Benchmarks.

It occurred to me that I had overlooked a benchmark on my writing journey. My one-year Blogsaverary was on February 18^th. I can not boast of having a large following or mind-blowing analytics,  but I have had a steadily increasing number. I have ninety-one subscribers, and that is a lot for me. I want to thank those of my ninety-one (was ninety-two yesterday); sorry if I bored you or said something offensive, Mr. Ninety-two.)) that is genuinely interested in what I have to say. You are the ones that keep me going. As to the rest of the follow me, follow you people, understand I don’t care about numbers, And I will not follow you because you followed me. Ridiculous. (I have a low opinion of such things) Anyway, Numbers don’t matter. You can have a thousand followers that don’t read the blog, but If the one that does read it finds meaning or insight or just entertainment from what I write, that is fulfilling to me.) But sincerely, thank you to those that have stuck with me. I have developed some great friendships through my blog, which makes it worth it.

I started this blog not really knowing about blogging, to be honest. After I finished my first book “Emergence collective,” it was suggested that I start a blog to promote it. So, I did. And here we are. I am not a blogger. I am a writer looking for an audience and engagement with that audience. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of being a blogger. I feel it creates an unnecessary responsibility to continuously create content to keep my blog alive, which was created to find an audience for my books and writing. Blogging is writing, I understand that, but I like to write fiction. Science fiction, horror, fantasy, the stuff that is not entangled with reality. However, I should recognize that despite frustrations, time restraints, and bouts of apathy, I have made it past the one-year Benchmark! *pats myself on the back*

Benchmarks are tools used for “ground truthing.” A benchmark is a survey marker used to verify or validate quantitative aerial observations (Maps). That is an apt metaphor for my blog and writing journey. I can see where I am and know where I want to go.

Another benchmark (a mental one) is closer to a feeling,  but I feel that I am on the downward side of the hill regarding my second book, “Emergence Ascended.” It’s a feeling since I really do not know how long this book is going to be, but I feel I am past the halfway point. The same reason why I have yet to have a mid-life crisis, I don’t know when I am going to die, so I don’t know when it’s my mid-life (I feel I am missing out on something fun now).

Thanks again for taking your valuable time to read my blog and comment. Your engagement is priceless to me. I am looking forward to more benchmarks to come.

The act of creation itself is the point.

The soft buzzing and thumping on the window caught my attention. I watch the house fly repeatedly hurl itself toward the window, confident of its escape despite the uncounted attempts it has made before, but maybe the next one. I am amused at the fly’s confusion, oblivious to the nature of the impenetrable barrier that has prevented its passage to the outside world. Buzz, thump. Buzz, thump.

My amusement fades as I now sympathize with its plight and its frustrations as I similarly smash myself against the impenetrable barrier that is myself, my imagination. I hurl my words against the page one by one, only to realize that I am not getting anywhere, no progress to be made, but I, too, continue to assault the page unrelenting. Maybe the next word. The next paragraph.

I destroy everything and begin again, but I find a sense of calm in this destruction. Like a sand mandala, I recognize the impermanence of it and change my state of mind, allow the process to complete itself, and give in to it. Thump, buzz, another word.

Chapter 30. How many versions are there? How many more? Will the next word, sentence, or paragraph enlighten me to move on to its completion? Yes, and then, I will begin again until I am finished and at peace.

The truth is that I have written and rewritten several versions of chapter 30. Each one gets a little closer, but I have typed and deleted more words in this one chapter than anything I have written before. And the funny thing is that it is not one of the “important” chapters. It’s not a chapter that needs a special message, clue, or red herring. Even this post had more than one version. I started it, but it read like I was complaining or whiney about the lack of progress. I am not a fly that can not see the glass it smashes itself against. I know there is a way around it.

Go with the flow…

Another quick Saturday note(In the US, a quick nod to my “down under” audience}note. (I have noticed that when I post on weekends that there is less traffic overall, but eventually, someone will read it, right?) After having a bit of mild to moderate writer’s block, I managed to get back on track, and I am happy with the progress I am making. Chapter 28 and most of 29 of “Emergence Ascended” are down with a meager 38000 words. I estimate it’s just under half complete, but I am a discovery writer, so I don’t know where it will end, somewhere between Doctor Suese and Tolkien in length.

If you are one of those that are listening through my narration of “Emergence Collective” on Spotify, I expect to have chapters 10 and maybe 11 recorded tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! As always, thanks for stopping by. Give it a like or comment (I love comments!)

Where ever you go, there you are.

This blog is my space to write about my writing journey. So I try not to talk about the mundane life stuff like work or personal matters, since everyone already gets to have their own, I don’t need to give them more. But work-life does interfere with my writing, so that part of the crossover is what I am talking about. Hopefully, this will be one of the last times I type the word Covid. but yeah, that’s part of it. The Aerospace industry had also been impacted by Covid. The one-two punch for those of us that are Boeing Subcontractors, The 737 Max production getting shut down for almost 3 years has almost killed our shop and I have watched many (of our competitors muwahahahah) completely go out of business. Our workload has decreases and we had to let a lot of good people go. Most of my crew too.

That means that I have been busy doing the work of 3 other people that I used to lean on. Don’t get the idea that I am complaining, that is not my point. The point is that fatigue and time to actually write my stories and keep up with the blog have been influenced by world events. I am pretty sure I have made similar posts with promises that I will be more consistent in posting on the blog. I apologize that that hasn’t been the case.

That was then, this is now. Covid is seemingly under control, the FAA has allowed production again and our shop is getting much busier, and hiring! (If you work in Aerospace and need a job, I know a guy 😉 ) That being said I am building my crew back and that should give me some of my valuable time back to give to you. If you have stuck with me so far, I sincerely appreciate it. If you are new to my blog, expect more fun to happen. As always feel free to comment on this post or shoot me an email at hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com or simply give it a like! Thanks for reading.

Audible update

Chapter 7 is recorded. As a bonus I recorded a sneak peek episode of Emergence Ascended.

Check it out on Spotify!

Monday quick post

It’s Monday again, and back to the work routine. Just a quick post today. Sadly no writing or recording progress for two reasons. The first is that I have had a cold (not Covid!) over the weekend, which kind of puts a damper on creative thinking; recording audio with a cold is a waste of time unless you want to hear me sneeze and sniffle. Second, it was my son’s 16th birthday, so we had a busy weekend for that.

I will leave you with a fun poem I wrote, Enjoy!

Lofty goals

2023 is off to a good start, and I am excited to continue the momentum. I am roughly one-third to halfway finished with my WIP, “Emergence Ascended,” the sequel to “Emergence collective.” Now that the major holidays are in the past, life is settling down, and I will have more opportunities to get some solid writing done (more specifically, no more excuses to be lazy.).

I do not formally make new year’s resolutions, though I am not obstinate about them; I am more casual about it. I fully realize goal setting and the rewards of completing them; self-efficacy is the reason why we set new year’s resolutions in the first place. I make goals, sure, but less strict than a self-promise to accomplish a specific one. I have a mental roadmap of what I want to do but no set date to accomplish them. my aspirations are fluid and flexible.

After I finish my current WIP, I have at least two more books that are begging to be put to pen. I am very excited about them and I cant wait to start, now I have to decide which one to do first. There are more ideas, too, rumbling around in the back of my mind, stories I have been thinking about for years. So I plan, for 2023, to keep the momentum going. This blog, so far, has helped keep my ADD-muddled mind in check and it has propelled my ambitions, so Thank you to all who enjoy reading it; you’re my wingman (wing person?)

Thanks for visiting, and of course, please feel free to leave a comment. I love reading them!

Obligatory New Year post!

I’m back! It’s a new year, and I suppose I will jump on the bandwagon for the year-end/new year transitional post. As far as the blog goes, it is less than a year at this point, but it was successful for a lot of personal reasons. Though the daily stats may not look at all successful, for me it’s not about the numbers of anonymous readers, but the few people that I have met through this blog has made it feel quite successful.

Those stats, on the surface, look amazing, but the truth is that I got suckered into one of those click-through sites. So the amazing number are really a verisimilitude of success. As I was saying, numbers are just numbers. I have met some amazing people from all over the world through my blog and WordPress. I have learned a lot this year about the community of creatives and intellectuals alike.

So do I have new years goals for my blog? My only real goal is to keep at it and try to keep a reliable schedule. I am looking forward to adding a lot more short stories and other writing. Hopefully, I will sell a book or two. I also look forward to meeting more people and get to know the ones I have already met, more. I am always happy to have conversations about just about anything, so if you don’t feel like commenting publically, you can send a message to hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com Thanks for stopping by! Happy Newyear!