This is a teaser from War of Nytefall: Ravenous. It focuses on a character who caught me by surprise. Desirae wasn’t supposed to get as big as she did in this book and the ensuing adventures. Yet, she ended up becoming a key figure for major events. Pick up her debut as a 99 cent eBook or a $12 paperback.
I stumbled into this topic because I saw an ad talking about ‘green noise’. I’d heard of white noise, but not green. I went looking and that’s when I discovered ‘pink noise’. I then found ‘blue noise’ and ‘brown noise’. Needless to say, I was confused. The picture above does help though.
First, what is it with background noise and concentration? Well, it stems from the whole ‘reptilian brain’ part of our psyche. We all have it. These are the older parts of the human mind, which evolved to keep us alive and out of danger. They can circumvent the rational parts of our mind in certain situations. They are also easily distracted, which is where the ‘noise’ can come into play.
You see, these types of noises area all built around steady patterns. The human brain will become used to them in a way that they get filtered out. Along with the ‘noise’, it will get rid of other sounds that can trigger the ‘reptilian brain’. This promotes an increase in focus, productivity, relaxation, and creativity. You can see that it can also help with tinnitus.
It was interesting to find out that ‘pink noise’ is also what we call ambient noise. It is a steady background noise, which is the same thing as ‘white noise’. What’s the difference then? Pink uses deeper sounds and lower sound waves, which is supposed to make it smoother and more gentle. This is why you see that it helps with relaxation. It also feels like ‘pink noise’ is more natural stuff while ‘white noise’ is more electrical/tech. It’s still confusing to me. So, what does this have to do with creativity?
Many authors use these types of frequencies to help with writing. Some ‘white noise’ machines can be put in a spot where it blocks or muffles sounds that are trying to get inside. This helps maintain focus because it reduces or eliminates distractions. At least, auditory ones since I don’t think it will help much with an author wandering the Internet. Then again, ‘white noise’ is supposed to improve both focus and productivity because of the mood it sets. Not a bad thing if you’re having trouble achieving those things without help.
So, how about ‘pink noise’? This is considered better than ‘white noise’ because it is gentler. The former has a habit of becoming harsh and even somewhat painful like tv static. With ‘pink noise’, you don’t start feeling pain or nausea if the sound goes on for too long. It’s really that simple.
Let’s get to the creativity side now. Apparently, a 2012 study was done on background noise and creativity. It found that 70 decibels was a creativity sweet spot. This is the range of a busy coffee shop or a vacuum cleaner, which was surprising. It seems too high a level makes it impossible for the human mind to concentrate, but too low means it is easily distracted. Think of how being in total silence means you pick up on even the slightest of noises. That can be distracting for some people.
I think this could explain why some authors need music. I did read that it helps with creativity, but you have to be careful. Songs with words can cause problems if you’re writing, but they work for visual arts. You want gentle melodies, which doesn’t match me putting rock and heavy metal on. An interesting tidbit is that familiar songs can act as ‘pink noise’ to help with editing while new songs can stir new ideas.
All of this really makes one consider how their surroundings affect their writing on more than a visual and emotional level. We’re raised to believe that we can only concentrate and focus within total silence. Yet, the human brain doesn’t seem to do its best when it doesn’t have any auditory shielding from distractions. Not that I’m going to run off and get a ‘pink noise’ machine to play when I write. Although, I might try to stick more to video game music that doesn’t have lyrics and see how that goes.
I always thought there were a lot of alligator species. Then, I discovered that I was wrong and it’s crocodiles that are varied. There are only two species of alligator. They are actually pretty different from each other. I’m going to change up the usual way I do facts and divide this post in half.
American Alligator
The American alligator is the one that most of us think of. They’re large and found in the Southeastern region of the US, Mexico, and Tamaulipus. They were endangered until they became protected in 1976, which has led to them now being listed as ‘least concerned’. American alligators can range from 8-11 feet long. They are powerful, opportunistic predators that use ambush tactics. They will go after anything that gets too close, including humans.
Chinese Alligators
In contrast, the Chinese Alligator gets only 4-5 feet long. They are also critically endangered and live in a small area of the Yangtze basin. There are possibly less than 150 alive in the wild. The reason for this is habitat fragmentation and contamination of their food sources by pesticides and fertilizers. Unlike their larger relatives, they have blunter teeth to help them go for shellfish. They never attack humans due to their size, but will go for smaller mammals. Physically, the Chinese alligator’s snout tapers up instead of going straight like the American species. They also have bony plates on their eyelids and bellies that the bigger species lacks.
Alligator Facts:
American alligator genders are determined by temperature. If it goes below 86 F, all eggs will be female. If it goes to 93 F or above, all eggs will be male. The temperatures in-between will create a mix.
Alligators cannot survive in saltwater like crocodiles. They lack the gland that helps them excrete salt from their bodies.
They can go through 3,000 teeth in their lifetime.
Unlike most reptiles, alligator moms actually raise their young. This lasts for two years.
Alligator blood is antibiotic and antiviral. It has been seen to protect alligators (not humans) from HIV-1, West Nile Virus, and Herpes.
Alligators can leap out of the water by their own body length. I’ve seen that in action and it’s scary.
Chinese alligators dig extensive tunnel networks that they spend most of their time in. They especially go into hiding to avoid humans.
Chinese alligators are also called Yangtze alligator, China alligator, and muddy dragon.
It is suggested that the Chinese alligator was the inspiration for the Chinese dragon.
Alligators have the strongest bites in the world. Yet, the muscles to open their mouths are very weak. A human can hold the mouth shut with their own hands or bind it with duct tape with minimal problems. Of course, the real problem is that you’re holding the mouth of a thrashing, angry predator.
Let’s see some videos:
Almost forgot this fun part. There is a fascination with albino alligators. Yet, there are only about 100 in the world. Mostly because they are born white, which makes them easy prey. So, they don’t live very long. Some have been put in captivity though, which allows them to grow up. Like so:
First, I think I lost 7 ratings on Beginning of a Hero since I checked on Thursday. I can’t be surprised since reviews and ratings vanish without any explanation. Seems to be the nature of the beast for years.
So, I kind of met many of the goals of my week, but I kept them simple. Most of them I couldn’t avoid no matter what went wrong. Others failed because stuff definitely took a turn after Monday. Biking didn’t happen after that day. Writing didn’t happen and this weekend isn’t looking good. Sleeping habits took a lot of blows because things kept happening. I’m talking car alarms, coughing people at 1:20 AM, staying up a bit too late a few times, indigestion, and not being allowed to sleep beyond 5:30 until tomorrow. So, I’m worn down.
There were several reasons for things going off the rails. Some were fine because they were important. A friend needed to talk and I needed that venting too. Had to change things around for stuff involving my son. He had appointments and Thursday night he had ASL Idol, which went until 9 PM. That’s a show the school districts do where students perform songs using American Sign Language. There was ‘Be Prepared’, ‘Let It Go’, ‘Best of Both Worlds’, some stuff from Hamilton, a song first translated from one language to English then ASL, and a bunch of Taylor Swift. There was more, but those are the ones that came to my head. Lots of fun, but I was already reaching the end of my energy, so this took the last of it.
Work was busy too because we now have only a week and a half before Spring Break. I did get those Easter Eggs colored on Monday since I had to take off for my son’s IEP meeting. I’ll put a picture of them on the April 8th post since I had to immediately hide them from prying eyes and hands. Anyway, I had a lot to do at work, including a Friday field trip with the Life Skills kids to a bowling tournament. They all did great and one seems to have a high level of skill with claw machines. I’m still surprised I had enough energy left to write this post before I went to bed.
Sadly, my work week isn’t really over. I was asked and I agreed to go with the school’s robotics team to the final day of a tournament. The person who has been going all week can’t do it, so I’m going instead. No idea what I’m doing, but I’m there to help and, I guess, be a cheerleader. This means I wake up 5:30 AM to get myself ready and to the school. I probably won’t be done until 5 PM, which will be followed by grabbing dinner on the way home. So, what does this mean?
My goal of writing 2 chapters of Darwin & the Demon Game this weekend isn’t going to happen. If I’m too tired to do any writing tonight then I’ll probably only get 2/3’s of chapter 11 done. I’ll try to use a weeknight to get that one done, but I won’t be able to tackle the book again until evening of April 12th. This means I probably won’t finish the book until mid-May. I was hoping for late April, but I guess this is good enough. I’ll use the rest of the school year to tackle the outline for Darwin & the Beast Collector and ‘Phi Beta Files’. Managed to design one character for that second thing. Guess that’s some progress.
I’m also going to need to put some time aside for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? posts, which will be in June and July. I’m going to be doing teasers in June on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Just small sections of entries. The thing that I can’t figure out is what to do once I release the book on July 4th. Do I keep the teasers going through all of July? They might be losing attention at that point. I’m wondering if letting June be the teaser month will allow me to only do July teasers on Tuesday and use the other weekdays to discuss writing the book. I’ve got time to think up 12-14 posts that can work off that concept. Means I really only have to worry a ton about August. At least these advance posts give me something to write during weeks that I can’t get to the books.
Another thing that wore me down this week was dealing with a handful of people who just irked me. I’m being nice here. I had a few moments where I was getting sick of humanity because of some treatment. Not only how I’ve been treated, but a few friends too. Feel like I should make it clear that none of this work related too. Crazy stuff ended up happening where I was faced with egotism, narcissism, guilt-tripping, cruelty, and plain ‘are you serious? stuff. I can’t go into some of the wildest things here since it took me a few days to sort them out. That’s a big reason I couldn’t do any writing during the week beyond Monday. Just really needed to step back and consider how I deal with certain personality types. Maybe I’m too nice or a glutton for punishment until I start snapping at everything like a rabid dog. Either way, I need to use this weekend to refocus my energies and I think seeing an exciting robot competition will be a good start. I’ve already been warned not to bring up BattleBots since this isn’t like that.
So, goals of the week?
Write 1 chapter of Darwin & the Demon Game.
Help son with homework since I know it’s coming.
Alter my son’s Soul King Brook costume so that the wig doesn’t make him itch that much.
Finish the June blog posts.
Watch more ‘Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?’, which is still an odd title for this anime series.
Get back into the biking habit starting with 20-25 minutes tomorrow.
Sleep!
Avoid getting into pointless arguments or drawn into drama.
Tinker with ‘Phi Beta Files’ if possible.
Pick a father/son movie for next weekend. Maybe go to see ‘Dungeons & Dragons’?
This is something that I seem to be at odds with when I bring it up with other authors. I might just be explaining things wrong. Then again, I might just have a different goal when it comes to my books. At least, I used to, but we’ll leave that for another time.
Long ago, I dreamed of creating a fictional world for people to visit and play in. This was going to be done through my books. I even thought that I could open Windemere to guest authors once I established enough of it. That or it could become a playground for other authors after I died. This stemmed from reading about worlds that were crafted by multiple authors. You had the Forgotten Realms (D&D), Oz, and the Extended Universe of Star Wars. Of course, that wasn’t the main point, but it touched on the core of what I was trying to achieve.
LEGACY
I really thought I could publish enough books and get enough fame to create an author legacy. Legends of Windemere kicked things off with a foundation and then I would build from there. Some books touched on the past while others introduced future heroes. I have books that flush out organizations and others that change the dynamic of Windemere through grand events. I’d craft such a vivid tapestry of stories that it would all exist and continue after I was gone. You can tell I wanted to create something like Middle Earth or Narnia. I mean, people remember those worlds and they’re going to continue being remembered for many years.
Of course, it’s not easy to do and I lack the funds/contacts/time/everything to pull off that kind of stunt. Yet, I still would like to achieve it. Maybe that’s why I keep writing books even though I can’t even publish right now. (Need a cover artist.) There’s always a chance someone will find the books and they’ll see some merit in them. Of course, that’s only gaining one fan. Is that enough for a legacy, especially if it doesn’t go any further? I don’t think so because legacies tend to be grander. At least from what I can tell.
There are days when I wonder if I simply don’t understand the concept. This becomes really true when I find that some other authors don’t get what I’m talking about. It turns into a ‘Tower of Babel’ scenario in my mind. We were speaking the same language, but now we don’t understand each other. It turns into me trying to explain what my aspirations are and the other person trying to tell me that I should be happy enough with what I get. This results in frustration on my end. Not sure what it does to the other person because the conversation basically cuts off.
So, what do other people think about creating a legacy?
(I’ve tried to exercise and eat healthy many times in my life. Doesn’t help that food is an easy source of serotonin when I’m anxious or depressed. So, it’s a big psychological struggle to avoid the bad stuff. Many people don’t notice this or care, which is why they bombard me with criticism about my eating habits. This is rarely asked for and has the opposite effect. I just eat a lot then and start thinking that what few steps I tried to take aren’t enough. Here is that in poem form.)
Put that food down!
You are lucky I was here
To stop you from yourself
Pushing fat into your arteries
And cholesterol into your blood
Killing yourself with sugars
But I am here to save you
No need to thank me
What do you mean?
You are not thankful
That I have come to help
I do not care
If you like that food
Or that your taste buds scream
In heavenly orgasm
At its very scent
I see science will not work
You are in too deep
Let us find another snack
No matter how you whine
Have some apples
Organically grown
To shiny, red perfection
Though cost more than your house
You still refuse
Because the price is high
And it will always be
For stores have us by the balls
When it comes to eating true
But that is not the point
Forget the fortune that you spend
Is your health not worth it?
Think about your spouse
And your children sitting home
Be healthy for their sake
How will you feel
If you selfishly drop dead?
Leaving them alone
Mourning for a gluttonous fool
That abandoned them for a snack
I believe I hit a nerve
Just as you have hit my face
Swearing I went too far
In pushing your good health
My preaching is now done
And left my stomach empty
So I have a final question
Where can I buy that food?
Months back, I started to openly question why I still wrote. Books weren’t selling and I can’t do any publishing at this time. That’s both a financial and situational thing that I hope will be remedied. Anyway, there was a common phrase that got sent my way to ‘answer’ my question:
‘Write for yourself’
I’ve always been on the fence about this concept because of how it gets presented. I’ve seen it used a lot as a ‘positive support’ phrase. An author who is doubting their path will be thrown this chestnut to create some sense of determination. I never really saw how this works in this situation. If a person wants to sell their books, but nobody is buying then it doesn’t help to be told to keep writing for themselves. In fact, that seems to cause more frustration because it comes off as saying only the author will like their own work. That or people shouldn’t care about having an audience, which I noticed came from those who still manage to sell things.
The other time I see the phrase is when people are discussing how to aim for a specific audience. Some authors will say to write for yourself first. This is the use that I kind of agree with. If an author is entertained and emotionally invested in their story then that will come through in the words. You have to enjoy and believe in what you’re doing, right? If you’re only writing solely to appeal to strangers without your own interests and emotions in mind then you have a higher chance of creating an empty husk of a story. Unlike movies, a book can’t depend on CGI-filled action scenes and rapid fire one-liners to hide a flimsy plot. So, you really should write for yourself along with appealing to an audience.
Overall, I think ‘write for yourself’ is a phrase that has fallen into the same category as ‘show don’t tell’, ‘kill your darlings’, and ‘grow thicker skin’. People spout these lines because they used to have impact. It’s what a positive person will use to cheer someone up with the least amount of effort put into it. There’s not even an explanation of what they mean and I’ve asked at times. Mostly, I get a shrug with a few people telling me that I shouldn’t care about selling books and just enjoy writing. That doesn’t usually help when I’m lamenting no sales and talking about how my dream of being a career author has been thoroughly shattered. Spitting the phrase out is almost insulting at that point, which is what happens with those others too.
That kind of touches on why I don’t always like the phrase. I grew up dreaming of being an author with people buying and mostly enjoying my book. So, I clearly wasn’t going to write stuff that only I would like. I know I had to enjoy my own stories to get the emotions and care right. Yet, I’m not trying to entertain myself alone. That’s what puzzles, anime, and staring at the ceiling are for. Writing was fun with the added benefit of working towards a possible dream. Now, I don’t really know what it is since it’s so hard to find the time and motivation. The idea that I’m now only writing for myself is kind of painful when compared to how I dreamed even 6 years ago.
Guess I’m saying that I hope people are more careful when they tell a sad author to ‘write for themselves’. Read the room a bit or explain the phrase.
Legends of Windemere 