Tag: Writing

If only

5:23pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Tuesday evening, August 9, 2022. Went for a walk this morning after a heavy rain last night. Then had a coffee appointment at 9am with a salesperson for the company I am joining. After that I pretty much wrote all day with a quick break to workout. If only everyday could be like today.

In for the evening

4:39pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Saturday afternoon, August 6, 2022. Family left at 5am this morning. After they were gone I ran a couple loads of laundry, watched two movies, wrote a little and practiced scales on the guitar. This afternoon went grocery shopping then called my mom. Now I am in for the evening, enjoying the quiet and staying out of the heat.

Invigorated by the process

5:20pm, pacific standard time, pool at the apartment complex, Chandler, Arizona, USA, Tuesday evening, August 2, 2022. I spent a couple of hours today working on the piece I resurrected back in June. Working on it is different than anything I have done the past 20+ years of writing. In those instances I was alone in the act of creation; trying to use my skills, my imagination, my tenacity and anything else I could muster to make something out of nothing. This piece feels separate from me, almost like a gift. It exists as a wonderful story on its own. My purpose is not to birth it out of alchemy but rather, to spend time making it as beautiful as possible. Subsequently, I am invigorated by the process and excited to see the finished product.

Story resolve

7:22pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Thursday night, July 28, 2022. Spent the morning working on a piece that vexed me for over a decade. The same piece I was working on a month ago but, set aside because it drove me crazy. There is a lot of existential angst surrounding the work but, in the end I came back, not because I envision myself a great writer but, because I want to see the story resolve.

Article

8:17pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Friday night, July 15, 2022. Worked on the article I mentioned a week (or so) ago. Have some good ideas and the direction is taking shape. I would like to finish it before I begin working full-time again.

A pretty good day

5:01pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Thursday evening, July 7, 2022. Received a text from the Rancho Cucamonga group about setting up a call tomorrow to discuss next steps. Also, had an interview this afternoon with a large provider regarding an executive director specialist role in California. Both seem like good opportunities, I would be happy to take either one. On the writing side of things, I started work on an article about destiny and fate. I am curious to see how it turns out. All in all, a pretty good day.

Another good day

6:17pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Monday evening, June 13, 2022. Had a good day; set up an interview for tomorrow morning and was contacted about two other jobs. One of them is in Phoenix, the others are in California. Not sure how viable any of them are, but I am open to explore. Nothing came of the San Diego opportunity from a couple weeks ago, or the other jobs I interviewed for, but no worries; life moves forward and so do I. Continued working on the manuscript I found last week. It has been enjoyable creating something fun.

Writing work

4:00pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Wednesday afternoon, June 8, 2022. The entire day was filled working on the manuscript, with the largest bulk of time establishing consistent timelines as the story unfolds. You would think it not very hard but, surprisingly, it is. The other task I need to address is fleshing out dialogue for the chapters; I want to be “showing” rather than telling. I must say though, the story is good and the structure is sound. I will be patient and consistent as I fine tune it to perfection.

Eleven years later

5:31pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Tuesday evening, June 7, 2022. This afternoon I read the manuscript of a novel I stopped working on eleven years ago. Perusing it brought back memories; who I was when I wrote it, what I hoped to accomplish when it was finished and, ultimately, what I failed to achieve when I stopped working on it. That novel was, by far, the most time and effort I had put into any piece of work, before or since. Ultimately, I gave up when I moved to California before my 40th birthday. It has been left unfinished all this time. For years, I avoided revisiting it, simply because I was convinced all I would feel was disappointment. However, that was not the case. This afternoon, reading it again, I felt two distinct emotions; first, pride, for having written something so good and two, excitement about finishing it. I am happy to say I have found my new project; I am going to clean up that piece and finally give it the ending it deserves.