What's In Mind For The Rest Of 2024 / Happenings In The Outhouse 11-Oct-2024

At the start of the fourth quarter of the year, 2024, I'm mindful of what I have left to be done . . . as well as looking forward to what my plans for 2025 might be.

Wow, 2025!  Hard to believe with so much going on, in my personal, work, and creative life.  Seems like yesterday it was 2000 and then 2010 and 2020 . . .

But before we look to the future, to 2025, we have three more months left of the year.  My focus this year has been short stories, getting as many written as possible, and submitting as many as possible for publication.  I have gotten tremendous feedback, despite the lack of offers, but I can feel myself becoming a stronger writer.

Learning is a huge part.  I have taken a number of educational classes taught by the prolific Dean Wesley Smith.  One major class, which has had a huge impact, are the depth classes.  Those gave me a whole new perspective on stories and how they're told.

I'm going back through all of the short stories I have written since the middle of 2023 (there are a ton of them!) and adding in a bio along with an afterword.  It's been great fun rereading some of these stories and possibly coming up with a new series for a few of them.

Show Up Like It Is The First / Happenings In The Outhouse 04-Oct-2024

Last weekend, my wife and I, along with two of her cousins, went to the final Minnesota Twins game of the season.  They were already out of the playoffs, so either winning or losing the game didn't matter for their team's standing.

However, if that game was someone's first time at a Twins game, whether the players played to win or lose, they should always play as if it's someone's first time there.  Someone may have spent their entire lives wanting to go to a game, even saved for the trip.

The same goes with musicians and concerts.  They should always play as if it's their first concert for someone, their first experience.

Authors are also not immune to this.  Every story should be written as if it's someone's first time reading your story.  Don't treat it like a throwaway story.

By the way, the Twins lost that game too, six to two against the Baltimore Orioles.  Was it a throwaway game?  Some have opinions.  I'll keep mine to myself because I had a good time and, not being a sports fan, I don't like criticizing another player for something I could never do.

Diabetes in Books, Movies, Etc. / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-Sept-2024

First, I have already compiled a list of blog posts concerning diabetes for you to gander.

Done?  Good.  Let us begin . . .

Take pretty much anything, from lung cancer to diabetes and from firearms to plumbing, and the portrayal of it can be either done well or poorly.  Stephen King wrote in his book On Writing that if you have a great knowledge about plumbing and love science fiction, how about writing from the POV of a plumber in space?  Interesting concept, for sure.

Now, one can write very rudimentary and broad about a given topic, but when it comes to specifics, please get your facts right.  In firearms, Glocks do not have safeties like other handguns (they are in the trigger) and there is no hammer to cock back.  I have nearly stopped reading books because of an error like this.  It's annoying!

How about diabetes?  Trust me, I have more knowledge about it than I know what to do with.  But with my children, living with it day-after-day, they know more than me.

One of my daughters recently read a book where the main character had type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the author got it completely wrong!  Not only wrong, it was so wrong on so many levels that a simple Google search would fix many of the problems the author had.

I am currently writing a short story where the main character is a nuclear engineer on a spaceship.  I know virtually nothing about being a nuclear engineer, or being on a spaceship for that matter, but I'll gloss over what I need and that's it.

It's all about the story anyway.

But if you're writing about someone with diabetes and if their blood sugars are in the 70's, it's probably not the end of the world.  If it was in the 20's, yeah, that's an emergency and nothing else matters for the diabetic.  Also, when it comes to diabetes pumps, again, please get the facts right.  They're not all the same and each has their little . . . quirks.

QR Codes (Ways To Hinder An Easy Buy) / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-Sept-2024

Ever since one of my daughters went off to her first year of college, we have visited her a few times, to take her to brunch/lunch, and to bring her things that she needed.

One thing I noticed lately was on one of these visits, when we took her to lunch.  It was our second time at this restaurant--one featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives--so we knew the food was good.  But the main difference I noticed between this restaurant and others was that the menu could only be accessed by a QR code.

Okay, you may ask what's the big deal?

The big deal is: what is someone doesn't have a smartphone?  Also, when I asked a few people who were of the older generation, they didn't have a clue what a QR code was.

During our last visit, we took our daughter to a diner for brunch.  I had the French toast, which was like eating a cinnamon roll.  My wife had a pancake that was as big as her plate--she couldn't even eat it all.  But in order to reserve a table, you had to scan a QR code and reserve a table.

Hmmm, again, same question as before.

How's this for an interesting concept: I get why a restaurant owner may want to run their business this way, but in doing so it alienates a segment of the population.  And if you're alienating a segment of the population, what other barriers are you putting in place that hinders an easy buy?

Just Finish It / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-Sept-2024

I started a short story based on a "what if" scenario a few months back.  I went only so far, then moved on when I felt stuck on where it should go.

But now it fits in with a possible publication submission that is due the end of the month, so I have been working at it.  In other words, I need to just finish it.

So many of us start projects that we don't finish.  There might've been a good reason to start it, but depending on the circumstances, we quit.  I urge you to finish those projects.  Get them out into the world.

Because this is the end of the quarter, I have not only one short story to do, but two.  The other is for another submission to Writers of the Future.

Types Of Goals / Happenings In The Outhouse 06-Sept-2024

I've touched on goals several times on this blog, and I want to enhance it a little.

If you're unfamiliar with Stephen Covey's time management system of the four quadrants, let me quickly summarize with this visual:

Now, where you want to spend the most of your time is quadrant 2.  This is where the works gets planned and executed.

For the longest time, I have planned out each quarter with my "Top 5" things to do.  But I recently discovered that this wasn't enough.  Back in college, I had a calendar where I tallied the number of pages I wrote in a single day.  I would total that number up each week, and it was my goal to make that number grow each week.

You may not have a top 5 for each day, but even a top 1-3 would make your life run more smoothly.  Set up daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even yearly goals.  Each of these is different, and each works a different set of brain muscles.

Identifying Weaknesses / Happenings In The Outhouse 30-Aug-2024

"What is your greatest weakness?"

This is a loaded interview question because one doesn't want to admit they have a weakness.

However, if there are weaknesses that you can overcome, all the better.  On one hand, if I had a deep passion to be a top NBA player but I'm only five foot nine and have minimal basketball skills, my chances are pretty much nil.  On the other hand, if I have a fear of public speaking, I can take lessons and work to overcome them.

Sometimes it is difficult to identify your weaknesses.  Ask for feedback and don't get upset by the results.

Speaking of public speaking, I joined Toastmasters through my employer to help with my public speaking skills.  I won't divulge the various ways Toastmasters can help with this, as there are so many aspects of public speaking that one may not be aware of.  One aspect for me is essentially troubling, but it is a task I am willing to overcome with practice.  And Toastmasters helps me with that.

When you look at your weaknesses, try and discover a weakness that is realistic and that you can overcome.  Create baby steps to overcome it, to turn the weakness into either a strength or something that isn't so daunting.