In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* During my morning walk
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“We set goals to help ourselves, not to harm ourselves.” a writer closely related to Wes Crowley (grin, and thanks to Aldred G. for the reminder)
During my morning walk, if I encounter other creatures (jackrabbits, coyotes, lines of hard-working ants, etc.) I always say a cordial good morning.
This morning on my way back to the house, a doodle-bug crossed my path. As is my habit, I said, “Good morning, Doodle-bug!”
And just as I was about to step over him, he stopped, looked up at me, and said, “Doodle-bug? My name is Gregory.” Then he huffed and went on about his business.
I apologized and did the same, but I can’t escape the feeling I lost the chance to gain a new friend. As I walked, I was reminded yet again (on this day of all days) that generalizations are not only silly but can cause irreparable harm.
So now I’m thinking maybe the Geico Insurance commercial in which Agent Flo is sitting on a rock and having a brief conversation with Bigfoot, who gives her a hurt, confused look and tells her his name is Darrel, isn’t so far-fetched after all. If I ever meet a “bigfoot,” I will be polite. I will ask whether he’s related to Darrel, and perhaps, whether he’s a writer.
Talk with you again when I can.
Of Interest
See “Mighty Irks From Little Eggcorns Grow” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/09/mighty-irks-from-little-eggcorns-grow.html.
See “Sincerity and Song” at https://hughhowey.com/sincerity-and-song/.
See “Cannibal Ants, Nuclear Bunker” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cannibal-ants-soviet-nuclear-bunker.
See “12 Old Words That Survived by Getting Fossilized in Idioms” at https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/51150/12-old-words-survived-getting-fossilized-idioms. We’ll have to forgive this writer for misspelling “dessert,” even if she is a linguist.
See “100 of the Most Commonly Misspelled Words in the English Language” at https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/629813/100-commonly-misspelled-words-english.
Okay, I’ve been stuck lately.
It looks like you have been too.
Anyway, I reread Writing Into The Dark, and then I reread Quiet The Critical Voice. And then I read the first six chapters of For The Good of the Galaxy, which is really compelling!
I’m now ready to go… thanks for the inspiration! I’ll write on my book for a while before I let myself read more of yours.
I hope things writing-wise are looking up for you soon. You’ve certainly given me a lot of inspiration and I hope you find yours again.
One thing I am experimenting with… I usually write in 20 minute sprints and stop and record my numbers. That stop, or break, sometimes ends up being 24 hours long. LOL!
Yesterday I tried writing to the end of a scene without stopping. And that was helpful.
Today I’m going to try writing for a specified amount of time without stopping. Since I walk around my house while I dictate, I don’t really need a break for physical reasons, such as standing up, or aching hands, so I’ll go for three hours.
I’m just going to write the next sentence. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Good luck with your own writing. I hope to see you up and running soon. I miss your inspiring posts! Your excitement for writing is always contagious!
Thanks, Diane. Yep, I always write to the end of a scene. For me, a scene is a perfect division. (I almost see it as camera placement for a film, or camera angle.) Do let me know how it works out for you. Oh, and thanks for the kind words about FTGOTG. It was fun to write.