Hello, my friends and the occasional relative!

It has been a week since last I blogged. A long week, filled with nonsense, and not the fun kind that Alice had to deal with.

Part of the reason I am not a book business person is I loathe dealing with bureaucracy, with paperwork, with checklists and agendas and follow up calls and all the rest of it. I do a fair bit of that in my job, and when it invades my days off, I get a bit petulant. Not the best look for a man of mature years, I admit.

So I’ve been sucking it up and having calls, filling out forms, making more calls, sending query emails, doing some research. I also played pool, which I was really excited for, until I stunk it up badly. So so badly. I’ll talk about that on my other blog. Next week.

I haven’t done enough, but enough to get in the way of my previously mentioned self-directed learning of three languages, plus studying logic, grammar and rhetoric. I’ve done nowt there, and that is disappointing. My fountain pen lies idle, mild melancholy its companion. I did however arrange two thirds of my T-shirt collection, and got rid of 8. Baby steps.

I also did a bit of journaling, to focus on future goals, and what to prioritize, which was useful. I’ve done a good bit of writing, but not too much of the creative variety. This is okay at present, as my subconscious is actively percolating – I can tell by my dreams and morning reverie-imaginings. Small additions and ideas continue to come forth, pieces of future patterns falling into place.

I have been pleasantly inspired by lovely people on the internet being great role models. I have been avoiding all political nonsense, which in the USA right now is rather hard. I’ve voted. I encourage all of you, wherever you are, do indulge in that right whenever you can. In my stories so far freedom has been fleeting, often only realized once it is lost – freedom is in the moment you make the choice. Once the choice is made you have nothing but consequences, but in that moment, facing the ballot, you are free – use that freedom wisely. (I know, you can be drearily cynical about sham elections and votes being worthless yadda yadda, but as previously mentioned I am a man of mature years, and choose, at present, not to go down that path. Choice is a powerful thing.)  

A shape of the future is emerging from the bureaucratic fog. It is one in which I could wear a different metal band tour T-shirt for every day of the month, but that’s not important right now. I still have to organize those. It is a future of more engagement in the business side of book life, while still writing the stories I desire to share. In that future I display a semblance of competence, and enjoy it. Sometimes you have to put the petulant child within on a time out, suck it up, and do the hard and boring things that you have to do as an adult. And look for ways to make them fun, make them a game, like I used to when cleaning out horse boxes, or scrap yards. Make the large smaller, one sub-task at a time. Learn how to level up at skill A, gain a new competency that opens up options for future advancement.

It would be more fun to play the Firefly board game I’ve had set up on a table for the last month: maybe next week, whilst wearing some fancy duds. Shiny. For now it is time to do other things and make them more fun than otherwise, but perhaps less fun than piloting a crew around the ‘verse. For now. Having a career in writing that is viable I imagine would be most enjoyable!

This blog brought to you by Siouxsie and the Banshees – Through the Looking Glass.

Until next week, folks. May your seven days fly in joyously! Yes, you may call me Shirley.