October Goals

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows. For October, the flowers are marigolds and cosmos. The birthstones are opal and tourmaline.

September ended, and we are all still dealing with the unexpected. An author more successful than I has a 90-day method, and she suggests a reset 4 times a year. Evaluate what works and what does not. Establish new strategies and sustain progress.

Writing update: Dead Girl Tale 2: Nox (DGT2) has been on pause for at least 2 weeks now. The change perspective method did not work as well as I hoped; instead of forcing words, I have moved back into a thinking phase for the scene. It was a little disappointing. I don’t want to tolerate setbacks, especially since DGT2 is part of a series.

This is where I tell an odd anecdote. I have multiple stories in various stages of development. I decided to be practical and look up ways to produce short stories. An excellent site for generating short story prompts is Reedsy. There are even weekly writing contests with rules and an application fee, but it’s worth it if you win or get an honorary mention. I’ve been a member since 2022, I think. So I saw a prompt and decided to write with it. I had no intention of entering a contest; my writing has not been consistent enough for that. I took the prompt and started to write, and the story fit easily into the FM Monogatari (FMM) writing project. This is a series of paranormal/urban fantasy short stories and novelettes featuring the same characters: Fayte (Fate) Devoe and Maghnus Knight. Monogatari is a Japanese word for a story. I am not an expert, and this is just a working title that I borrowed from a book I liked. I may have written about this project before. The idea has been in my mind since 2016. It’s paranormal and feels appropriate for October, and I have at least 2 complete stories for the anthology. They do need some edits, tweaks, and clean-ups, but they are in the almost-done phase of the writing process. Which was a happy surprise for me. All this time, I thought I was a mouse on a wheel, going nowhere, when in fact, progress was hiding in plain sight, or in a file folder.

This does not mean I have given up on DGT2. I will review my notes and adjust the outline to move the story where it needs to be.

Media update: The C-dramas I’ve been watching have reached the arc where the male lead and female lead have become a couple, and the real antagonist is revealing themselves. I’ve taken a break from them.

Instead, I updated my account to the streaming service Peacock and found myself rewatching the sci-fi drama Defiance and the urban fantasy Sanctuary. During the early 2000s, these were my go-to shows. In later seasons, the narratives got muddled, and I’m wondering if I was wrong. I found more problematic tropes and potential story waste. I was not aware of this before, but Peacock has produced a significant amount of original content. Some of the Peacock shows are fascinating and appropriate for October. The shows I’m going to mention for now are Girl in the Woods. It is a horror series based on the short film “Door in the Woods.” I am not a horror fan, but this felt more YA than just horror. I was intrigued to see how it would end. The other Peacock original is Vampire Academy, based on the book series by Richelle Mead. The series was considered a contemporary of the Twilight series. There was a movie that did not do well. Someone thought they could make it a TV show. Similar to what was done to The Mortal Instruments, a book series by Cassandra Clare, which became the TV show Shadowhunters. I would like to write more, but that is a post all on its own.

Goals for the month are to write 500 new words a day on the project of choice. This could mean DGT2 or FM Monogatari. I will also continue to look into writing prompts and see if I can apply them to the other story ideas and characters. I know I mentioned this before, but in the future for this website, I plan to launch a story page. The logistics of it all have yet to be finalized. The other goal is to complete the scenes in FMM and finalize the outlines of DGT2.

That is all for now. I wrote more than I planned to. This is what accountability looks like, I guess. I hope this post finds you all doing well. Don’t miss any positive opportunities and remember to be kind.

The End

September Wrap-Up

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows. I may have mentioned this before, but I’m not sure, the flowers for September are asters and morning glories. The sapphire is the birthstone. These are some of the useless facts. I like to keep in circulation. It has been a rough month for many, and I hope we are all doing better.

Quick writing update: I was having issues with chapters, so I broke everything down into scenes. Now I’m unsatisfied with word counts. I’m aware of how messed up this is. In Dead Girl Tale 2: Nox. I created pages of notes, character profiles, and world-building materials, among other things. It almost felt like it was spiralling out of control. When these feelings arise, they may lead to a loss of motivation to work on the story. My current solution is to examine the same story from a different perspective. Nox is the main character of this story. However, there is another character, Wade, who is vital to the story. His backstory is complicated and tragic, equal to Nox’s. It seems to be working. I was able to identify the direction in the scene that I hadn’t noticed before. I am also considering setting word count goals for myself. Cross your fingers.

Media update: I was able to watch The Superman movie from the comfort of my own home. I like it. I don’t know what the haters are talking about. But I understand they don’t want to be happy with anything. The C-dramas that I’m watching are called Blossom 2024 and The Blossoming Love 2025. I’m adding the years because C-drama creators really like the concept of blossoming. There is also a show called Blossoming in Adversity 2023. It looks like a year thing. Blossom and Blossoming Love both possess a supernatural aspect. However, their series are 30-40 episodes long. It is a lot to binge. I have to take them in 2-3 ep pieces. After writing about what I’m reading, I also paused on that. Real life interfered, and there are only so many hours in the day.

That is all for now. The last week of the month will be busy preparing for October and real life. Most of the plans will be revealed next week. Part of the reason for these posts and blog/website is accountability. I am hoping that for the rest of the week, you all do well. Be aware of the best opportunities and remember to be kind.

End.

Maintaining in Creative Chaos

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows. I hope the two weeks of September treated you well. We all know that somewhere in this world, it wasn’t for someone. Because of this, it is hard to remain positive. I maintain my optimism because I want what is best for my family, the world, and the future, and I strive to do my best to improve my actions. I can’t control others, only myself.

With this in mind, I write fiction. I have several writing projects at various stages of development. Some writing experts are against this. It splits focus and can become a problem in completing a story. At times, I would agree, and I’ve tried to keep focused on one writing project. The result is that I would lose interest, inspiration, or motivation for the story. Losing momentum is sometimes expected in the writing process; this fault has been an issue for me in completing stories. My remedy for this is to write shorter stories. However, my thinking process is grand. I came up with the Imperium/Galactic Alliance Universe saga. It is the setting for four distinct stories. These are the working titles in order of when I thought them up: Courier rdx, Dead Girl Tale: Az, Dead Girl Tale 2: Nox, Grave Signals. Although these stories are lovely, intriguing, and complex, I have at least four urban fantasies and two contemporary romances on the back burner of my mind. I don’t want it to happen, but I get overwhelmed. Not sure if that is the correct word for wanting to be creative and not being productive.

To be intentional with maintaining my creativity, I am engaging with some interesting C-dramas and reading a series of urban fantasies and alternate-world manhwas. I am reading the manhwas from the Tappy Toon app. At the moment, I’m looking at 4 alternate world fantasy manhwas. I find them fascinating because, although there is magic and time regression in some form, the characters are initially from the alternate world and not someone from our modern-day world. This is not unique, but somewhat different from the main character being of this modern age, and others due to a vehicle, overwork, or accident. The other series that I’m listening to is the Dark Files, the Shadow and Light series, the Witches of Hollow Cove, and the Witches of New York, which are all written by Kim Richardson. These stories are similar to the I/GA Universe saga. Each series is at least 4 books or more. The setting is New York City and the tri-state area. The main female leads do not know each other but are from the same world, hybrids of the supernatural light and dark. They don’t do the typical vampire/werewolf/dragon love interests. Kim Richardson came up with possibilities I did not think were plausible. Because giants and were-apes need love, too. I don’t know why I’m watching xianxia C-dramas except that I like the opening songs and I’m down for the wigs and costumes. I am well aware that none of these stories has anything to do with space. So occasionally I will listen to short sci-fi stories on YouTube. Some are ridiculous, some are redundant, but they all teach me something about storytelling and are brief.

That is all for now. I plan to elaborate on some of the topics I’ve written about in the post in the future. I may even give a review on a book, manhwa, or TV show. As long as the real world doesn’t intrude too much. These things will be done. I am hoping that until the next post, you all continue to do and be well and remember to be kind.

End

I’m Still Here

Hello,

It has been a while since I last posted. Of course, that was not my intention, but the environment and motivation played a significant role in my failure to keep in touch.

The last post was in February. I mentioned a few things and then went about my business, doing nothing for this site. This should’ve been the end, but I struggle to let go. Above all, I want to do a good job here, but I’m uncertain about what will be best for it or me. I’m well aware that websites are no longer as popular as they once were. Readers are not reading the way they used to. I agree because I’m not reading or listening to books the way I used to. If you’re not on TikTok, the next best thing is podcasting. I even considered doing that for a while.

By the crook, I have to post this. The inspiration to make this readable is very low. Several reasons for this, but the top three are: a. the state of my country; b. the lack of writing career development; c. time management. I’m not writing much about A because this isn’t what the blog/website is about. There are more intelligent individuals on the internet who are disseminating accurate information. B. is harder to write about because there are several factors, and TBH, C is tied in with B. I gave up two days of my day job to rest and recharge my body and brain for writing and environment, but that is not happening. It has been almost a year since the job shift, and I haven’t maintained this blog or website. I am having issues keeping on track.

Two weeks ago, it was my birthday. I am now half a century old, and not one of my overall goals has been met. I’ve come to terms with it. Tomorrow is the first of September and Labor Day. In New York City, it is the West Indian Day Parade. I’m not familiar with the history behind this, as June is typically designated as Caribbean Heritage Month. I will not be on the Parkway. I don’t have the energy for it. I will be at a barbecue with friends.

That is all for now. The plan is to do better and post next week. I hope you had a great August and a better September. Remember to be Kind.

End

February Notes

Hello,

Happy Black History Month!

Apologies for the title, can’t think of anything eye-catching yet. It’s been a long time. Every couple of months, I claim to turn a new leaf. I make grand declarations about this site and future works of progress and don’t deliver. 2024 has been my worst writing year. I am not sure how to fix it. The methods that I’ve used have not always helped. Many believe I should give up, but I persist.

I tell myself stories all the time. I listen to or read stories 2/3rds of the week. I always want to talk about stories -development, narrative, etc. I like to know about stories from every media aspect, this includes films- TV or online, games- video, RPGs, TTRPGS, podcasts, YouTube short stories, and, books- audio, print and digital. I once believed I would have a story in all of these spaces. Then 2020 happened and the winds were sucked out of my sails. The strange part is that I didn’t even notice it happening. I was busy chugging along believing that I would make a breakthrough. The years went by and I feel like I am in the same place I was in 2015. I don’t look back but sometimes I have to evaluate and the results are disappointing. Trying to be uplifting and inspirational is difficult.

Here are the things I would like to do for this website. I want to post entertaining, inspirational, and sometimes educational content. I will add a page for fiction and get back into the groove of uplifting quotes for writers. Not sure when things will get rolling but this is stating intention.

This is all for now. Plans to do more. Anyone who would like to leave a comment or suggestion on how to improve this site would be appreciated.