First Day Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work (yesterday I was"at work", but we had a retreat).  It pains me to leave the little one at home and go back to work.  Wouldn't it be great if there was no such thing as work, and we could all spend as much time with our families as we want?

The good news about going back to work is that I will hopefully be able to write some fiction during my hour lunch breaks, as I am having trouble finding time for writing at home.  I am truly a struggling writer at the moment, struggling for some time and energy to do some writing.  I have some good ideas, but I just can't seem to get them started. 

A time when everything was new

I was thinking today about how interesting it would be to see the world with the innocence of a child. Obviously I would not want it to be that way all the time, but I think it would be great to be able to sometimes turn off what I know about the world.

To a young child, anything is possible. For example, I know that an apple tree produces apples and that's about it. I know the tree will never grow legs and walk away. I know that cars can't fly (yet) and dogs can't talk. Children are learning new things every day. Their imaginations tell them anything is possible. After all, they haven't experienced otherwise.

As a fiction writer, I struggle with turning off my rational side and letting my imagination take over.  I need to believe in the possibility of dragons and faries and wizards and non-corrupt politicians.  As a person with a strong math and science background, this can be challenging.  Fifteen days ago, however, my inspiration was born into my life.

Thanks for the advice

Thanks for the parenting advice and also the comments on our ideal writing spots.  Things with the baby are going well, though she is a sleepy eater.  She will eat for a few minutes and then just fall asleep.  What a life!  It is very cool to see her learn and grow every day.
As far as writing goes, though I have been off of work for 13 days due to the baby, I have not been able to get to my special writing place.  It doesn't help that it has rained almost every day.  I have had several ideas, though, and did get a 100 word synopsis on one of the ideas.

On the plus side, I have been able to start "The Wyrd Sisters" by Terry Pratchett, which has been very entertaining. 

Owner’s Manual

To all of those parents out there I have a question. How long did it take for your owner's manual to show up? We have had our baby for 11 days now and still don't have ours. I'm sure it is in the mail, though.

In my writing news, the last chapter to the reader written short story contest was published today. I had a mention in the paper as I helped judge the entries. They published the entire story along with the last chapter, so my two entries saw print again. Here is a link to the entire story.

Where do you like to write?

We all have our favorite places to write, somewhere we can get away from it all and actually get some writing done. For example, Stephen King has a desk in his attic where he feels most inspired.

I do most of my writing at my computer in my house, but I wouldn’t say that is my most productive place to write. There are way too many distractions there. My favorite place to write is in a park near my house, which has a stream running through the center and trees throughout. Often, there will be ducks and ducklings sitting on the bank of the creek, sunning themselves. When the sun is out, there is nothing better than sitting on a park bench, soaking up some rays, and pulling out a pen and paper for some writing.

How about you? Where do you all get your best writing accomplished.

A little update

Things with the new baby are improving. Sleep at night is a distant memory, but just seeing the little one's face is worth it. Thanks to kalbzayn and 1ConfusedWriterfor the well wishes.

The day before the baby was born, I met with the editor of the newspaper that has been running the short story contest that I have won a few times. It was a good meeting and he gave me the entries for the final chapter, which he asked me to help judge (I'm not sure how many other judges there were). While we were still in the hospital I read the submissions and picked a winner. Most of them were well written. My first criteria for judging was readability. Did I enjoy reading the submission and how the story ended? My second criteria was continuity with the rest of the story. I wanted to make sure the last chapter wrapped up as many loose ends as possible and fit well with the other chapters.

My head is still scrambled from all of the baby stuff, but even now I am trying to find some time to work on my fiction.  As of Wednesday, I definitely don't lack inspiration. 

It’s a girl

Updates will be sparse here for a few days as my wife just gave birth to our first child.  Everyone is well.  I will have no internet access for a few days, not that I will be thinking about that.

This Cup isn’t for Drinking

I entered a contest over the weekend at Kalbzan’s World. He wanted a 100 word story about a missing item. Mine was the only entry, so I won the coveted one-of-a-kind homemade prize, which was nice of him since he only received one entry. I have pasted my entry below. Please let me know if you have any feedback and feel free to post any of your revisions in the comments (remember to keep them under 100 words).

This Cup isn’t for Drinking

Guy froze at the ice rink entrance, like a cat on a bathtub ledge. His teammates gave him a not so friendly nudge onto the ice. As their goalie, Guy had not allowed a goal in the tournament. Today was different.

As he took his spot in the net, beads of sweat began to form on the young netminder’s brow. The puck dropped and the game was under way. Jim Dixon, the large winger with the deadly slapshot broke free skating swiftly toward Guy. Guy flinched, closed his eyes and thought, “How could I lose my cup?”

Free Comic Book Day Saturday

Saturday May 6th is Free Comic Book Day. From the Free Comic Book Day website, here is a description of the event:

As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world are giving away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores.

Head to your nearest comic book store and get yourself some FREE comic books. You may just like what you see. You don’t have to be into capes and mutants to enjoy comics. Last year I discovered a comic titled Owly. Owly is about the adventures of a little owl appropriately named Owly. The comic has few words but the author tells the story through the mannerisms and situations of the characters. If it wasn’t for Free Comic Book Day I would not have discovered this wonderful comic. Owly will be offered again this year, as well as almost two dozen other comics.

If you enjoy reading and also enjoy free stuff, I suggest you find your local comic store tomorrow and check out Free Comic Book day. The worst that could happen is that you will become addicted to comics as I have. Kick that pesky crack addiction and become addicted to comics. Mr. T would want it that way.

New Writing Contest at Kalbzayn’s Writing World

Kalbzayn has posted another writing contest on his blog. Here is a link to the contest details. Basically, he wants no more than 100 words, the story must be told in third person, and it must involve a missing item. Entries are due 9pm CT Sunday (5/7/06). Check out the rest of his blog at www.kalbzayn.com/serendipity. Good luck to all who enter.