{"id":4460,"date":"2012-07-30T09:24:44","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T14:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/?p=4460"},"modified":"2012-07-30T09:24:44","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T14:24:44","slug":"ideas-and-time-and-a-change-of-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/2012\/07\/30\/ideas-and-time-and-a-change-of-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas and Time (And a Change of Perspective)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I know it’s been quiet around here, lately. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about blog entries — I have. I’ve started some entries, but…they keep growing into more than just a short entry. Starting a new job last week, and helping my wife get ready for something this past weekend…The Juggling Writer<\/em> has slipped back on the list of priorities these past couple weeks.<\/p>\n

I did<\/em> get to work on the Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors<\/em> relaunch while holed up in a hotel room this past weekend. I now need to convert the .prc file (Kindle file) to an epub file and make a PDF — and then those who’ve contributed essays will get copies. If you prefer the .prc\/Kindle copy, let me know…I can send that your way now; otherwise, expect email sometime next weekend.<\/p>\n

I know some would say, “It takes no effort to make a .prc file and convert that into an epub file or PDF,” and they’re right…if you don’t care about formatting. But I<\/em> care about formatting, so…it looks like I’m still on the “early August” release for all files.<\/p>\n

Speaking of August…<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I’m looking forward to getting back to writing <\/em>writing — not that review <\/em>stage of writing. No more proofing and formatting, although I still have a couple things I still need to turn into e-books before closing down production mode and getting back into writing mode. I’ve talked about it before<\/a> — how I do my best writing once fall hits. Granted, it doesn’t feel <\/em>like fall until November in Texas, but just seeing it appear on the calendar excites me. So, for August, my goal is to stay in formatting mode and get a couple more things out.<\/p>\n

Then, when fall arrives, some of that actual writing I hear writers do…<\/p>\n

A Change of Perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I often think about why I hit that writing stride in the fall. It’s my favorite season; I’m not a fan of heat, so something about fall makes me feel like a dog that tears around in a crazed state after a bath. There’s an excitement about those first tendrils of cool air coming down from Canada, poking you in the chest, and reminding you how exhilarating life is. It’s a reminder that the world is a colorful place, that soon the treetops will look like fire when the sun hits the colorful leaves just right.<\/p>\n

For me, fall is a season of different perspectives.<\/p>\n

A Weekend of a Different Perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This past weekend, I attended a costuming event with my wife. Even though I stayed in our hotel room most of Saturday working on cleaning up the Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors<\/em> e-book, there’s something neat about being immersed in a world full of costumed people all weekend. What would normally stick out becomes normal when you’re around it. All those people in historic outfits or looking like they stepped out of the pages of a sci-fi novel seem as everyday as jeans and t-shirts do on any other day.<\/p>\n

For those not<\/em> immersed in it all, though, it’s a strange sight. Were it Halloween, the group my wife was with wouldn’t have received strange looks. But it was late July, when there is no “normal” reason for adults to dress up in costumes. There appears on the faces of the surprised a certain look hovering between disdain and pretending they aren’t seeing what they are seeing — as though they feel they are on the receiving end of a joke being played on them by the sudden and strange appearance of a woman in an 18th century gown in the elevator with them.<\/p>\n

We Like “Normal”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It becomes evident just how much society likes “normal,” when they see a group of costumed people descend on the hotel bar from all sides, like a flash mob. It is, at least in part, why we are attracted to stories: it’s a safe way to break away from “normal” and lose ourselves in the lives of others, even if they are <\/em>just made-up characters. Perhaps stumbling upon a group of costumed adults when you aren’t expecting it is like stumbling a step closer toward a story.<\/p>\n

Especially with me dressed normally among the group, not phased by it at all, the looks on those not expecting it becomes one of, “That guy there acts like he’s not seeing it…am I losing my grip on reality?”<\/p>\n

It’s a change for some people to stumble upon something so different that they don’t know how to react to it.<\/p>\n

Autumn is my favorite season because I love the change…I love those days when the treetops are full of colorful leaves lit up by the sun. It’s not an everyday sight; most of the time — through spring and summer, and even into the first part of fall — everything is green.<\/p>\n

Everything is “normal.”<\/p>\n

The change of the season is a change of perspective…much like a group of costumed women gathered in the morning sunlight — dressed in costumes — in a hotel in Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n

It’s how we react to that change that matters…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know it’s been quiet around here, lately. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about blog entries — I have. I’ve started some entries, but…they keep growing into more than just a short entry. Starting a new job last week, and helping my wife get ready for something this past weekend…The Juggling Writer has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[24,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4460"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4460"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4468,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4460\/revisions\/4468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}