A Splintered Mind

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   (Word balloons by Me) I was going through a box of used books to bring to the library. Most were old Disney tie-in novels read & enjoyed long ago, but one of my daughters was discarding this winner. Apparently, it scared her off Romance books forever. Gee, I wonder why. He looks like a nice, honorable kinda guy.

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   Since getting an iPad, I've taken to reading while walking. Most of the time I read news while pacing in my apartment, but today I chose to read a novel while walking around Decker Lake. It was an experiment to see if I could manage it without walking off path. Into a gaggle of geese. Into the lake. Any fears that I would look like Mr. Magoo have been laid to rest. Of course, if I had managed to walk up a moving girder, across a skyscraper, and through a Chinese restaurant while doing it, like Mr. Magoo I am oblivious. While I gave my legs a workout, remembering to tighten my core and work the abs as well, I gave my mind a workout. I've been reading "My Gun Is Quick" and have been very entertained by Spillane's colorful use of metaphor. It's an exciting chapter. I'm sure tawdry scenes await me, but for now I am thrilling at his concise but clear action sequences and clever language. It makes me excited to...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   I came across an old  Mike Hammer movie on Netflix the other day * . What a kick. The plot was often corny, and the acting was hammy, but the action was fun, and it was filmed in that classic noir way that makes stairwells menacing, and empty streets fraught with life imperiling danger. Since I had heard the action sequences were top notch, I thought I'd check out the original books to see what they were like, so I borrowed a  Mike Hammer ebook from the library. ** If the cover for the book I borrowed had been anything like the two covers I found later, I might have been prepared for what was inside. Instead, I dove in none the wiser. First, I discovered Hammer's fetish for produce, where gays were fruits and ladies were tomatoes. Then I discovered the true secret to picking up girls was to be the main character of a detective novel. Every woman took a pass at this guy, except the octogenarians, and I'm sure they were ju...

I woke up bleary eyed at 11:30am and discovered I was still in bed with Sickness. Some time around 4am, Sickness climbed into bed with me and tried to snuggle, but only succeeded in stealing the covers. I read news for 30 minutes , which was pretty short considering how fried my brain was. I read something else . I'm sure it was important and not at all newsy in shape or form.  I spent time wrestling with Sickness , who had a lot more energy than I did. I did, however, manage to talk Sickness out of a game of Twister. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk Sickness into letting me exercise.  I played with Instagram and Viddy (douglascootey on both) and updated apps on my iPhone because that didn't require any energy. I did, however, thank Sickness for talking me out of exercising. I spent some more time being sick . It is best not to describe where I spent that time. I wrote a blog article on National Licorice Day . Whoops. Absentminded Author isn't supposed to ...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   One way to celebrate the removal of a writing hurdle is to dive in and write. But why do that when you can celebrate National Licorice Day? Those who know me know that I am as prone to distraction as the sun is prone to heat. For the most part, I try to deflect it. Gone are the days of a hundred web pages and a thousand whims. Still, when I'm sick and feeling down I like to let my creativity spin freely—picks my spirits up and sets me on the right path. When I learned that yesterday was National Licorice Day, and I recognized that I wasn't able to get any more writing in, taking creative photographs of licorice was just my speed. And the props tasted good, too. Already my mind has thanked me for the break by subconsciously working out the problem I had with my next chapter. Now I'm ready to tackle it. There is a bonus. I have enough licorice to last me two weeks. My stash is tucked away for my next writing hurdle, though I...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   The phantom cat must die. Adding a phantom cat to the story was a bit of whimsey that seemed like a grand idea at the time, but then dealing with it has proven to be a distraction from the main event. Better the cat should  go than the story should  stop  while I juggle all the story elements in the air. I'll likely just drop them.

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 .   I was all set to sit down and unwind after a busy day. First, though, the Raisin Bran was calling to me. Oh, those two scoops… Bowl and spoon set, milk at the ready, and box in hand, I began to officially relax. Unfortunately, my first bowl was a failure. Where were the raisins? I had somehow managed to pour an entire bowl free of a single raisin. Back in went the cereal into the box, and I began to shake the box vigorously, creatively, with determination. I would not be denied. Then I poured again and out plopped all the raisins in one gigantic lump. I stared at it stunned for a moment. I laughed out loud, albeit quietly. For a moment, I even imagined eating it, but then what would be in my next bowl? I realized then (in that way that writers do because their brains are warped) that the lump of raisins symbolized my writing progress. Yesterday was a day filled with wonderful writing—a giant lump of juicy raisins worth of words ad...

Can a full-time dad with ADHD find time to write a novel? After a year trying, I can safely say, "ARGH!" Although ADHD has been and will continue to be my greatest obstacle in completing this novel, family has proven to be my greatest external disruption. Take today, for instance. I woke up wondering if my debut novel was interesting enough. I've been working on it off and on for over a year and beginning to be bored with it. Maybe something else would be more exciting? Maybe there's not enough peril? ADHD and a bit of Depression are mixing with my morning, and after less than 45 seconds of this I think "Shut up." I'm not going to abandon this story in the last fifth of the book after working so hard to come this far. Besides, the next chapter features phantom cats with big teeth. Perilous enough? Sheesh. And in a blip I'm back on track. Family, on the other hand, is like a freight train loaded with diarrhetic elephants crashing through m...