Podcast Fasting Revisited Again / Happenings In The Outhouse 17-Jan-2025

I have done this before, either cut down on the number of podcasts I listen to or pause listening to them altogether.

Well, I'm at it again, pausing them in its entirety and revisiting the list that I do have and possibly cutting them down.  Are there new ones to add?  Possibly not.  Are there ones to cut?  Possibly.

I looked at my podcast list and discovered I had not listed to a podcast since the end of October.

Why is this?

A number of reasons, truth be told.  I have some changes at my full-time job which is causing me to focus more of my energy on learning new work processes.  Also, I am listening to more audiobooks, so my listening is not completely going away.

Last year, I focused a lot on learning new writing techniques and writing short stories.  Now, I am writing a new novel (in a new series).  It is a cozy mystery series and I am around 6,500 words into it.  I am having a blast writing it.  I have a short story that I am using as the basis for it, but for now I am keeping the details under wraps.

Not Going As Planned / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-Jan-2025

You can plan and plan and plan all you want, and when it comes to doing something, always expect something to not go as planned.  Expect the unexpected, as the old adage says.

I've written a fair amount of stories.  And even if I do some outlining (which is usually minimal at best since I typically write into the dark with no plan in mind), something unexpected crops up which takes my story into another direction that I hadn't planned.

This past fall, my wife and I hired a contractor to help do some remodeling in our house.  New flooring, windows, doors.  Every step along the way the contractor has hit a roadblock or two--nothing being his fault, since he is at the mercy of the window/door manufacturers or the lumberyard in question.  Even the original patio door was two feet wider--yes, I said two feet!--than the old one.  The contractor measured it correctly.  Again, when it was ordered, it was ordered incorrectly.

One of the stories I had just submitted to Writers of the Future at the end of December was like this.  I had something in mind for how it would go, but suddenly as I wrote a scene early on, the story took a turn in another direction.  In my opinion, the story is much better than what I had anticipated.

The New Year, New Goals / Happenings In The Outhouse 03-Jan-2025

With the new year comes new goals.

2025 is now upon us, and with that, for myself, I will be taking a different direction for my writing than what I have been doing these past few years.

As you may recall, I have been focusing on short stories--writing them, submitting them.  I have quite the backlog of stories now to choose from and, honestly, I miss writing novels.

With the new year comes the new goal of getting back to writing novels.  I will still write short stories, especially for anthology calls, writing workshops, Kickstarter campaigns, and of course Writers of The Future.

But my main focus for 2025 will be writing novels.

First up is a new series.  It is a cozy mystery series that has been brewing--pun intended--for several years and now I'm ready to start writing it.

Winding Down / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-Dec-2024

It's the last few days before the New Year.  Christmas has come and gone, and everything else is winding down.

I had two short stories that needed to be written and completed before the end of the month.  The first one was completed last weekend, and sent off for consideration.  The other one I hope to have completed by the time the New Year's ball drops.

We've had some home renovations going on to this fall, and that too is winding down.

Hitting The Stress Wall / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-Dec-2024

It's that time of the year again.

And I've been hearing the word stress a lot lately--especially at work.

Please take time for yourself.  Your health (and spirit) comes first.

Because if it wasn't for your health/spirit, everything else is moot.

Turn On The Lights / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-Dec-2024

I recently read a mystery novel where two detectives go into a dark basement, shining their flashlights all around.

Now, Mark, what's wrong with this?  Isn't that the way it's always done in the movies and books?

Yes, but that's not realistic.  Cops turn on lights.  As a former cop, one of the first rules we were taught about room sweeps was this: turn on the lights.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I screamed at the detectives in the novel and they didn't listen to me.  Go figure . . . 

Another Great Moment / Happenings In The Outhouse 06-Dec-2024

As if 2024 couldn't be more awesome and incredible!

The year started with my wife and I getting married in January.  Then, the long process of me adopting her youngest daughter Madison was finalized on Monday.

What a great year 2024 has turned out to be!