Ira Heinichen's Blog, page 83

Day 3,565: By Half

Bit of a rough week on the writing front…but NOT A DISASTER. Minor miracle there, given how busy work kept me. Another suuuuuper fast turnaround dropped on me late today.

Here’s the thing, though, about when that happens: I kinda get to be the hero, you know? I’m the guy they can turn to in a pinch, and I’ll get them what they need. And that’s value right there. It definitely sucks time and energy-wise, because it takes a lot out of me to deliver in those tight windows, but…it’s also a little...

Day 3,564: Sleep Data

Twenty pages today. Woo! Wiped. What’s amazing, though is that I was wiped all day, and I still got my work done and my pages. I’m on a roll, for real though.

The only thing I will say about how I currently construct stories is this: my Act 1’s don’t need to be so long. Ugh. I mean, for this story, it literally did. Same for Book 1 and Book 2. But, in the general sense: too long. Get to it faster. Need to figure that out. And I will. Next book is gonna get right to the damn thing.

Sleep.

...

Day 3,563: Butt To Butt

Coops and Joy are almost butt to butt right now on the bed. Coops has gotten WAY more comfortable with her around. Finally. It’s such a relief. He’s way less stressed out by her, and she’s way less scared of him. I think she’s just finally grown up enough—and it’s been enough time—that she’s less triggering for him. Easier to ignore.

She just moved back up to the head of the bed. She sleeps right next to my pillow. Sometimes, she’s right up against me. I love it so much.

Keeping this one s...

Day 3,562: All Footage

One of those very, very busy workdays. They don’t happen often, thankfully, but they do come around every so often. Honestly, I’m thankful to be busy. I need my job, and it’s reassuring to know that my job needs me.

I was able to get in 10 pages before the floodgates opened work-wise. Hoping to get that many pages done tomorrow as well, which would still put me on track for 60 pages on the week. That’s been the average, spot-on, for the first two weeks. I’d love to get up to 80, which is stil...

Day 3,561: Joelly and Tuffy

Joelly was a short-haired white and grey-patched cat. She had tabby stripes in those patches. I’m not sure what kind of coloring that’s called, but she was a round, very sweet cat. And patient to the extreme. I have vivid memories of delighting in trapping her by putting a milk crate on top of her, and—particularly painful to think of as an adult—tossing her off the deck. I was probably 2. And I think the memory is so vivid because I remember my mother being very upset with me for doing it, and ...

Day 3,560: Merle

Merle was my first dog. A big German Shepherd, and my first best friend.

The story goes that Merle was the dog of one of my mom’s friends, and some situation came along—like moving, or something like that—where they couldn’t take Merle with them, and so my mom volunteered to take him in. I don’t know if I was born yet at that point or not, but he took to me, and I to him.

Merle and I went everywhere together. We lived on four acres of redwood forestland, and I spent most of my playtime wan...

Day 3,559: Nugget and Bingo

I first saw Nugget and Bingo as two terrified kittens in my backyard. Little balls of black and grey fir with giant terrified eyes. They were hiding from the sun, all by themselves. I still think they were abandoned, but maybe not. Maybe their mom had simply died, and they’d always been feral. I don’t know. But they ran as soon as they saw me, and I didn’t see them again for several months; they were twice the size when I saw them again, and they’d become friends with a couple other neighborhood...

Day 3,558: Close

It’s been a couple more-hectic weeks than I anticipated, BUT…I’m already into act 2 of my book. It’s moved along, actually.

It’s bed time. I’m freaking wiped. Tried to catch one of the last two kitties to get her fixed, but she didn’t go for the KFC and stayed away from the traps. Sigh. Smartie pants. I’ll get her eventually.

Night night.

Day 3,557: A Quick

Quick one tonight. It’s bed time. It was a rough day production-wise. I was just knocked off-kilter all day. Sigh. Still finding that balance between ambition and over-kill. And being reminded that mornings are absolutely crucial. They make or break a day. So…

It’s to bed with me. Night night.

Day 3,556: Toe Nailed

So, my dog decided he didn’t need one of his toe nails today.

I DON’T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED. I just came into the room and there was blood everywhere. He was looking at me like…wtf just happened? Ouch.

Took him to Dog Urgent Care. He got drugged and bandaged up. He gonna be fine. But like…wtf dude? Poor guy.

I found the toe nail by the way. Whole ass claw just sitting there on the living room floor. I think he must have been trying to jump up on the chair we have there and slipped on the...