I am working on the second of two novellas to be released in the coming months. The due date for this one is, well, saturday. I won’t pretend I am in any shape to feel good about hitting the date, but a good today will be a huge step in that direction. What does it take to have a good writing day any day? Well, that is what I am taking ten minutes to figure out.
I don’t expect all the answers in 10. I do expect progress. Lets start with what I already know: Having a good writing day starts with having a positive mindset and a wealth of energy to put towards the task. This means being fully awake and limiting distractions. For a long time that meant putting on the sounds of water and closing the door. Now it means more of a pregame. The blog helps to serve as my mental calisthenics. It gets the mind blood pumping. I need that. And coffee.
I also need to have structure. That is a blog for another day… Thursday maybe.
Some Thoughts:
- Being on the beach makes me extremely happy. While there is the obvious and undeniable enjoyment of being surrounded by beautiful people, the major joy comes from the sounds of the waves and being able to put my feet in the water and feel like I am surrounded by openness–even on a crowded beach. That is the thing about the ocean: the vastness of it is heartening.
- Also, I watched Vast of Night last night and it was really well done. It was shot and felt very much like a radio play. It was beautiful and dark and the characters were powerful. The ending… Just watch.
- Reading Critical Mass–the last of Craig Alanson’s Col. Bishop & Skippy series. With under 15 hrs left, I have no idea how he could even begin to end this thing in a way that does NOT leave me wanting another volume.