I will not be finished with Plundered Booty by Sunday as was my goal. Between my desktop dying and being forced to type on on my laptop and a couple of new revelations that require reworking part of the plot it will most likely be April before I finish. Yes, those are excuses, but I'm throwing them out there anyway.
Also I'm way behind on answering email, reading blogs, and posting links so please forgive me if you fall in one of those categories.
What is going good?
I've been having a blast with my family. We had perfect weather at Six Flags and for any roller coater connoisseurs I highly recommend the Batman The Ride.
I also give high praise to The World Aquarium in Dallas for a family activity. Sure it cost us $64 dollars as a family to get in but the place is much more than fish in tanks. from monkeys to manatees. Penguins to Puffer fish. It is a worthy place to visit. I will post pictures when i find that dang cord for my camera.
I've spent most of today burying "Treasure" (candy, dollar bills, Hotwheel cars, and other prizes suitable for 5 and 7 year old boys) and drawing pirate maps they can follow to find their loot. We have nearly three acre, more than enough for many a pretend adventure.
Tomorrow, we are going to the park to play frisbee golf.
In non family related good news I have discovered a tasty new beer. It's called Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale. The beer itself is dark and has a grainy almost nutty taste. It's the kind of beer that will put hair on your chest not that I need any help in that department. The label also has one heck of a freaky picture. It appears to be some kind of bird like creature ingesting a naked baby with an arrow protruding from it's butt. There also appears to be an extra set of human legs. Here is shot I found on the internet.
Strange huh? Does anybody know the origins of this picture or what it is supposed to mean or represent. I'm curious but in the meantime I'll have another few beers and ponder the label. Who knows if I drink enough the words just might begin to flow again. That tactic seemed to work for Hemingway.
22 comments:
The original painting was by Hieronymus Bosch, and its title is "The Garden of Earthly Delights". The painting consists of three panels showing the progression of sin. It starts in Eden, progresses to Earth, and ends in Hell. The bird-thing is a detail from Hell. You can look at the original three paintings here.
And there you go, Travis. Impressive, JJ!
It'll come to you Travis, just give it time. And don't feel bad about missing your outdate... I missed mine by over a month... okay, maybe I'm not a good person to give advice about missing deadlines... bad influence and all that...
Still, I'm dying to read Plundered Booty, just from the snippet you posted and your regular voice.
first sentence of this post? Best thing ever!
Traaaaaavisssssss...listen to me. Life happens. Thank God it does. Thank goodness you has Six Flags with the family. And thank goodness it is Easter weekend and you (ROFL!! Hee Hee!) get to be the bunny. "Plundered Booty" will get done. Scrap the deadline. Life is not a deadline. Life happens. Be in the moments as they happen.
You are a good guy..no...you are a great guy. Your wife and your kids know this.. And your book will happen. It's all one day at a time my friend...play,laugh, life and write.....in that order!!
And have a fabulous Easter (and tell me where you hid those eggs!!!)
I've noticed my lack of writing talent is likely connected to my preference to eat dark chocolate instead of drinking my way to my muse.
I'll try to atone at Malice Domestic. Already have myself slated for the bar right after the pre-opening get together.
Come join me. I'll be liberating my inner bar fly!
Ah! The treasure hunt for your kids is so cool! I hope I remember that when I have kids.
As for PB, that's usually the way family vacations go. I had over a week off over our anniversary, but even less time at home than we did when working. And if you're looking for something to assuage your writing-guilt? Real life feeds a real imagination. The more you let go and enjoy this time with your family, the more your writing mojo will have to work with.
Of course, that's all hear-say, but it's hear-say from professionals. And, it's a totally legit excuse. :-D
Dude that is one freaky picture! And don't worry about the writing - it will all work out in the end! I can't wait to read it one day soon!
The treasure hunt sounds like beaucoup fun!
And I wouldn't worry too much about your Sunday deadline. Just keep plugging away. You're almost there.
Glad you had decent weather on your trip!
Wow, jj knows his/her stuff! Pretty amazing, but I really hate that picture. Gives me the creeps!
But my goodness! What a wonderful dad you are to go to that much trouble for your kids, and heck, I would LOVE to participate. Can I come there for Easter? I can dress as the Easter Bunny!
And hey, whatever you write is always interesting. The more you think about it, the more it will escape you, so just relax.
Yeah, booze helped Hemmingway until you read his novel "Across the River and Into the Trees." Then you realize that old drunks sometimes write really crappy books. Critics said it ought to be called "Across the Street and into the Bar."
That tactic works for me! Hang in there. The words will come. As for the beer, the label looks... interesting? And sometimes spending time with the family is SOOOOOO much more important.
I'm glad you've had fun with your family. Sometimes the writing just won't flow. I've often found a few beers to be helpful, though a few too many aren't. Good luck on getting the momentum back.
WooHoo! Another "good" beer drinker! Here's to ya!
I'm getting on a plane and bringing my spade !!
I love treasure hunts.
The book will be ready when it's ready - Enjoy your Easter and then the work can start up again.
I still can't get your bunny story out of my head!! Have fun!
After reading this I feel a little reassured that I'm not the only one who is not having a good writing experience right now. Maybe there's some sort of writer virus going around, dulling writerly senses and monkeying with our creative abilities; I've been spinning my wheels for the past week and I'm beginning to get seriously irritated with myself...
Sometimes the writing doesn't flow -at least you're making good use of your time and having fun with family :)
How do you play frisbee golf? I'm intrigued.
We've done pirate treasure hunts for the kids, too. I think making the map is more fun for me than the actual hunt is for the kids ;)
Get a copy of Texas Monthly-- there's an article about an Amarillo photographer-- it's interesting.
Karen
Cool Double J!! That's an interesting tid-bit!
Always give yourself loose deadlines when it comes to writing--my motto. Life happens every day. Some days have more life than others.
Sounds like you're very close. Be easy on yourself!
Happy Easter! Sounds like you are doing a lot of fun stuff with family which is great. Don't be too hard on yourself. Maybe your brain is working on something you don't even know about yet...a fantastic ending to your book. Some times we just need to live and our mind is working on the finale.
I would love to go to Six Flags. I love all the scary rides but Joe refuses.
I'm with everyone else: don't worry about the deadline. Don't worry about the flow. It's part of the process...seemingly.
Howdy, partner! My MTM post is up at; http://lucidflora.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-town-monday_23.html
That is one freaky picture.
I love that you're having so much fun with your family - good for you! More families need to do that. We went to the movies yesterday as a family for our Easter Sunday treat, even though my teenage stepson wasn't too happy about it. (Probably because we are not "cool" enough, dunno).
I had the same problem with my writing rhythm over the weekend when I wasn't feeling so hot. I hope the "rhythm" will return when I tackle the novel this week.
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