Tales of a diabetic father: a new segment of the blog

I've been meaning to write about this for a long time, and after this last week when my two diabetic children (type 1) attended Camp Sioux, up near Park River, North Dakota, I felt the strong need to start this segment of the blog to devote to our tales of dealing with diabetes in our children.

My fourteen-year-old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was two, in August 2001.  Our soon-to-be seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed in November 2009 when she was three.

Neither my wife nor myself have diabetes.

Neither my wife nor myself went to school to learn about diabetes.

What I'm sharing in this segment is what we've learned in our many years of caring for our children.  Take what is said only as a guideline.  Make sure to get the opinion of a doctor and/or trained diabetes educator if you are unsure of how to care for your child or if you suspect they have diabetes.

Happenings In The Outhouse 14-Jun-2013 / I see dead people

A few weeks ago, my wife and I subscribed to Netflix.  We're not sure why we kept putting it off.  It's not like we rent a lot of movies, but sometimes the current television programs just stink.

The first thing I watched was The Walking Dead.  I blew through Season 1 in about 3 days--holy crap!  I am hooked.  I finished Season 2 Wednesday night and cannot wait for Season 3 to come out (I believe I may be waiting a little while).  I don't watch an enormous amount of television.  I usually watch a little while I relax for bed.

Last Saturday, I watched an episode in Season 2 (right near the middle) which really tugged at my heartstrings--yes, I admit, I was shocked and even shed a tear (for those who have seen the show know what I'm talking about so I won't spoil it).

Then, of course, there's the upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt: World War Z, based on the amazing book by Max Brooks.

Zombies, zombies, zombies.

A thought occurred to me that I, in fact, had already written a zombie novel.  It's not your typical zombie apocalypse novel, but rather more like The Walking Dead than World War Z, as it focuses on a small group of people.

It is this book that I will be editing next . . . once I complete my final edits of Beholder's Eye--for the brief moment, I am putting off self-publishing because there's a small press I know that has opened submissions for the month of June, so I'm going to try them first.  It may be a long shot (isn't everything in a publishing world a long shot?), but at least I'm going to do it and submit.  If it doesn't pan out, then it's on to self-publishing.

I have over 6,500 words written in my inspirational novelette.  I know, I know, I haven't written much this week, but it's been a busy week.  I typically write in the mornings for 1-2 hours, and this week most mornings have been filled with diabetes camps and doctors appointments.

Are artists allowed to publicly share their opinions? Or, better yet, should they?

The short answer to the first question is yes.  It's a Constitutional right--for those who live in the United States, that is.

The long answer, on the other hand, leads to the second question.

The answer to that one . . . I'm not so sure on.  We should be able to share our opinions, but at what cost?  If you publicly criticize the way your government is being run, you may be praised or you may be outcast--this depends largely on what political party is in power.

Does this mean I don't believe artists should be able to share their opinions on social views or poltics?  For me, it depends largely on what it accomplishes.  Also, some people are really good about expressing their opinions, and it is even a part of their platform (i.e. Sean Hannity or Ed Schultz).

Is it safer to take the neutral ground on such hot topics?

Take the issue on gay marriage.  There are strong supporters of it as well as strong opponents.  But if one takes a side, are you alienating the other?  If you are a strong opponent, are you seen as simply homophobic?

Something to think about.  I'm not sharing my opinions, and for the most part I keep an open mind about such things--I have this uncanny ability to view things from various points of view.  There are a number of artists who are also in this camp.

So at least I'll have company.

What if you discovered your favorite artist holds values far different than yours?

Last year, I read and published a blog post on Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and how I thought it was so far ahead of its time, especially for being published in the mid-80's.  I've read a few other books by Card and have liked them just as much.

Then, with the release of the Ender's Game movie, there are people planning to boycott the movie because of the author's views on gay marriage.  In fact, I've been hearing tremors for a while that people have simply stopped reading his books based on this.

Yesterday, I was listening to a podcast on Stitcher and they were reading a story by Rudyard Kipling.  In the introduction, they said that Neil Gaiman was asked once who his favorite authors were and named Kipling as one.  Afterwards, he received scathing letters regarding Kipling as being a racist.

Then again, so was Lovecraft.

Yet, millions of people still read their books and both Kipling and Lovecraft are forever named in the classics.

Stephen King, by his own account, is a true blue Democrat.  How many Republican readers has he alienated by sharing his hatred towards George W. Bush?

Larry Correia, a bestselling science fiction/fantasy author, came out very strongly against gun control--an minority view when compared with many of his colleagues.  Has he been alienated at all or shunned by not including him in the industry's awards?

This doesn't include the number of actors who have stepped forward to support one political candidate or another.  Do they alienate the "other side" when they do so?

This debate is surely not over, but let's get the conversation going, shall we?  How much does an artist's view on a political or social topic cloud your judgement as to whether or not you'll ever purchase another work of art from them?  Because, in your view, buying one of their books or watching one of their movies is supporting a cause far different than yours--yes, I know you think this way.

Let me ask this: do you know the political leanings of Wal-Mart?  McDonald's?  KFC?  Ford?  GM?  You don't?  Yet you'll still buy from them.  Just because Card had a certain view on gay marriage (which, I might add, he has changed his view) doesn't mean you can't enjoy his work.  I'm sure there are plenty of Republicans who still buy books from Stephen King

Or are there?

Happenings In The Outhouse 07-Jun-2013 / Progress

This week has seen good progress on a new inspirational piece I'm working on--probably novella length when it's all done.  I have almost 4700 words written since Monday morning, and it's turning out better than I first anticipated.

My thriller Beholder's Eye is taking a slight detour.  I have a beta reader going through it, and tonight she advised me I made a minor mistake--yet a stupid one to boot.  It seems that I have a Dodge Durango near the later fourth of the book . . . and I called it a Chevy Durango.  Stupid mistake, and one that I hate to make because I'm usually very careful.

Especially when I think of how many times I've read through it, it's a mistake I should've avoided.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on a short story to be submitted to the "Writers of the Future" contest.  I'll get it uploaded to their site sometime this weekend.

Progress, my man.  I'm doing, instead of just trying.

What are you doing?  How are you progressing towards your goals?

Take a step forward today.

You can do it.

Best way to improve your writing productivity

You've been slaving away for weeks, months, and in some cases years.  And now you've finally done it.  Your novel is done.  Complete.  The End.

Time for a grand celebration!  Fireworks galore!

Now what?  All of the experts say to put the book away for a while--the time may vary per writer.  Trust me, each one is different.  Some can start right back at chapter one, page one, and begin editing.  Others may let it sit in a drawer and marinate for 2-3 months.

If you're one of those waiters (raise your hand . . . go on, I know you're out there, lurking in the shadows.  Peek-a-boo, I see you.) then what should you work on next?

Another project.

When?

Right away.

Last week, on Friday May 31st, I finished the first draft of Shadowkill.  I took the weekend off from physically writing, except I did do a little outlining for my next project--an inspirational novelette or novella.

It's refreshing working on a smaller project between big ones.  Also, since this one is in a completely different genre than what I'm used to, it's challenging me just the same.  I currently have close to 3,500 words written, and I started it Monday.

Not bad.

The best way I know how to keep your writing productivity high is to write and keep writing.  When I'm nearing the end of one project, have the next one planned out.  There will be plenty of time for editing.

(yes, I did say I outlined my next project a little.  There's a reason behind it--David Farland and his ebook Million Dollar Outlines.  I highly suggest subscribing to his blog, where he gives daily writing tips that are absolutely invaluable.  I will cover more on my style of outlining in a future post.  I'm still not a have-to-put-every-single-detail-down-on-paper outliner, but I've discovered that I do a little.  I do have a novel that was completely written with no idea on the end, and I believe it turned out wonderful.)

Where do you keep your ideas?

For the second time this summer, I mowed the lawn.  At least three times during my forays around the yard--I only got about halfway done before darkness ensued and I had to quit--I stopped and pulled out my phone.

To the average person walking by, they'd probably think I was texting something.  I wasn't.  I was jotting down notes.

I love my Motorola Android.  I have a few note-taking features and even a task manager for keeping track of ideas: brand new story ideas, blog post ideas, story development ideas.

If I'm driving, however, I use the Easy Voice Recorder App to record my ideas--I'm sure jotting them down is just as dangerous as texting while driving, so I'm not going there.

If I'm at work and cannot pull out my phone to jot a note, I e-mail it to myself from my work address to my gmail account.  Then, later, I'll transfer it to wherever it needs to go.

I also love using Stickies to jot notes.

What are your tips for handling/keeping track of ideas?  Or even just plain jotting them down?  Please comment below on any new ideas I didn't cover to share with others.