A few things going on, lately… HEAR Now Festival A story I wrote was accepted as an official listening selection for the The HEAR Now Audio Fiction and Arts Festival. A bit more about that over on the Not About Lumberjacks blog. Writing Retreat I wrote about the writing retreat that was planned for early […]
Archives for 2018
On Repeated Success (With Creative Endeavors)
I did not come pre-package with musical aptitude. In fifth grade, I joined my elementary school’s orchestra. I played violin. I practiced more than most classmates and was understanding things enough that I wanted to learn how to tune my violin. The orchestra teacher said, “No!” Not just a soft “no,” but a stern “No!” […]
Finding the Perfect Path
I’ve mentioned Jack Cheng’s “Sunday” letter newsletter here before. This week, Cheng wrote about plot. In the piece, Cheng shares a couple great quotes from George Saunders. This is the one that stuck with me (and, apparently, Cheng): I don’t get plot. I don’t understand it, I don’t like it, whenever I try to come […]
Rescheduling the Retreat
A wee medical thing with the friend who takes part in the annual writing retreat means we’re going to have to reschedule. I still plan to take Monday and Tuesday off to write, though. And then sometime later this spring, summer, or maybe even autumn…it will be off to East Texas for the sixth annual […]
Writing Is Not That Easy
When a story breaks about someone on YouTube earning a lot of money from making videos, it’s almost inevitable: someone’s going to say, “I’m gonna start making YouTube videos and making millions…” It’s usually said in such a manner that the person saying it is offended someone who gives a large part of their lives […]
The Sign Beneath the Door
In movies, roommates leave a bevvy of items on doorknobs to tell their roommate, “Hey, I have things going on in here, and I would appreciate it if you found another place to crash tonight…” I consider myself fortunate that the one roommate I had after high school was more likely to say, “Hey, I’m […]
Sixth Annual Writing Retreat
The sixth annual writing retreat is booked. Last year’s retreat was at Daingerfield State Park…and this year’s retreat will be there as well. After my day job getting the better of me last year, I look forward to keeping the momentum of 2018 going through the spring. And having the retreat lined up is a […]
Changes Along the Way
Recently, I wrote an entry about what it takes for me to be productive. (Quick version: Don’t do so damn much, say no to things, and stop distracting yourself with things that pull you away from writing.) In many ways, that’s what I did when I started writing (head down; write all the time), but […]
To a Productive 2018
A friend and I recently chatted about productivity systems. Or, I should say, he talked about productivity systems… We both appreciate the way the other looks at a thing they want to do and how they go about doing it. I tend to get more done, though, and that’s what this friend finds interesting: that […]