November 2021

In October, I published the short story Imposters, and it received a good number of views. It was one of my top posts. You can read it here if you are interested.


In November, I thought maybe I would write another short story and got caught up in the research. I started with a piece of an idea and began looking into some information surrounding the idea. I read many websites, blog entries, Wikipedia entries, a couple of books, watched a few documentaries and a few series about the topic, a handful of YouTube videos, and a couple of movies. That took up a large portion of the month.


The whole time I have taken notes and worked through an outline. I began work on one of the characters and have 2-3 others brewing in my brain and need to get firmed up in writing. As a result, I do not have a story but the seeds of a story and lots of information to make the story and the characters more real. 

I think I am at a point now where I can start writing. I want to see how the characters interact and what decisions they make when running into obstacles and things they need to work through. I think last month I was going to write a feel-good story that ends well. I'm not sure this is going to be that kind of story. Maybe I'll figure out a happy ending, but who knows, we'll see what levels of depravity and redemption potential the characters are capable of. 


This month I have been reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. It's my evening read, so it's been slow going because I have been getting to bed late. I think I'll make a point to finish it in December and start the next one in the series. I have also been reading The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck by Sarah Knight. It's a fun read and a good reminder that we only have so many fucks we can actually give, and we have to dole them out like the limited resource they are. I have not finished either of those books, but I did finish Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. It was a nice, light, fun read and a great reminder that everything has already been done before, but it has not been done by me, so that alone will make it different. 


I think this is about all I have for updates for November, and my next post in December will be my last for 2021. I had a goal of one update a month, and if all goes well, it will be accomplished. I'll likely continue now that the habit is formed, and it's an excellent opportunity to reflect on what I have accomplished and think about what I hope to accomplish in the coming months. 

Here's a photo of some red berries from today's hike at Morse Mountain (Photo Credit: Jennifer Gammon)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 2025

Image
It’s June, and I just nudged past a milestone birthday, so this will be a quick post so I can get back to some June vacation activities. Here are some books I’m reading and have read: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson - I’m a little over halfway through it and enjoying it so far. I’ve liked the other books I have read by him as well. I just finished Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi for our Difficult Books book club. It was an interesting look at a possible and likely more realistic outcome after a complete world government collapse. I like that folks band together to help everyone and themselves. While bleak, it was still better than the dystopias where it’s every person for themselves. This week, I’ll be starting the next book in the Difficult Books series, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I’m coming into it blind and don’t know what it’s about. I’ll also be starting To Be Taught If Fortunate by one of ...
Read more

April 2025

Image
It has been a cold, rainy, and snowy April in Maine. Just dark, dark, dark. We've needed house lights on and a fire almost every day for the first two weeks because the sun has not been around to warm things up. You'd think that would make me more productive in my writing, but guess what? Not really. I watched season 3 of Yellowjackets because what is more horrific than crashing a plane in the middle of nowhere with a thing that maybe or maybe not exist and requires the occasional blood sacrifice, and you and your friends have to decide who that is and then eat them - Quality Television. It was interesting to see them bring it back to the pilot from season 1. It's a good spot if they want to end it, but it also left open a bit if they want to run it for another season or two.  As for horror movies, I did watch 'In a Violent Nature'. It's basically a nature film, following our slasher protagonist walking around in the forest and doing slasher horror movie things....
Read more

October 2025

Image
 October, while still a week from being over has been full of a number of things. I wrote a short story for my daughter in college, worked with Jen to get it illustrated, and the printed out a bunch of copies zine-style. And that was not the only story I worked on.  I also read O Hole’y Night at Quiet City Books. It was my third time reading at this spooky story time for grownups and while I was still quiet and barely audible I still managed to get a few laughs in. A little weird to read a Christmas story in October but it was spooky, so it counted. I also met some new writers, and heard some other great stories.  Some things I have read. I read Witches, The History of Witches by Nigel Cawthorne. The name of the author sounds like he may have witch hunter ancestors. It was not a fun easy read. The history of actual witches is brutal and horrific and directly attributed to power, wealth accumulation, and primarily impacted women. In the States, we had the Salem Witch Tria...
Read more