September will be a busy month for me. Something fairly big at work is due in the middle of the month, and the current novel should be readable by the end of September. So...it's a good time to go silent online. The September Silence I've not … [Continue reading]
I was a 21 year-old punk when I met Cuyler Etheredge. I enrolled in the only creative writing class I ever took, and Cuyler was the instructor. At that time, I'd written the first thing I ever wrote with the goal of publication: a 12-page comic … [Continue reading]
I've never taken a social media break like the time I took the 101 day social media break. Hell, I've not done a full "September Silence" in a couple years... I've thought about doing both in recent days, but something makes it harder each … [Continue reading]
I'm still here. It's been a busy time with work...and a busy time writing. (Also, it's been remarkably rainy for August in Texas.) I cannot complain...especially about the rain and being busy writing. A Change in Schedule I normally wake up … [Continue reading]
I've not felt like I've been writing well, lately. Words creep along with greater effort than usual, and what sees the page is not good. One recent morning, things finally clicked along again, but a major problem presented itself. (The kind of … [Continue reading]
Ideas are easy to come by if you don't crowd your head with distractions. Ideas are even easier to come by if you question everything. The Slow Turn The other day while driving home from a store, a pickup truck in front of me made a very slow … [Continue reading]
I would not say I am contradictory for the sake of itself, but if I don't believe in a rule, it's unlikely I will follow it. From a societal standpoint, the way I look at most things conforms with most social mores -- so I am a law-abiding … [Continue reading]
It's not that I don't take time off from work, but it's rare that I take full weeks off. Long weekends happen somewhat frequently, but in over 5 1/2 years where I work, most weeks off have been stacked around Thanksgiving. Taking last week off … [Continue reading]
I try not to use The Juggling Writer to complain about things. Sure, I talk about work sometimes cutting in line before writing and other things like that, but...it is a blog about all the things in life competing for time with writing. But I'm … [Continue reading]
This is how it all played out: we had the writing retreat initially scheduled for April 1 - 3. It was canceled because of a minor medical emergency that could have become major hit my friend, Deacon. A thing you must know about Deacon: after a … [Continue reading]
A few things going on, lately... HEAR Now Festival A story I wrote was accepted as an official listening selection for the The HEAR Now Audio Fiction and Arts Festival. A bit more about that over on the Not About Lumberjacks blog. Writing … [Continue reading]
I did not come pre-package with musical aptitude. In fifth grade, I joined my elementary school's orchestra. I played violin. I practiced more than most classmates and was understanding things enough that I wanted to learn how to tune my … [Continue reading]
I've mentioned Jack Cheng's "Sunday" letter newsletter here before. This week, Cheng wrote about plot. In the piece, Cheng shares a couple great quotes from George Saunders. This is the one that stuck with me (and, apparently, Cheng): I don’t … [Continue reading]