More Than the Sum
Lots of writey writerness going on. I've decided that I need to get off my tuchas and start writing more. Seriously. There are several reasons for this.
Most importanly, "Writer" is what I've always wanted to be. Except for that brief stint in 2nd grade when I wanted to drive a garbage truck, I've known in my bones that writing is what I'm wired for. I'm not a sports guy; throw a ball at me and my instinct is to duck. I'm not a math or science guy; I appreciate beakers and fruitflies and whatnot, but if you put me in a lab I'd end up mixing things together until they exploded, and I'd be terribly happy about that.
For a long time, I was pretty sure that my skills didn't amount to much. I knew a lot about a lot of things, but I didn't know (or care) enough about anything "big" to make a career out of it. What I'm good at is noticing things, daydreaming, and following threads of thought to bizarre conclusions.
Recent events at work have made me realize that I can't really rely on my company for my future. Sure, it's a great company, and I've got a nice little nest egg from working there for 9 years, but my department is not what it once was, and I don't enjoy what I do nearly as much as I used to.
My main difficulty with writing has always been discipline. ALWAYS. Story of my life, really. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the ass to get my motor running, and I think that's finally happened. I've managed to shift the mental gears to a place where I can get actual writing done while continuing to work my day job. Because you know, I'm not stupid - I know I'm not yet at a point where I can quit my job and make my living by writing down what comes out of my head. I can see that destination in the distance, though. I just found out that I'll be getting another paid writing gig. There's this Russian company that asked me to write a few columns for them about Pocket PCs, and after I did that, they asked me to write the Help documentation. It was actually a fun job. I got to be snarky and sarcastic and make stupid jokes, and they paid me good money for it, and now they want me to do it again.
It's an incredible confidence booster.
So. To jump back into writing fiction, I decided to start out with something familiar, to ease myself back into things. I've got a story idea that I've been working on for years now. I've built a world, populated it with characters, have outlined it several times, re-plotted it several times, and have so far failed to do anything with it that satisfies me. I think that I don't know the characters well enough yet. I don't know what they're going to do in a lot of situations, because I don't inhabit them yet. I haven't gotten into their skin, seen through their eyes. I haven't noticed what they notice.
That being the case, I've decided to write a series of short stories based in that world, using those characters. Little science fiction/humor/mystery stories. I've already got a good start to the first one. See, there's this guy, and someone stole his arm...
Come on, you know you want to read it.
p.s.: it also helps that i have a new journal. it is handmade, is festooned with mustaches, guns and combs, and it is completely awesome. thanks, The Girl!
Most importanly, "Writer" is what I've always wanted to be. Except for that brief stint in 2nd grade when I wanted to drive a garbage truck, I've known in my bones that writing is what I'm wired for. I'm not a sports guy; throw a ball at me and my instinct is to duck. I'm not a math or science guy; I appreciate beakers and fruitflies and whatnot, but if you put me in a lab I'd end up mixing things together until they exploded, and I'd be terribly happy about that.
For a long time, I was pretty sure that my skills didn't amount to much. I knew a lot about a lot of things, but I didn't know (or care) enough about anything "big" to make a career out of it. What I'm good at is noticing things, daydreaming, and following threads of thought to bizarre conclusions.
Recent events at work have made me realize that I can't really rely on my company for my future. Sure, it's a great company, and I've got a nice little nest egg from working there for 9 years, but my department is not what it once was, and I don't enjoy what I do nearly as much as I used to.
My main difficulty with writing has always been discipline. ALWAYS. Story of my life, really. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the ass to get my motor running, and I think that's finally happened. I've managed to shift the mental gears to a place where I can get actual writing done while continuing to work my day job. Because you know, I'm not stupid - I know I'm not yet at a point where I can quit my job and make my living by writing down what comes out of my head. I can see that destination in the distance, though. I just found out that I'll be getting another paid writing gig. There's this Russian company that asked me to write a few columns for them about Pocket PCs, and after I did that, they asked me to write the Help documentation. It was actually a fun job. I got to be snarky and sarcastic and make stupid jokes, and they paid me good money for it, and now they want me to do it again.
It's an incredible confidence booster.
So. To jump back into writing fiction, I decided to start out with something familiar, to ease myself back into things. I've got a story idea that I've been working on for years now. I've built a world, populated it with characters, have outlined it several times, re-plotted it several times, and have so far failed to do anything with it that satisfies me. I think that I don't know the characters well enough yet. I don't know what they're going to do in a lot of situations, because I don't inhabit them yet. I haven't gotten into their skin, seen through their eyes. I haven't noticed what they notice.
That being the case, I've decided to write a series of short stories based in that world, using those characters. Little science fiction/humor/mystery stories. I've already got a good start to the first one. See, there's this guy, and someone stole his arm...
Come on, you know you want to read it.
p.s.: it also helps that i have a new journal. it is handmade, is festooned with mustaches, guns and combs, and it is completely awesome. thanks, The Girl!
coughed this up at 1:45 AM
6 El Commentos:
Rock and roll, dude! Go for it! I want to read it.
I'm kind of envious that you got paid to write a help manual. All I ever get paid to write is thank-you letters. Who reads those? But a help manual, now that's essential.
A good journal is highly important. You can't put your thoughts down on a crappy Docket, yellow, wide-ruled legal pad and not feel like a lawyer, a high-schooler, or O.J. I feel very strongly about this.
Also, good afternoon, Mr. Hobo. I'm glad to hear you'll concentrate on something that makes you happy and, more importantly, makes me happy. I'm selfish like that. I'd read a story about a stolen arm. Someone stole Santa Ana's arm once. In fact, there's a whole long involved story about his fake arm that I'd relay to you if I hadn't clouded it over with booze and less interesting factoids. (Note: Artichokes are flowers).
I think I'll be seeing you tomorrow? Yes. Wondrous. I'll be the one with curly hair and a good coat of disheveled un-shavitude going.
rekabek: it was actually really fun. here are a few samples that i particularly enjoyed writing:
Change popup menu font characteristics
This tweak can change the font in pop-up windows. You know, the ones that tell you when you have an appointment, when your battery is low, when Mercury is in retrograde, etc. Ok, I made that last one up, but you get the idea.
This tweak takes advantage of a new feature of PPC2003SE and WM5. Prior to PPC2003SE, font size was limited to "logical units" within a range of 5 to 15 (I'm not sure what a logical unit is - maybe something to do with Vulcans?). The new feature that this tweak is able to use is the ability to set font sizes based on hundredths of a point. This allows you a slightly better degree of control.
Our tweak also throws in the ability to set the font itself, and whether it should be bold, italicized or plain (default). Of course, you can still use logical units of you want to, but where's the fun in that?
Disable/rename input methods
Sometimes developers get a little sloppy and forget to give you an easy way to either remove their code. Case in point is the input methods menu. Let's just say that, for whatever reason, you've installed "Super Dan's Super-Duper My Little Pony Keyboard". Maybe (hopefully) you now regret your decision. This tweak will allow you to either remove the keyboard entirely, or rename it to something a little less embarrassing. Of course, you may just want to remove a few of those pre-installed input methods that you never use. We can do that, too.
Change long date format
When your system displays the date, it does it something like this: Thurs, June 19 2005. This is perhaps too long for some situations, or maybe you just don't like to waste space. With that in mind, this tweak will allow you to significantly shorten that date up. In fact, you can shorten it to something practically unreadable if that's what you want. Like T, J 1, 05. Now you have more room to display pictures of squirrels, or whatever it is you have on your Today screen.
I even get to be rude a bit:
Color Today text
Why do you need help with this one? It's pretty self-explanatory, really. Ok, if you INSIST, I'll tell you that this tweak will allow you to change the color of the text on your today screen. See? Wasn't that easy? Now quit bugging me.
Resize vertical scroll bar
Let's say that you're looking at a lovely picture of a badger. It doesn't HAVE to be a badger, but let's just use one for the sake of argument, ok? This badger is just a bit too large for your screen, and you've got this nasty vertical scroll bar on the right side. Don't you wish you could do something about that? True, you could always take a picture of a smaller badger, but wouldn't it be easier to make that scrollbar thinner? On the other hand, maybe you like scrolling with your thumb. You could also use this tweak to increase the width of the scroll bar to make things easier for you.
Windows Animation
Are you a fan of things that whiz around and pop and stuff? We've got you covered. This tweak will put a little animation in your windows when they pop up. After you check the option and soft-reset, your applications will EXPLODE open and IMPLODE closed! Sorry for shouting, but I'm JUST THAT EXCITED.
bm: true. i love my new journal, and i'd hate to be like OJ. is he still looking for the real killer? i'll bet he is.
in addition to the fun of actually writing, i also enjoy the physical aspects of it:
glass of wine - check
good music - check
awesome mustachio'd journal - check
fountain pen - check
high weight, smooth paper - check
laptop handy - check
easy access to tivo for breaks - check :)
also, good afternoon! i was not aware of santa ana's arm problem. that sort of thing intrigues me in an emperor norton sort of way. you know the emperor?
my story is a little science fictioney, so the arm is question is still attached, which presents a bit of a problem for our intrepid protagonist. i'll probably post the whole thing here when it's done, and maybe bits in the middle.
Wow, those are great help manual tidbits! I really get what you're saying, even though I have no idea what you're talking about. Futhermore, I am consumed with a desire to own a Super Dan's Super-Duper My Little Pony Keyboard. Where can I get one?
This is the kind of thing I write:
"Because of campus allies like you, the University Library is poised to sustain the best of the past while looking forward to the future. Thank you again for helping to make possible this extraordinary contribution."
Barf-o-rama!
thanks, rekabek! as far as i know, Super Dan's Super-Duper My Little Pony Keyboard is only available to members of the Over 40 My Little Pony/Strawberry Shortcake Fan Club. of which I am NOT a member, btw.
your letter is not so bad! if you are unsatisfied with it, maybe you could "punch it up" a little by tacking the following to the end: "We look forward to surreptitiously removing your kidney sometime in the next few days. The price it fetches on the black market will afford us many additional opportunities to serve the community."
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