Books, BUSINESS, CREATIVE, JUST SAYING, WHATS GOING ON, WORDS, Writing

Holstee and Me

Or at least, watch less.

“If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV,” the saying goes.  The phrase comes from the Holstee Manifesto, which in itself is a pretty good read.  I don’t quite agree with it completely, but that’s a discussion for another time.  At first, I thought: ‘Well, that phrase could also apply to video games these days.’  I got wound up and prepared to write a blog post about how people need to turn off their consoles, unsubscribe from whatever MMORPG they had become addicted to, get off their duffs, and start doing something.

The more I thought about it, the more heavy-handed I knew it was going to be.  Before I could start writing, though, I thought about the phrase just a little more, particularly in relation to my own creative life.

I had cut back on watching television several years ago; it was one of the consequences of having worked the phones at a cable company listening to TV addicts wail and gnash their teeth for 40 hours a week.  My television watching had been reduced to news, weather and sports.

A few years after that, I joined a couple of other San Antonio folks in starting what came to be known as First Storm Manga.  I also started writing fiction; I had long wanted to write a book about my experiences in technical support, but had never attempted to write fiction before.  I liked it, and eventually decided to try my hand at self-publishing my stories in ebook format.

Unfortunately, I also ended up taking on various ‘side projects.’  I joined a band, became editor of a video game website, and First Storm began to take up more of my time.  At the same time, I was trying to keep up a blog, podcast, and work on my writing. I eventually found myself spending more time on other people’s projects  and less time pursuing my own.

A few months ago, I decided to cut back on those “side projects.”  I had already left First Storm, so I quit the band, left a group that was putting an event together, and reduced my role at the game website.  My focus would be on my own writing, and that would be it.

I will be stepping down as editor of Original-Gamer.com at the end of November, and I wish OG and the crew nothing but success as I pursue my goal of being a writer full-time.

Back to the saying.  I thought it over, and felt it would be a bit hypocritical of me to say ‘stop playing videogames’ when I still play them myself.  I also still watch television, just not as much.  Then it came to me:

It isn’t a matter of “stop watching TV” or “stop playing video games.”

It’s a matter of “Stop letting other things get in the way of your dreams.”

Now get off your duff! 🙂

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Books, CREATIVE, JUST SAYING, RANDOMIZER9.COM, Tablets, TECH, TECH SUPPORT, The Rules of Tech Support, Writing

To Think Different, DO Different

I have been working on my second e-book, titled “The Rules of Tech Support,” for what seems to have been way too long.  Now, it isn’t a very long work, and I have already written some of it on my old LiveJournal and on my podcast. For the longest time, though, it sat at about 80% completed.  I just couldn’t get any farther; I would sit behind my laptop, fire up Microsoft Word, tap Ctrl-End to get to the end of the document, and…nothing.  For months, absolutely no progress.

The project eventually got back on track.  It was either because I started working in tech support again, or because I found myself writing in different places.  As odd as it sounds, I am convinced that writing in different places or in different ways helps the creative process along.  In my case, I found myself taking notes in between calls during work, and even stayed in late at the office one day, spending a whole hour alone just typing away.  Somehow being at the office made me think different.  Heck, I think that using my tablet instead of my laptop helped.

What I’m trying to say is that you cannot ‘think different’ if you are doing the same thing over and over again.  To change my thought processes, I had to change where I was doing my thinking.  If nothing else, its a good excuse to hang out at a coffee shop or diner for a few hours.

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