Hey Folks,
Great “Of Interest” section today. Don’t skip over Lee Lofland’s blog post just because maybe you aren’t a crime/police/detective writer. Using all the senses is a skill you need in ANY fiction.
Topic: Aging as Excuse
A young Marine Corps friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he’s met 40 year olds who are old and 80 year olds who are young. I agree.
In fact, I commented there that “I still tell people I’m 26, but I was rode hard and put away wet. Plus I have 39 years’ experience at being 26, so I’m REALLY good at it.”
Truedat, as the kids say. Most of “acting your age” is a matter of attitude.
Then too, I’m reminded of all sorts of folks who’ve told me they “can’t” do one thing or another because they’re “too old.” These are probably the same folks who, a few decades ago, decried their inability to do certain things because they were “too young.” Or the wind was blowing. Or the sun was shining. Or it wasn’t.
But there ARE differences. You can do anything you want to do. It just might take a little longer. Or maybe you have to take a different tack.
Given general good health, the 40 year old who seems old hasn’t yet learned the concept. He isn’t aware yet of what’s coming. The 80 year old who seems young has experienced the concept, backed it into a corner and whipped its butt.
I’m between those two extremes in my mid-60s. Fortunately, I’ve encountered enough physical problems, though none of them have readily visual clues, that I too have learned the concept.
Some of those problems (we all have them) have gotten me down from time to time. But never far enough that I forgot we always have choices.
My ticker is on the blink. When I encounter something I think will help, I take it or do it. But otherwise, generally, I don’t think of it. Nothing I can do about it anyway beyond the things I believe will help, so I don’t worsen the problem by worrying about it.
I’ve also developed severe arthritis in my lower spine. Some days it renders me all but unable to walk. But other days, most days, it doesn’t bother me at all. And there’s nothing I can do about this problem save a risky surgery, so frankly I’d rather put up with the few off days.
Those are my two big problems.
But I’m a writer nowadays. I’m no longer expected or required to do things for which I used to be well-suited, like being a cop or working in the oil fields of New Mexico or driving a rig or being a Marine.
I’m no longer expected to lift heavy objects. Well, I AM a guy and I have a girl for whom I occasionally like to show off, so I still do that now and then. But I usually pre-lift it first while I’m alone so I don’t make an utter fool of myself. (grin)
But again, the differences….
There was a time when I was instantly awake even after only 3 hours of sleep (one sleep cycle, for me). A sleep cycle is the time it takes your brain to go from Alpha (just below consciousness) then cycle down through Theta and Delta and back up through Theta to Alpha again.
Now I have to have two sleep cycles, and the cycle itself has increased to 3.5 hours. So I need 7 hours of sleep if I’m to function at a normal level. But even after all that, it takes me an hour or so to wake up. And I’m leaning more all the time toward the “or so” part of that equation.
So what?
What matters in life are the waking hours. Those are what bring us back to Choice. During our waking hours, we choose all through the day how to spend them.
And that’s what finally leads this post to writing. Figure out how many words on average you write in an hour. Probably it will be 800 to 1200 WPH.
When you write 1000 words per hour, that’s only 17 words per minute. That gives you a lot of time to stare off into space while you search mentally for “lichen” so you don’t have to write “that grey-green or grey-blue stuff on rocks.”
If you write only 300 or 400 or 600 words per hour and I were your writing coach, my first question would be “What in the world are you doing with your time?”
So do that. Figure out your WPH average and then how many hours or parts of hours you can dedicate to the chair each day. If you have a back like mine, get a good lumbar support (or a good chair, or both) or alternate standing and sitting.
Or don’t. If you only want to write an hour a week, do that. But know that you have choices. Know that you have an attitude and occasionally it might need an adjustment. Then apply that attitude, regardless of your chronological age, and get back to living your life.
Or writing. Whatever.
***
Got out to the Hovel around 9, and in two sessions knocked out 1800 words. Then a break for the PO and all of that.
Yesterday I started reading the autobiography of Joseph Bonanno (yeah, that one, the godfather). In the introduction, he said if you’re expecting one-dimensional stuff like you’d see in the movies, give the book to someone else, that this is the story of his life. His real life, with all the nuances, good and bad.
I’m in Heaven. This is exactly what I hoped it would be. Even the darkest antagonist has a good side, and even the purest protagonist has a dark side. I’m looking forward to reading more of it.
But not at the moment. I got back from the PO, saw it on my desk and picked it up. Then I remembered I need to at least finish the current intermission in my WIP and at least start the next story.
So I put the book down and wrote this stuff. Now it’s back to having fun with my characters.
Well, a pretty good day. I’ll take it.
Back tomorrow.
Of Interest
Anybody else out there write cops? You might consider registering for the Writers’ Police Academy conference. See http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/conference/schedule/ for the schedule.
In the alternative (or maybe in addition) I recommend subscribing to Lee Lofland’s blog, The Graveyard Shift at https://www.leelofland.com/the-graveyard-shift-blog/.
See Dean’s “Backed Against The Challenge Wall” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/backed-against-the-challenge-wall/. Incredible.
Via the Kill Zone blog, see “A Cop’s Nighttime Melody: The Sounds of Graveyard Shift” at https://www.leelofland.com/a-cops-nighttime-melody-the-sounds-of-graveyard-shift/. Crime writer PJ Parrish calls this post “a master class in the power of using your senses, and finding the telling details, to make any scene or character come to life.”
Fiction Words: 3328
Nonfiction Words: 1150 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 4478
Writing of The Storytellers
Brought forward………………………………………………………………… 1304
Day 2…… 2966 words. Total words to date…… 4270
Day 3…… 4475 words. Total words to date…… 8745
Day 4…… 1718 words. Total words to date…… 10463
Day 5…… 3825 words. Total words to date…… 14228
Day 6…… 3328 words. Total words to date…… 17556
Writing of Versailles (novel, tentative title)
Day 1…… 3081 words. Total words to date…… 3081
Day 2…… 2217 words. Total words to date…… 5298
Day 3…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXX
Writing of Pulp 9 (novel, tentative title)
Day 1…… 1926 words. Total words to date…… 1926
Day 2…… 2884 words. Total words to date…… 4810
Day 3…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXX
Total fiction words for the month……… 40376
Total fiction words for the year………… 153917
Total nonfiction words for the month… 12900
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 46660
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 242357
Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 30
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 5
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………………… 182