Difficulties

Hello readers,

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I've recently made a big move across the world and as of yet I have very little internet access. I'm actually posting this from oy phone right now. Do not fear, I am still motivated as ever, and will do my best to write here.

A benefit of having no internet or tv is that I am free from distractions. Finally I can just read like I always wanted. So far I have almost finished 4 books in less than 2 weeks. Now that I'm reading with a writer's mind I am learning a lot as I read.

I won't deny my writing has slowed a bit. No longer having a computer, I need to teach myself to write with either my kindle fire or oldschool pen and paper. I started a little piece on my personal obsession with perfection that delves into the concept itself, but writing on paper makes me feel almost naked. When written on a computer or kindle it is easy to hide the piece, but I almost feel that the only way to hide a handwritten work is to tear it up. The idea of someone seeing an unfinished piece, especially one so personal, is scary.

Well that is my life as a wannabe writer at the moment. I will continue to keep you informed as things progress.

Thanks for reading,
Scott

Reading with Intent

When learning to write the number 1 tip you will probably hear is "read, and read a lot". You'll find no true disagreement here, but at first it had me scratching my head. I do read a lot, maybe not a huge variety and maybe not as much as others, but I'm quite sure that I'm considered quite well-read for my age. With that in mind, does that mean I've fulfilled the requirement of reading a lot to be a writer? Of course not, even if I've read a lot I haven't read nearly enough. You can never read enough. That isn't the only reason though. Those books I used to read were read for enjoyment, and not for the intent if learning.

This weekend I read Isaac Asimov's "Foundation and Empire". I read the first one as a guy enjoying a story, but this time I read as a writer. This little difference, which had little effect on the actual process of reading, actually had a difference in the effect of reading. By reading with the intent to learn I was able to recognize the elements of Asimov's writing that made his story so compelling. Now I don't only know that I like Asimov, but I know why I do.

So when someone tells a writer they need to read, they need to know that just reading isn't enough. Reading with intent is how we learn.

The Inevitable Crash

I was doing quite well at making sure I write each day, maybe not a lot everyday, but I wrote. It made me confident. "I can do this thing.", I told myself. Well, than my evil younger sibling decided to bring disease from a foreign land home with him. Of course, its probably just a cold, but if there is one time when a man is allowed to be reduced to a sniffling little baby in need of care its when he's sick. It also doesn't help that I'm a neurotic germaphobic hypochondriac.Anyway, it sucks. I can't sleep, I can't move, and I can't think. Bam, the writing streak ended. I tried writing yesterday, but I'm quite sure that the one or two paragraphs were utterly terrible. This is all I'm going to write today, because I have nothing else to do but sit and stare at fans so I felt I should at least do something.

This is a crash, but it was going to happen. You, or maybe just me, can't in the middle of big life changes keep up with a new hobby everyday. The difference between the new me and the old me though is that this little break in writing isn't going to be a permanent hold. So, I will definitely be back to it when I get healthy, although it might take till next week as I'm moving this Thursday.

Oh, and when my brain does start working, or maybe even while its not, I have an idea on my next post. I'm wondering if there any qualities in life that can't be simplified down to "good" or "bad". Its more of that moral junk I like.

Moving Along

Good evening anybody out there. So I've been working on my writing every day still. Yesterday I less wrote than worked on my planning methods, jotting down notes on a story idea I have, but I consider learning to do that an important part of my education too.

I'm sort of writing one short story in an episodic fashion. So each day I write a new section of the story, put it aside and the next day I do a new episode. I like the way this works because it gives me an accomplish-able tangible goal for my writing each day. It also prevents me from starting and stopping in the middle of an idea when I write.

My only worry is that, while I'm obviously trying to make sure that each section follows the former logically, my writing will likely be different with each section and they might not mesh so well. My guess that this is a problem that would solve itself as I grow as a writer and develop basically static personal writing habits, or my own voice. Until than, I have to hope that by returning to past sections and editing them a week later I might fix any inconsistencies. I might also try and change the way I write so instead of writing one whole section a day I'll write the second half of one and the first half of the next each day. I feel like that would bring about some consistency, but than again it could make the inconsistencies worse.

Note: I'm writing this as my newest kitten, Hercules, walks across my keyboard so please excuse any errors.

A Story Has Been Made

It has taken me years of wanting to write, but today, or more like late last night, I finished my first short story. I've written half stories, I've dreamed of many amazing fantasies, but never have I actually finished a story. So, I'm most definitely proud of myself in a way. I don't actually consider this story finished, it was really just meant to be the first scene of a larger story, but than I decided that I really liked that part, I cleaned it up and now, while still usable in a larger setting, I have what I believe is a decent little short story that can stand alone.

My first real attempt at a short story that I wrote about several weeks ago was going to be about a man who was offered money to kill someone he didn't know. It wasn't exciting for me, so I can't imagine it exciting readers. This new one, I'm calling it "The Dream" for now, is about a young squire who is pretty much suffering from PTS. I wanted to avoid fantasy, its so full of cliches and often feels immature, but fantasy was what turned me into the avid reader I am today, and when I first wanted to write, even as a very young child, it was fantasy that had my imagination. So, writing a fantasy story is sort of like going back to my roots as a lover of words, and I feel a great way for me to get my writing off the ground.

If you can't tell, I'm excited to have finally finished something. Do I think its utterly amazing? Do I believe its an original idea lacking cliches? Am I ready to start pumping out publishable masterpieces? No, but I'm still proud of it because it shows me that if I really sit down and write I could get something interesting done. Plus, I like the character.

Moral Perseverance Pt. II (or Moral Fortitude)

After my last post I didn't really think about the topic much further, I've been extremely busy with some major life changes coming up and my mind has been off in wonderland. I stopped with my first attempt at writing, I know shame on me, but I really did not like where the story was going. I haven't given up on writing, not at all, but the genre of that story was more... I guess thriller, and I'm not even into that genre, plus I found that the story wasn't too original and bored me. So, I'll be moving on to the next one soon.

Anyway, onto the topic of moral perseverance, which is the wrong term. I think it should be moral fortitude. About a week ago I went to a bar with two of my friends so I could sit there and not drink, poverty works wonders when it comes to avoiding vices. The three of us got into our usual discussion where we bitch and moan about how difficult it is to find a job. My one friend, also named Scott being that almost everyone I know is named Scott, made the claim that there are only two excuses for quitting a job; A, the job is so terrible and demeaning that it causes utter depression and risk to your life, or B, the job actually costs more than you make.

Remembering how a year ago I turned down the only job offer I had been given a year after getting my BA, I had to disagree with my friend. I turned that job down because I would be working with a political group who's values I did not share. This might fall under the A category, but in my opinion it is completely excusable, and even the right thing to do, to turn down a job that goes against your own personal values. I was shocked to find that both of my friends disagreed with me. A long debate ensued, with them saying that they value personal comfort and happiness over morality.

Is it judgmental and wrong for me to say that I am horrified and to say the least disappointed in my friends? I think about it, and it feels as if this is really how most of the world works, people are so utilitarian that they will go against their morals in order to make enough to afford a nicer car. When given the option of driving a Hyundai and being moral, or driving a Mercedes and throwing away morals, it seems many would choose the Mercedes.

So, after my discussion I really came to the realization that moral fortitude is important. A month ago I said that I'm not sure if I would be able to keep my morals if offered a large sum of money, but somehow hearing someone say they wouldn't have a problem at all just felt wrong. It even saddens me, thinking that this is what our world has become. No longer are we mankind, risen out of natural chaos to stand on values and morals, we have reverted back to animals, doing only that which our instincts command us to do; seek pleasure and survive.

Moral Perseverance

Well, I'm about 1/4 of the way through the first draft of my short story, its going along just fine and I'm enjoying it. It'll still be awhile before I'm ready to post it here though. So, I figured I'll discuss something new today.

Every night, in my attempts to lose weight, I like to go for a 3 mile walk. This is great for me as an aspiring writer as it gives me a chance to think and come up with ideas for what to write about, it also just allows me to come up with some strange ideas and questions to ponder. The short story that I'm working on is actually based on one of these ideas that I think we've all thought about at certain points in our lives.

I consider myself a decently moral person, I don't go around sleeping with any woman I can, I've never stolen anything and I hate hurting people. So not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty sure I'm a good person. Yet, I can't help but wonder if I really am moral on the inside, or if its just situational morality. I mean, perhaps the only reason I'm "moral" is because its the easy route. Maybe I don't steal because from a cost-benefit analysis I'm more scared of getting in trouble than whatever the potential stolen item is worth to me. Maybe I don't sleep around because I'm not attractive enough to pick up tons of women. I can tell you that to an extent these are true, I don't want to get arrested and I'm not very good with women. I actually admit that the only reason I follow laws are out of a fear of consequence, but this is due to me being an anarchist. I don't acknowledge state laws as having any authority over me, they have force and that is it. So the question of whether or not I'm a moral person is difficult.

I think that the only way to tell if someone is moral is to put them in a situation that truly tests their morals. If you tell someone, "There's a thousand dollars sitting in that open register, and nobody will ever know if you take it," will they take it? Yes, we have those guys that give a cashier money back if they give them the wrong change, but that's nothing, 10 or 15 dollars. What if we put them in a situation where they could truly gain a lot from going against their morals, without suffering any consequences? I like to think that I would rise above the temptation and not do it, but if the reward is great enough I can't deny that I might give in.