A Splintered Mind

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . As I was sitting down eating breakfast and looking over my things to do for the day, my Twitter stream was abuzz with cheerful chirping about the #Rapture . Although I have met many respectful atheists in real life, the kind that crawl around the social networks of the Internet are not so much. Comedian and actor, Stephen Fry had a popular tweet: Marvellous news! #rapture doesn't mean end of world: apparently all the plantet's imbeciles disappear in one go #dreamcometrue Ironic that his poor spelling and punctuation went unmocked by the thousands who retweeted him. His disclaimer afterwards was not nearly as popular. Comments on Rapture articles on news sites were no different. Many avowed atheists called for celebrations, but many others labelled the Rapturites as idiots deserving to be wiped off the face of the Earth. (Read the comments here: Apocalypse not now; The Rapture fails to materialise ) Such op...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1. When I awoke this morning and discovered the Goblin was home sick, I knew then that I would not get any writing done as I had planned. As a full-time parent you resolve yourself to these type of random events. After all, we decided to bring the li'l fairies into the world. We can't ignore them once they get here. We must dance to their music until they head off to be on their own. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't have any say in the music that is played. She thought she was going to have a day full of endlessly streaming Netflix movies while I doted on her. Instead, I made her chip away at her homework pile. Oooh, the evil scowls I got. Later, since she seemed perfectly fine, I took her and the Leprechaun to a Burger King playground. I thought "Hey, maybe I can get some writing done." Delusional, I know, but these are the thoughts that help drive me forward away from despair. We stayed a while, and...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . I'm taking a moment away from writing to share something with you fellow GoodReads users. I'm sure by now you've faithfully tried to report your reading progress to GoodReads (because we know how many people can't go on living without this sort of update in their Twitter or Facebook feed), but you discovered that the book edition GoodReads had on file didn't match the page numbers of the edition you were reading. This is especially a problem for eBook readers who find their page numbering matches no physical book on the planet. How do you accurately report where you are in the book for those friends who are reading along with you? I used to just guestimate what number page I was on when reporting, but a few weeks ago, when I was unable to do much writing, I decided to solve this problem. After long hours of mental gymnastics the likes of which even the great Einstein himself would never dare to undertak...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . After getting my iPad replaced last Friday, I got myself back up and running quickly. I've been on a roll lately and don't want to loose my charge. In fact, I've written more on my story in the past week in a half than the month and a half before it. I'm just writing the scenes in a bare bones manner, preventing myself from getting bogged down by making it pretty. I can do that in the second draft. So when my brand new iPad refused to sync yesterday, I knew I was in trouble. I do ALL my writing on my iPad. After several failed attempts, I decide to restore it from scratch (a tedious & nuclear option), but that failed, too. Now I'm awaiting an Apple genius to fix me up with another new iPad. I don't hold out high hopes to get an iPad2 in the swap, but since I stopped believing in the tooth fairy, I need something else fanciful to hope for in my life. I've decided an impossible upgrade is it. ...

What a slow, odd li'l morning it has been. I must not have slept well because I feel bleary, and have a pounding headache immediately behind my left eye. In a grumpy fit, I cast my eye glasses aside like the iron mask in Sukeban Deka (which is the original literary reference for that image, I am sure…) and now I am walking around wondering where my 18 year old vision went. When exactly did I become old, and is there a homeopathic remedy for it? Something that doesn't involve beet juice, perhaps? Instead of diving into my novel, I ate, then poked around Facebook while waiting for the food to kick in. That's when I noticed something. Why are these people in my preferred friends list? Do I even interact with them? Are these people the ones looking at my profile or can I select which faces peer out at the world from my page? Maybe there's a way to fix it, and in an ADHD flash of sudden energy I was off. According to this article , Facebook claims that this is NOT a ...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . I've been a bit under the weather lately. I'd gauge it to be about 20,000 leagues under the weather. I know. It's unfathomable to imagine anyone being that low. Yet there I was keeping Davy Jones company when Spring had finally decided to make an appearance in Utah. When I woke up with a ☁ above my head, I wasn't surprised. Fortunately, I had worn my galoshes before I went to bed, as well as a fluorescent yellow rain hat and bathysphere. I may have been sporting my very own rain cloud, but I was ready for the precipitation. So I got the laundry going, cleaned the kitchen, and did my usual routine. Then I made myself write. Having a deadline that I'm excited about proved to be a very effective umbrella. By the time the kids came home I had finished another chapter in my middle grade novel. That makes two this week, which is a bit of a record even with the lost day yesterday. (Due to ⚡ and other inclement weat...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . Writing went well today. I finished chapter 13, which was a good thing. I had been languishing on that chapter for two weeks. I'm currently awake and unable to sleep, but it's not for lack of accomplishments. My story has crossed over 20,000 words, which may be small to some, but an enormous amount compared to me. Since it was 50°F outside, I went for a leisurely walk at 3am—my first this year. Winter has kept its clutches on the weather, with snow as recent as yesterday. In the warm, suddenly Spring air I thought I could work off excess energy and brainstorm on chapter 14 simultaneously, but I ended up just exploring. Tomorrow my goal is to have two writing sessions. This will call for rethinking my priorities, better organization, and a determination to succeed. But for now, I am finally tired.

With a new week ahead of us, today is a perfect day to get started on whatever we've been putting off starting. You KNOW you've been putting off SOMETHING . Isn't that always the case? No? I envy you then. Unfortunately for me, I have too many irons in the fire all the time . I don't actively put anything off; procrastination is just what happens on my way to something new & exciting . This week I am fired up, however. I have decided to finish my first draft at all costs this month. You may recall that I have been confronting my obstacles over the past year in an effort to become an author. I set big goals and made big mistakes, but I learned so much about myself and how to overcome my limitations. Setting big goals is the easy part. To make this new goal happen I am knuckling down on Distraction and turning the screws on Insomnia . Life has a tendency to get in the way of goals that require dedication. I figure life will continue on getting in the way unless I d...