Hello all,
It's been an interesting ride over the past months, but this chapter of my writing is coming to an end. I'm going to be halting my blog writing for the time being - perhaps at some distant time in the future, I'll begin again, but for now - it's the end.
I appreciate all of you who stopped by and read my ramblings from time to time, especially those of you kind enough to leave some comments. I hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me. Unfortunately, the time spent writing this blog is currently a luxury I can ill afford. But it certainly was a learning experience.
For those of you wondering about the title - blogging was an experiment that failed for me. I simply didn't generate enough interest from everyone to feel it necessary to continue. But certainly don't think I mean to imply this is your fault - no, loyal readers (what few of you there are), it is mine. For those of you who received my college newsletter and enjoyed it so much, this was an attempt to resurrect that - but I failed to realize the differences between these two mediums. E-mails go straight to you, readers - no extra time or effort required - on your part. This blog was an attempt to cut out the constant battle to keep e-mails updated - but I learned it would work better for a mass audience that is far less connected to the author. And so, while this blog failed, I realized some great keys to writing for your audience.
Indeed, it was an experiment that failed - but because of this, it was undoubtedly a success. Not the success I envisioned, but one all the same. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Jon "A great mistake is often a success waiting to be discovered" Sourbeer
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Perils of Writing!
Hey folks, no update this week (or probably the next). Too busy working on a synopsis for a book contest entry. I'll let you know how it goes!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Holiday Exhaustion?
Hey everybody - its been a busy last few weeks with the holidays! Its funny, but after all the holidays, most people seem to be pretty exhausted - even though the holidays are supposed to be a time for relaxation and replenishment.
I think this is the first year that it really hit me, but I blame that on my recent ski trip. It was an absolute blast, but I don't think I've ever come back so tired. Granted, I was skiing for three of the four days we were not traveling, and went swimming and climbing (in the hot springs) the fourth. Perhaps it was the altitude, maybe I just did more than I realized, but both mind and body have been exhausted for the past few days - I'm even too tired to make a funny post!
Anyway, just wanted to throw a post out there after a few weeks haitus, and see if anyone else is experiencing the same holiday exhaustion, this year or in years prior. I've got a big book deadline approaching, so wish me luck with that - hope for publishing in 2010!
One other quick note: A congratulations to my friends Brian and Jessie Maddux, who just welcomed baby Noah into the world!
I think this is the first year that it really hit me, but I blame that on my recent ski trip. It was an absolute blast, but I don't think I've ever come back so tired. Granted, I was skiing for three of the four days we were not traveling, and went swimming and climbing (in the hot springs) the fourth. Perhaps it was the altitude, maybe I just did more than I realized, but both mind and body have been exhausted for the past few days - I'm even too tired to make a funny post!
Anyway, just wanted to throw a post out there after a few weeks haitus, and see if anyone else is experiencing the same holiday exhaustion, this year or in years prior. I've got a big book deadline approaching, so wish me luck with that - hope for publishing in 2010!
One other quick note: A congratulations to my friends Brian and Jessie Maddux, who just welcomed baby Noah into the world!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Worth the wait
I'm doing this week's post a early, simply because I found a Penny-Arcade Strip just too funny to ignore. For those that don't know (I presume most of you), Penny-Arcade is a comic about video games/game culture, and every year it runs a charity known as Child's Play that gives out games, consoles, etc. to sick children in Hospitals, etc.
Now you might think that this would be a strip with limited appeal and an even more limited base of people to support the Child's Play charity, but you would be forgetting a key point: Video gamers (especially the original generation) are nerds. And as nerds, video gamers have two qualities that make them (us) perfect for such a charity: They are very passionate about their geekdom, and they have a lot (and I mean a lot) of money.
In less than a week this year, the charity had raised nearly $500,000 dollars (it is well over a $1,000,000 now), and they haven't even had the actual auction dinner yet!
To give a little bit of background, every year, Penny-Arcade hosts a dinner where they auction off items donated by big name video game companies, developers, and themselves. Last year, the creators of Penny-Arcade decided to auction off a guest-strip at the dinner. Due to the size of the readership (essentially everyone who regularly reads about video games or knows anything about the industry read this comic), this was a big deal. But the guest strip never appeared, despite a sizable chunk of change being dropped for the comic (if I recall, it was in the tens of thousands of dollars). Well, today, with another dinner approaching (and the want to auction another comic off), the strip finally appeared.
Personally, it helped remind me, as we approach the holidays, that some things are worth the wait, and that our good deeds will come back to us in one way or another eventually.
To my readers, have a Merry Christmas (this is the internet, so I don't have to be PC!), and don't forget to consider all the wonderful things we have to be thankful for, earned or not!
Now you might think that this would be a strip with limited appeal and an even more limited base of people to support the Child's Play charity, but you would be forgetting a key point: Video gamers (especially the original generation) are nerds. And as nerds, video gamers have two qualities that make them (us) perfect for such a charity: They are very passionate about their geekdom, and they have a lot (and I mean a lot) of money.
In less than a week this year, the charity had raised nearly $500,000 dollars (it is well over a $1,000,000 now), and they haven't even had the actual auction dinner yet!
To give a little bit of background, every year, Penny-Arcade hosts a dinner where they auction off items donated by big name video game companies, developers, and themselves. Last year, the creators of Penny-Arcade decided to auction off a guest-strip at the dinner. Due to the size of the readership (essentially everyone who regularly reads about video games or knows anything about the industry read this comic), this was a big deal. But the guest strip never appeared, despite a sizable chunk of change being dropped for the comic (if I recall, it was in the tens of thousands of dollars). Well, today, with another dinner approaching (and the want to auction another comic off), the strip finally appeared.
Personally, it helped remind me, as we approach the holidays, that some things are worth the wait, and that our good deeds will come back to us in one way or another eventually.
To my readers, have a Merry Christmas (this is the internet, so I don't have to be PC!), and don't forget to consider all the wonderful things we have to be thankful for, earned or not!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Appreciation
Thanksgiving and duck hunting last week gave me some good perspective on the things we enjoy in life... food, family, health.
Unfortunately for me, as is often the case when we learn a valuable lesson, this was due to reaction, rather than reflection.
For family, it was due to an unforeseen delay that prevented my uncle and cousin from joining us. Unfortunately for me, that was the least... direct example of how we often forget our good fortune:
Nothing reminds you of how much you appreciate the ease of your neighborhood supermarket and the wonders of pest control like sitting in a duck blind waiting for a small, foul-tasting bird to happen by while swarmed by a cloud of mosquitoes so thick that the buzzing drowns out conversation.
And based on how well I shoot, how often we saw ducks, and the fact that our clothing did nothing to stop the mutant vampire insects that probed us repeatedly for fresh fluids - had I been a tribesman hunting for my food, my family would have starved shortly before I succumbed to malaria.
Thank the Lord for thick, juicy meat of the Turducken and your neighborhood Publix!
Unfortunately for me, as is often the case when we learn a valuable lesson, this was due to reaction, rather than reflection.
For family, it was due to an unforeseen delay that prevented my uncle and cousin from joining us. Unfortunately for me, that was the least... direct example of how we often forget our good fortune:
Nothing reminds you of how much you appreciate the ease of your neighborhood supermarket and the wonders of pest control like sitting in a duck blind waiting for a small, foul-tasting bird to happen by while swarmed by a cloud of mosquitoes so thick that the buzzing drowns out conversation.
And based on how well I shoot, how often we saw ducks, and the fact that our clothing did nothing to stop the mutant vampire insects that probed us repeatedly for fresh fluids - had I been a tribesman hunting for my food, my family would have starved shortly before I succumbed to malaria.
Thank the Lord for thick, juicy meat of the Turducken and your neighborhood Publix!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Speak softly (usually) and carry a big stick
Things just keep getting busier and busier, but it is just a lesson in the need to push oneself forward all the time. But boy, have I gotten a bludgeoning recently!
It seems like a lot of people I know are taking the title of this posting to heart, and giving quite a beating:
My novel pod wants better development, in fewer words, at the beginning of my novel - Bam! The hammer comes down in red all across the page.
I study Japanese with Janelle - she does great; I don't know all the vocab - Crack! A (loving) verbal lashing by said (obnoxious) sibling!
I need to make my stance wider and move FASTER! - Whack! A blow across my backside with the stick (and not metaphorical) from Sensei (granted, more of a goad than a painful blow).
Sigh, just one more sign that I need to be doing more! But it is a good thing - it just lets me show off my scars and tell war stories when I finally succeed.
Well, as long as I survive!
It seems like a lot of people I know are taking the title of this posting to heart, and giving quite a beating:
My novel pod wants better development, in fewer words, at the beginning of my novel - Bam! The hammer comes down in red all across the page.
I study Japanese with Janelle - she does great; I don't know all the vocab - Crack! A (loving) verbal lashing by said (obnoxious) sibling!
I need to make my stance wider and move FASTER! - Whack! A blow across my backside with the stick (and not metaphorical) from Sensei (granted, more of a goad than a painful blow).
Sigh, just one more sign that I need to be doing more! But it is a good thing - it just lets me show off my scars and tell war stories when I finally succeed.
Well, as long as I survive!
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Beat of Your Drum
The last week has been hectic. That's not to say it's a bad thing to be busy, but there is a lot of different things going on right now. Unfortunately, that means that posting sort of gets put on the back burner.
Of course, being able to balance everything and not taking on too much is important, too. So I'm going to keep posting, but I am going to try to make them more fluid - which is another way of saying stream of consciousness. I am just going to write and hope something moderately intelligent, or at least intelligible comes out.
Here's hoping.
But, assuming I can manage everything, it will hopefully also be a temporary shift. I like to consider topics and focus on one idea. It results, generally, in a much better post. I must admit, however, that just writing like I am now is somewhat freeing, and far less stressful. I've put more on the page in the last 5 minutes than I have in two weeks. And even if its repetitious, poorly written, and boring, I could at least make the argument that something is better than nothing. You may disagree.
Fortunately for me, however, since I most of my readership doesn't post comments anyway, I don't really have to worry about negative feedback. There are a few exceptions, of course (Mom), but honestly, the advantage of humming your own tune is twofold: Either you drown out everyone else, or you don't even realize they aren't listening. You've just got make sure you don't stop.
Hmmmm...Uh, hello?
Of course, being able to balance everything and not taking on too much is important, too. So I'm going to keep posting, but I am going to try to make them more fluid - which is another way of saying stream of consciousness. I am just going to write and hope something moderately intelligent, or at least intelligible comes out.
Here's hoping.
But, assuming I can manage everything, it will hopefully also be a temporary shift. I like to consider topics and focus on one idea. It results, generally, in a much better post. I must admit, however, that just writing like I am now is somewhat freeing, and far less stressful. I've put more on the page in the last 5 minutes than I have in two weeks. And even if its repetitious, poorly written, and boring, I could at least make the argument that something is better than nothing. You may disagree.
Fortunately for me, however, since I most of my readership doesn't post comments anyway, I don't really have to worry about negative feedback. There are a few exceptions, of course (Mom), but honestly, the advantage of humming your own tune is twofold: Either you drown out everyone else, or you don't even realize they aren't listening. You've just got make sure you don't stop.
Hmmmm...Uh, hello?
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