Hmmm. I just looked at my stats and realized that I haven't written a blog for 24 days. Well, it's not exactly the best way to build up an audience, is it?
I'm not exactly sure why I haven't written, but I do have my suspicions. I think the root of my procrastination is my proclivity in starting projects and not really sticking with them until I finish them. This blog is a perfect example.
Another possibility is that I just don't have anything exciting going on in my life now. Well, not ever really. I've been a teacher, and I've tried to write some, but I really haven't been exciting since I was in college. Even then, I paled in comparison with many others who were shining examples of excitement and devilry.
I can remember doing butt slides in Meyers dormitory at Southeast Missouri. Back then, Meyers was strictly a male dorm. We could put soapy water on the hall floors and it made a wonderful water slide. It was also customary that if we found out that someone on our floor had become engaged, which did happen a few times in college, we took that person kicking and screaming and threw him in Capaha Park Pond, paradise for ducks and their poop.
Before I went to Cape Girardeau, I attended a local community college. There, I first became involved in drama, and because of drama and one of my speech teachers, Dr. Richard Reney, I began to climb out of a shell that was so thick I had never seen much daylight. I never told Dr. Reney thanks. I don't even know if the man is alive anymore. I had him in class about 40 years ago. He would likely be in his late 70's or early 80's; I think when he retired he went back to New Hampshire.
Doc always had a strong Northeastern accent.
One of the simple joys for us at Mineral Area College was the Spades tournaments we had in between classes. Now, there were some classic battles in spades. We could play for hours. When I wasn't in school, I worked at Mohr Value which later became Walmart, but I still had time to enjoy the weekends. When I got my bachelor's degree, I had to grow up and start teaching.
v mentioned I'm still trying to be a writer. I am working on two projects at the moment. I'm doing a YA novel in verse. It's going okay, but I am a little slower than I'd like to be because I have not written poetry in a long while. I have read some verse books, but I really want mine to be something more than prose broken into lines. I'm walking a thin line between putting in some strong poetic techniques and keeping it readable for a teen audience. I want teens to appreciate the story and the language without thinking they are reading a literature book. My reading of verse books has turned me into a big fan of Steven Herrick.
Another writer whom I am really beginning to like is Neil Gaiman. He is delightfully strange. I've read Neverwhere and Ocean at the End of the Lane. I would like to get more of his books, but the libraries, both online and brick and mortar don't seem to have much of his stuff.
I'm also working on a screenplay, a low-budget horror one. I have about 15 to 20 pages to go in it. I don't know why I bother with screenplays. In the middle of Missouri I don't think I will ever sell a script.
I think I will close for now. Before I go, I will make another recommendation. If you are a fan of fantasy and have not read Patrick Rothfuss, then do it. He only has two books out, the first two in a trilogy he is writing. If you like to get lost in a dense and remarkably well written 1,000 page fantasy, then pick it up.
Cheers. Until next time.
I'm not exactly sure why I haven't written, but I do have my suspicions. I think the root of my procrastination is my proclivity in starting projects and not really sticking with them until I finish them. This blog is a perfect example.
Another possibility is that I just don't have anything exciting going on in my life now. Well, not ever really. I've been a teacher, and I've tried to write some, but I really haven't been exciting since I was in college. Even then, I paled in comparison with many others who were shining examples of excitement and devilry.
I can remember doing butt slides in Meyers dormitory at Southeast Missouri. Back then, Meyers was strictly a male dorm. We could put soapy water on the hall floors and it made a wonderful water slide. It was also customary that if we found out that someone on our floor had become engaged, which did happen a few times in college, we took that person kicking and screaming and threw him in Capaha Park Pond, paradise for ducks and their poop.
Before I went to Cape Girardeau, I attended a local community college. There, I first became involved in drama, and because of drama and one of my speech teachers, Dr. Richard Reney, I began to climb out of a shell that was so thick I had never seen much daylight. I never told Dr. Reney thanks. I don't even know if the man is alive anymore. I had him in class about 40 years ago. He would likely be in his late 70's or early 80's; I think when he retired he went back to New Hampshire.
Doc always had a strong Northeastern accent.
One of the simple joys for us at Mineral Area College was the Spades tournaments we had in between classes. Now, there were some classic battles in spades. We could play for hours. When I wasn't in school, I worked at Mohr Value which later became Walmart, but I still had time to enjoy the weekends. When I got my bachelor's degree, I had to grow up and start teaching.
v mentioned I'm still trying to be a writer. I am working on two projects at the moment. I'm doing a YA novel in verse. It's going okay, but I am a little slower than I'd like to be because I have not written poetry in a long while. I have read some verse books, but I really want mine to be something more than prose broken into lines. I'm walking a thin line between putting in some strong poetic techniques and keeping it readable for a teen audience. I want teens to appreciate the story and the language without thinking they are reading a literature book. My reading of verse books has turned me into a big fan of Steven Herrick.
Another writer whom I am really beginning to like is Neil Gaiman. He is delightfully strange. I've read Neverwhere and Ocean at the End of the Lane. I would like to get more of his books, but the libraries, both online and brick and mortar don't seem to have much of his stuff.
I'm also working on a screenplay, a low-budget horror one. I have about 15 to 20 pages to go in it. I don't know why I bother with screenplays. In the middle of Missouri I don't think I will ever sell a script.
I think I will close for now. Before I go, I will make another recommendation. If you are a fan of fantasy and have not read Patrick Rothfuss, then do it. He only has two books out, the first two in a trilogy he is writing. If you like to get lost in a dense and remarkably well written 1,000 page fantasy, then pick it up.
Cheers. Until next time.
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