Writing

Salmon-chanted Feeding

mikemjensen Ain't Dead Yet, goals, Life's Truths, Vanity, Writing Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

First a word. In this case “first”.

And then another, and another, and another. Before long, there’s a sentence. And then a paragraph, even if an improper one. And just like that, the writing has started all over again.

So much has happened since my last post, it would take like a year to fill it all in. So I won’t. However, this year won’t be so lucky, nor undocumented.

So welcome back to both you and me. I’ve missed you.

At the time of this writing, an uncle is finishing his run. Any day now the call will be received of his passing.

An unprecedented effort is currently being spent in the Pacific Northwest to preserve a particular Orca, J50, and the pod to which she belongs. Antibodies and dewormers are being injected. Live salmon are being released to secretly feed the young whale, and everyone involved is hopeful that the plight of this one whale turns people’s attention and care to preserving the ecosystem of our oceans.

Upstairs, new neighbors are moving in. A new start in hopefully a healthy apartment staircase community. One never knows at the start where the series of events leads. Will it be good, or will it be bad?

Where am I in my career? Definitely not the start. I’m too old to call anything a start.

The end? I sure hope not.

The time to relaunch? Yes. It’s time to pick up the race one more. I’m not Whale J50; but I’m hungry for salmon.

 

 

Post 4-001

 

 

Write Now, Fish Later

mikemjensen Fishing, goals, Life's Truths, Writing Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Today would’ve been a lovely day to go fishing. It rained all day yesterday and this morning we woke to blue skies and sunshine. Of course if I had been going fishing, I would’ve been gone long before the sunshine ever showed up.

I had thought seriously about breaking out the kayak. This past week I had received some new lures in the mail and I’ve been hankering to give them a spin. I watched the YouTube videos on their use, the strategy, and the secret methods. Yes the sunny Sunday was to be my fishing extravaganza.

But there’s this thing about working.whining

I know the day job is Monday through Friday. So the weekends are for fun, right? Except when you have decided to write yourself out of the miserable existence that is working for other people.

So I passed on the angling and took to the writing. Good progress was made and the sun streaked across the sky and back into the western horizon. Day over.

Work is the name of the game. Without it nothing happens; with it, anything can.

There’ll be other days to fish. With any luck, they’ll be during the week between Mondays and Fridays.

 

Post 3-085

Learning Something

mikemjensen Life's Truths Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey kids,

A blog post yesterday was to happen. I returned from the day job and it was truly my intentions. And then the news.

A post all of a sudden seemed trivial with the pictures of Brussels on the TV screen. What am I supposed to say?

And then there was the Presidential primary caucus. I didn’t have any sharable thoughts on that either, although it fascinates me. I read the posts on Facebook. This was all someone else’s battle.

So we ordered Pizza, put on the movie Tombstone, and called it a night.casey

Then this morning, I watch the daily video from one of my YouTube heroes, Casey Neistat. He mentioned at the start of his vlog that in response to life’s terrible events, one should just do what they do best and that effort tilts the world back right, or at least makes it a little bit better, and then he went on with his vlog.

That would’ve been a much better response than not doing anything at all.

Lesson learned.

 

Post #357

 

Link to mentioned vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRyAl7RWRhs

 

There is no Fat Lady

mikemjensen goals, Writing Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Hey Kids,

The goal was to post every day. I failed.

I admit the failure but refuse to call it defeat. I had lost the battle a week ago and changed the post label from “day” to “post”. But today I openly admit it. The thing to do is to start again. And so I have.

Work has me on the ropes right now. Between the day job and the overnight job, my 49-year-old body is showing signs of weakness. I’m tired and the main casualty has been my writing.

In addition to the problems with the writing of the blog, any real progress on the second Porter Rockwell has halted, as well as work on my other projects. I am very frustrated right now. My day job has become a no-win situation and the night job is insanely idiotic in its managerial approach. Neither of these things are new developments, but I have allowed them to derail my goals.

Like my daily blog posts, the trick is not to accept defeat. Instead, it’s time for a reboot. Pick up where I stopped and restart.super-hero

The Porter Book needs some heavy rewriting. I have learned from the past that surges and marathons are not the answer. Consistent, daily effort wins out every time. Like the blog, it takes time each day, and that time has to be dedicated or it doesn’t happen.

The other projects need consistent effort as well. Maybe not daily effort, but something of a weekly quota.

Post 336 is a reboot. I hope to make at least another 336 before I need another.

 

 

Post 336

A Little Peek

mikemjensen Writing Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Tonight, here’s a very short excerpt from one of the short stories I wrote during November. It was a fun story to write. Enjoy.old_west_city_street300

“Dead Cold”

It took two days to get there. I did not sleep and I did not eat. The memories of the gun shot, the blow to the back of my head, my dead horse, and my stolen gold consumed any thoughts of stopping. Had they been satisfied with a simple hold-up, I would’ve given up the gold without much fight. I know things don’t work like that out here, but I would’ve done it. I’m a coward like that, at least I was. They purged those feelings and rage now filled that space. Hate surrounded it. It was not hard to keep walking. The cold had ceased to exist, my body burned hot, as if fueled by the fires of hell.

The sight of the town first came into view around mid-day of the second day, yet another ten hours would pass before my feet first crossed into its boundary.

I could practically smell them. Like a predator in pursuit of its prey, I knew what they would do before they did. I felt no rush. They felt comfortable, safe. They did not know the wolf was at the door.

 

 

Day 289

50,000 or Bust

mikemjensen NaNoWriMo, Writing Tags: , 4 Comments

Hey Kids,

50,000 new words written.

I finished my NaNoWriMo challenge.NaNo-2015-Winner-Banner

This was a challenging one with so much going on, and then starting a new second job on top of that!

Maybe to some, the deed doesn’t seem to great.

To me, it’s something many people start out saying they’re going to do it, and then a only a small percentage actually realize it.

*patting myself on the back*

 

 

NaNoWriMo: 50,000+/50,000

Day 280

Failure is Not an Option

mikemjensen NaNoWriMo, Writing Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

I knew the NaNoWriMo thing would be tough to do this month with so much going on, but I decided to jump into it anyway.tumblr_mvlcokDhGQ1qc0c3bo1_500

Everything was going great, until this past week when things got a little hairy at work, I began a new second job, and Thanksgiving made its appearance.

The plan was to work ahead, in preparation for this week in particular. I didn’t.

The plan was to finish early in the month and avoid this whole week entirely. It didn’t.

The plan was to make sure there was no way I could fail at achieving 50,000 words written before November 30th. This plan is still alive.

Goodbye_QuitterI hate to fail. Especially when everything is within my possibility. I am responsible for falling behind. I will be responsible to hit the mark.

Failure is not an option.

 

NaNoWriMo: 44,078/50,000

Day 278

Full Forward Reverse

mikemjensen Life's Truths Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

I believe in dreams.

And I believe in pursuing said dreams. But there is a big fat reality with which we must all reckon, the need of money. For me that need has turned into a second job. I am in training now to be an overnight stocker at a large retailer.wallyworld1

It is the exact opposite direction that I had hoped for. But it is the answer for the moment.

I’ll still work at my writing. I have a book that’s in the works that I can’t quite get to a point that I want to let it out. It’s just not good enough. And my first book, although well liked by those who have read it, is not really selling enough to be a reliable source of income.

So instead of working towards financial independence and working for myself, I will trade some hours for money.

It’s ok. I’m not crying about it. Sometimes a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. And currently, my hourly labor is worth more than my written words in a book. It’s cool. This world don’t owe me anything.

I don’t owe it anything either and I believe this all will change one day. I’m just going to keep plugging along.

Until then, I’ll take their money.

 

NaNoWriMo: 38,801/50,000

Day 277

To Vlog or Not To Vlog

mikemjensen Interesting Stuff (to me anyway), Internet Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

I really enjoy doing video.

I mean, I’ve always like watching stuff, but recently I’ve been learning how to edit video and make my own little videos.

I know I’m way behind the curve on this. In an age of YouTube celebrities, I can’t imagine what I could do that would be original or interesting. But I think I want to try. In doing this blog every day for the past 200+ days, I’ve learned how tough and how easy it is to just do something after deciding you want to.

I want to start vlogging. I’m not sure I can handle a daily vlog but I’ll decide on some regular interval. For my own sake.flat,550x550,075,f

A staff member recently posted on the workplace wall, “We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” It’s attributed to Aristotle.

Whatever we decide to do, it may not be perfect at first. Or ever. But once we commit to doing something on a continual basis, it’s bound to get better.

I think I’ll be a better video-er.

 

NaNoWriMo: 28,601/50,000

Day 267

NaNoWriMo Catch Up

mikemjensen Vanity, Writing Tags: , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Write, write, write.

That was the order of the day today.

We had a bunch of things to do this morning, and it included getting into the gym for a quick work out but after lunch, it was time to write.Writing-furiously

I feel behind 500 words on Thursday night and then failed to write at all on Friday.

I know that for some, coming up with 3,800 words (the amount I started out behind) in one day doesn’t sound like a huge task. However when you figure those words have to fit into a 50,000 word goal, it is tougher than you think.

In comparison, Stephen King, whose work is nothing but prolific, writes about 1500 words per day. 3,800 words all of a sudden sounds like a bunch.

I failed to reach that number. Instead I finished at 2700. I’m still behind, but if I can put down an equal effort tomorrow, I’ll be caught up.

The trick is not to get behind and if you do, it might take a few days to make up the difference. And if you do fall behind, it’s better to do it in the first two weeks of NaNoWriMo than in the last two.

Wish me luck.

 

NaNoWriMo: 22,222/50,000

Day 264