Edward Lorn's Blog, page 104

My Guest Spot with Erica Lucke Dean

My Guest Spot with Erica Lucke Dean

This post was a great deal of fun to write, even if it was short. Erica is definitely a good sport. 

New Site for LaBB

New Site for LaBB

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E.

Ruminating On: The Long and Short of It

I have several author friends who are having problems moving from short form to novel length material. I figured I’d see if I could help them out. No worries, I’m not going to mention any names, but I am going to mention some of their problems and try to offer my advice on how to overcome said issues.

#1. I just don’t have enough time during the day.

If you have time to write short stories, you have time to work on a novel. Instead of dashing through a story, sit back and take a breath. Let’s say you prefer to write flash fiction. How about, instead of writing a thousand words or less on a short, you take that time and add to a larger body of work. Forgive me, for I can’t remember who said this (I think it was either Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, or it very well may have been Stephen King talking to Neil Gaiman) but the quote is as such: If you wrote three hundred words a day, everyday, for a year, you’d have a rather sizeable novel on your hands. Being a novelist takes training, much like marathon running. Short stories are taxing as well, and require a special brand of info dumping, but they’re more like a sprint. You have to make a choice and stick with it.

#2. I just can’t seem to make the story last long enough.

There’s your problem right there. You’re trying too hard. Just getting to know your characters can take up thousands of words. Short stories rarely give you the chance to do this. Some of us can eek in character development in only a few short words, but that takes practice. Word choice is paramount. Honestly though, if you don’t want to take the time to get to know your characters, you probably shouldn’t be telling their stories. Many times, I have written a short story only to find that I hadn’t delved deep enough into the players on the stage. As with my sophomore effort, Dastardly Bastard, my group of tourists started out small and two dimensional, until I really took the time to get to know them. What started off as a 25,000 novella soon blossomed into a 65k effort, simply because I took the time to listen.

#3. I love short stories, both writing them and reading them, but they don’t sell well.

This is Grade A truth. In my mind, short stories are nothing but advertisements for your longer books. Consider it brand building. I do not recommend publishing a short story collection unless you have a novel to fall back on. There are two reasons for this. Drabbles and flash fiction just do not hang around long enough. Think of it in the way of food (sorry, I’m on a diet, so everything’s food related right now). A short story is a snack. A novel is an entire meal. A snack is all well and good between lunch and supper, but it’s not going to stay with you. I know quite a few readers who jump into collections between books just to cleanse their pallet. They don’t want to start something thick again so soon after finishing the last novel, so a short story or two are in order. The second reason is good old fashion frugalness. Why spend your hard earned money on several pieces of pie, when you can buy the entire dessert for the same price. This is why one of my collections is free and the other is only $.99. It’s all about preconceived value. Even if your short story collection is three hundred pages long, the stories inside are not. You’re novel could be fewer pages and I promise you, it would sell better. I also believe this is why some people enjoy a series over stand alone books. If the same characters keep returning, the reader’s money becomes an investment.

These are simply my thoughts and tips; things that worked well for me and continue to work to this day. I started out as a short story author and worked my way up, so I will always see shorts as practice, like fun on the side. And no, I don’t feel a bit bad when I’m cheating on my novels. We have a very open relationship.

I’m going to go into greater detail on the hows and whys of short form and long form in future posts. Maybe I’ll make a mini-series out of it.

E.

Downward Once Again LaBB 3/12/2013

Weight: 366, down four pounds since Monday.

I didn’t post yesterday. Too busy. I weighed in at 370 though, another pound higher. I did a little extra in the way of exercise, taking a different route with more hills, and TA-DA! I’m down four pounds today. Who’s a sad panda? Not this guy.

I’m taking hills much better during my walks. My legs are much stronger, and my lungs seem to be improving as well. I’m also see a difference in my body. I’m more… fleshy. I’m all squishy. Ewwww. Go ahead and laugh, I did. What I’m getting at is, I can tell I’m burning fat better in some places better than others, so I can target those problem areas better with my DDP Yoga.  

Had this been the old me, I would have given up after that post-liquid diet weight gain. As I said before, I’m bound, set and damn determined this time.

Tomorrow!

E.

Memory Lapse LaBB 3/10/2013

Weight: 369, up one pound since yesterday.

Yeah, I forgot to update this morning. So shoot me. I was busy finishing the first content edit on Life after Dane. Time got away from me. My apologies.

As you can see above, I gained another pound back. That should be gone tomorrow as I was too busy to fix myself any real food today. Instead, I went back to my liquid diet for a day. Mmm, Carnation Instant Breakfast and chicken broth.

You know what, I just realized (thanks to an email update about a comment from Jason Derrick on my previous post) that I forgot to start my DDP Yoga. Bullocks. Okay, so that’s something to do tomorrow, now that I’m done with Dane for now. Thanks for the reminder, Jason.  

I’m tired. Going to go read. Tomorrow is another day.

E.

Working Out the Workout LaBB 3/9/2013

Weight: 368. No change since yesterday.

I believe I’ve finally leveled off. The water weight is gone, and I’m now working on real fat. Time to up the exercise routine. I’ll be starting back on my DDP Yoga tomorrow morning. In case you guys aren’t familiar with the program, it’s a high-resistance, low-impact form of yoga that really gets the heart racing. The sessions constantly change to keep you from reaching a plateau effect. Also, it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Today, same old, same old. I’m still working on content edits for Life after Dane. This is working out well, as I’m needing to find time to stop and eat. Good practice for when I’m spending my days actually writing. I can get lost, away in my own little world, and forget to eat, or even drink, for eight to ten hours at a time.

Off into the Land of Red Ink I go. Later, dudes and dudettes.

E.

 

Back on Track LaBB 3/8/2013

I’m going to start reviewing my previous day every morning. I simply do not have time in the evenings to keep up with this. I have one content edit in progress on Life after Dane, two short stories to finish, and other books to get ready for submission to my publisher. I still need to do a Ruminating On for this week, but I really don’t see that happening.

This morning, ladies and gentlemen, I’m down a pound. 368 is the total. I can dig it. Suggestions and words of inspiration are rolling in, and I damn near want to try everything. But one thing at a time. I have to figure out this diet first. Trial and error, and all that jazz.

You guys have been great. Your encouragement has given me that little extra push. Thank you.

Time to start my day. I’ll see you folks tomorrow morning.

E.

Well That Sucks LaBB 3/7/2013

The date in the title is for yesterday. I didn’t have the time or energy for a post, so I’m doing it this morning. I will be updating again tonight.

I’m in the process of editing Life after Dane, so my time is limited. No breakdowns of what I ate during the day this weekend. I’ll start back up with that on Monday, or whenever I finish my revisions. Not enough time in the day.

Yesterday was my second day back on whole foods. I started the day having gained two pounds, as I theorized I would. Then, this morning, I weighed in at 369, a full five pounds put back on since I went back to a regular diet. Something’s gotta give, man. That sucks. I’m not discouraged, and do not plan on raiding the refrigerator, I just don’t like it. Honestly, I don’t think I’m putting out as much as I’m taking in, but I’m not about to weigh my output, if you know what I mean.

I’m trying something different today. I’m replacing my solid breakfast and afternoon snack with my Carnation Instant Breakfast. I have plenty leftover from my liquid diet, so it needs to be used up anyway.

Losing five pounds in two days is awesome. Gaining that much back, not so much.

Back to work. See you later.

E.

The Real Challenge Begins Labb 3/6/2013

First the boring details, then onto how today actually went.

Weight: 365, down one pound since yesterday.

Breakfast: Two cage-free omega-3 eggs with and ounce each of mushrooms and spinach tossed in.

Lunch: 4 ounce baked salmon with a Caesar Dijon mustard glaze, two blanched broccoli stalks and two blanched carrots.

Snack: 4 ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast. Two blanched broccoli stalks and six slices of white mushrooms.

Dinner: 4 ounce Haddock filet, pan-seared in 100% pure olive oil. I would have used extra virgin but the smoke point is too low to fry anything. It just ends up burning and blackening before you get the chance to cook with it. I also had a slice of honey wheat bread.

Now onto my day. Yeah, it was awesome. I got up at ten this morning, cooked my breakfast, and enjoyed it immensely. Last night, I set everything up for my day, cooking and portioning. I blanched my veggies, enough for two days. I used one-cup containers to store everything, so all I had to do today was reheat and eat. Once I was done with my meal, I refilled my container. The system worked nicely.

Whether or not I’m on the right track will not be known for some time. My theory is, I will gain some of my weight back (maybe a pound or two) simply because I’m back on whole foods. Since I am prepared for this, I doubt I’ll be discouraged if my theory is correct. The thing is, I used to eat around three to four pounds a day, no joke. My intake now is a little more than a pound and a half. I will probably end today at around 1500 calories, where normally I’d probably take in around 4-5000. Hey, I didn’t get this big by sucking down oxygen. I knew what I was doing was stupid, I just didn’t have the willpower to change.

I went walking again today, and on top of that, I walked through Wally World in search of new shoes. Being an active fat guy is expensive. You go through shoes like a brothel goes through lube. I also gave the dog a bath. Nice busy afternoon.

I’m not done for the day, of course. I normally don’t go to sleep until around 1 am or later, so I’m bound to get hungry again. If that happens, I have fat-free Greek yogurt on hand, along with various fruits and vegetables and sugar-free Jell-Os.

I feel great. I figured I’d suffer some heaviness or bloating after returning to a regular diet, but I didn’t. I’m pleasantly surprised.

That’s all for now. It’s movie night around the Lorn Complex, and we’re going to introduce Autumn to The Last Starfighter. Found the movie on bluray at Wally World for seven bucks. Damn good day.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love’ah ya, tomorrow. You’re only a day… all right, I’ll quit. Bye for now.

E.

Liquid Diet, For the Win! LaBB 3/5/2013

With the publication of this post, I have gone seven whole days without solid foods. My liquid diet has been successful. I don’t actually start my real diet until tomorrow morning, but time wise, I’ve won. It’s the small battles, really.

I am now down to 366 lbs. That’s three more pounds since yesterday, and a total of 24 lbs since I started my liquid diet. No one could be more surprised than I am that I actually followed through with this endeavor.

Mentally, I feel like a completely different person, in both good and bad terms. The bad involves a feeling that, should I come off this liquid diet, I might fail. I can almost understand now the mind of someone suffering from anorexia or bulimia. After taking drastic measures, I’ve seen results, and I don’t want to change anything. This won’t be the first time I’ve made myself do something I didn’t feel I had the courage for, so back to whole foods it is. One the positive side, I feel my strength returning, both physically and mentally. Willpower I never thought I’d have, has knocked upon my door. I’ve offered it bed and comfort in the hopes that it will stay for a while. All cravings have diminished. I no longer need food when I’m not hungry. My body tells me when to eat, not the other way around. Food is no longer a satiation method for boredom. It is now fuel and nourishment.

On this blog, I will be going into pain-staking detail about my daily consumption over the course of the next month. Jeff Beyak, owner of Headless Asylum Studios, has offered his support and knowledge, giving me recipe and food ideas along with several key pieces of advice. Thank you, Jeff. My reasoning for chronicling my diet is so that I may pass along information about what works and what does not work. I am no mentor, nor am I one to look up to, but I feel if I succeed and do not share my methods, that action would make me somewhat of an asshat.

To those of you supporting me, I offer my greatest appreciation. My wife, especially. She knows how much her support means to me, but I thought I would give her a shout out anyway. Little things she does, like telling me it’s time to go for our walk, or questioning me about the last time I ate, has been part of my success. I’m absent-minded at the best of times, and borderline brain-damaged at the worst. She keeps me sane and on track.

Tomorrow, folks.

E.