So, I’m back. I know, what a surprise. You go on vacation a couple of years ago, and leave us hanging…
I know, I know. I owe you a vacation story or two. They are forthcoming. I just need to get a few things off of my chest.
My relationship with the blog is complicated. Well, what isn’t, right. But for some reason I really couldn’t bring myself to do any writing, or reading (other than newspapers) for a very long time. I am technology addled, and I know it. I’ve known for a while that technology has really re-wired my brain. It’s insipid and insidious, I know it, and I make my living in technology (on one form or fashion). So, one of the things this has caused is that I find it difficult to just sit and do something…read, write, watch a game, whatever. I need the dopamine hit from constant twitter updates, what’s the latest nonsense from Washington, whatever.
A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a friend that has written a couple of novels. It more or less snapped me out of this technology funk. We discussed writing in general and I bounced a few things off of her. She recommended a couple of books about writing for me to read. I did, and well, I read one of those books then moved on to some pleasure reading. Her novel. I’ve owned a copy of it for years, and started and stopped it a few times. But like I said, I was out of the fog. I read the book from (virtual) cover to cover over a weekend. If you are in need of a great book, I cannot recommend enough “The Arsonists Last Words” by Alison Lockwood. You can read excerpts here. It’s available wherever you buy digital books.
I guess what this is is a multiple paragraph thank you to Alison for yanking me out of my malaise. I mean, here’s a blog post and everything, with a couple more to follow today, I expect.
One other note, I’m trying my hand at fiction. I’ve had an idea in my head for ever. It’s a scene, really. I’ve reworked it a few times, and I really don’t know what it is yet. But I’m inspired to try and figure it out. It may end up here, on this site, or on another one I have, or, honestly, it may never see the light of day, other than my laptop screen. I guess the news is, for me anyway, is that I’m trying to be the writer I would really like to be