Maybe breaks are wasted on me. I keep ending up getting busy and leaving myself more exhausted than when I started. At least I can say that I used up my energy doing a bunch of fun things. So, what happened?
The ongoing thing was editing Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet. I’m about halfway through, but I still have this weekend to get through a lot more. I should be able to finish before my son comes home on Wednesday. It’s been a rough process because I’m still fighting doubt. Keep wondering if events are going too fast or if I’m not giving enough ‘bonding’ time between the heroes. Of course, they’re constantly being chased or getting into trouble. I can’t justify giving them any real downtime other than moments they’re wandering after losing their pursuers. So, I could just be getting picky and pessimistic here. I love writing Darwin and the other characters are coming out really well. The villains are a little cartoonish at times, but that kind of matches the tone of the overall story. They’re all rather egotistical and arrogant because they come from stations of power, so maybe that’s what’s giving me second thoughts.
The rest of my break was about spending time with people. Got half of Monday and most of Tuesday with my son before he went to his mom. We put together some Lego sets, played video games, and started watching ‘The Cuphead Show’ on Netflix. I promised him that I wouldn’t do anything new in our video game without him, so I haven’t been touching that much. Probably for the best because I’ve had enough distractions.
Wednesday was going to see a friend and meet his baby daughter. It was a day of hanging out and another old friend turned up, which was a nice surprise. The weather was great, so we sat outside on a restaurant patio having lunch with drinks. Overlooked a small beach and looked across Long Island Sound, which was cool. I had a great burger, two spiced rum hot chocolates, and a whiskey honey toddy. After all of that, my friend and I watched the newest ‘Resident Evil’ movie while discussing our opinions. It wasn’t a terrible movie, but it definitely felt rushed and more like a clip show of the first two games. I think it would have worked better to choose either the first or second game then stick to that. Whatever. It was fun beyond making me a little jumpy while driving home in the dark for an hour. Oops.
The next BIG thing was supposed to happen Thursday, but was pushed back until Friday for reasons. It was a fun experience, which I’d never done before. Best of all, the results came out pretty good and no food poisoning:
Ready to Go
Diced Sweet Peppers
Mild Sweet Chili
Pineapple Curry
Hot Sauces Done
We made hot sauces! There were three of us, so each picked a recipe:
The chipotle was first and we had no idea what we were doing. Still, it had a nice kick. It took adding a bunch of chili powder to get it to where we really liked it, but we figured it was the first attempt.
Mild sweet chili was the second recipe and this one came out a lot milder than we expected. One issue may have been that we used sweet peppers instead of bell peppers, so the hot peppers had trouble overcoming that flavor. Still, it was tasty even though it had very little burn. Live and learn here.
I chose the pineapple curry because I fixated on the first word instead of the second. It became readily apparent that this was either going to be terrible or great. There was not going to be any in-between. We kept adding more cayenne and curry powder after the blending. Mostly because we expected an immediate burn instead of the extended kick that we got. Somehow, this came out great. I don’t usually eat curry, but I’m definitely using it on something tomorrow. Not sure if this would work as a dip if I heated it.
All of that is basically all I did. They were the highlights at least. I’m using to weekend to rest and edit in the hopes of leaving myself only 1-2 chapters to finish. I can do those on Monday and Tuesday even if I’m busy after work. There aren’t any plans for this coming week since it’s after a break. Working hard and maybe starting the May posts. I won’t be able to start adding the edits until the weekend. I really wish I could bring my laptop along and do it during my break periods, but still can’t close the thing without the casing cracking. Oh well. Notebook work will have to suffice. Might even start editing the outline for the next Darwin book. Puts me ahead for the summer.
Goals of the week?
Finish editing Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet
May blog posts
Help son catch up with schoolwork
Video games for us to relax
Tinker with Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Halfling Hunt
Maybe Lego sets
Possibly start watching ‘Arcane’ since I keep hearing about it.
I couldn’t do this week’s topic without showing some songs that I will put on when I need some inspiration. That or I have trouble with a scene and they can help me get through the issue. I’ve been using them less and less though because I’m just letting the playlists run through, but I still want to share.
This last one is actually the first inspiration song. I listened to it all the time in high school and college when I wanted to write. I’d also listen to it when I couldn’t get to my books and was feeling depressed. Been a while since I felt like putting it on for some reason. Still, my mind went to it first when I thought of this post:
(I stumbled onto the word ‘Aestus’ and decided to use it. I believe it was part of a series where I took various emotions and personified them. First one was a ‘Fear’ poem I made in high school with the same style.)
I was rather surprised years ago when people asked me how I can listen to music while I write. They assumed it was a distraction or hurt my progress. Yet, I’ve always done it and never suffered. Other things got in the way, but music kept me focused whenever I had the time. So, I was thinking of giving a few random tips to anyone who wants to try writing with music.
Do not make the music so loud that you can’t think. This is supposed to be background noise, which can stir the subconscious a little bit. If you’re unable to hear your own thoughts then you have to turn the volume down. Also, don’t be afraid to adjust the volume as the writing session progresses.
Pick music that you will enjoy, but not necessarily distract you. This can differ from person to person. I toss on a Personal Channel I have on Pandora or an Alternative Rock station while I work. These are genres that I like listening too, but I won’t try to sing along. One can even create playlists that are designed for specific scene types if the goal is to help with inspiration.
If you need to pause or mute the music then do so. Like any project, you may hit a point where you can’t focus with any noise. A piece won’t fit or a character isn’t coming out right, so you need to try changing your environment. On the opposite side, you may need to step away from the book and listen to the music while thinking to get through an idea. Try both methods if you want.
Never feel forced to listen to music while writing. It isn’t for everyone.
Try to maintain control of the music. If someone else is working the source then you’ll find yourself getting jolted out of ideas. For example, you may be listening to a rock song that helps with an action scene. Halfway through, your significant other chances it to a romantic pop song and you get derailed. You can become irritable towards them or toss out the scene, which may still have good stuff. It’s similar to being jolted awake by an alarm. Nobody likes it regardless of how often it happens.
If you write in public and listen to music then you need headphones. Also, make sure they’re plugged in and working. Last thing you want is to blast raunchy rock songs in the middle of the library. That might not get you looks at Starbucks, but definitely not the library.
