Lose weight. Quit smoking. Exercise more. Stop drinking. It’s that time again, when people use the new year as a chance to wipe the slate clean and hit the reset button. Stop their bad habits and start over fresh January 1st with a new beginning. They share many of the same resolutions; some manage toContinue reading “My Writing Resolutions for 2014”
Tag Archives: Writing
How Writing Heightened My Senses
“When a regular person gets sick, they take an aspirin. When a writer gets sick, they take notes…” This past July I found myself in the hospital – as a visitor, not a patient. It was the first time I’d been in a hospital in years. I was there early in the morning, and asContinue reading “How Writing Heightened My Senses”
‘Unpacking the Suitcase’ and The Pain of Knowing What You Don’t Know
I want to start by wishing best of luck to all the writers out there crazy/brave enough to embark on the insanity that is NaNoWriMo. For the uninitiated, November is designated as National Novel Writing Month, and if you sign up for the challenge the goal is to write a complete draft of a novelContinue reading “‘Unpacking the Suitcase’ and The Pain of Knowing What You Don’t Know”
Lacking Focus: It’s Not That I Have ADD, It’s Just…Wait, Where Was I?
Coming up in a few weeks I have a week’s vacation scheduled. A glorious nine day period (including weekends) of NOT WORKING. Taking my vacation during the fall started kind of at random, but has become a tradition five years strong. The week of Veteran’s Day I take the entire week off. Last year my wifeContinue reading “Lacking Focus: It’s Not That I Have ADD, It’s Just…Wait, Where Was I?”
Oh My God, I’m 40
“I’m 40 now…I’m half dead, basically. 40’s a weird age. You get to this point where, like, you’re not old enough for anybody to give a shit that you’re old. Nobody’s like, ‘I helped a 40 year-old guy today, and it felt really good to do something for him.’ Nobody spends their holidays delivering hotContinue reading “Oh My God, I’m 40”
The Curse (and blessing?) of Being an OverThinker
I was watching a reality show last week where teams of three would go madly racing from one city to the next. One of the teams got in their truck to go to the next destination and the truck wouldn’t start. None of the three men on the team were very mechanical, so they startedContinue reading “The Curse (and blessing?) of Being an OverThinker”
What Pro Wrestling Taught Me About Character Development
Starting when I was around 12, I loved Saturday nights. My parents would let me stay up late to watch my favorite show: Saturday Night Live. I don’t remember the exact year I got hooked, but it was during the Eddie Murphy/Joe Piscopo/Billy Crystal days. But some Saturday nights ended in disappointment. I would beContinue reading “What Pro Wrestling Taught Me About Character Development”
Sometimes, The Book Isn’t Better
Over the past month or so I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I know some people out there don’t like audiobooks, but I really enjoy them. As someone who’s always been fascinated by voice acting, I love hearing a good performance of a good book. I thought Gone Girl wasContinue reading “Sometimes, The Book Isn’t Better”
What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?
I’ve been keeping up with my bizarre new ritual of getting up about an hour early every morning to spend some time on my writing. It’s allowed me time to catch up on other people’s blogs, check my email, try and find publishers accepting novella submissions (which is turning out to be a lot harderContinue reading “What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?”
Rejection, Dejection, Commendation, and Inspiration
Quite a ride on the Aspiring Writers’ Emotional Tilt-A-Whirl yesterday. I checked my email just before leaving for work to find that my second submission to a publisher has been swiftly rejected. Nothing heartbreaking or earth shattering there; to be honest, I’m not completely surprised. The novella was not necessarily the best fit for theContinue reading “Rejection, Dejection, Commendation, and Inspiration”