Writing as therapy / Happenings In The Outhouse 31-May-2019

For me, writing is therapy.  No need to lay on a couch and talk with a shrink.  Writing, like reading fiction or Scriptures, is the best therapy for me.

If you have been following my blog for a considerable time, you'll know that my wife was diagnosed with leukemia back in 2011.  Eight . . . long . . . years ago.  She's still cancer free, but a variety of illnesses bring her down from time to time, not including she gets tired very easily.

Which brings me to May 19th, just a few weeks ago by this point.  My wife hadn't been feeling well for several months, despite going to frequent doctor appointments, with a distinct yellowing in her skin.  On this fateful day, she grew rapidly disorientated.  By the next morning, with the help of my in-laws (her parents), we brought her to the doctor, who advised us to admit her to the ER ASAP.  What they discovered was an elevated level of ammonia.  Her kidneys and liver were failing, due to an infection (UTI), but it could be reversed.  She spent most of that week in the hospital, where she received the best medical care.  She had no memory of the events of the 19th and 20th, where she exhibited her odd behavior.

What does this have to do with writing?  Doesn't this sound a bit selfish for me to think about my writing when my wife was severely ill?

Not at all.  Her needs came first.  At the same time, however, I had to take care of myself.  With a severe lack of sleep, my stress level was probably off the charts.  I rested when I could.  Then, I set out to heal myself.

Enter: writing.

I am currently writing a new story.  Originally, I planned on punching this story out in about two weeks.  Well, it may be a little longer.  Not much, but I delegate what I need to delegate (at home) and I'm setting aside more time for my writing--ahem, I mean therapy.

New short story / Happenings In The Outhouse 24-May-2019

I have a new short story that I just published: The Will of Mr. Rickenhauser.

Here's the blurb:
A billionaire is murdered.
Drug deal gone bad?  Or sophisticated murder plot by heirs to cash in on their fortune?

Enjoy!
Here's a link for your favorite ebook retailer.

New stories in the pipeline / Happenings In The Outhouse 17-May-2019

By next week, I'll have a new short story published.

Then, I have another shorter novel I'm going to write.  It has a true crime and time travel twist, and I'm looking forward to writing it.

After that, I have a YA novel that's been sitting on the backburner for quite some time that I plan on writing.  It's a softball-themed book inspired by my oldest daughter Mariah when we used to practice in the yard years ago.  She doesn't play anymore nor do we practice catch, but the story has always struck me as fascinating.

It should be an interesting summer.

Daily bites / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-May-2019

Back in college, when I wrote my first novel (a 1,000-page behemoth of a horror novel) I set a daily goal of writing one page a day.  In fact, one of my first posts ever did I talk about this.  Here's a fun read from August 2010.

Fast forward to today.  As much of a struggle as it is, I am finding myself wanting to go back to this goal.  A much easier goal to hit, depending on the day.  Earlier this week, our kitchen sink has had a leak and needs replacing.  Not being very mechanical--well, I can do something if I need to, but I don't have all the right tools--my father-in-law and our son helped with this task.

This may not seem like much, but to clean areas where my grandparents' piano will go, and do everything else on top of it, my writing time seems to have gone down to nil.

Again, I'm not complaining as I feel blessed with all that God has given me.  The stress this (and a whole lot more that I'm not going to explain) has caused makes me realize that I also need some time for myself to decompress.

If you find yourself overwhelmed, take your bigger goal and break it up into small daily chunks.  Is writing one page a day too much?  Write for five minutes.  Maybe ten.  Do something that works for you.

Changing it up (again) / Happenings In The Outhouse 03-May-2019

I came to a realization earlier this week.  At the rate I was going, I may not publish anything in 2019.

Don't get me wrong.  I write pretty much everyday.  Some days, more than others.  But the pace at which I was going, my current WIP (work in progress), an epic fantasy novel, may not see publication until December 2019.  And with that, I'm being generous in the timeline.  It's currently around the 34,000 word mark and I'm estimating it will be close to 200,000 words by the time it's done.  In reality, it may not be finished until . . well, a year from now.  If not later.

Right now, I have a lot riding on my shoulders--trust me, I'm not complaining, so sympathy is neither needed nor requested.  This has to do with my family life.  A lot of things are piled on at once each night and before I know it, I'm exhausted and the best thing for me to do is go to bed.  My writing time consists of the morning, after I drop my kids off at school and before I get ready for work.  Roughly, an hour tops.  Maybe 30-60 minutes each night, if possible--with a strong emphasis on the IF.

I have a lot of writing projects vying for my attention.  Then, the other night, I asked myself if I should slow down on my epic fantasy and work to publish other writings.  *ding!*  That was all I needed.

Lately, during breaks and lunches at work, I've been sketching out (yes, one may call it outlining) future projects.  Some I will tackle right away.

Stay tuned . . .

The power of a first (single) draft / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-Apr-2019

I realized something the other day.  I write the majority of my blog posts in a single sitting.  Meaning, after one draft.

Even several of the stories I've published lately have only seen one draft.

Let me explain the process, which is stupidly simple.  I do what is called cycling (here's a blog post I did a while back that explains it).  I actually do a modified version of this.  Depending on the size of the project, I will go back and do a casual read, as if I was a reader and not a writer, correcting any errors that I may come across.  For short stories, novelettes, and novellas, I will typically read it through from beginning to end, mostly in a single sitting, making a few corrections here and there.

For my current project, which I know is in four parts, I will read each part in its entirety once I get to the end of it.  After that, I won't read it again until the book is done.  Then, I will do one more casual read, just in case something happens at the end that may affect something in the beginning.  But I do not do the heavy editing like I did before I started publishing.  I shake my head at how many years I wasted doing this--and I still come across several writers who feel the need to edit heavy-handedly over and over and over and over again.

This is essential Heinlein's five rules of writing.  Don't trust yourself?  Do it once and then test the waters.

A Legacy Of Hats

We celebrated my grandfather's 96th birthday this past Easter weekend.

My sister, her husband, and her two boys were there.  Also, all of my aunts and uncles were in attendance, along with several cousins, their spouses and kids.  It was a joyous event, to say the least.  There were only five cousins and their families who were not able to come, but of those who did, we had a lot of laughs and heartfelt reminiscence.

As usual, my grandfather loves (yes, loves, I can't emphasize that enough) black licorice.  We gave him an assortment of black licorice from a small candy store in town.

The weekend was also bittersweet as my grandfather has recently moved into an assisted living home and is in the process of cleaning out the house so it can be sold.  For me, there were four-plus decades worth of memories in this home.  There were items from the home my grandfather put people's names on, from his own children, their spouses, and then the grandchildren.  I was given a piano, which had been a centerpiece for many Christmases when I was young as my grandmother (she passed away over 15 years ago) played it with skillful finesse.  There were also many items one could just take.  My grandfather had such an assortment of tools, they filled many tables in the basement and garage.

There were also bigger items for purchase.  Another centerpiece was the dining room table.  One of my cousins purchased it as he has a larger dining room and the table he owned was rather small.  Many memories were spent there, and it will be the centerpiece for many more in its new home.

In the den was a writing desk.  The price was reasonable--honestly, everything with prices were reasonable and none of us thought about the money as it was going to help with my grandfather's living expenses.  I kept going back and back to the writing desk.  It spoke to me, in a way.  I put my name on it.

In a few weeks, it will be moved down (along with the piano and a corner couch) to my home.

One highlight of the day was what I'll call the legacy of hats.  My grandfather and grandmother had quite an assortment of hats.  Everyone picked through them and put one on.  We had so much fun putting these on.  One of my cousin's husband and myself each chose a fur-lined Cossack hat.

The legacy of hats filtered down to virtually everyone in attendance.  My uncle Rod told me that my wife needed one.  He chose one that he thought would work, then sifted through what was left, over and over again, always coming back to his original choice.  It was fun to watch him choose just the right one for my wife.  He truly looked like a kid in a candy store.  He ended up with the original.  It fit her well.