"The Junk Journals" Official Update #1: Intros and Research

Here begins the journey....

I hope that sounds at least half as epic as I intend it to be.  Because even though I have a children's book in the works, I've been steadily plugging away at my Junk Journals project for several months now.  In fact, I believe I have enough material to start piecing stuff together into an actual book!

My self-help book venture will likely take several months of editing, re-editing, and of course, one more rewrite in order to get things all squared away.  In between then there could be slow downs and interruption as are want to happen.  I can't account for the adventures and mis-adventures that might befall me as I go into this project, but I want to be clear with anyone who might read this and eventually read the book that I intend to keep regular progress reports updating you on how things are going.

So what have I got for you today?

As you likely can tell from the title, I've been working on writing the introduction to the book and doing a bit of research for getting the book published as well.  Let me break both of those down really quick for you:

I am pretty sure I have enough material to create a framework upon which to get the overall novel put together.  However, I feel that unlike getting a novel put together, you have to introduce your reader to the nature of what it is they are about to read.  Whether a gripping and overly detailed historical examination of something or a self-help book like the Junk Journals will be, you have to lay out the basics.  I guess it shares a little something in common with writing a kids novel that way.  Get'em in  a basic way at the start of the book.

Anywho, I've written a first draft of that all-important introduction for the Junk Journals and I think it will help me get my footing on how I want the outline to look for the overall book.  So not only have I got a literal start on things, but I have given myself a helping hand in continuing the project to completion.  This isn't so much of a brag as a "Okay, as I work more on this, I give myself less and less excuses as to why it can't be done.  This is good thing as well since I cover the topic of procrastination within the book itself.  I hope overall that it does not take long to get a composed first draft of the overall book together.  But I am willing to admit as this is foreign territory to me, I might have to look up a "How to write a How to Book for Dummies."  If such a thing exists.

Then again, part of what I want to do with the book is not only offer a fresh take on the matter of de-cluttering one's home, but also change up the drab expectations a person might have when it comes to such books.  I want it to be engaging and personable and not come at the reader with an overly aggressive "oh just toss it all out" attitude.  This leads me to the other part of what I am currently doing with the project.

I am researching not just how to write a book about eliminating clutter, but I want to take the annoying bits from other bits that keep seeming to turn up and offer a perspective that might have otherwise been presented.  One of the attitudes that I see turn up quite often in these books so far is the idea that "just getting the job done" somehow translates into "hurry it up and finish."  From what I can tell cleaning isn't a race, or at least, not a very exciting one.  So I am currently spending free time here and there looking into what I feel were the mistakes made in other books when it comes to being pushy about getting you to de-junk your home.  So long as we aren't hoarders, there shouldn't be a problem with taking the time to do a job you can live with.

Anywho, before I get too distracted and make this update too long I wanted to let you know where I am at and how the project is coming along.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and I will see you next week.

Which Way to the Yelling Room?

Pressure provides an excellent motivator in almost all things.  You want to be pushed to do more, excel in what you can, and try your hardest in all you do.

At least until everything starts to pile up and you need to scream.

You know, to relieve tension and such.

Since college I have learned to not only work well under the pressure of a dozen things going on at once, but also learned how to thrive when it happens.  The upside was that even with getting sick (this was pre-transplant), long hours for school studies, and what I will term "wacky" scheduling from the management of my old retail job; I was getting things done.  I was working on my writing, doing the odd freelance job, and trying to keep up the cleanliness of my home.  The only downside, it seemed, was that things would come crashing down the minute I was hospitalized and too sick to work on projects.  Naturally, all the juggling balls don't juggle themselves, and the moment you step away everything falls apart.  However, nearly 5 years away from that liver transplant, and I realize that something else was happening during those years when I had so much going on.

I was getting hooked on having too much to do.

Odd thing to say, but I think it is possible to get addicted to having a full to the brim plate of ideas, projects, and chores to work on.  On the one hand, it keeps you from being lazy and you are forced to not waste time.  On the other hand, you never really have free time to relax, so you can get hyper stressed at the drop of a hat.  I have decided I would like the best of both worlds, please?

I need to have that pressure to keep me working, keep me on task, but not so much that I wish I had a third bedroom at home just so I could have protracted screaming sessions to alleviate stress.  What I want is knowing that I have things to do during the day, but at the end of the day have accomplished them for the most part.   Funny thing, this is more type A then type B.  I guess my type B tendecies come out in that I am always thinking of something new and exciting to do--but the type A side pops in and says it must be done by day's end or I've failed to get things done for the day.   I want to have a day where I don't feel rushed, but also don't feel like I could be a lump and just waste a few hours and not have it effect things.  (Barring vacations of course, because we all need time off.  I'm talking strictly the daily grind type stuff.)

So anywho, which way to the yelling room?  Because it would appear between a fantastic job opportunity (if I get it), personal projects with the Junk Journals, hoped for work from a revitalized CaptainKYSO, and my work on creative writing projects for my children's fantasy novels--I'm a little busy and have a full plate.

I guess last week was the right, wrong week to get sick.  But it's okay.  Because sometimes a bit of pressure, even extreme pressure, can be a good thing.

Keeping Up the Pace

How many words per minute can you type?

Can you do 60 words or more a minute?

I wish I could.

Not because I think this skill will be of use in landing me a kick-butt secretarial job or some other recorder type position, but because I feel like my typing can't keep up sometimes with my train of thought or my ability to dream something up.  Not meant as a brag, just a fact.  I could probably rattle off a story into a microphone faster than I can type it.   Except I'm not really the "tell an oral story" kind of guy.  Much as I love the oral tradition, as it is called, I love the written word more.  Sometimes I can only ring out one idea or paragraph at a time and I plod along to get the job done.  Other times I feel like if it weren't for other obligations I could just write from dawn til' dusk.  Yes, those obligations even include potty breaks.  When I, or another writer, get into that coveted "leave me alone, I'm writing" groove it leaves me wondering:  can we as writers ever hope to keep up with our own ideas?   Do we lose great ideas that will never enter our heads again?  Can we compensate if our mind clicks along but the keyboard doesn't?

First, I have to say from experience it feels like a monumental task to keep up with my creative side when I can only crank out about 30-50 words a minute.  Just because I am a writer, doesn't mean I can zoom along the keyboard...well, most of the time.  I admit sometimes I feel like Mario and I can crash through mental barriers like I've just touched a invincibility star and writer's block is so many goombas.  I love those times, as I'm sure every writer does.  Should I feel bad for the times that ideas come more slowly though?  Maybe they just needed a bit of time to marinate.  I'd like to think that most times I can keep up with my own thoughts, but there are times when I can't.  Have you had those times?

I have been flying along at the keyboard, a scene is coming together just the way that I want then BAM!  I have to make a decision about one of five directions the story can take from there and sometimes they can be incorporated into a latter part of the story.  So the easy solution to that problem would seem to be that I could make a quick note to myself, and come back to that idea later after I pursue another one.  The problem is that it doesn't always work that way for a writer.  Some times you can see for miles down the writing road, but you know that once you start on one path, you can't see those other paths quite as clearly.  Sure, you can kind of trace them there in the distance and you know their final destination if you check a map or look at the notes you took.  But much like real life, a map can only tell you so much, and a seeing a map of where things go is not the same as seeing the road that gets you there.  At times like that I envy the cartoonists and artists that I know, both at home and on twitter.  Artists like Apelad or Walmazan create several iterations of a design and can show it off and the viewer can get a clear picture of the ideas they were going for in each design.  I am not sure if it is easier, but when I get stuck trying to remember where a certain pathway was going, I envy their talent for making a picture convey more than just a thousand words.  So how do we compensate for those times when we have lost a thought or know that we might have had a fantastic idea that we totally lost track of?

I wish I had a fantastic answer or that one was out there either online or in a book.

I've heard everything from "write it down" to "draw a picture about it when it comes along," nothing seems to work though.  Sometimes you are blessed and you can easily lock on to that old road you nearly took and add it to the story you were writing.  Sometimes you totally forget why that particular arc was interesting or so full of promise.  Either way, you need to keep pace with yourself and keep writing.

So here I am writing, trying to keep up a pace that will help me not only stay ahead of my thoughts, but will hopefully allow me to stride confidently down whatever story path I choose.  I hope those of you who actually read this blog can stride ahead too and keep up a good pace.