Back in the Saddle – Writing/Reading/Etc.
I’ve had a pretty disruptive last few months. Two trips totalling over seven weeks abroad (plus jet lag recovery) plus two weeks of home alone with all three boys meant that I completely shut down, mentally. I haven’t written anything more trying than tweets (and even then I managed to piss off someone I enjoyed tweeting with), haven’t read anything more trying than Amelia Bedelia (actually, not true. I read Five on a Treasure Island to K1 over the last couple of weeks at bedtime, he liked it, all in all, though found bits scary), only media I’ve been watching are Community episodes so my Sweet can catch up and Xena. My brain finally said “No more!” and then my prefrontal cortex said “Don’t you mean, ‘No more, eh?'”*
Just before I left for Croatia, I received an advance copy of a writing e-book called “Write Every Day” by Michael Haynes. The main idea behind the book is to give hints and strategies that will help you start and keep up a “Seinfeld Chain“, IE ensuring that you write every day. I had done this in the past, but I found that once I broke the chain, it was extremely difficult to get back on the horse, so to speak. I will be using some of the tips in his book to get my chain going again. The guide is a good read too, and not too expensive, and transferable to other things you might want to do. Michael could possibly branch out and have an “Exercise Every Day” guide too, for example. I would expect a cut of the sales, however… 🙂
My 3 day chain. Let’s see how long I can make it.
I’ve also started reading again, hallelujah. I’m most of the way through Dan Well’s I Don’t Want to Kill You, book three in his John Cleaver series. They’re good. First time in a long time I’ve read something that made me gasp out loud (The payphone scene in book one, if you’ve read it). I’ve also started up reading a #storyeachnight again, and you can see those on the sidebar or if you followed me on twitter. Com’n! You know you want to!
*A Kewpie doll** to the first person who gets the reference!
**Not really…