Tag Archives: whole30

Morning Pages Entry – June 11, 2014

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Again, here’s another morning where I don’t have a whole lot I want to say to my morning journal, that hasn’t already been said before. Other than this … you need to start writing more, and today, the number one goal, is to outline some more scenes either for my current novel, or a new one, and start writing those scenes in my morning journal … period. That’s it. Starting tomorrow, your going to start a new habit, and enforce it for 30 days minimum – and that habit is to write a new scene every morning in your morning journal. At least 750 words, but more likely to be 1000 words. If you want to add personal stuff afterwards that’s fine, but the main reason for your journal going forward is to be for writing a new series or adding to the old series. So, get working on those outlines today. It should be fun. Let’s see, how big of an outline you can come up with. And, a thousand or more words in the journal, will guarantee you a short novel every month. That’s pretty cool I think. And, we should put it into scrivener I suppose. That will be a bit of a learning curve again, but that’s ok. Or, I suppose, we could even put it in EverNote … nah, probably outlining in Scrivener is the way to go … you can likely use the meta data to make that work, or maybe the scene notes. We want to sue scenes and sequels, and conflict as we outline. Reread some of Jim Butchers stuff, and Dwight V Swains stuff as well. That should get you on the right track for it. So, something new it is? I’m not sure yet. Something new is good, but I do really like the world I’ve started creating in my current novel. You could explore that one some more. Some authors would advise that. Find your one serial, and stick to it. But, your not even sure if the novel you’ve already written is going to attract a readership. You could work on adding more to the ending of that one. That’s likely the way to go. If you broke it into 3, the way you were looking at it, then writing a few more scenes at the end, or somewhere in the middle wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would have to be in yWriter still, so you wouldn’t get to play much in Scrivener, but that’s ok. Playing with new software, is not really the point of all this. And, on another note, I really need to find a better place, to get my almound flour from. Maybe, I’ll run over to Costco, and see if they carry any of it. I can’t remember, how much BulkBarn sells it for, but it couldn’t me more than what Loblaws was selling it for yesterday. You could make it cheaper on your own, with a food processor. I don’t think, I saved that article in EverNote yesterday. I’ll have to do that. I’m usually just used to bookmarking things in chrome. Why don’t I use chrome on my phone? I’m sure, it works in there. Then you’d have all the bookmarks from your desktop in there? So, you need to have more he said, she said going on in these morning journals. You can write well over a thousand words in a half hour, if you just take the same mental approach to writing as you currently use for these journals. Just write and don’t worry about it till afterwards. Get the words out, and edit it the next day. That would likely be the way to go. It wouldn’t take very long to do 1500 or so words. That would be a good goal. You used to do 1250 in 45 minutes the week you did 25K words. And, what the hell! You were so hooked on reading the bird by bird book by Anne Lammot over the weekend at the swim meet, but you haven’t read any of it since you came back. That’s a great book. What’s up with that? There certainly is, something going on here at home where your focus is the shit, and the distractions are plentiful. That’s something that really needs work. You need to recreate that mindset from the swim meet at Brock, where you had all kinds of new and interesting thoughts about life and stuff. Don’t forget that feeling … how do I get that back? Reading new stuff … going somewhere new all the time? Changing your scenery more often? My mind was so much more open and receptive to new stuff … maybe hang out at the university and write more? I don’t know, but that’s something you really need to work on.

TIGERBLOOD: sure DAILYMOOD: good, hectic, distracted LOCATION: home office WORDSWRITTEN: none PUSHUPS: 4:00 wall sit TODO: outline, write, covers? TV: game of thrones, scrubs, Secrets of Sugar documentary BOOK: none GAME: none EXERCISE: none WEIGHT: 170 BREAKFAST: bacon & eggs LUNCH: none DINNER: spaghetti squash SNACKS: orange, grapes, pecans, lara bar ALCOHOL: none BEDTIME: 10 & 1:30 AWAKE: 6:00

 

Morning Pages Entry – June 10, 2014

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So, time to be practical, and get some real work done for the next little while, since your novel is off to the editors, and there’s not really much you can do with it at the moment. Although, you could write more for it. What you really want to do, is get a cover together and a blurb, and the admin stuff done. Went, and played squash last night, which probably wasn’t the best idea for my body, which is kind of sore this morning. At least my ankle is, and so is of course my shoulder. There wasn’t really anyone there last night that I could have played left handed, even if I had wanted to. But, at least I did get some running in. I do, need to do some shopping today, as we’re really out of groceries, and I have nothing at the moment to make for dinner. That’s not a good thing. I should also make that ranch dress stuff again. This time, not a double batch though. It doesn’t seem to last that long in the fridge. It keeps seperating now … the oil I mean. Turns into a slimy mess. I really can’t keep playing squash this way, with the aches and pains it’s causing me. Or maybe I can. I do need to do something active. Maybe swimming would be the thing to do. I could just swim for an hour, likely without wrecking myself for extended periods of time. I really don’t feel like doing the physio, although, I may have to. Feel like I have a bit of allergies this morning. So the theme for today is, get some real shit done. Make a cover, and apply for the tax thing for the US government for Amazon. And, of course, the shopping thing. It would be nice, to plot out another set of books … in the serial genre. Something else, that you can work on beside the main novel length books. I know, you were thinking of the romance one, which everyone else is doing, but there’s really no need to do that. You could, just do something in the sci-fi realm, that’s totally different from what your doing now. You know, something with space ships and whatever that might be kind of fun. Maybe, something that’s inspired by one of your favorite novels like Dune, or something. Need a little more inspiration in that realm. But, it would be something, that your existing readership might enjoy. Or, it could be something else that was dystopian as well. Or maybe not. Need to give that one a bit f thought. What other sort of story would you like to tell? Sailing perhaps, down in the tropics with palm trees, and maybe spaceships thrown in. Spaceships and sailboats, is not something you read about every day, but maybe you should. Sailing across the stars is not all that different from sailing over the ocean … the scale is just a little different. And, I also think, it’s about time to start doing more writing exercises in your journal here, instead of just rambling along, and filling up space. Not that there’s really anything wrong with filling up space, I just need to start being more productive. You could, just start doing the novel in here … right? If you had an outline to deal with every morning, there’s no reason, why you couldn’t write 750+ words for the serial or something. I’m sure, actually, you could do 1000+ words. Do it with the same amount of thought you put into the journal … just write, like noone will ever read it. That’s what makes this so freeing. Then, you can just copy it directly into scrivener or whatever and edit it later. That’s not a bad idea. You were actually writing that many words, when you were doing your 5K days a while ago, and you had all that work done by noon everyday. That would truly be the way to go. You can still add a little personal reflections and observations after the fact, if you really wanted, but that’s optional. The key thing, is to get the words out, and then move on to something else. 1K per day, definitely gets you one serial episode out per month. You can even up that to 2K pretty easy, I would bet, with another half hour session later in the day, before you edit the stuff up. I should really get on that.

TIGERBLOOD: yea sure DAILYMOOD: good LOCATION: home office WORDSWRITTEN: none PUSHUPS: 2:00 plank TODO: write, groceries, TV: that 70s show BOOK: none GAME: none EXERCISE: squash WEIGHT: 170 BREAKFAST: bacon & eggs LUNCH: big ass salad DINNER: meatloaf SNACKS: none ALCOHOL: none BEDTIME: 12:15 AWAKE: 6:15

 

Morning Pages Entry – June 06, 2014

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Sometimes, I think that being less serious and just proceeding with the task at had would be a real advantage. Right now, I seem so unfocused and worried about how good the writing will be, that I’m not getting anywhere with it at all. I haven’t added nearly enough as I had hoped in terms of word count to my existing novel, and it goes to the editor on Monday. Today is Friday, and I’m stuck going to another useless swim meet for Samantha and Jessica. And, we have to go today as Sam swims in the evening session. And, I have to deal with all those food shit for the whole30 thing that we are doing. It’s a serious pain in the ass, and it’s sucking up too much of my time. I need for my writing to me like oxygen. I need for it to be something I want to do more then anything. Right now, I’m scared of it. I’ve got to stop being scared of it, and just embrace it, like it’s a long lost friend. Just do the work, and make the stuff up. Make things happen, do the outlines, fill in the blanks, and write the gory details. How many times do I have to have these kinds of conversations with myself? I want so much for the first books to be out there, that it’s driving me crazy. I need to burst that bubble and make things start to happen. I need a little bit of that pressure from readers to entice me into writing more often. Other authors talk about how having excited readers motivates them. I’m really tired, of reading about the success of others, knowing I’m so close to putting something out there, and not having any of that success. I need to make this happen. It’s important to me. But, don’t make that importance so big, that it gets the better of you. You want this to be something you enjoy doing, and I think you can get there, a little bit at a time. So write, and write, and write. Stop worrying about it being perfect. Just do the best you can and move forward. If you don’t get the stuff out there, then you’ll never know what it could have been. The rewards are huge, and the potential is there. You just need to stop being so scared of it, and don’t worry about perfection. You’ll never achieve it … you can get closer to it, but that’s all about the journey. Trying and trying and trying … therein lies the challenge. You have total control over everything. That’s the beauty of the whole thing. Relax, and have fun with it. It’s better then anything else you can do right now. Better than reading, better than movies, better than games. It’s your own world. Go and create it. Inhabit it. Make it beautiful, and make it ugly … make it everywhere you want to go, and all the things you want to run away from. Pour yourself into it, and if you do that enough times, people will be drawn to it … it’s inevitable. People are drawn to passionate creations, especially readers. It’s what the human condition is all about. So, just be true to that, and spill your guts all over the keyboard as your writing, and it will lead you places you never dreamed you could go. Not just materialistically, but spiritually as well. Throw your self onto the page (screen?), and see what the rest of the world does. Some will stomp all over it, others will sing your praises. None of which really matters, as the writing is an exercise in and of itself. It is self expression, and creation at it’s purest. It’s the only real reason for being alive, and the one place, that you can never run out of elixir. Let it fuel you … let it make you a better person … let it fill you with hope and fear and wanting for more. What else can give you that sort of payback. It will fill your soul and your bank account. It’s what you need to be a more complete person. It’s what you’ve always needed, and the time has never been more right for someone like you to make that mark. Turn aside the spectors of fear that haunt, they have no place in your mind, and fill yourself up with what you need. Do the work … be the work, and live.

TIGERBLOOD: yep sure DAILYMOOD: hisitant LOCATION: home office WORDSWRITTEN: none PUSHUPS: 4:00 plank TODO: write, drive, cook, swim meet TV: Dear Mr. Waterson, Prophets of Science Fiction, Writers Room BOOK: It Starts With Food GAME: 2048 EXERCISE: none WEIGHT: 169 BREAKFAST: bacon & eggs LUNCH: big ass salad DINNER: salmon patty, sweet potato SNACKS: grapes, cashews, 1 bite of pork ALCOHOL: none BEDTIME: 12:00 AWAKE: 6:45

 

Morning Pages Entry – June 05, 2014

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Definitely behind the gun on this one. I have so much more work that I would have liked to get done on this manuscript before it goes to editing on Monday, that it’s ridiculous. Between dealing with this new diet thing, and dealing with Karens welching on the deal, and my own inaction and indecision the past few weeks has put me very behind. It’s ind of unfortunate. I will have to cram as much as I can this weekend to get some things done. Including, having Karen doing the driving, while I work on the laptop, and basically just doing as much as possible before Monday, to get the manuscript as complete as possible, before Emily touches it. I suppose, that I could just add to it after the fact, once she’s finished with it, but I’d really like to have as much in there for her to edit and proof as I can. Whatever I touch afterwards, is only more likely to have errors in it, when I publish. I need to be careful of that. In addition, now, it looks like we’re actually leaving a day earlier then I thought. Sam is actually swimming on Friday, so we need to leave Friday morning. I also, need to bring as much food as possible to get us through the 3 days, and stick to the whole30, and keep Sam and Jess fuelled enough to compete. She’s going to want the Powerade crap as well, and there’s no way she can take that stuff and stick to the whole30. That would be totally blowing the program. That crap is really not necessary. I should talk with Jennifer about it. I really don’t believe that stuff is necessary for what she’s doing. I mean she’s not even really training all that much this weekend. There is so much just standing around and doing nothing at a swim meet. There’s the hour of warmup, which is a pretty going 40-60 minutes, and then the actual heats. It’s not like she needs to load up on sugar, which is about all that shit is. I should talk with her about it. That crap really won’t get her anywhere. I’m just going to have to convince her of that. Or strike that. It’s really her decision about this. I’m not sure about how she’ll feel about that stuff. I mean, really, she has enough calories of fuel in her body, to get through the meal already. I read the “It Starts With Food” book more yesterday, and specifically, the section about how to deal with athletes, and they don’t promote as much extra carbs as I thought they would have. Really, she’s missing out on the protein before and after the workouts. She needs to get more of that going into her system. I will have to talk with her some more about that. At least, a handful of nuts or something before or after swim workouts would be good. That’s for sure. Now, back to your work thing. Basically, your at the point, where you need to crank out as many more words for this as you can. If you can do a list of everything you need food wise for the weekend, and come up with some sort of plan that will get you there, then you should be more focused on getting the writing work done. Use that new fargo.io outliner tool to come up with your list. I would, suspect, that if you cooked a bunch of meat up, and boiled a bunch of eggs, and packed a lot of veggies, that you could probably get through the weekend. Preferably stuff, that didn’t need to be cooked or refrigerated. I’m going to have to maybe get a bigger cooler or something for the weekend, to stash in the hotel room, but whatever. You need to know where we’re staying, and whether it has a microwave and a fridge there. You may have to go and get a bigger cooler from Canadian Tire or something. The more food you can cram into it, and take, the better off we will be. Maybe, even a plugin cooler that doesn’t need ice would be a good thing. We’ll see, what kind of list we can come up with. Your going to need to just shop for a shit load of stuff I think, but I’m sure you can do it. Maybe a trip to Costco as well today. Ahhhh! I’m not going to get nearly enough work done.

TIGERBLOOD: yep DAILYMOOD: everything from good to pissed LOCATION: home office WORDSWRITTEN: 700 PUSHUPS: 2:00 plank TODO: food plan/shop/cook for the weekend TV: Prophets Of Science Fiction BOOK: It Starts With Food GAME: 2048 EXERCISE: 1 hour walk WEIGHT: 169 BREAKFAST: bacon & ham & tomato LUNCH: big ass salad DINNER: slow cooked pork, green beans, bell pepper and sauce SNACKS: raw cashews ALCOHOL: none BEDTIME: 11:45 AWAKE: 6:15

 

Morning Pages Entry – June 02, 2014

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Well, waking up a bit anxious and in a panic this morning. I have a week left, before my first book goes off to emily for editing, and I really am behind on getting the work done that I wanted done before then. This whole30 is sucking up more of my time then I had wanted it to and I’m not sure where to go next with it. I really wanted to have more content added, so I think I’m going to have to back away from the character sketches, and figure out how to make the novel two books. That would likely start with a look at the over all outline, and mapping out some new scenes. All the while, I think that I should be look at some of the choppier narrative and dealing with that as well. I started to do some of it, with the first scene yesterday. That likely wouldn’t take very long. I was just combining a few sentences and giving a bit more variety in terms of sentence length. It’s not really a matter of more content or story tell, as much as having a more varied rhythm with sentence structure. I think, if I went through, and came up with a few more scenes just using yWriter, and outlining some details about those scenes, meaning actually filling out all of the text for the scene, and leaving it in outline status, then I could come back to it, and actually write out the scene. That wouldn’t be that difficult. If you got a bit gung ho about it all you could probably do the outlines this morning. We’re probably, only taking about another 17 scenes, if your scenes averaged 1500 words or so. Which, I do think they tend to be. Some are much shorter, and definitely some are much longer. Instead, of spending time writing back story, then definitely, you could actually be writing the real story. So, look at your outline today, and see where you can put another 15-20 scenes. That shouldn’t be too hard right. You know you want more conflict, you know you want more motivation for Chaz to just up and leave his platoon. You could most certainly expand on that. Maybe, spend a night where he anguishes over his decision. Maybe make one of his kids sick. Give him some more backstory, so he doesn’t seem like such an ass when he moves on. Maybe, bring up some of his troubled past with his father, and throw in the whole motorcycle gang thing and him killing someone as part of his initiation to that gang. That could be a whole sordid secret, that he’d kept from the military. Actually, something that he should have kept from everyone. It would basically, end up putting him in prison, if anyone found out. Maybe make it, so that Abby knows about it or found out about it, and somehow tie in that she could be a threat to reveal it. You could also make that a part of why she is divorcing him as well. That would certainly give him the motivation to leave. I do like that angle of things. It makes him a much more complex character, and adds to the drama of the story. So, yes, go through and do some more scene creating, with an eye to still breaking out the novel into multiple novels. You have just these five days to get the damn thing to Emily, and you need to add as many words as possible. Even, if you only get another 20K words by spending a day (today) adding more scenes that would be fine. This doesn’t have to be pulitizer material, you just need to make it happen. So, make it happen. Get those extra words into the thing. Clean up as much of the exisiting as you can with a little more showing and less telling, and move on. Once you get this to Emily, you can start looking into covers, and getting everything else done over the time she is spending editing. That includes, doing that admin thing for withholding taxes and the US government. And, even writing some blurbs, and, maybe even starting on the next novel. The number one priority, has to be getting enough words into this friggin thing to make it more interesting. Not just filler words, but enough words to make it a better reader experience, and really make them want to read the next novel.

TIGERBLOOD: yes DAILYMOOD: pissed off all the hell at karen LOCATION: home office WORDSWRITTEN: none PUSHUPS: none TODO: outline 15-20 more scenes for the novel TV: some youtube videos BOOK: none GAME: none EXERCISE: walked on beach WEIGHT: 170 BREAKFAST: none LUNCH: none DINNER: chili SNACKS: almonds ALCOHOL: none BEDTIME: 12:00 AWAKE: 6:15