Goal Post: Spirit Was Willing, But Body Was an Issue

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I feel like half of these posts turn into a ‘my body broke down on me’ conversations.  I’m going to dive right into what went wrong and prevented me from finishing a chapter of Darwin & the Beast Collector.  I’ll get it done this weekend and try to finish the next one though.  I’ve got a 4-day weekend coming up and that could lead to most, if not all, of the remaining chapters being finished.

Anyway, there’s a thing called plantar fasciitis, which is a word I’m not going to try to type again.  This is when the tendon along the bottom of your foot becomes inflamed and walking becomes a painful experience.  It started near the end of February when I spent a weekend walking around in new shoes.  Icing, massages, and resting as much as I could helped to keep it at bay, but it’s always hurt.  On Wednesday, the pain suddenly amped up to a stabbing sensation in my heel when I stepped down even remotely hard.  I ordered a foot massager that day, but it didn’t help as much as I had hoped.  I also couldn’t use it at work.  So, I ordered compression socks (not stockings) on Thursday and that reduced the pain to a dull throbbing then a faint ache by Friday night.  Unfortunately, I had to spend a lot of time massaging and icing during the week, which made it hard to focus on editing anything.

To be fair, I also had a lot of errands and chores to do since my parents have been in Italy since end of April.  They come back tonight, so I wanted to make sure things were clean and the kitchen had food for their breakfasts.  The rain also forced me to space out the yardwork and errands, so that ate into my afternoons and evenings.  By the time Friday came along, I was spent and just wanting to get laundry done.  So, I’m going to finish the chapter after breakfast and biking then tackle the next one after an hour of Pokemon Go after lunch.  It’s a special event and my son can’t attend, so I want to get him one of the shinies.  Beyond that event, I won’t be doing much else outside of editing today and tomorrow.

In other writing news, I price dropped all of my eBooks to 99 cents.  I won’t make the big post about it until next Friday.  After that, I’m going to simply mention it at the bottom of every Teaser Tuesday.  Maybe an occasional post about it around holidays.  Will this create more sales?  No idea since I can’t afford any marketing and have the social media reach of a hermit.  Even on my own Facebook page, I can’t get any traction beyond a sudden flood of DM’s asking me to promote a book or offering a paid service to help me.  Sometimes, the responses are immediate, which makes me think they’re bots.  Anybody else ever run into this?

Next week is only 4 days of work, but they’re going to be doozies.  Two field trips that will be outside if weather permits.  My son has his big concert too.  This is on top of studying, homework, and hoping to get some father/son time in.  Still, I’m fairly certain I can get at least 2 chapters edited prior to the end of Memorial Day Weekend.  If I pull of getting through the 1.33 this weekend then I’ll only have 3 left too.  That means the crazy week is going to be worth it.  Besides, the Pokemon Go event coming up sucks aside from a 3-hour one on Saturday that I get my son for.

Eh, let’s just jump to the goals:

  1. Do more editing of Darwin & the Beast Collector.
  2. Rest feet when possible.
  3. Do biking more than walking.
  4. Enjoy son’s concert.
  5. Wear sunscreen and hat for field trips.
  6. Work on summer blog posts a bit.
  7. Shake fist at sky when rain comes back.
  8. Sleep in tomorrow to rest up for the week.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Quotes in Daily Conversation

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

I have a few friends who I can hold an entire conversation with using quotes from various movies and shows.  90% of them end up being from Futurama, but it’s interesting how such a thing can happen.  Yet, the lines don’t always have the same context as when they were in the show.  I will admit many times we use them to randomly text hello, but there are other meanings.  Felt like sharing and see if people do the same.

“Good news, everyone!”- Futurama (I’m having a good day.)

“Bad news, everyone!”- Futurama (I’m not doing so good.)

“What about, Zoidberg?”- Futurama (Have you tried something else to solve your problem?)

“You shot who in the what now?”- Simpsons (I didn’t hear what you said.)

“Believe it!” -Naruto (I agree.)

“The corner!”- Simpsons (That hurt.)

“To shreds you say.” -Futurama (That’s really sad.)

“My manwich!”- Futurama (I lost something important.)

“That you pie?”- 8-Bit theater (I woke up and am hungry.)

“Catch you fuckers at a bad time?”- Blade (Hello, everyone!)

“It’s a suppository.”- Futurama (Said to friend who has to take medication.)

There are probably a lot more, but they always come up without thinking.  Anybody else do this is or even have one catchphrase they use all the time?

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The Magic of Catchphrases

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

For anyone in my generation, we probably heard this exactly as it was said and know the movie.  I don’t know if the 80’s and 90’s were the era of catchphrases, but it feels like a lot from those times became immortalized.  Then again, I remember them in context, so it might be my perspective.

Catchphrases are kind of magical in that they gain power and we can’t really predict their existence.  A line that an author is sure will be quoted by all readers might be ignored or even mocked.  Yet, a simple response from a character that was made without a second thought can end up on a t-shirt.  It can be frustrating, especially if you are determined to make a catchphrase on your own terms.  Maybe that’s not how these work outside of comic books though.

From reading about the creation of these popular lines, it does seem that those behind it simply hoped for the best or focused on the story alone.  I think the second option is the less stressful way to go.  A memorable phrase probably hits home if it isn’t forced and flows with the story or character arc.  Maybe have a little realism too. Take ‘It’s not a tumor’ up there.  I know it’s from a comedy, but the line works for a character who is a badass cop in over his head running a kindergarten class.  So, he loses it at the suggestion that he has a tumor, which is something a small child would definitely say.  I’m sure many teachers and parents nodded their head at similar interactions.

Comedy tends to create a lot of these lines as well even in non-comedic movies.  You can have bad situational puns that people will use whenever they have an opportunity.  Witty responses and insults are popular too.  If a person gets a positive response by quoting a movie or show then they’ll keep doing it.  Others will see this and do the same, which makes it a cultural phrase.  At least for a generation or two before something replaces it or the source is no longer relevant.

For an author, I think it’s great to gain such an achievement.  A catchphrase acts as a verbal advertisement because people who hear it will want to read the book.  They will be curious as to who created such a memorable phrase.  As stated before, you can also put it on marketing items such as shirts, bookmarks, mugs, or anything that you think people might buy.  If you can get a catchphrase for multiple characters then you can garner even more attention.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be as common as we would think since most characters outside of superheroes don’t have a catchphrase.

Personally, I would love to know that there are lines I wrote that people repeat in real life or at least really enjoyed.  I tried to make a few in my fantasy books, but never put a ton of effort into them.  Figured that if they didn’t gain traction in book 1 then I wasn’t going to keep pushing in book 2.  The only series I made a harder attempt was the Bedlam Series , but that was just Cassidy saying ‘Shut the fuck up, Lloyd’.  It was funny and happened a lot with different emotions, but the series itself didn’t do well enough for me to know if the phrase worked.

Maybe one day I’ll stumble upon a catchphrase that people will enjoy, but I don’t think it’s a priority.  For shows and movies, it might be very important to get a phrase repeated by the public.  Books can look at it as an added bonus, which the previous mediums could think of as well.  So, probably best to write the story and making the lines work in context instead of them being useful for daily conversation.

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Author Quotes & Quiz

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi SEers! Denise here today with a new quote post and quiz, along with my reasoning for it from a past Story Empire post. Like I’ve said in the past,…

Author Quotes & Quiz
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Poetry Day: Psycho-Grannie

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Clefairy!

(Actually saw this event play out in Florida.)

She has lived her life

Wish you could say the same

She stares upon the road

With half a working eye

Moving from lane to lane

Without a pattern to be found

Bumping off the corner

She nearly hits a bus

That all can clearly see

You try to keep an eye on her

Making sure she stays ahead

But she darts into a parking lot

Sending walkers leaping high

She reappears behind you

Almost hitting your rear end

This old lady is a menace

That you cannot elude

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Teaser Tuesday: Pertyon-Jacking?

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Enjoy some action from, Legends of Windemere: The Spirit Well!  If you’re wondering what a Peryton is, they’re winged stags.  I really need to use them more often.

Log Horizon Log Horizon

Continue reading →

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Printing Prices Increase! What it Means For Indie Authors.

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Greetings once again! Beem Weeks back with you for a look at the recent increase in printing costs. What does that mean for writers and publishers? …

Printing Prices Increase! What it Means For Indie Authors.
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Making Memorable Catchphrases

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

This isn’t the original interview that I found, but the other one was on Instagram and I lost track of it.  Still, the point is still there.  Arnold Schwarzenegger has a lot of catchphrases, so I liked to hear his take on it.  I’m sure every author, especially those in action and fantasy, would love to create a timeless line.  Yet, we never know what will stick, including slogans that are supposed to live forever.

For today, I’m just curious what people think about catchphrases.  Do you like them or have any thoughts on what makes a line become a catchphrase?

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Mental Health Awareness Month

Posted on May 11, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Above is only a fraction of the statistics in regards to mental health.  In fact, you can see it focuses primarily on the young.  You can find tons of information if you go by gender, sexual orientation, age, race, religion, and many other categories.  It seems every group has their own struggle with mental health, which makes it a fairly human situation.

I find myself thinking about mental health a lot, but I’ve seen therapists on and off since I was a teenager.  Always felt it was good to have a professional to talk to when my life was feeling too heavy.  Of course, having anxiety and maybe a little depression doesn’t make things easier.  Seeing other people suffer from a variety of mental illnesses strengthens my resolve to get help too.  Our minds are simply fragile and can get damage without us even realizing it.

Unfortunately, I also think we live in a society that pushes us to ignore our own suffering until it creates physical symptoms.  Depression is passed off as sadness and anxiety is thought to simply be general nervousness.  We downplay our situations in order to carry on with the neck-breaking speed of existence.  I’ve had many people say that they can deal with their mental health once they retire.  Psyches don’t work that way and it shows how we forget that our minds can be scarred.  For example, constantly being exposed to negativity can cause a person’s mental pathways to be attuned to such environments.  To them, it’s a challenge to be positive or even recognize such a thing.  Negativity becomes their norm and it takes a lot of effort to get out of that mindset.

Let’s get to some questions:

  1. What do you do to improve your mental health?
  2. Do you think the society you live in supports or hinders positive mental health?
  3. How easy do you think it is to maintain and/or repair mental health?
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Goal Post: A Week of Chewing the Air

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

Sadly, I only managed to get 1.33 chapters of Darwin & the Beast Collector edited.  It was a challenge too.  The full chapter took a whole weekend because it was bigger than I realized and had a lot of continuity sections that required checking.  This was hard to pull off when I had so many other things to do.  Before anyone says anything, I did an hour of Pokemon each day after I got some editing and other stuff done.  Then, it was back to the grindstone.

The obstacles boil down to two things.  The first is that I had several chores and errands that needed to get done.  The food shopping trips kept multiplying too since the big supermarket in my area is gone.  So, I would go to one place and get what I could, head home, and go out later to another in the opposite direction.  I also discovered some of the ingredients I thought were already here had gone bad or weren’t what I expected.  This is on top of the cooking and cleaning, so I was juggling everything for an entire weekend and wearing myself down by the time I reach the complicated editing.

Another problem is that the pollen count is high, which was a respiratory disaster for me this week.  It’s hard to focus when I have a constant burning in my throat and lungs if I’m outside or just came back in.  Been like this since I moved back to New York from Florida and it’s even led to upper respiratory infections if I ignore it for too long.  Of course, the rain came to knock the pollen down faster and I realized all of the allergy meds had expired 2 years ago.  Ended up medicating myself every morning to make it to work until Thursday night when it caught up to me.  Didn’t help that I went from an afterschool basketball game to my son’s chorus concert then shopping for the medication and finally getting to dinner around 9:30 PM.  I tried to get more editing down on Friday while I recovered, but my head was too dizzy for me to do more than 1/3 of the chapter.

Today is set aside for my son since this is really the only full day I get with him for a long time.  He’s with his mom tomorrow for obvious reasons and then the next two weekends, so I want to make this one count.  I’m sure I’ll find a way to finish the partially done chapter before Monday.  Though, I also have to mow the lawn before the rains come back and cook a dinner that will double as a few lunches.  I need to get better about time management when I have so much on my plate.  That or I should accept that I won’t always get a full chapter edited or written in a day.  I’m still so used to be highly productive, so doing a little feels like failure.  Yes, I know every little bit helps, but those who have followed me long enough should get it.  I went from writing multiple chapters in a week to struggling to edit even one within the same timespan.  Hurts.

Well, I can’t say I was entirely unproductive throughout the week.  Not just talking about pollen-infused grossness too.  I’m working on doing the blog posts for the summer, which will be me going back to the beginning of the blog and reviving some ancient posts.  I think that will be a lot of fun to see what young me though.  I’ll add some 2025 thoughts at the bottom as well.  This will be along with the usual random Sundays, goal post Saturdays, poetry Thursdays, and Teaser Tuesdays.

Speaking of Teaser Tuesdays, I’m going to be adding announcements at the bottom of those in regards to my price drop.  At some point this month, I’m going to drop the price of my single novels (Legends, Nytefall, Bedlam, and Ichabod) to 99 cents.  My goal is to take a day before Memorial Day Weekend and lower everything.  Probably be next weekend since I didn’t get to it on my sick day.  Using Teaser Tuesdays and making occasional solo posts are all I can do aside from mentioning it on Facebook.  My social media presence is lacking and I don’t have the time to build things up on a new medium like Bluesky . . . Is that the new one?

For anyone wondering why or preparing to give me the ‘price your worth’ speech, I have been thinking about this for a while.  Money is tight for many out there and I’m a no-name author.  $3 on someone like me is a lot, but 99 cents can be a consideration.  It makes me think of old dime novels that were cranked out, but sold cheap to help them spread.  I write escapist tales of magic and action anyway.  I’m inspired by Tolkien for trying to build a grand world with epic tales, but I’m also inspired by the action-oriented fun of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories.  So, I want to make these more affordable in a time when people don’t have a lot of spending money.  Will people choose to give me a chance?  No idea and it’s arrogant of me to think this will be big.  Yet, I think it’s more arrogant for me to believe someone who is living paycheck to paycheck will see my eBooks worthy of $3 when they could spend more on an author they already know.

Anyway, what are my goals of the week?

  1. Time with son today.
  2. Mow the lawn.
  3. Finish more summer blog posts.
  4. Edit more Darwin & the Beast Collector.
  5. Start changing book pricing.
  6. Cooking.
  7. Pokemon Go on good days and biking on rainy days.
  8. Take Claritin in the morning.
  9. Watch more of ‘The Good Place’.  It’s fun and quirky.
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