Writing Without An Outline...And Hitting A Lull

There are as many theories of how to write a novel as there are writers. Maybe even more, since many people who have never written a novel have opinions on how novels should be written. From a macro view of suggested ways to write a novel, there are two main camps and they go by the names of Plotter, or Pantser.

There's even books written on the pros and cons of each style. They have their strengths and their weaknesses. If I had to choose a side to describe my style, I'd have to go with Pantser, or "writing by the seat of your pants" over Plotter, or one who outlines the story before they write the actual story.

Personally, I like just running with a story and seeing where it takes me. The problem is, I run out of steam, sometimes at 5000 works, sometimes at 20,000. The story I'm currently writing has over 33,000 words. That may sound like a lot of words (and, to be honest, it is a lot of words...), but depending on the genre, that could be halfway, or just a scratch. For my story, it's about a third of what it needs to be.

I've had this story in my mind for years. I'm excited because I've gotten farther in the story than ever before (I've re-written the beginning several times...). I'm pleased with the progress and I do like the characters. I can see several novels coming from this universe. Of course, I've got to finish this one first.

One reason I don't do a lot of plotting is because my mind thinks it's unproductive, even though that's not true. I could spend weeks writing several hundred words of outline. If I were writing the story, I could write tens of thousands of words in that same time. But, then I hit walls where I'm not sure where I want it to go. And thus, I hit a lull.

I think I'm going to have to do some serious outlining on this story so I can finish it. If I can pull it off, I could write the remaining 60,000 words relatively quickly. So, maybe plotting isn't for me, nor is pantsing, but a combination of both. I wonder if anyone's written books about that...

I Can Tell By The Memes My Friend's Sending Me...Valentine's Day Is Coming Up

Valentine's Day is such an interesting day. Some love it, some loathe it. Some tolerate it, and some look forward to it all year long. I've gone through almost all of those emotions (except the looking forward to it all year long...). Like many things, as I get older I tend to care less and less about things--if other people want to make a big deal about something, or not make a big deal about something, who am I to interfere?

But that doesn't stop my friend Steve from sending me memes to celebrate the day.

Tonight, Steve sent me several Valentine's Day message.s I've included the family-appropriate ones. Of course, it's my definition of family-appropriate. You may disagree. Let's just say, there's a couple I'm not including here for obvious reasons.

In our house, we have no big plans to celebrate the day. We'll probably go out to eat, but we do that almost every Friday. If we were other people with other priorities, maybe we'd celebrate, go to a nicer restaurant, or even go out of town for the weekend. Not our style.

I know many of you hate the day. And if you do, I hope these little nuggets help in some way. And if you love the day, well...I hope you enjoy them, too.

Behind Handlebars...One Of My Favorite Sites

I'm not a big Instagram participant. Sure, I'll post a Pic Of The Day on Facebook and Twitter, but I've always felt Instagram should be for better pictures, higher quality. I know not everyone feels this way, but I've tried to include some of my favorite shots.

I subscribe to many Instagram accounts from Denmark. We live in an amazing time when I can log on and see pictures of a country I love from strangers sharing what they see, and I can do it everyday. One stranger I follow has a unique perspective--basically, from behind his handlebars.

Behind Handlebars is one of my favorite Instagram sites, and you don't have to love Denmark to enjoy and appreciate it. Not only does he take wonderful pictures in his native country, he's quite the traveler and shares pictures from locations all over the world. You can access his Instagram account by clicking: HERE. Or search behindhandlebars on your Instagram app.

One shot that made me feel especially homesick was posted in June, 2018. It's a shot of Odense, Denmark, a place where I lived back in 1985. Hidden in these narrow cobblestone streets is the childhood home of Hans Christian Andersen, perhaps the world's most famous Dane. The memories came flooding back by just looking at it.

I've corresponded with the photographer only a few times. Once, I told him he must come to Utah, especially Southern Utah. I think this biker would absolutely love Slick Rock and would fully appreciate it. Apparently, I'm not the only one--another cyclist from Utah has told him the same thing. One day I'm sure I'll log on and see the beautiful Utah scenery in front of his trademark handlebars. I sure hope he makes it here.

There's so many sites out there. Behind Handlebars is one of my favorites.

Checking Out The XFL...

Almost one year ago--to the day--I wrote a blog about a new American football league. The AAF, the Alliance for American Football League began playing in several cities, Salt Lake City being one of them. It had coaches, reporters, TV rights, and even some fans.

Two months later I wrote another blog post...about the end of the AAF.

Sad.

New year, new league...well, kind of new. We've seen the XFL before. Back in 2001 the XFL had one season. You can say that's not very long (and it isn't...), but it lasted longer than the AAF.

So, how will the XFL version 2.0 do?

Good question.

I watched a majority of both games on Saturday (they broadcast two games on Saturday and two on Sunday...). I didn't watch as much on Sunday, not because I was disinterested, but because I was doing other things. The games I did see impressed me. Sure, it's not the quality of the NFL, but let's just say, they didn't embarrass themselves too badly. They played with heart. You could tell these were guys wanting to keep doing the thing they loved, even after someone told them they were done.  Of course, I'm not an expert of the quality of a football team, but I've watched my share of games over the past fifty-four years. 

I don't know if I'll be a die-hard fan. Last year, we had a local team, the Salt Lake Stallions. This year, no local team...same as the NFL.

If the new XFL survives past its inaugural season and we see professional football after the Superbowl in 2021, the new XFL will have outlived its two predecessors. I hope it does. But just like in 2001 and 2019, time will tell.

Playing Around With My Phone's Panorama Camera Function...Shooting Up

It took a me a long time to figure out that the panorama camera function on my phone wasn't just for shooting a wide landscape shot.

It can also shoot up....

Or, I suppose, down, if needs be.

Of course, you have to turn your camera horizontal to take a vertical panorama shot, which, is weird because you have to turn your camera horizontal to take a horizontal shot in normal mode.

Tonight's sunset didn't have much color near the western horizon, but higher up, it was gorgeous. Taking a normal vertical shot would not have done it justice, so I utilized the panorama function and I think it turned out well.

Here's a few examples.

I use my phone everyday (like most of us...) and a majoritty of my Pics Of The Day are from my phone. It's an old phone, too--ancient in technological years--but I'll keep using it. It keeps taking pictures I'm glad to share.

Happy Twenty-Eighth First-Meeting-My-Wife Anniversary...Plus One Day

There's an advantage to keeping a daily journal...

For thirty-five years.

Pick a day going back to January 25th, 1985, and I can tell you something about that day. Most of what's in those seventy journals is straight-up boring, not interesting at all. Then, because it's all written down, there's facts and stories that--if they weren't written down--I'm sure I'd forget.

Case in point, the day I met my future wife.

Twenty-eight years ago I was finishing up my senior year of college. I was in a university choir, one of three at the U of U. A friend had a brilliant idea. She organized a retreat and invited all the choirs to attend. I went, so did my wife-to-be. She was in another choir. Had that retreat at Sherwood Hills up Sardine Canyon in Northern Utah not occurred, chances are we may not have ever met.

Today, my wife said it was the twenty-eighth anniversary of the day we met. I climbed up and retrieved the journal that covered that period of time. I found February 9th, 1992 and realized...yes, it was the  twenty-eighth anniversary of the day we first met, plus a day. We met February 8th, 1992.

So, we're a day off. The important thing is it's something between us. We first met and started dating in February. We were married later that year in 1992. February's a good month for us.

The journals sit on the shelf, all in a row. There are some volumes that I put on the shelf and I haven't touched them since. Yes, there's a lot of facts and stories contained in those journals. Sometimes they tell us important things, like anniversaries when our lives changed forever.

The Secret To Eternal Happiness...Or One Of Them, Anyway

I saw this meme posted on Facebook earlier today. Don't ask me who posted it because, as you know, when you see something on Facebook and you leave the site, it's impossible to find it again.

It's funny.

It's profound.

It's pretty much true.

One thing I'd love to pass along to my kids is the fact that being happy is mostly an exercise in perception and we decide what that perception will be. Life can be great or crappy depending on how you look at things. The adage of "Count Your Blessings" has real power.

And it's so easy to get into arguments nowadays. In the past, for the most part, you actually had to be in the same room when you argued. Now, you can make a fool of yourself in front of the whole world. And more and more of us are doing just that.

There's a scripture in Proverbs that talks about this:

A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger (Proverbs 15:1)

We hear all the time about our society. We blame governments, political parties, religions, schools, and basically everyone and everything for our lack of civility. Do we ever stop and wonder how much we ourselves contribute to this downturn? Do we argue with fools? Do we stir up anger? Do we put the blame on others?

I know I don't follow my own advice every time. I fail to see the positives. I choose the perception that doesn't highlight positivity. I don't always count my blessings. But, there's one thing I try to never do, and that's argue with people, online or otherwise. It's a philosophy that's treated me well these many years.