13 Months / Happenings In The Outhouse 29-April-2022

By the end of next month, I should have my latest work-in-progress published.  And, as you may guessed it from the title of this post, it took me . . . drum roll please . . . thirteen months to complete.

As of this posting, I am over 109,000 words into it and I have six more chapters to write.

Now the big question: why is it taking me so long?  The book had already been written and I'm using the old pages as an outline.  So it really shouldn't take that long, right?

Right?

For me, that would be a solid no.  Although it is nice having the finished product to look upon, it actually drags me behind a bit.  And this is a longer book than what I normally write.  I have also found periods of time where my productivity has amped up immensely, whereas other times it has lagged.

This has been an interesting project for me to tackle.  What I will do is take what I learned on this one and apply it to the next one in a similar situation.  I have three other books that were written previously, and when I come to rewrite them, I may do things differently.

I will share details of this project as I come closer.

More Progress (And Pondering What's Next) / Happenings In The Outhouse 22-April-2022

I pray I don't jinx myself for saying this, but I will finish my current work-in-progress by the end of May 2022.  I started it on April 23, 2021, and boy am I ready for it to be completed.  Just to let you know, it wasn't that long ago, I was fearful that I wouldn't finish by the end of June, just before our planned vacation out west to Montana.

I have 6-7 chapters left (including an epilogue) and I have surpassed 105,000 words.  I have also surpassed 500-pages on Monday in the current document.

As I always near the end of a project, be it large or small or somewhere in the middle, I ponder what to write next.  I have many to choose from, and some stories are itching to get out into the world more than others.

Multitasking / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-April-2022

Multitasking.

Even just the word "multitasking" can bring a wide range of emotions.  But define what it is?  Is it doing many things in a single day?  Or doing several different things in a single lifetime?

John Grisham has done well with his legal thrillers, but he has also written other stories which has broadened his audience.  King has done the same with horror.

And I could go on and on.

Brandon Sanderson may be known for writing a lot of fantasy, but he has dipped his toes in many different realms in the fantasy genre, and with an insane output of words to boot.  He recently had an impressively successful Kickstarter where he wrote a bunch of secret stories while slated by contract to write another tome in his Stormlight Archive series.  And not just one, but four!

This might be an area we'll explore more later on.  The point of this is based from a TED talk I watched where the speaker gave examples of multitasking but this was over a person's lifetime.  I find it okay to do several different types of things, to spread out your talents.

Again, it depends on what your definition of multitasking is.

Another (Short) Story Completed / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-April-2022

As the end of the first quarter 2022 winded down last week, I decided to take a small break from my current novel and crank out a short story for the "Writers of the Future" contest.

I submitted it the night of the 31st of March, with a few hours to spare, so crossing my fingers on it.

Now, it's back to my current novel, which is still coming along.  I have surpassed 100,000 words, which is no small feat.

No Excuses / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-April-2022

I recently listened to a podcast interview Tim Ferris did with the one and only Neil Gaiman, and it struck me as odd that us creatives no longer have any excuses when it comes to creating our work.  None whatsoever.

In the interview (it is well worth the 90 minutes to listen to it; it is absolutely golden), Neil talked about how he wrote many of his stories using a fountain pen.  Yes, my friend, by hand.  No laptop.  No computer.  Not even a portable typewriter.

By hand.

He also said that while vacationing, he thought he brought materials to finish one of his novels, American Gods.  It turned out he forgot them behind, so therefore wrote more on his bestselling The Graveyard Book.  Funny how life turns out, huh?

Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling science fiction and fantasy author, dictates many of his novels in a recorder, then has them transcribed.

Years ago, I wrote a few short stories by hand at work, and I will tell you that it was liberating.  Writing out by hand makes one think more about the words they're putting down.

It is something I may try again, when I find myself either in a place where I didn't bring my laptop or I want to start scribbling some notes.

Eleven Months / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Mar-2022

Eleven months ago, I started working on my current work-in-progress.

And I'm still not done.

I am currently around the 95,000 word mark, and roughly 15 chapters left, including an epilogue.

Keeping this one short since I have a lot going on and working as much of my writing in where I can.  My current deadline is June 2022 to complete this.

Crossing my fingers that I make it.

Make Change A Habit / Happenings In The Outhouse 18-March-2022

Life is full of changes.

When my late wife got her cancer diagnosis in April 2011, it turned our world upside-down.  Life was an endless series of doctors appointments, trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (a 382 mile trip, one way), and the extra financial burden on top of it.  And then it was juggling events with three young kids.  Upon her return home in December 2011, what we could do seemed limited.

In March 2020, a virus took the world by storm, changing the way business was done.  My employer implemented a work-from-home model, something completely unheard of from them until that point.  Now, two years later, my employer is having the working from home folks return to the office on a hybrid model basis, part at home and part in the office.  Changes.  Many changes and unknowns.  A number of people were not happy about it, but, when you examine it closely, it depends largely on how you handle change.

In June 2020, I joined the local gym.  I had wanted to join for quite some time, but I could not afford it in terms of time and money prior to that point.  Now, I go there 5-6 times a week on average, and I love it.  It's a way of me getting out of the house and doing something to physically improve my health.

Most times, I am alone and can plan my workouts ahead of time.  But when I have something in mind, let's say I had a weights day previously and planned on a strict cardio day on the treadmill, and all of a sudden there are people in the gym and all of the treadmills are taken, what do I do?  I change my plans.

I have made change a habit.  Yes, my first reaction on change is a slight WTF moment, but it quickly subsides.

I urge you to make change a habit.  If you do the same thing all the time, you don't grow as a person.  Change is what makes us better.