Aw shucks, I got carried away reading (Shadows of Self) and now I’m doing this last second on a Sunday night. No matter, there is plenty to discuss. This week may be a little more reflective but we’ll see how it turns out.
Not only that, I was trying to write some fiction earlier…much harder than expected. 1,500 words wasn’t too hard to put down, but editing and structuring where the story will go is considerably harder.
That’s what? A chapter? I’m used to finishing what I write in the moment, I need to develop some new habits.
Perhaps a personal challenge to make sure I keep doing this. I need more practice!
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These newsletters are easy to write.
I write because I need to clear my head and also it helps me continually be on the look out for new things and have a place to save and think about them.
While I enjoy it, I might enjoy the Zen peace of mind. The ability to turn off the motor and just rest. Enjoying contentment.
So to me now, I feel like a part of an ideal life includes writing. But if I am truly successful at reaching tranquility, maybe I won’t feel the need to.
There are many anecdotes of depressed and tortured writers. You don’t hear as much about the happy ones, just living their lives. The tortured ones make for more interesting portraits, in all art forms.
Unfortunately, I enjoy my life quite a bit.
If that means I’ll never be a great writer, that’s ok. Fair trade to me.
Doesn’t mean I can’t try to do both. To keep levelling up, I have to keep writing.
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I hope to share the fiction referenced above with you at some point. It’s a bit of a Vonnegut and isekai anime inspired mashup.
The Vonnegut part is sort of like a mix of him and Kilgore Trout showing up in a lot of books, but it’s not that similar. We’ll see, I have to build the idea out more.
Also maybe top of mind because I just read the Slaughterhouse V graphic novel. It was ok.
My favorites are Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, and A Man Without Country.
Cat’s Cradle also being where the band Ice Nine Kills got their name from:
It’s great that these journeys always take me to something unexpected. Here’s the now metalcore band as high schoolers (only one remaining member) playing what is completely different music under the (almost) same name.
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I’m also an Isekai addict so that influence doesn’t surprise me, I have a few anime style plot lines I want to try out. I’d recommend Sword Art Online to everyone since it was the first I ever watched, but many (including me) would say there are better ones out there. If you want a custom rec, just ask.
I recently watched one about a vending machine that was pretty decent, so the possibilities are endless.
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I wanted to do a debrief of a few articles this week — especially the Techno-Optimist Manifesto and some reactions, but I want to get back to finishing this book — I stopped amidst the final action to make sure I didn’t forget to do this and have to stay up late. But I’m far enough that I’ll need to stay up to finish it, so that didn’t work.
Maybe next week…