the habit of writing something each and every day even if I don’t have the ability to work on my WIP. I have a xoom tablet and a smart phone so I should have no excuses for not posting daily.
If I get annoying with these posts, let me know. My hope is that I’ll be able to gain more followers. My blog and podcast have never had more than 150 and if I do things right I hope to double that number this year. That’s one of my other goals. Yes, I have a lot of them and I’ll keep you posted, every day.
Until Tomorrow
WOO WOO!
New Short Story available.
I have a new short story available at Smashwords and it’s currently FREE!
Unorthodox Writing Tips 9: It’s about time.
As I’m sitting here typing this post, I’ve set a timer. I’ve been doing this recently when I need to accomplish a task and at the same time, I need to do some writing. I can’t be in two places at the same time, but I can still work on both at the same time. Here’s what I’ve been doing.
Today I need to take down the Christmas tree. I also wanted to put out another Unorthodox Writing Tips.I want to post my goals fr 2012 and a look back at 2011. Then after all that I need to get some actual writing done. Did I mention that I also need to take down the Christmas tree.
So how am I going to be able to get all this done in a single day? I set a timer. Every fifteen minute I switch tasks. I set the timer for fifteen minutes and I’m working on this blog post. When the timer goes off, I’ll set it again for fifteen minutes and work on disassembling the tree. And back and forth until the tree is down and clean up complete then I’ll spend time on just writing.
You may be thinking that this is an awkward way to write. You’re up and down, up and down. Well, yes. Yes I am. I’ll be up and down multiple times. But when I’m taking down the tree, I’m still writing. I’m thinking through what I want to put down next. Fifteen minutes of thinking about writing speeds up my output during those fifteen minutes when I’m actually writing. That, combined with having a timer keeping me on pace forces me to write and write faster during those fifteen minute episodes. I don’t check email, I don’t look at facebook or twitter. I don’t have time. I have a task to get done. If I’m going to include anything else, I’ll schedule fifteen minutes for it. I’ll take a break each hour and a half or two hours, but for the most part, it’s fifteen on, fifteen off.
There’s something about seeing a timer there, counting down that forces my brain into gear letting me know that time is tick tick ticking away and I need to get the words down before my time is up. As I said, combined with the fact that I’m also thinking about what I’m going to write during those fifteen minutes off helps me prepare to actually sit down and write the words. I find I have less time starting at the screen and trying to will the words to appear and more time sitting and actually writing.
Combined with the fact that I’m getting more than one thing done at a time, this method is really working for me. Not only that, but I’ve also discovered that fifteen minutes can result in roughly five hundred words when I’m pushing myself. I’ve changed my attitude from “I only have fifteen minutes” to “I HAVE A WHOLE FIFTEEN MINUTES!”
Give it a shot. Set a timer and time your self. Whoops, timer went off. Time to get back to that Christmas tree. It’s not going to take itself down.
Until Next Time!
WOO WOO!
2011 year in review.
The year started out with wanting to complete my work with co-author, Mike Plested. In early February, Mike suggested that we attend WFC2011. Throughout the year Mike and I worked on and off with our Jack Kane novel. Sadly it progressed far slower than either of us would have liked. We made headway, albeit slowly. By the WFC2011 came upon us we wanted to be completed with it. Due to personal reasons on both our parts it did not get completed.
It wasn’t until early December that we actually completed the work. We discovered a process that worked for both of us. What I discovered for myself was that I needed to 1) write down what I actually wanted to accomplish and 2) communicate those goals to those closest to me. I accomplished little actual writing in 2011. Total I was able to write about 45000-50000 words.
That’s not a lot. I’m capable of so much more.
So what is my plan going forward? Writing and communicating my goals. Are you ready? I’m feeling very ambitious. I mean, really ambitious. Here’s what I’m planning for 2012.
1) Write at least 450,000 words
2) Write, edit, publish 1 short story of at least 10,000 words in a series each month for pay.
3) Publish one free short story a month
4) Get any finished novels in front of a publisher.
5) Write, edit, record 2000-3000 short for cliffhanger podcast and produce ebook novella at the end of 2012
6) co-host a podcast and/or submit a podcast segment to another podcast
Now, that’s pretty ambitious. I know. I mean, that’s a lot of words, isn’t it? Well, yes and no. This word count will include blog posts. I plan on writing one a day during 2012. I plan on keeping up with Unorthodox Writing Tips. I’ll be doing guest posts wherever they’ll have me. I’ll also be doing more shorts.
But mostly I’ll be working on novels during 2012. I want to finish three that I have in progress and rewrite two that I’ve already done. All of these will fall in the 80-90 word range. So even though I’ve set lofty goals, I still think I can accomplish them.
Why? Well, I can write quickly. I type fast and I’ve started doing some methods that have helped me sit and work faster. I’ll be sharing those as we go. I’ll post a weekly update of my daily word counts broken down by blog post, short story, and/or novel. I’ll be able to do that because I’m also tracking my word count. Something I’ve never done. I’ve had 15,000 word days before. Will I be able to do that again? Well, I can only hope. I know I can, it’s just a matter of conviction.
One of the first things I did was write down my goals. I set out a plan of how to accomplish each goal. One of those was communication. Not only with you, but with my wife and daughter. I’ll need to set aside time each and every night to write. Not only will I need to set time aside, I’ll need to actually write! Not play angry birds, not surf twitter or facebook, but write. Sure I’ll have to spend some time promoting my work and communicating with other authors, but I need to dedicate time to writing each day in order to hit my goal.
If I don’t hit my goal, I know it won’t be the end of the world, but using this as a road map I’ll be able to get myself far closer to where I want to be. I’ve said this before, but I no longer want to treat my writing like a hobby. I must treat it as a part time job if I am ever to be successful. Another thing that will help me reach my goals is to make my progress public. Yes, putting myself out there for others to see what I’m doing and how I’m doing it.
2012 is the year I finally get myself into gear, get my buns moving, get my fingers flying, and do what I’ve always wanted to do; be a published author. Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you curious? I know I am. So as I look forward to the New Year I must sit back and yell! WOO WOO!
Unorthodox Writing Tips on Get Published
My friend and co-author Mike Plested asked if I could do a segment for his Get Published podcast. So I did. There will likely be more in the future. If you haven’t listened to his podcast, this is a great one to start with. The interview is packed with great information that more than makes up for the lack of recording quality (we were near a construction area)
Story over at EveryPhoto Tells
Book Review: Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian by Michael Stackpole
Find the title on Amazon where you can also read a full description of the book and about the author.
I was not given my copy of the book. I was not asked to or paid to write this review.
I consider myself a Conan fan. I’ve read many of Robert E Howard’s books. I read the Marvel comics. I even read a couple of Robert Jordan’s Conan novels. And of course I’ve seen all the movies.
I’m a fan, not a fanatic. I know much about Conan lore, but I couldn’t recite the Hyborian Knowledge as many could. I just enjoy a good read and Conan can provide that.
I’m also a fan of Mike Stackpole. I enjoy his works and his writing style. I have read several of his books and have more on my to read pile.
I saw that the Conan movie was about to come out and I knew that Stackpole was going to write the novelization. I grabbed it for my kindle as soon as it was available. I love technology. I didn’t, however, start reading until after I had seen the movie. Too many times I’ve been disappointed by a movie after reading the book.
Sadly the new Conan movie was lacking. It was a shallow representation of Conan lore. It seemed like a minor transition from big fight scene to big fight scene. There was little development of the character. At least with the Arnold movies we had a running dialog to fill in many holes.
I worried that the book would also be lacking, but knowing Michael, I dove into the book. At first I was confused. It didn’t start where the movie started. I didn’t mind though. I didn’t need a long explanation of Conan being born on the battlefield. In great Stackpolean fashion, he brought Conan’s birth into the novel through conversation. Something the movie lacked a lot of was conversation and Michael brought that into the novel.
He also brought us the Conan history that Howard always had in his stories. That background needed to fill in so many gaps left in the movie. Where the movie failed, the novel succeeded. I finished the book quickly, finding it difficult to put down. It was such an enjoyable read. I can only hope that Michale Stackpole is allowed to revisit this universe and continue on the Conan tradition. After reading this book, he’s earned the right.
J.R. Murdock 