The Crash of 2018
18 . Oct . 2018 Filed in: FIBF
Monday, October 1st
It is the first working day after Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival. I get up, bathroom, brush teeth, make the coffee, sit in my comfy chair and open up my laptop. The screen comes up to a video I had just recorded with my six year old daughter the day before. I go to move the curser to save the video and close the project, but the curser didn’t move. Not the start I was looking for, just need to do a hard shut down, restart and wait for all the previous windows to open. We’ll get there, it’s just going to be the long way today. Sadly, I’m watching my early morning writing time collapse to this set back.
Well, the laptop doesn’t come back up. I get to the manufacturer logo and the screen is striped like a referee, just not black and white. Now I’m starting to worry. It goes no further than that. I try to do another hard shut down and restart with the same results. All I can think about is my daughter’s video sitting on the desktop unsaved. I pull out my tablet and I get to work… researching about my computer, its potential problem and schedule an appointment to get it fixed. My writing?
All my writing is saved to both external hard drives and a cloud, it just sits more actively in the cloud. Trying to remember the last time I did a backup to an external drive. It’s been a while because I rely on the cloud quite a bit. I do sometimes write on my tablet, just looks like I’ll be doing a lot more of that in the immediate future. But for the most part, my data is safe. It’s just the video.
About halfway through the day, after scouring many forums, I figure out my video card went bad, and being a particular laptop, it’s not repairable. I even talked with a component level repair guy who says it’s not repairable. Now, I’m a little sentimental about my laptop. I’ve had it for a long time and it really is a part of me. I have few ideas, but I need to sleep on it.
Tuesday, October 2nd
After doing some extensive eBay and Google searching, I found my make and model laptop for a decent price in working condition. It’ll be a while before I get my hands on it, but then so would repairing mine. So I jumped on the offer and patiently waited. Aaaand while I wait, why not do some writing.
Wednesday, October 3rd
Got my tracking info and jumped through the roof when it said I would see it on Friday! I was having it sent to my work so this was going to be great.
Already my mind started creating a priority list of things to do once I got it.
1) Turn it on, make sure it boots up and works.
2) Turn it off and swap hard drives and RAM.
That’s right, swapping hard drives. My hope here is that when my hard drive boots up, it’ll come up to my familiar desktop and the windows and projects I had open will come back.
3) Turn on and wait…
That’s as far as I got.
It’s just a whole lot of waiting and in this whole lot of waiting I stumbled across another component level repair guy who said he can fix the laptop. And I have decided to fix it and have two computers. Now that might sound insane, but my daughters have already started to go online to places like ABC Mouse. So a second one, but for them. That's my rationale anyway.
Thursday, October 4th
Waiting and writing. And sign up to be part of the Right to Repair movement.
Friday, October 5th
I can hardly contain myself. To be delivered by end of day, 8:00 pm… uh-oh. My work day ends at 5:00. Our company closes. I called the local office to inquire about this. I was told that more than likely it would be delivered on Saturday. But again, Our business is closed and I wasn’t anywhere near to fetch it from the shipping company. So Monday. Nope, the shipping company is closed in recognition of Columbus Day.
I can’t help but laugh at this point. The reality of it was, I really wasn’t expecting it until Tuesday or even Wednesday anyway. My spirits were only lifted when I saw Friday, way ahead of schedule. Well, let’s do some writing.
The Past Two Weeks
So what have I been doing? Well, The hard drive swap worked. Booted right to my desktop and my video program was still open. So I exported the video and saved it immediately. And then it was getting things back to the way I like them. Took some of my hand writings and put them in the manuscript, with a little editing. I kind of liked the pen on paper and then an edit when putting it in the computer.
And then I did a major re-organization of my files. I’m still in the midst of that, but Conversations with Death and Broken Road have new safe homes. And many things have been purged and backed up.
I’m still getting used to this computer. It’s kind of like wearing a different pair of shoes or driving a car you’re not familiar with. There is a ding in this model that bugs me. Not mine, but I bet there’s a story behind it. I may have just found a writing prompt. Now let’s go write something.
It is the first working day after Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival. I get up, bathroom, brush teeth, make the coffee, sit in my comfy chair and open up my laptop. The screen comes up to a video I had just recorded with my six year old daughter the day before. I go to move the curser to save the video and close the project, but the curser didn’t move. Not the start I was looking for, just need to do a hard shut down, restart and wait for all the previous windows to open. We’ll get there, it’s just going to be the long way today. Sadly, I’m watching my early morning writing time collapse to this set back.
Well, the laptop doesn’t come back up. I get to the manufacturer logo and the screen is striped like a referee, just not black and white. Now I’m starting to worry. It goes no further than that. I try to do another hard shut down and restart with the same results. All I can think about is my daughter’s video sitting on the desktop unsaved. I pull out my tablet and I get to work… researching about my computer, its potential problem and schedule an appointment to get it fixed. My writing?
All my writing is saved to both external hard drives and a cloud, it just sits more actively in the cloud. Trying to remember the last time I did a backup to an external drive. It’s been a while because I rely on the cloud quite a bit. I do sometimes write on my tablet, just looks like I’ll be doing a lot more of that in the immediate future. But for the most part, my data is safe. It’s just the video.
About halfway through the day, after scouring many forums, I figure out my video card went bad, and being a particular laptop, it’s not repairable. I even talked with a component level repair guy who says it’s not repairable. Now, I’m a little sentimental about my laptop. I’ve had it for a long time and it really is a part of me. I have few ideas, but I need to sleep on it.
Tuesday, October 2nd
After doing some extensive eBay and Google searching, I found my make and model laptop for a decent price in working condition. It’ll be a while before I get my hands on it, but then so would repairing mine. So I jumped on the offer and patiently waited. Aaaand while I wait, why not do some writing.
Wednesday, October 3rd
Got my tracking info and jumped through the roof when it said I would see it on Friday! I was having it sent to my work so this was going to be great.
Already my mind started creating a priority list of things to do once I got it.
1) Turn it on, make sure it boots up and works.
2) Turn it off and swap hard drives and RAM.
That’s right, swapping hard drives. My hope here is that when my hard drive boots up, it’ll come up to my familiar desktop and the windows and projects I had open will come back.
3) Turn on and wait…
That’s as far as I got.
It’s just a whole lot of waiting and in this whole lot of waiting I stumbled across another component level repair guy who said he can fix the laptop. And I have decided to fix it and have two computers. Now that might sound insane, but my daughters have already started to go online to places like ABC Mouse. So a second one, but for them. That's my rationale anyway.
Thursday, October 4th
Waiting and writing. And sign up to be part of the Right to Repair movement.
Friday, October 5th
I can hardly contain myself. To be delivered by end of day, 8:00 pm… uh-oh. My work day ends at 5:00. Our company closes. I called the local office to inquire about this. I was told that more than likely it would be delivered on Saturday. But again, Our business is closed and I wasn’t anywhere near to fetch it from the shipping company. So Monday. Nope, the shipping company is closed in recognition of Columbus Day.
I can’t help but laugh at this point. The reality of it was, I really wasn’t expecting it until Tuesday or even Wednesday anyway. My spirits were only lifted when I saw Friday, way ahead of schedule. Well, let’s do some writing.
The Past Two Weeks
So what have I been doing? Well, The hard drive swap worked. Booted right to my desktop and my video program was still open. So I exported the video and saved it immediately. And then it was getting things back to the way I like them. Took some of my hand writings and put them in the manuscript, with a little editing. I kind of liked the pen on paper and then an edit when putting it in the computer.
And then I did a major re-organization of my files. I’m still in the midst of that, but Conversations with Death and Broken Road have new safe homes. And many things have been purged and backed up.
I’m still getting used to this computer. It’s kind of like wearing a different pair of shoes or driving a car you’re not familiar with. There is a ding in this model that bugs me. Not mine, but I bet there’s a story behind it. I may have just found a writing prompt. Now let’s go write something.
Post Summer Update
27 . Sep . 2018 Filed in: MasterClass | FIBF
Here we are. A day away from Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival and I’m finally getting around to writing a blog post. If you are in the Fredericksburg, VA are tomorrow, stop in for a visit.
I still have print copies of Broken Road left. I will also be begging for email addresses looking for readers for Conversations with Death. Why don’t I do something here on the site? Because mostly I’m a writer and barely a blogger. If I can figure out how to imbed some stuff on the site, I may add a field to solicit proofreaders. But until then, I’ll mostly be taking email addresses at the festivals I attend.
Broken Road has also gone digital. You can pick up a copy at Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble/Nook, and Apple iBooks.
I will also try to be a bit more diligent about letting you know where I’ll be next before the day before an event. I don’t have anything upcoming other that FIBF. I do need to do some searching, but really, I’m more interested it getting the rough draft done of Conversations with Death. So a lot of my writing time is spent writing or researching characters or reading about writing.
I’d like to say I made it all the way through MasterClass, but I haven’t. I will get to this and talk about it.
And I know it’s another short blog entry, but I need to get back to the writing.
I still have print copies of Broken Road left. I will also be begging for email addresses looking for readers for Conversations with Death. Why don’t I do something here on the site? Because mostly I’m a writer and barely a blogger. If I can figure out how to imbed some stuff on the site, I may add a field to solicit proofreaders. But until then, I’ll mostly be taking email addresses at the festivals I attend.
Broken Road has also gone digital. You can pick up a copy at Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble/Nook, and Apple iBooks.
I will also try to be a bit more diligent about letting you know where I’ll be next before the day before an event. I don’t have anything upcoming other that FIBF. I do need to do some searching, but really, I’m more interested it getting the rough draft done of Conversations with Death. So a lot of my writing time is spent writing or researching characters or reading about writing.
I’d like to say I made it all the way through MasterClass, but I haven’t. I will get to this and talk about it.
And I know it’s another short blog entry, but I need to get back to the writing.
Goals for the Near Future
18 . May . 2018 Filed in: MasterClass
Still writing. How about you? Now, I don’t have every minute of everyday to be able to sit and write. I barely have time in each day to block out thirty minutes. But, I am making it happen… somehow. What I am struggling with is what to do in those thirty minutes I do have. A multitude of goals, but how to prioritize them.
I don’t have a plan. My outlines are a better plan than what I have in place for myself. But, I do have deadline. Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival is coming September 29th. And here are the two main things that need to get done by then.
1 - Broken Road is going digital. It will be available on Apple iBooks, Nook, and Amazon Kindle. Need to put together advertising for this.
2 - Conversations with Death will be available to a select group of readers who will get to read an un-proofed draft of the first short story of the series and give feedback. This will only be available if you come to Fred Book Fest. I hope to see you there. (Will also need to put together links and advertising for this. I also need to expand and discovery other book festivals.)
I have watched a few more videos from MasterClass, but to be honest, I haven’t done a lot of the work. I have tried to implement some of that work into my writings, but again, I’ve only blocked out thirty minutes a day. I try and use that time as wisely as I can. I may just need to expand that time to forty-five minutes a day… I actually like that idea… a lot.
A short blog entry, but I’ve been busy between real life, researching, and writing. I really should get better and making a schedule so that each session is used to its fullest and my many boiling pots get just a little attention.
It's About Time
25 . Mar . 2018
Managing my time. I’m terrible at it. And I’m easily distracted. I’m constantly distracted. I need to be constantly doing something. And I know I need to drop these distractions, I just don’t.
Since the writing of my last post, I have written some. Definitely not as much as I would like, but I’m still getting in a good once a week session not including the scribbles of thoughts about what I want to write, or things that seem interesting to me to either add to what I’m working on or save for something else. I have been writing down some of my dreams. Ones I can remember anyway (I was a Star Wars rebel last night fighting against the New Order).
And what about the James Patterson MasterClass… nope. I have tried sitting down to work out a schedule to keep the class on a schedule. In addition to the class time, I have tried working in writing time. But I keep getting in my own way. Sure, it’s easy to say, “I’m going to do a class on Tuesday and Thursday and write Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday.” But to actually be able to follow through with that is another story.
I even tried mapping out time to do it first thing in the morning. Problem is if i wanted to do all my morning activities and then add in writing, I’d need to wake up at like two in the morning, and I stay up way to late to be able to do that.
How do you manage your time? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have it all figured out. Maybe you’re days are blocked out perfectly from the moment you wake until your head hits the pillow. My days are more like broad strokes. There are things that need to get done (work, kids, dinner, etc.), then there are the things I’d like to do. Write. And it keeps coming second.
What I do know is that writing once a week or once every couple of weeks doesn’t and isn’t working. I don’t like it. This blog is suppose to be a perfect example of my commitment to honing a craft I enjoy doing so much.
In addition to that, new web pages will soon appear, because on top of working on my novel, I was in a moment when inspiration struck. It came in the form of a poem that I would like to share. I wrote some poetry a long time ago since I also played guitar. Looks like a little of that has be rekindled.
Stick with me. I am doing this just not as fast as James Patterson.
Since the writing of my last post, I have written some. Definitely not as much as I would like, but I’m still getting in a good once a week session not including the scribbles of thoughts about what I want to write, or things that seem interesting to me to either add to what I’m working on or save for something else. I have been writing down some of my dreams. Ones I can remember anyway (I was a Star Wars rebel last night fighting against the New Order).
And what about the James Patterson MasterClass… nope. I have tried sitting down to work out a schedule to keep the class on a schedule. In addition to the class time, I have tried working in writing time. But I keep getting in my own way. Sure, it’s easy to say, “I’m going to do a class on Tuesday and Thursday and write Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday.” But to actually be able to follow through with that is another story.
I even tried mapping out time to do it first thing in the morning. Problem is if i wanted to do all my morning activities and then add in writing, I’d need to wake up at like two in the morning, and I stay up way to late to be able to do that.
How do you manage your time? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have it all figured out. Maybe you’re days are blocked out perfectly from the moment you wake until your head hits the pillow. My days are more like broad strokes. There are things that need to get done (work, kids, dinner, etc.), then there are the things I’d like to do. Write. And it keeps coming second.
What I do know is that writing once a week or once every couple of weeks doesn’t and isn’t working. I don’t like it. This blog is suppose to be a perfect example of my commitment to honing a craft I enjoy doing so much.
In addition to that, new web pages will soon appear, because on top of working on my novel, I was in a moment when inspiration struck. It came in the form of a poem that I would like to share. I wrote some poetry a long time ago since I also played guitar. Looks like a little of that has be rekindled.
Stick with me. I am doing this just not as fast as James Patterson.
New Year, New...
03 . Jan . 2018 Filed in: MasterClass
OK, so December was a bust. I should really consider hibernating that month. But it’s time to get back to the passion. And what do you do after a long hiatus like this? New year, new me? Start something fresh? Continue on with an existing project?
Maybe you’re going through this too. And I have no answer for you. But I will go with what feels right for me. I’m going to take a class while working on a bit of existing material. The class though, I’m jumping in and taking James Patterson’s MasterClass.
I know, it’s been out for about a year now, but it’s my first time hearing of it. I did know about MasterClass, I just hadn’t considered it. You don’t get a diploma when its over. You’re not graduating from some elite university. But there is something cool about someone you admire or even respect in their respective field teaching you something about a craft or passion you share.
I think the popular one I see now is Ron Howard teaching you to direct (I’ll probably be looking into that one as well as David Mamet and Aaron Sorkin). But if you do decide to take any one these classes (there are some about acting, tennis, being a DJ…), I believe the biggest lesson they will all teach you is that you need to practice your craft. So now, I’m off to practice. Maybe that’s the answer for you too, go practice.
Maybe you’re going through this too. And I have no answer for you. But I will go with what feels right for me. I’m going to take a class while working on a bit of existing material. The class though, I’m jumping in and taking James Patterson’s MasterClass.
I know, it’s been out for about a year now, but it’s my first time hearing of it. I did know about MasterClass, I just hadn’t considered it. You don’t get a diploma when its over. You’re not graduating from some elite university. But there is something cool about someone you admire or even respect in their respective field teaching you something about a craft or passion you share.
I think the popular one I see now is Ron Howard teaching you to direct (I’ll probably be looking into that one as well as David Mamet and Aaron Sorkin). But if you do decide to take any one these classes (there are some about acting, tennis, being a DJ…), I believe the biggest lesson they will all teach you is that you need to practice your craft. So now, I’m off to practice. Maybe that’s the answer for you too, go practice.