“Half-Lives”

Today I read “Half-Lives” again and also read over the critiques I have gotten for that story. It needs work, but then again, I think everything needs work every time I read it. As I read through it, I could hear what needed to be fixed in my head, which is good. Perhaps it means I’m developing more of a talent for the flow of a story. It is odd, though, because I’ve read that story out loud at least twice before, and it didn’t sound that clunky then. I guess time and distance from a piece really do make a difference in objectivity.

I write today’s entry with mixed emotions; I’m glad I finally got out the story and dug through it, but I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get it done by the time I had wanted to (last Saturday.) I think I should be able to revise it easily by Father’s Day, though, despite my busy work and family schedule.

Weak day

I didn’t do much in regard to writing today, but I did go see Keith’s jazz band concert. I didn’t get to the review of The Legend That Was Earth during lunch because I had other errands to run. All in all, it was a pretty weak day for creativity, but a good day for musical appreciation.

Reading

I finished reading The Legend That Was Earth today. I will try to post a review tomorrow on the site. I also started reading Sophie’s World and Zen Guitar. “What does reading have to do with creativity?” you ask. In my opinion, one of the best ways to spark creativity is to read, listen to or view other people’s work, in various media. Unfortunately, I am not the fastest reader in the world, so reading can take away from writing time for me. It’s a trade off, I guess, but I don’t think I can give up reading, even if I am a slowpoke.

Memorial Day Rambling

I updated this log for the first time in several days, filling in the blanks of what I did each day. I briefly debated about how to write those entries, since I wasn’t writing them on the day of, but I decided to put myself in the frame of mind of writing as if it were the end of that day, so each one sounds like it comes from that day. “That’s lying,” my subconscious says, but I’m not sure I agree with him. I’m still reporting what I did that relates to creativity, and the purpose of this log is to list what I’ve done, not to be a live timeline. I think I can take the liberty of playing catch-up occasionally, as long as I get it all down. I almost finished The Legend That Was Earth today.

I have several projects to work on. I already mentioned the “Half-Lives” project in yesterday’s entry. I also need to finish my Carvin Bolt Guitar Kit essay and review soon, because my website statistics show that a lot of people are being referred to this site when they search on “Carvin Bolt Kit” or similar terms. They get here, then they find one page of the planned 10 page essay, which is very unprofessional. It would also be a good idea for me to start posting reviews of the books I read and the albums I buy on my site again. It’s been a long time since I posted either. Perhaps I should start with a review of The Legend That Was Earth. Also, I want to get back to my bookstore story and write another couple of Fear Sphere stories, particularly “Sphere of Success.”

If I ever do make it as a writer, I think I will be able to find plenty to do to supplement my income. After all, I have too much to do for this site as it is, and I’m not being paid for it. 😀

As long as I’m rambling, I may as well point out a trend that I’ve noticed. When I started this journal, I intended to just list what I had done that day in small entries. Since I decided to give myself a rule of making the entries in complete sentences on May 19th, the entries have expanded and become a little more personal. This journal may evolve from just a creativity journal to a general journal, but I will try to keep the focus on creativity. That shouldn’t be too hard; my life tends to revolve around creativity in one form or another anyway.