Another Story Completed And What's Next / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-April-2024

I have finished another short story, one that I had started months ago but got sidetracked because I didn't know exactly where to go with it.  In fact, this was during the time I was overthinking my stories and I didn't like much of what I had written.

So I put it off to the side, got my mind straight, and did something else.

Then, I tackled a few other stories before it was time to go at this one.  Without spoiling it, this has a post apocalyptic feel to it blending in the nuances of the movie A Quiet Place.

I then finished a final read on another short story and sent it off.

Now, in reviewing my ever-growing backlog of short stories, I'm going to start submitting the rest of them, to get them out into the publishing ether.  Just trying to work on Heinlein's Five Rules, you know.

Stay tuned . . . 

Sucked Into The Negative / Happenings In The Outhouse 19-April-2024

It's so easy to get sucked into the black hole that is negativity.

Happens all the time in social media and even in real life.

A few weeks ago, the company I work with made a decision on shifting some employees around to other departments.  They even so far as to offer them the opportunity to work in newly formed departments or offer positions in a variety of other departments.  The department they were currently in was being shifted overseas (where there was already an office).

Now, where is the negativity in this?  Online via social media, of course.  And across the region's news outlets.  The majority of the headlines and articles were slanted against the company, and did not reflect the true picture of what was going on.

I am in no way, shape, or form backing what the company was doing, as it could have done a much better job of communicating.  That being said, it brings to light the bigger picture of negativity.  I read the comments and shook my head at how misinformed people are.

So I digress: do not get sucked into the mire of negativity.  Move on.  Take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Natural Born / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-April-2024

No one is a "natural born" anything.

Yes, I agree that we're all inclined one way or another when it comes to certain tasks.  Some have innate abilities toward gardening or automotive repair or cooking or carpentry or writing or drawing or whatever else, but no one comes right out of the womb with abilities born in us.

What brings this on was the newest season of Hell's Kitchen on Tubi.  My wife and I watched it, and so many of the aspiring chefs kept saying they were a natural born leader, etc.  No one is a natural born leader.  Or anything else, for that matter.

And if you need to say it out loud, clearly you're not one.

Rant over.

What are some things you naturally aspire to do?

When Cop Stuff Is Not Told Right / Happenings In The Outhouse 05-April-2024

This goes with any profession.  From law enforcement to nursing, from plumbing to pilots, and a host of other things, it's difficult to get all of the details right.

As a former law enforcement officer, with years of experience throughout many aspects of that profession, it irks me when I see shows where things are so wrong.  My wife and I just finished watching the hit TV show Sons of Anarchy.  We loved it, but there were aspects of both law enforcement and nursing that struck us both.

It's difficult to get all of the details right, but when some are so blatant (cocking back the hammer on a Glock pistol, for example) I just shake my head as it throws me right out of a story.

The storyline for SOA was complex and entertaining.  Yes, you were cheering on the bad guy, but when there were varying degrees of badness, you seemed to be cheering on some more than others.

The first thing that struck me was that city cops typically wear blue.  County deputies wear brown.  All of the city cops in SOA wore brown.  And when it came to hospitals and security, that seemed to be thrown right out the window with SOA.  No one should be able to walk into a hospital administrator's office or a doctor's office that is closed.

In a nutshell, if you're going to make things far-fetched as SOA had done, do it well when it comes to story.

It's all in the details.

And I could go on with this.  I probably will in future posts . . .

End of Q1 2024 / Happenings In The Outhouse 29-March-2024

We are nearing the end of the first quarter of 2024.

What does this mean?  It means I will review my "Next 5 Things" list for this quarter, what I accomplished, what I didn't, and will then write up my list of goals for the next three months.

I have been doing this for quite some time.  I like the process of narrowing my goals to 5 major things.  If I need to add or revise (I rarely subtract; in fact I never do), then I'll do so.

These 5 things revolve around the 3 major segments of my business: research and development, production, and sales.  In other words, I keep feeding my learning of this business, I work on whatever I'm working on, and will also get them out into the world.

Another Short One / Happenings In The Outhouse 22-March-2024

Another short one today.

Still writing, working on a new short story.  More on it next week.

Organizing Stories / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-March-2024

I have kept a spreadsheet of all my writing--from finished and published stories to works in progress--for a long time.  It's interesting to see this list grow over these past number of years.

But I have been running into an issue lately that I may need to revamp it.  It's a good problem to have, truth be told.  With close to 60 stories to keep track of, I need to rethink how I have them organized.  Specifically, the short stories that I am submitting for publication or contests.

How you organize your stories is up to you.  But I stress that you at least keep track of them, even if all of them are self-published.  Whether you go physically writing them down to organizing them electronically (or both) is what you feel most comfortable with.

As a side note: I will NOT share how I'm organizing because it's unnecessary and it may not work for you.  So please do not ask.

Another Story Completed / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-March-2024

A short one today.

In the next week or two, I'll write a post on the hit TV show Sons of Anarchy.  My wife and I have been binge watching it--she had already seen the entire series 5-6 times and loves to watch my reaction to each twist and turn.  As of this writing, we have finished the 5th season (there are 7 seasons total) and are well into season 6.

I finished a short story, as part of an online class I had taken several months back--the assignment had no time limit, which gave me ample time to complete it.

I have two stories now completed lately, so now I'm going back for a final sweep and then sending it out.

The Toxic Mix of Politics And Entertainment Creators / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-March-2024

I wrote this post over six years ago, and I can still remember the circumstances that led to it.

And I will repeat this again, because someone very publicly came out recently and trashed someone.  All because this person had a letter by their name.  Yes, it boils down to politics and whether or not the person in question has an R or a D by their name.

I don't give a pass to anyone.  Period.  No one is perfect.

Now, I would LOVE to state here who I am speaking about--and I apologize for being so cryptic--but I will not.  In rare instances have I done this, and I'm not starting now.

Bottom line: do not mix politics if you are in the entertainment business.  Unless it is the clear focus of the content you are creating, please stop.  It alienates others on one side of the political aisle.

The person is question is a big name author, with a series of books that he can't seem to finish after several years and two HBO series in the same world.  This person completely demonized someone and completely ignored another, all because they have an R by their name.  He gives a complete pass to those with a D by their name.

Yes, I am talking about Republicans and Democrats.

Do not give anyone a pass.  If you demonize one side without criticizing the other, you are being a complete hypocrite.

Stop doing that.  Seriously, stop it.

There, rant over . . .

Freedom To Let Your Creative Mind Flow / Happenings In The Outhouse 23-Feb-2024

I had an interesting conversation with my youngest daughter last week.  She's in speech competition and was in the process of writing her creative speech.  But she kept hitting a roadblock and didn't know how to finish it.  She reached out to a few others for help, but in fact got more roadblocks.  An English teacher told her to use some formulaic path to writing the story, and this only frustrated her more.

Once I heard her out, I told her to throw away all of the advice she had given.  Her eyes grew wide, then I told her to brainstorm as many ideas as she could.

"The first few ideas will be easy but you won't want to use them," I said.  "By the time you get eight, ten, twelve ideas down, that's where the great ideas will be.  The ones that will spark the direction your story will go."

When seeking advice from others, please be aware that not all advice is good.  In fact, no offense to the others, but they aren't a creative like my daughter and myself.  I knew how to speak the language of a creative.

When you feel stuck on a project, sit alone and just brainstorm.  Let your mind go.  Let it be free.  You will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Now, on a side note, there is nothing wrong with the advice regarding formulas to writing.  There are a variety of methods, but I knew for her it would just confuse her.  So I kept it simple.  And guess what?  She finished it!

Keep Practicing / Happenings In The Outhouse 16-Feb-2024

I realized the problem I have been having lately.  I have been doing too much thinking with a critical mind instead of just putting my creative foot forward and doing the work.

For me, writing is fun.  And the more I do it, the better I will become.  Not all stories will work.  That much I know, but I need to keep at it, keep writing.

Life happens.  It happens to us all.  At this point, I had a quarterly goal of a certain number of short stories to be written.  Right now I am no where near that point . . . even though the quarterly is roughly halfway complete.

Even if I don't make it, I still made progress.

Troublesome Story Finished / Happenings In The Outhouse 09-Feb-2024

My latest short story is completed.  I finished it Monday morning, and have been doing some small editing this week.  Along with a new title.  I didn't like the original title, as my original vision for the story has changed (as happens often for me).

I will be submitting it to a contest, so once it's away then I'm on to the next story.

Stay tuned . . .

Still Overthinking / Happenings In The Outhouse 02-Feb-2024

Overthinking.

Yup, I'm still doing it.

Some authors call it the critical brain getting in the way of your thinking.  I agree, that's what is happening to me.

I've been working on a short story for a number of weeks now, tweaking here and there, and I've hit a point where I don't know where to go.  When I looked at it from a larger picture, I realized that I was overthinking.

In the past, I've had no troubles working through a story (for the most part).  If I hit a troublesome spot, I'd brainstorm about it.

So, that's what I did.  I should have it done shortly.

A Long Shot / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-Jan-2024

Publishing, in the more traditional sense, is a long shot.

And publishing short stories is no exception.

I have been submitting short stories for the past 5-6 months to a certain publication, whose doors were opened to only those who contributed to their Kickstarter campaign.  For me, I knew it was a long shot but wanted both the feedback as well as the opportunity to push myself to write something that fit the guidelines.

So far, I have gotten feedback on a few.  No, none of my stories have been selected, but what's just as valuable is the feedback.

It's a long shot, and frankly that's okay.  I'm still going to keep writing and keep submitting.  This year I am setting goals of doing a lot more short stories.  I'll let you know what progress I'm making.

Four Years And Four Days

Four years and four days ago, I lost my first wife after a long debilitating illness.  It took me a year and a half to get the courage to try my hand at dating again (the pandemic certainly didn't help).  I didn't know if that's what God's plan was--and I was prepared either way.

I prayed long and hard, and wouldn't you know it, God gave me another chance at love.

Today, after a very short engagement, I will once again marry my best friend, my most trusted confidante, my true love.

I love you, Melissa!  Thank you for making my life great again, as we build a life together!

Big News / Happenings In The Outhouse 19-Jan-2024

Keeping this one short today.

I have a big announcement coming up tomorrow.  It's a personal announcement, not a writing one.

Stay tuned . . .

The Time For Your Craft / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-Jan-2024

I set my alarm at 6am every morning.  Well, not on the weekends, but during the week I do.

But I still write, no matter the day of the week.

We all feel like we're running a rat race these days, not knowing which way is up.  But if you are serious about your craft--whatever that craft is; in my case it's writing so that's what I'll use--you will make the time for it.  Even if you don't feel like it, carve out the time.  Even a few minutes here and there is good, although if you're serious, you'll want to set aside the time.

Lessons Learned From Hell's Kitchen / Happenings In The Outhouse 05-Jan-2024

My girlfriend and I have been watching the Gordon Ramsey show Hell's Kitchen for the past few months.  We started with the latest two seasons, 19 and 20, then went back to the beginning.  It is interesting to see how the show has evolved over the years, season after season.

Now, full disclosure, my girlfriend has already seen most seasons of the show, and loves to see my reaction to who eventually wins each season when she knew typically about halfway through the season.  We are currently on season 10, and there are things I notice that each contestant of the show should learn.

Keep in mind, it's a reality TV show, which means it's not real.  Not reality.  Many things are set up for entertainment purposes, so a lot of the drama and back-stabbing I get is not real.

I wrote a blog post almost twelve years ago that delved into this very topic, about learning by watching TV.

Now, what we have learned so far is this:

First: never talk back to Gordon Ramsey.  Never.  No matter what.  Trust me, you'll regret it if you do.

Second: learn to take criticism.  He will call you every name in the book, but you should never take it personally.  He is testing you, to see how well you can take criticism.

Third: work hard and communicate.

Fourth: if you lost a certain challenge and need to do some awful task, do it with dignity and stop complaining.  All you're doing is making yourself look like a whiny prick if you do.  Also, when someone wins a challenge, be happy for them and keep working.

Fifth: if you win a challenge, it doesn't mean you are the absolute best.  And do not gloat over you winning the challenge.

Sixth: tell the truth.  Ramsey wants to hear the truth, short and sweet.

Seventh: stop victim blaming.  The reason a dish or dinner service didn't go as planned is just as much your fault as others.  Take it in the chin and move on.

Eighth: if something isn't the best, do not send it up to Ramsey.  Meaning, if you know something is under or overcooked, tell him immediately.  Communicate!

I'm sure there will be others that come up, but these are the top eight I can think of at the moment.  Now take these lessons into the rest of your life.

P.S.: Rest In Peace Petrozza.