I try not to get distracted with my projects, but it has been known to happen. Case in point, this past weekend I had full intentions of getting up early, brewing a cup of tea and getting a couple hours of writing done. What actually happened is I got a couple hours of Guitar Hero done.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s value in being able to jam with my Wii… at least, so I keep telling myself.
Regardless of the value of Guitar Hero, I still feel like I cheated myself. I should/could have written 5,000+ new words towards the completion of my book. I could sit her and beat myself up, I suppose, but instead, I’m going to get back and start writing again tonight. Even 500 words will get me back on track.
Life’s simply too short to spend with self-recriminations. At the end of the day that only succeeds in making the writing more difficult. So, tonight… I write!
Something a little different
I’ve gotten back into reading in a big way in the past few months. The reading had slowed for a while as I tried to do more work-related stuff in my spare time. I’ve finally realized that as much as I was doing, there was always more, so I’ve cut back on it a bit.
A number of the books I’ve been reading are because of ‘Slice of SciFi’. They have a “B” show (Podcast) where they talk about different books and authors. One author they got me on to is Minister Faust.
I started by reading “Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad” which is as different a book as I’ve ever read. I was delighted to discover the story occurred in Edmonton, since I spent much of my youth there; it’s always fun to read something that is set in a familiar place for me.
The book I just finished is his newest: ‘From the Notebooks of Doctor Brain’ which is an interesting view into the superhero world. Faust takes a new slant to superheroes, looking at them after they have defeated all the villains. What are they feeling? How do they continue when all the battles have been fought?
I found the psychology of the story interesting. Minister Faust’s stories always seem to be emotionally deep and introspective – both Coyote Kings and Doctor Brain are rife with psychic imagery. What I find difficult about them is his penchant to writing dialogue phonetically. Granted, it gives each character a unique voice and you certainly get a better perspective of the character, but it can be gruelling to read. In Coyote Kings, one of the characters speaks with a faux-Jamaican accent. Faust ensures that you can hear the accent of the speaker, but it takes forever to read.
Still, I enjoyed both his books; they are truly unique. The stories are interesting as are the characters. Just allow yourself extra time to read the dialogue so you don’t get frustrated with the pacing of it.
