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Daily Update: The Morning After
This was supposed to be published on the 6th. Looks like it got saved as a draft. Oops.
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Yesterday was SuperBowl Sunday. It’s almost a national holiday. Every year my wife’s family gathers at my father-in-law’s house. He makes some incredible carnitas (the best I’ve ever had) and everyone brings along something to go with it and/or a dessert. It’s a feast fit for a king and I eat as much as I possibly can. Sometimes (like yesterday) I eat too much and need to go to sleep as soon as we get back home.
I didn’t care for either team that made the Superbowl. Say what you like, I have my reasons. Eli Manning turned down the Chargers after being drafted. That never sat well with fans. Belachick got caught cheating and a proper investigation was never performed. So I really didn’t care who won and this gave me no emotional stake in the game.
I usually love the commercials presented during the Superbowl so normally I won’t get up for the commercials. After the first few sets of commercials I was also disappointed and would get up and snack during the commercials.
Then there’s the half time show. Where do I begin. If you like Madonna, I’m sorry please skip the next paragraph.
Madonna is the worst performer of all time. Sure there was a big production around her, but she didn’t not sing one word. She didn’t dance. She barely moved. I know she’s getting old, but this is the Superbowl. People should have higher standards. When you’re singing is clear as a bell and people are waving pompoms in your face and all I can hear is your voice you want me to believe that you’re singing? The only reason I can think that Madonna was selected is that she has a new album and is going on tour. And she expects her fans to pay $300 and up to see her perform. Really? I don’t think so. She’s a has-been that never should have been. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it! Sorry, I was really upset during the half time show and I needed to vent. I personally feel that people who don’t actually sing their songs should be banned from performing.
Sputtery Truck ran like a champ yesterday. Thank you to all who inquired about its present condition. The next couple of days will be telling. I made several errands and drove quite a bit yesterday. The new engine is awesome, it’s just a waiting game to see if I need to replace an O2 sensor or a catalytic convertor. I’m hoping for neither, but we’ll see.
Writing didn’t happen yesterday. With a number of errands to do pre-game and eating more than any 5 normal men (plus 2 helpings of dessert) my brain was just not in gear to write. I’ve written an UWT about this. Even though no writing happened, yesterday was an awesome day. I love spending time with my wife’s family. My tummy today would disagree, but it was some great food. For me, it’s never really about the game, but spending time with friends and family.
How was your Superbowl Sunday? Did you watch the game? Do you avoid the game at all costs? Was it just another day? If you’re outside the states, do you even care?
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Check Engine
So the Check Engine light came on this morning. At least I’m confident that it’s not related to the engine, but the exhaust. I’ve got it narrowed down to one or two parts and they don’t affect the performance of the truck. Started right up this morning and I was on my way into the office. Today is a good day.
It’s supposed to rain today. I’ve been diligent about taking my sinus medicine. Normally I’d be shut down right about now. Happily, I’m not. I’m clear headed and ready to rock and roll. It’s been a long time since I’ve made it through a rainy day without suffering.
As a kid, I used to love rainy days. Growing up in Minnesota it wasn’t uncommon to have a warm rain on a hot summer day. My brother and I would get into our shorts and run and play outside. After a good heavy downpour we’d end up with our tonka toys plowing through every available mud puddle. By the end of the day we’d be covered head to toe in mud. My mom would make us stand by the back door while she hosed us off before allowing us to go inside and take a shower or bath.
As an adult, I learned to dread the rain. Typically I’d get a headache a day or two before a storm and my sinuses would all but shut me down. I could easily go through a couple boxes of tissue in a day and would use the cheaper method of a roll of toilet paper. The day before it would rain would usually be the worst. The low pressure system bring the rain would be doing its best to kill me and my head threatened to explode. It’s a pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I’d almost rather get hit in the head with a bat. At least the pain would subside quicker.
To say I was surprised when the wife told me “It’s supposed to rain tomorrow” would be an understatement. I didn’t feel anything and even as I write this I only feel the slightest pressure. I’ll not be forgetting my meds any time soon I can tell you that.
Yesterday was a good writing day. I accumulated nearly 2000 words. I didn’t get stuck, but after dinner I couldn’t focus as well on my writing so I decided to play around with the blog a little bit. I found new word counters. Now you can keep better track of where I’m at and so can I. It’s great having a visual display of where I am in a story. Heck, where I’m at with multiple stories. I just need to start making those percentages go up quicker.
Speaking of quicker, I’ve got some paperwork to get done. I already know what I want to write during my lunch. It’s raining, I can’t go walk.
Speaking of walking, I’ve got the code to my complexes workout room. I hope to get back on the horse soon. I will post my numbers as I do.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: The Saga of the Sputtery Truck Continues
So the engine and throttle body have been replaced. Berto’s Auto Wrecking in Otay did an awesome job. I can’t recommend them highly enough. Sadly I cannot find a web address for them, but I’m sure this is consistent with many of the businesses down there. They exists to pull parts from old/salvaged cars and put them into your car. That’s what they do and they do it well. I’m a very happy customer and if you’re in San Diego and need a new engine, transmission, or just some random part, email me and I’ll send you their information.
To that end, the check engine light came on, again. I took it back and they ran the code. It wasn’t a hard code with the engine. I took it to a friend of mine and we looked at the code and it had to do with one of the oxygen sensors. It was either the rear O2 sensor or the catalytic convertor. One is cheap, the other is expensive. Being that I was burning coolant, it could very likely be the catalytic convertor, but I’m hopeful it is not. The rear O2 sensor did have a lot of crud burned onto it and with some throttle body cleaner we managed to get it looking nearly as clean as the bank 2 O2 sensors (there are 4 total). The check engine light has been reset, so now we wait again.
I did some writing last night on a new story. I’m having fun with it. I’ll be bopping back and forth between that one and Second Kance. I still need to get Kance Encounter up for your reading enjoyment. I’ve been on a writing spree and it feel great. Even though I know the truck will still need something else replaced, I know it runs and what is throwing the code is nothing critical that needs to be replaced immediately. I’m back to being 3000 words ahead of my writing goal and that feel great.
My favorite daughter has a dance tonight. Afterward she’ll be staying at a friend’s house. She’s super excited about going and has been practicing walking her her new heels. They make her taller than me so I’m not a fan of them. She’ll look super cute tonight so I’m happy she’ll have a good time.
Tomorrow is more Volleyball practice. I’ll try to get in a bit of writing while she’s there as I know the rest of the day will be shot. We’re heading over to my father-in-law’s house for the best carnitas in the world. Don’t know what carnitas is? Oh are you missing out. Well, unless you’re a vegetarian. I’ll post more about carnitas tomorrow. Let’s just say it smells great, it tastes great, and it’s bad for you making it AWESOME! I’ll have my limit of 2 beers during the game. I can’t remember the last time I had more than two at a given function (beers at WFC2011 with Mike Plested don’t count).
I’m not a heavy drinker to begin with so this doesn’t bother me at all. It’s been a great week and it’s going to be an awesome weekend. Well, the wife and I also have plans so I’d better go drag my carcass into the shower and get my self all prettified. I think I only have two hours. LOL Maybe I’ll get ready and write for a while before we have to go. It’s nice to see those word counts going up, up, up!
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Yesterday was a Good Day
Yes, I said it. Yesterday was a good day. Not just good, but awesome!
Knowing that we were going to pick up Sputtery Truck made me happy. Driving it home made me even happier. Writing made me elated.
Sputtry Truck:
It runs quieter than it had, but it was already warmed up because they were ready to close and were moving it .Regardless it felt smoother on the road. The wife and my favorite daughter followed me home. I did have to pull over and stop at one point. I had looked at the engine after pulling out and I didn’t secure the hood all the way. I got a call “Oh no! What’s wrong?” Fortunately I just had to re-open and slam the hood closed.
I did hit a bumpy patch on the road that made the whole truck shimmy and shake and I thought for just a moment that something may be wrong. I took my foot off the accelerator and all was fine once again. So SPuttry Truck, as it will no and forever be known as, is back home. The person who replaced it for me said he’s replaced this engine in other vehicles before which made me feel better about doing the entire engine vs the head gasket(s). I asked him about the Tahoe and he said those engines were beasts and I shouldn’t have any trouble with it at all. The transmission, on the other hand. I may be seeing him again, just hopefully not any time soon.
Writing:
I put out a couple of blog posts yesterday. I’m having fun writing some of these and the memories that come up while I write. It’s a great way to purge some information. All in all yesterday was a 3000 word day. Today should be similar. Or so I hope. It is Friday after all.
While lying in bed last night I decided to not play angry birds or read while I went to sleep and instead decided that I’m going to write a little on a story before I go to bed. I didn’t want to work on any of my WIPs and I had an idea for a new story. It’ll mostly likely be around 15,000 words when done. It’ll be more YA/Middle Grade. Just putting down the first 100 words before I couldn’t keep my eyes open was fun. I’ll be working on this a little each night and we’ll see where it goes.
Other WIPs are also progressing. Now that Sputtery Truck is home I feel much more relaxed. Words just seem to flow now. This makes me happy on several levels. The end of last month was a bad one for trying to write and looking at my word count, it’s reflected there.
I still need to get Kance Encounter out and begin work on Second Kance. I’m excited for the sequel. This one will be a little longer than the first. These stories are helping fuel my brain to get back into the Of Gnomes and Dwarves universe that I created so long ago. I can’t wait to begin the re-write (and by re-write I mean starting over from word one, not editing what I had before). I’d written four books and I will be self publishing them. I hope to start putting them out next year.
I have so many projects I’m working on now and many all at the same time. It’s difficult NOT to be excited about sitting and writing. If I feel stuck on one and need to think about a resolution I can hop to another and put words down to get it moving along. I wasn’t a fan of working on multiple projects at one time, but I’m seeing the allure. Now that my brain is mostly stress free, words should flow!
Holy Carp, this post is getting long. I’ll save some words for tomorrow.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Waiting Sucks!
So if you haven’t seen it yet, I have a free short story on Smashwords. I really like this story as it gives a briefest glimpse into the life of a person that would otherwise be ignored. It’s not genre fiction, it’s just fiction. It has a slight Christian slant, just to forewarn you. It’s not heavy handed at all, just a story. I had submitted it to a contest a few years ago and although I didn’t win, I got some great feedback from the judges. The picture for the cover came from PayPhoneNews.com and was used with permission. The cover was done by Dan Dan the Art Man. He does great work! Wait until you see the cover for Kance Encounter. 🙂
Yesterday I told you to look for a Tweet telling you that Sputtery Truck had returned home in fine, working order. I reminded the wife that we needed to pick it up. I called her at 3PM to remind her. I forgot to mention that the place closes at 5PM and it’s about a 30 minute drive from our house. So when she got home at 4:45PM and said “Let’s go get the truck!” I was already deflated. My favorite daughter had said about an hour before, “Why don’t we just drive down and get it? Why do we have to wait for mommy? Oh, wait. Nevermind.” I love my kid. It’s a good thing she’s cute. 🙂
So still I wait for my truck to return to me. It’ll be a little more than estimated because another part on the engine needed to be replaced, but I had been expecting that. It’ll still be less than replacing the truck. So the wife will return early today so we can go and pick it up. From what I’m told, all looks good.
More waiting, as I mentioned already I’m still waiting to hear back on books and short stories. I’m going to stop stressing about them and get my butt in the chair and write. While waiting for the wife last night I could have been writing, but instead found other things to distract myself like calling and sending texts to the wife not realizing she didn’t have her phone with her. Not hearing back only got me more worked up and I couldn’t concentrate. Ah well. Today is another day, right?
I’ve spent the last couple days at work writing documentation and building mock-ups. This, at times, can be a tedious process, but it’s something I enjoy. I like thinking through each step and what it would take to build out a larger project. The one we’re looking at isn’t nearly as large as a project I had last year and it’s more modular so a few of us can work on it at one time. It’s neat to see all those parts come together. Again, I’ll be waiting until the client signs off and we can begin the work in earnest. More waiting. LOL
Are you seeing a theme here? It’s a good thing I’m usually patient or I’d go insane. Speaking of going insane…
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Month in Review
Total words for Jan 2012 – 36176
Blog words – 18149
Fiction words – 18027
Did I write as much as I had hoped? No.
Did I walk as much as I had hoped? No.
I know I’m capable of more and I’m capable of better. I did get a couple good shorts off and submitted. I hope to get another submission off this month. I also published a couple free short stories. Kance Encounter has a minor issue that one I get fixed I will post. That will be later this week. If you’re looking for free fiction, check out Don’t Use the Phone to tide you over until Kance Encounter is out. Don’t Use the Phone does have a slight Christian tone, but don’t be afraid. It’s not heavy handed in any way.
As for walking, I’d chronicled that pretty well. My shins are feeling better, but I don’t think I’ll be running any time soon. If I do it’ll be on the track at my favorite daughter’s school. It’s one of those rubberized tracks and is real nice on the legs. I will, however, begin other cardio training as the complex we live in does have a gym on site. I’ve been doing light weight training in the interim.
As you noticed I have managed to blog daily. I’ll be keeping that up as it is helping when I do sit and write. I love to type so this is always good exercise. It also helps me keep everything clear in my head from day to day. I do need to start making note of when I have ideas for a given blog post. I’ve had some ideas, but they slip by and I don’t post them. February will see some more stories vs day-to-day issues.
The chronicle of Sputtery Truck is still on going. I hope to have it back today. It was supposed to be done yesterday, but replacing an engine isn’t a quick or easy process. I’m not surprised. What will surprise me? Getting my truck back in running order. This has had me very stressed in not having my vehicle and worrying about the money I’m putting into it. I know it’ll all work out, but I can’t help but worry. Look for a happy tweet later this afternoon.
I’m still waiting and waiting really sucks. It’s also got me on pins and needles. I have 6 books with a publisher. Hopefully something catches his eye. I know I need to be patient and publishers are busy, busy people. So I wait.
I’ve also got a couple of short stories out there. Anxious to hear about those as well. While I wait I think I’ll work on another short story and get back into my longer works. I need to write Second Kance for the end of this month. It’ll be a new story, but continue the threads built in Kance Encounter. Each will be self contained with an over arcing thread. Can’t wait to dig into the next story. It’s been in my head for years.
I also need to record my Action Pack story and get that ready for production as well as write the next 4000-5000 words. I also need to come up with a better title. I like Gold Rush, but the date of the story is after the Gold Rush so the title doesn’t make sense. Either way, it’s a fun story so far and I hope it continues to be.
There are a lot of things in the works. I need to get going on them so I don’t let myself get behind. If you set goals for January, how did you do? Are you on track? Are you falling behind? Do you need some motivation? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Oscliations
So I’ve gone back and forth on a number of issues, but first.
I want to welcome all the new readers to the blog. I know you’re out there. I’ve seen the increase in traffic and thank you for the comments. I think you’re all awesome and I love each and every one of you. I mean, really, you’re great.
First issue that’s gone back and forth in my head is regarding sputtery truck. It’s pretty much dead at this point. Well, it’ll start, but only under duress. I’ve not turned it on for over a week and a half. The choice isn’t an easy one. Replace the head gasket and hope that nothing else has gone wrong that I’ll be replacing at a later time or replace the engine. Obviously one is more expensive than the other. After weighing all the options the wife and I decided that it’d be best to go ahead and spend the extra money to get a new engine. Head Gasket jobs cost around $1500. A good friend of mine found a person willing to do the entire engine job for $1900 (that includes the engine). With over 110,000 miles on the vehicle and overheating problems, it just seems like the best option at this time. It’ll hurt, but it’s needed.
The other thing I’ve been going back and forth with is getting back to walking. The pain in my lower legs has gone from annoying to excruciating. I’ve felt good one day, can’t walk down the stairs the next. It’s highly distracting. Suffice to say, I’ve not walked and the good thing is it’s bothering me not to walk. I know once this pain is gone (likely with the rain) I’ll be back out there, just slower. I’ve been doing weight workouts, but I know I need to do some cardio as well.
Writing has been going well. I’m still ahead of schedule with my word count for the year. That makes me happy. I should be ready to toss out the first short story in the Of Gnomes and Dwarves universe by the end of the week. I’m really excited about that. Dan Dan sent me the cover image. I’m SUPER excited about that, but you’ll have to wait a few more days before you get to see it. It’s awesome!
I keep listening to my music for the Action Pack podcast. I still love it. It’ll fit perfectly with the tone of the story.
Speaking of story, I’ve been going back and forth writing on To Fall From the Sky and Gold Rush (still a tentative title). I’m having a blast writing each.
Speaking of writing, tonight I meet with Mike Plested (and maybe Scott Roche) to talk Jack Kane (edits and sequel) and the Action Pack. Life is busy, exciting, and awesome! It takes a lot to get me down. I’ve been a little down, but watch out once I get this sputtery truck issue behind me.
Until tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Progress is progressing
WOO! I have updates today.
1) I have music for my piece of the Action Pack podcast. It’s not what I was looking for. It’s BETTER!
2) I have a cover going for Of Gnomes and Dwarves. It’s looking great! Freaking love it also
This means I really need to get my rear in gear and this week I need to have the first short ready to go for the end of this month. I’ll get on that tonight/tomorrow and start assembly so I’ll have everything ready to go for this weekend. The story will go up on Smashwords.com and be free for the frist 30 days where I’ll post it up on the kindle and nook for .99 and change the smashwords price to .99 as well. At the same time I’ll be releasing the second story up for free 🙂
That’s also the same time that the first Action Pack Podcast will drop. A whole lot of excitement going on around here. I LOVE it. All of this going on has me really excited. I mean, I mean, I mean…
Sputtery truck will go into the shop this week. After much deliberation and discussion the wife and I came to the conclusion that it’s better to fix it and hope for the best rather than drop back ten and punt (buy a new vehicle). It’ll cost. It’ll hurt. But in the long run will be better. Just means we’ll be eating top ramen for a couple of weeks.
My favorite daughter has another volleyball tournament this weekend (Saturday this time) and we’ll be heading back up to L.A. The night before it’s a late practice. 7pm-9pm so we’re torn over heading up late or driving up early. We still don’t have a time for when they’ll start play. My assumption is that it’ll be 8am like the last one, but I’ve been known to be wrong from time to time.
Even though I was up early today, I still feel better. I got a lot of rest over the weekend. The house is clean. I knocked out a few thousand words on To Fall From the Sky. This week is going to be a GREAT week. It’s only Monday and already great things are happening. I’m off to go make sure it stays awesome.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Unorthodox Writing Tips 12: It’s About Time
One of the many things I’ve gotten wrong in my books over the years is the amount of time it takes to perform a task, travel from place to place, hold a conversation, pause for dramatic effect
…
No, really. I’ve written a page of dialogue before and in my mind hours had gone by. When I’ve gone back and read what I’d written the conversation would have taken all of four or five minutes. Heck, Even when I did the podcast version of V&A Shipping I had to correct some timing issues. I had to figure out how long something took because it just didn’t feel correct after going back and reading it.
I have a stop watch. No, really. I have a stop watch. If my character is going to do something, cook dinner, get dressed, build a bomb, tie a knot, I need to know how long that task will take. Now I’ve never built a bomb, but understand the dilemma here. The time it takes your character or characters to accomplish a task needs to feel right. As I mentioned, that one page of dialogue was a short conversation, but in my mind I needed them to be in a different place after the conversation.What did I do?
The conversation took place while the characters were walking from one place to another. I needed a certain amount of time to pass while they walked and talked. This scene needed some fixing not only with the distance traveled, but with the flow of the conversation. What did I do? I took a walk and timed how long it would take at a casual pace to travel a certain distance. Even the walk, not enough time had passed in my story. I needed to figure out what would slow them down.
Okay, color me dumb here. The walk they took was in a heavily-congested, downtown area. Brilliant me I walked in a straight line. Taking a trip to downtown San Diego provided what I needed. I’ve walked with groups downtown before. There are a large number of things that will stop you as you walk. Window shopping, street vendors, street lights, cars, bikes, other pedestrians. Not only did all of these items add a little flavor to the scene I was trying to fix, it provided the length of time I was looking to introduce in the scene. It also helped to break up the dialogue so it wasn’t a long stream of talking.
This scene would have worked as-is, but but stopping myself and timing the event to make sure it had the right feel helped me flesh out a scene that, once I’d re-written it, worked so much better than the original.
Am I suggesting you get a stop watch and time every little thing you do? Well, not everything, but I do recommend you watch the clock when you’re doing something you would expect a character in your book to do. A minute can be much longer than you suspect and an hour much shorter than you know. Give it try. Maybe you’ll discover something more than just the amount of time something takes.
Until Next Time!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Yeah, I’ve been whiny the past couple of days.
I’m kind of over that at the moment. The whining I mean. Posting on this blog is a way to clear my head. Get the cobwebs out. Get my motor running. Get my fingers typing. Get my brain in the writing mode. To get all that bad stuff put aside and just get words flowing.
Sorry if I’ve dumped on you the past couple of days. It’s been a bad week. Yesterday I so wanted to take a nap and stay up late writing. Today I so wanted to get up early and start writing.
The best laid plans…
At any rate, the day is still young. I’m rested, refreshed, ready to rock and roll. I cranked out an episode of Unorthodox Writing Tips for Mike Plested to use on Get published. I had several okay ideas, and all fell flat and I deleted them all about half way through. When it comes to ideas, I can be like that. It either got to resonate with me, or it’s out. I threw out several because they were either weak, or sounded authoritative and mean.
I did say the say was still young, right? It is. As soon as I have dinner here in a few minutes I’ll be back into To Fall From the Sky. I had it end at a certain point, and having slept on it, I’ve decided that point was dumb and I’ll be deleting the last few hundred words or so until I get it back on track. I had a guy show up with a gun at the wrong moment and it was also the wrong guy. I need to put him in the right spot then it’ll have impact. Where I put it, it’s just confusing and really makes no sense. I think I was tired.
I hear the oven screaming my name telling me my food is ready. I better head down there before it burns. I’m excited. I have all night. WOO WOO!
Until Tomorrow!
DOUBLE WOO WOO!
J.R. Murdock 