Ira Heinichen's Blog, page 219

Day 2,297: Good Night Pasta Dogs

Great day. Long day. Started early with editor session on my book. Finished late with podcasting recording times.

Now…sleeeeep

Day 2,296: Night

Need to sleep early-ish tonight because I need to get up early-ish tomorrow morning. Have a bit of work to finish before I meet with my editor that I didn’t finish today. And then totally forgot to work on in the evening.

Need to fix that.

Evening is not the time for me to be getting any work done. It’s just not going to happen. I need to relax. Recharge. Work needs to be schedule for and figure out during the daytime.

That’s my productive thought of the day

Day 2,295: Fifty Fifty

I realized in therapy today that I’ve undergone a pretty colossal shift in my writing day in terms of the ratio between good and bad.

It used to be 90/10. 90 percent bad days. 10 percent good. And it was that paltry ten percent and sheer will power that kept me writing at all, which wasn’t much.

I’d say it’s 50/50 right now. Perhaps even slightly better than that. Maybe. I have as many good writing days now as I have bad ones.

That’s a major shift! Like, huge! And I can feel the shift when I’...

Day 2,294: Irdi

Came up with a new character tonight.

Was feeling a bit of the old inspiration, and decided to write on a different project for a minute or two before bed. Glad I did. It was dope. Great opening.

Solid day today, overall. I just kinda…just DID it, you know? I didn’t think about it, really. I just did. I didn’t second-guess. The thought-filter was off. The self-censor was quiet.

I could do a day like today the rest of my life, I think, work-wise. Writing session in the morning. Work for the...

Day 2,293: Sick Coco

Coco has chronic bowel issues.

She’s had them for a while now, since March of last year, we realized today, but recently they’ve been a lot worse. Especially the last couple days. Lots of blood.

So, we took her into the ER today to expedite the process of getting her an ultrasound. The good news is that there’s nothing obviously wrong going on down there. The bad news is that there’s still no obvious reason for why she has diarrhea and/or vomiting every week to two weeks, no matter what diet...

Day 2,292: Goodbye Scene

Writing a goodbye scene tonight.

Been building up to it for a while, but not even realizing it. Not until I got here. But it’s absolutely the scene this entire story has been building up to till now. One character is asking another to come with them…but they can’t. They won’t. So they have to be left behind. And that’s hard.

Lots of work to do, now, to justify this scene. Because it’s not right now. But it will be when I’m done.

The scene gets to stay.

Listening to some perfect music right...

Day 2,291: A streak

I low-key have a nice little writing streak going. It’s the second straight day I’ve written 1,000 words in one sitting.

The anxiety about the words is still there in the sense that I know what I’ve written isn’t quite working yet. It’s unjustified. BUT…and here’s the difference I realized as I was talking to Liz on the ride home: I know that the scene needs to exist, now. I know that the story I’m telling CAN work. It’s the RIGHT story to be telling in succession after the last book I wrote....

Day 2,290: A Quick

Have to make this a quick one because it’s late, but we just finished watching the Scorsese classic Taxi Driver. It was a great recording. Can’t wait to put it out. Lots of interesting discussions.

Work was busy today, which I liked. Writing was good, too! I wrote 1000 words today. I’m not so sure they were great words, but they were a START to a scene I didn’t know I needed till now. And I do need it. The scene definitely stays. I just need to justify it better earlier.

Anywho…sleep now....

Day 2,289: Petrick’s Dream

I was able to articulate something tonight that’s eluded me for a very long time with the story I’m working on.

Articulated it in a way that bears no second guessing, because it hits me right in the truth spot, right where I can really, really feel it wide and deep.

I know what Petrick dreams of, what he wishes for, deep deep down, the thing that he’s afraid to say for the shame of someone else hearing it, for someone else taking it away from him. Not giving it to him, because that is the arc...

Day 2,288: Once Upon A Time…

We watched Once Upon A Time in Hollywood tonight and it was…underwhelming.

The movie is fine. It’s not bad. But when people are throwing around Best Picture and “masterpiece” talk…holy shit I’d like to smoke what those people are smoking because this FINE movie is neither of those things.

It’s just fine.

The biggest crime it commits is being boring, which it is for large swaths in the first 2/3 of its 3-hour sprawl. The next biggest crime it commits is not having anything clearly to say....