Attention: Some Changes to Come Later this Month

This really isn't a big deal. Just that it's the beginning of a new month, and I'm already planning for a few weeks from now. I haven't done anything yet except make a couple of plans.

Anyway, here's the problem and what I plan to do about it: Way back in December, I made a New Year's Resolution to post at least twice a week, with one article being on short stories and the other on whatever (though it seems to have turned into a place for all my brain droppings about the books I read and movies I watch). I really like doing this. It pushes me to do something different, and it's turned something that felt at first like a chore into a pleasure. Right now, I post at the end of the week, on Fridays and Saturdays. The problem is that I often find myself scrambling at the last minute trying to muster something up for a post.  I don't know if it's because I'm posting at the end of the week or not, but anyways, this bad habit has got to change. And that's where this plan comes in. Sometime after the middle of the month, I'm going to move the days I post those articles from the end of the week to the beginning. This means instead of getting the posts on Friday and Saturday, I'll start posting them on Monday and Tuesday. This is not only a test for you, the readers, but also for me. I hope that posting at the beginning of the week will prove to be a better motivator than posting at the end of the week. Don't worry. This does not mean that there will be a couple of posts missing this month. Without the change, it looks like June would see five set of posts, and I plan to give you five sets of posts, starting tonight with four (yes, you heard me, four) short stories and tomorrow on that thing I promised to save for a rainy day.

Again? Really?

Last night as I was publishing the Friday stories, I noticed that I forgot to post my typical Saturday spiel last week. Sorry to disappoint you. To make up for that, I'll try to leave a couple of tidbits on here throughout the day today. This one does not count. Keep your eyes open, and maybe you'll get lucky.

Starting to Lose Track

It looks like I'm starting to lose track of when I should be posting up here. I totally forgot about last Saturday, and then I spaced out on posting those stories for last night? I think I will have to do something really big to make up for this. I've been playing around with some ideas for a couple of short stories. Maybe in the next couple of weeks, I'll post one or two of them for all to see, you know, along with the other stuff that i've been trying to do.

My Bad

It would seem that I let myself become a little absent-minded last week and completely forgot to publish any posts Friday or Saturday. I plan on making that up this week with the two that I should have left last week plus the two for this week. So, for the next four days, starting tonight, look for posts from me. I need someone besides myself to hold me accountable.

I've Been Slacking a Little Lately

Hey all. I guess I don't have a whole lot to report back to you for this last week. Instead, I sort of have an announcement for you, the readers.

If you have come here regularly, you may have noticed that I've been kind of slacking off these last couple of weeks in terms of reading (and even this week in terms of watching movies). That is because I've been transitioning from one schedule to another, and I haven't had a lot of time in between to do all that I have wanted to do. And it will probably take another couple of weeks to get fully settled into this new schedule.

However, like I have said before, I will try my hardest to keep my promises. I mean, this is the second post for the week, after all. I've kept my goals thus far, or so it would seem. Now all I need to do is catch up on some more of that reading and I will be doing just fine. Well, that and some writing (which I really have been slacking on). Anyways, I should have something for next week as well, so be sure to come back for a quick visit.

Spending a Year Delving into Short Stories

Back around Christmas, I stated that one of my New Year's resolutions was to leave at least two posts each week. I need one of them to be constant, something that is just normal and I can easily remember to post each week, and the other can be random and fun.

For the constant post, I have decided to leave some snippets and ideas roused up by some of the short stories I've been reading recently and will continue to read. There's a lot of them out there, which means there is a lot of catching up to do. I've been trying to read a good balance between newer stories (some of them the latest, most of them within the last year) and older works (from the old pulps). Some of them are really entertaining, others mess with your mind, and many are perfect petri dishes for sparks of inspiration. All we need to do is get out our microscopes and examine them a little bit.

And examine them is exactly what I have been trying to do lately, more or less, however, I am coming to believe that finding a public space to discuss some of these ideas may be more beneficial, not only for me but for you, the reader. Let's see if we can bounce some of the ideas back and forth amongst ourselves instead of in our own minds. It's good to reflect on your thoughts, but you don't want to dwell in your own head too long. That's when people start to go crazy. Well, sometimes anyways.

Just be sure to come back next week and check out what stories I've been reading. I'll try to have one recent story, one story from the past, and perhaps one wild card which can be either. Also, in case you may want to read the stories yourself, I'll leave links to wherever I found them.

Now, go and enjoy the beginning of the weekend.

Happy New Year

Greetings everybody. Hope you all had a fun night. We're in the new year. Can you believe it's already 2012? I feel like it went by all two quickly. Maybe it did for the rest of you as well. Anyways, I've got some hefty goals for the next 366 days. Yeah, that's right, it's a leap year. So we have one more day to cram in all of our resolutions. Or one more day to make it a little trickier to meet some of thode other ones. Anyways, here's the best wishes for all of you to make it.

Happy Holidays

The end of 2011 is soon here, but that only means 2012 is right around the corner. Soon many people will be making a bunch of New Year's resolutions, so I want to throw mine out there with the bunch. Far too often, this blog has been neglected by me. It's time to fix that. Here it is then, my New Year's resolution: a minimum of two posts each week. That had ought to give us just over one hundred posts in the next year. I'll try as hard as I might to keep that up.

Also, it's Christmas today, so here's to a happy holidays for all of you out there. I hope you are having a great time with friends and family. With these darker winter days, being with loved ones keep the light on the inside going, so get out and socialize.

What are you still doing here? Call up some old friends and let them know you're still around. Go visit your family while you're at it.

So go, get out of here, but be sure to check back here in the new year.

One More Announcement Today

I've been thinking about doing it for the last couple of years and haven't really forced myself to do it. Yeah, I never even began. But this year I'm going to put everything out on the line. There's 17 days between  the first of November and now. I need to start exercising my willpower's muscles and using everything I'm learning from my little war on distraction.

This is going to be a tough little experiment, although, if I live through it, I will know that I can survive almost any big project. I'm ready for it. Bring on the pain!

War On Distraction: Introduction

Earlier today I declared war on distractions. Well, maybe I didn't declare war, but I do want to learn to deal with distractions in a better way. And that's what I want to do here: learning in the open. 

So here's an announcement. Starting tomorrow, I'll be dropping off a post everyday on a new way I find to deal with distractions. As of now, I don't know how long it will go for. Perhaps around a month? I have a little list I wrote, but if I can keep it going longer than that, I will try. 

Traveling

I'm going to be traveling around a little bit in the next few weeks, so I don't really know how often I'm going to be able to post here and eave random stories around the internet. But only time will tell and we'll just have to sit through it then. I'll try to keep you guys up to date of where I am and what I'm doing. I'm thinking about just hanging out in Scandinavia plus Germany (although many consider it to be part of Scandinavia). But anyways, let's get to some questions you're all probably dying to know.

How's everything going?
It's hectic over here. I'm still awake at 1:00AM central European time. Packing up all the belongings I brought and bought here over the course of ten months. Lots of memories. Lots to throw away. Lots I want to keep and probably shouldn't.
That plus working everyday from 6:30 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon. It's not hard work, but it's just time consuming. I have been wanting to do my own little thing, but with having limited internet and limited time, everything's become a lot more of a challenge.
I'll try to keep writing, but I'll be posting a lot more infrequently. I hope to get some stuff edited and posted for #thursdaytales over at the io9 forums. Maybe a short story or two that I can try to get published in a couple of magazines. I'll try to keep up with Roger and his box over at CCC, but I feel like I'm starting to lose some steam on that project. I'll try to find the juices once again though. They're somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, as are the ideas for many other stories. I just have to release the flood gates and let them out.

Do you know where you're going?
I'm not set on any set itinerary, but I can say that I know where want to be in this next month. Tomorrow I leave for Stockholm via the train. Stay there a few days. Then fly to Oslo and visit a friend in southeastern Norway for a few days. After that, work my way towards Berlin where I have been invited to visit another friend. I hope to see a lot and find a lot of inspiration on my travels.

When are you going home?
I'll be home (in the States) mid-August.

What are you doing when you get back to the States?
Good question! As of now, I don't have any concrete plans once I get back. Need to start working on those. Need to find an apartment. Need to find a job. Need to find myself again.

Short Story Month Is Here

I read recently over at The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog that we have just entered Short Story Month. Well, I suppose I'm a little late, but it's better to jump in late than never.

So welcome to the month dedicated to short stories. What are you doing to celebrate short fiction this month? I'm going to try to read at least one story in each week. I know, I should probably read more, but I'm trying to fit that in with all the other little things in life. My focus is going to be on reading the Hugo Award short fiction nominees. At the moment I'm halfway through Adam-Troy Castro's Arvies. You can read it over at Lightspeed Magazine. I'll try to come back this weekend and leave a little review.

What are you reading right now? Tell the world over at Twitter with the hashtag #ssm2011.

I'm Back!

(And here's how announce that I'm back, over at today's writing prompt for Creative Copy Challenge. The words in bold were the words of the day.)

I can finally stop and smile now because I'm not far out traveling like before, but rather near home. The launch into my bucket list has begun. And I promise I won't abuse it. But really, traveling around the world is something I want to do before I die, so if I have the opportunity, I'll do it in a moment. That's how I should use the list, right? And as long as there is a little thrust to begin with, I believe inertia will keep it going.

Vacation Week

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I've been on vacation and it's been quite difficult to find internet access on the go. Be prepared for more stories in the following weeks though.