Matthew J. Olson's Blog, page 9
June 29, 2015
rude awakening
About 4:30 this morning, I was awakened by a cat hacking. The cat was laying next to me when this occurred. I sprang from the bed as if lightening had struck me. I then turned on my bedside lamp to investigate the mess.
I found no mess. I then turned on the room light to investigate further. I even carefully turned over blankets to make sure the cat hadn't hacked a hairball in some fold and left it obscured. I still found no mess.
Relieved, I went to the bathroom take further relief. As I was washing my hands, I heard the cat hack again. I saw that the cat was on the bedroom floor. I even grabbed some tissue before leaving the bathroom.
There was still no mess. Even odder, the cat was mewing and throwing himself at my legs like it wanted some attention. It did not seem sick like a cat that had been hacking just a moment before. So I had been alarmed and awoken for no reason.
A little over a week ago, I was alarmed to find that I had seven consecutive days where I did not have a single book sell. I felt like the ride was closed; nobody was interested in Shorts: A Collection of Stories any longer. "It was fun while it lasted," was my thought.
Then the next seven days saw a eight sales. I had thirty sales the month of May, so right around one sale a day is not unheard of. In fact, my ebook sales have averaged one per day since I first published. Sure, there have been dry spells before, but it has been a while since I've gone a whole week without a single sale.
Seeing my sales be a zero lit a fire under me like Jynx hacking in the bed beside me. I've ordered a bunch of print books again and I'm going to use them to help me get the word out about my book. Let's hope that I can weather the dry spells better now. Then again, being dry isn't always a bad thing (for example, Jynx's hacks).
I found no mess. I then turned on the room light to investigate further. I even carefully turned over blankets to make sure the cat hadn't hacked a hairball in some fold and left it obscured. I still found no mess.
Relieved, I went to the bathroom take further relief. As I was washing my hands, I heard the cat hack again. I saw that the cat was on the bedroom floor. I even grabbed some tissue before leaving the bathroom.
There was still no mess. Even odder, the cat was mewing and throwing himself at my legs like it wanted some attention. It did not seem sick like a cat that had been hacking just a moment before. So I had been alarmed and awoken for no reason.
A little over a week ago, I was alarmed to find that I had seven consecutive days where I did not have a single book sell. I felt like the ride was closed; nobody was interested in Shorts: A Collection of Stories any longer. "It was fun while it lasted," was my thought.
Then the next seven days saw a eight sales. I had thirty sales the month of May, so right around one sale a day is not unheard of. In fact, my ebook sales have averaged one per day since I first published. Sure, there have been dry spells before, but it has been a while since I've gone a whole week without a single sale.
Seeing my sales be a zero lit a fire under me like Jynx hacking in the bed beside me. I've ordered a bunch of print books again and I'm going to use them to help me get the word out about my book. Let's hope that I can weather the dry spells better now. Then again, being dry isn't always a bad thing (for example, Jynx's hacks).
June 19, 2015
birthday
We do not know Jynx's actual birthday. When we got him from the shelter, we knew he was nine months old. That was in December a few years back.
We couldn't just leave it that his birthday was sometime in or very close to March. We had to pick a specific day.
We had to pick a day that was memorable. We also wanted a special day. Pi day (3/14) was great since it was memorable. But it is also special to me since it is my grandmother's birthday.
Why am I talking about Jynx's birthday three months later? Because it is an interesting story. Also because this weekend is my birthday.
I like to use my birthday to reflect on the previous year. Writing Shorts: A Collection of Stories has got to be the greatest achievement in my life, not just this last year.
But I have other goals. I can't just stop now. Why stop with just one published book to my name? Maybe the next book I publish will be before my next birthday. Maybe it won't.
Jynx's biggest achievement is annoying the crap out of me. Comment below what yours is.
We couldn't just leave it that his birthday was sometime in or very close to March. We had to pick a specific day.
We had to pick a day that was memorable. We also wanted a special day. Pi day (3/14) was great since it was memorable. But it is also special to me since it is my grandmother's birthday.
Why am I talking about Jynx's birthday three months later? Because it is an interesting story. Also because this weekend is my birthday.
I like to use my birthday to reflect on the previous year. Writing Shorts: A Collection of Stories has got to be the greatest achievement in my life, not just this last year.
But I have other goals. I can't just stop now. Why stop with just one published book to my name? Maybe the next book I publish will be before my next birthday. Maybe it won't.
Jynx's biggest achievement is annoying the crap out of me. Comment below what yours is.
June 13, 2015
habits
Jynx's eating habits are rather weird. I feed him every evening, but will only refill his dish to three quarters of a cup. Many days I am putting a full three quarters of a cup in. Quite a few days I am putting half a cup in. There are even some days I am only putting in a quarter of a cup.
It is never consistent. The only pattern that I have noticed is that when Jynx gets a new container of grass, he generally eats less regular food.
My analytical mind tries to analyze Jynx's habits. While I haven't been keeping an actual track of what he eats, his eating habits have made me nuts. Then again, I'm already nuts. Hence my writing.
Like Jynx, my habits aren't consistent when it comes to my writing. Some days I only put in half an hour of work into my writing. Usually that is a quick edit. Some days I am spending several hours if I am writing something I am passionate about. Of course, I am sometimes in between those extremes. I also don't write at all on some days.
Also, like Jynx, analyzing my habits drives me nuts. It does seem like the days that I am driven and can concentrate allows me to write longer. But there are some days where I can't concentrate and am unmotivated, I can bang out a thousand words without issue.
Consistency is good, but not required. As long as Jynx is full and I am getting a ton of writing done, then life is good.
It is never consistent. The only pattern that I have noticed is that when Jynx gets a new container of grass, he generally eats less regular food.
My analytical mind tries to analyze Jynx's habits. While I haven't been keeping an actual track of what he eats, his eating habits have made me nuts. Then again, I'm already nuts. Hence my writing.
Like Jynx, my habits aren't consistent when it comes to my writing. Some days I only put in half an hour of work into my writing. Usually that is a quick edit. Some days I am spending several hours if I am writing something I am passionate about. Of course, I am sometimes in between those extremes. I also don't write at all on some days.
Also, like Jynx, analyzing my habits drives me nuts. It does seem like the days that I am driven and can concentrate allows me to write longer. But there are some days where I can't concentrate and am unmotivated, I can bang out a thousand words without issue.
Consistency is good, but not required. As long as Jynx is full and I am getting a ton of writing done, then life is good.
June 6, 2015
exercise
Jynx doesn't get much exercise. This is part of the reason he is chubby.
Everyone once in a while, my wife or I will get out a laser pointer for him to chase the red dot. It doesn't take him long to lose interest and quit chasing the dot. It might be that he is tired, but I don't think so.
Jynx does tear around the house on occasion. Not sure why he thinks he has to do that but it is another form of exercise that he gets. As he is tearing around the house, he sometimes stops on a rug. This makes the rug slide and roll up. I hate it when he does that.
When we let him outside on his leash, he will stalk birds. He'll run after them, even though they are perched up high or flying over him.
The other night at a writing group meeting, we decided to a writing exercise. The group leader randomly generated a story title and we had to write a story fitting that title in ten minutes.
The first title was "The Silent Perfect War." My mind went to the toilet and I wrote a story about a fart war. I ended up not completing the war in the session, but I've worked on it since. It still is only of flash fiction length, but I may work on it some more to get into short story length.
The second title we worked from was "The Killer and the Mistletoe." I wrote about a serial killer at a Christmas party. I loved the twist I put on the ending, so I've also expanded this one. Again, at this point it is still only flash fiction, but I keep finding ways to start my story earlier and earlier, so hopefully it will be a regular length short story soon.
Exercising is good for health, wellness, and creativity. Comment below your creative exercises.
Everyone once in a while, my wife or I will get out a laser pointer for him to chase the red dot. It doesn't take him long to lose interest and quit chasing the dot. It might be that he is tired, but I don't think so.
Jynx does tear around the house on occasion. Not sure why he thinks he has to do that but it is another form of exercise that he gets. As he is tearing around the house, he sometimes stops on a rug. This makes the rug slide and roll up. I hate it when he does that.
When we let him outside on his leash, he will stalk birds. He'll run after them, even though they are perched up high or flying over him.
The other night at a writing group meeting, we decided to a writing exercise. The group leader randomly generated a story title and we had to write a story fitting that title in ten minutes.
The first title was "The Silent Perfect War." My mind went to the toilet and I wrote a story about a fart war. I ended up not completing the war in the session, but I've worked on it since. It still is only of flash fiction length, but I may work on it some more to get into short story length.
The second title we worked from was "The Killer and the Mistletoe." I wrote about a serial killer at a Christmas party. I loved the twist I put on the ending, so I've also expanded this one. Again, at this point it is still only flash fiction, but I keep finding ways to start my story earlier and earlier, so hopefully it will be a regular length short story soon.
Exercising is good for health, wellness, and creativity. Comment below your creative exercises.
May 30, 2015
trouble
Last night, Jynx started yowling like he had never done before. He was by the back door (a glass patio door) looking outside. I first thought some bug was troubling him or something.
My wife and I decided to investigate. We flipped on the back patio light to find a kitten running away. It looked a bit sickly, so we let the kitten be and turned off the patio light.
I stayed at the back door with Jynx to see if the kitten came back. I was soon rewarded with another sighting. This time, the kitten looked healthier and had different coloration as the first. Two kittens were roaming around our backyard.
This kitten decided that it wanted to hide under Rosco's doghouse. It was peeking out from underneath at me and Jynx. It looked frightened and lovable in this way. I didn't know what to do. Turning on the patio light did not scare this one off.
I started looking around the yard for the first kitten. I didn't find it right away, but I did find a third kitten on top of the fence in between us and our neighbor. It really didn't pay me much mind.
My wife's curiosity was peeked. She decided to go out on the back patio to see if the kittens were tame. I held Jynx so he didn't run out after them. All three kittens ran to the backside fence in a flash when the door opened. I joined my wife and we called after the kittens. They didn't come. They were definitely not tame.
In my opinion, writing shouldn't be tame, either. You need to shake things up from time to time. Your characters should get into trouble and have to fight their way out of it.
At the current stage of my novel, my characters are 4 light-years from home and riding in a ship that could turn it into a nuclear missile if they engage the hyper drive which they need to get back home in a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and they have what could be a cure to an life threatening illness many of the people back home are inflicted with. How's that for some trouble?
My wife and I decided to investigate. We flipped on the back patio light to find a kitten running away. It looked a bit sickly, so we let the kitten be and turned off the patio light.
I stayed at the back door with Jynx to see if the kitten came back. I was soon rewarded with another sighting. This time, the kitten looked healthier and had different coloration as the first. Two kittens were roaming around our backyard.
This kitten decided that it wanted to hide under Rosco's doghouse. It was peeking out from underneath at me and Jynx. It looked frightened and lovable in this way. I didn't know what to do. Turning on the patio light did not scare this one off.
I started looking around the yard for the first kitten. I didn't find it right away, but I did find a third kitten on top of the fence in between us and our neighbor. It really didn't pay me much mind.
My wife's curiosity was peeked. She decided to go out on the back patio to see if the kittens were tame. I held Jynx so he didn't run out after them. All three kittens ran to the backside fence in a flash when the door opened. I joined my wife and we called after the kittens. They didn't come. They were definitely not tame.
In my opinion, writing shouldn't be tame, either. You need to shake things up from time to time. Your characters should get into trouble and have to fight their way out of it.
At the current stage of my novel, my characters are 4 light-years from home and riding in a ship that could turn it into a nuclear missile if they engage the hyper drive which they need to get back home in a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and they have what could be a cure to an life threatening illness many of the people back home are inflicted with. How's that for some trouble?
May 23, 2015
sigh
What is it about times and events that just make you sigh? I just got home and Jynx is rolling around on the floor. He stops, looks at my wife, and sighs. What warranted this reaction?
There are many quirks about my wife that tend to piss Jynx off. My wife will grab him, flip him upside down, and rock him like a baby. She also will hold him tight at other times. My wife will also get in Jynx's face every once in a while. But she hadn't done any of these things tonight to warrant a sigh.
Granted, there are many things my wife does that Jynx enjoys. There are just more bad things than good.
There are also things that I do that piss Jynx off. For example, I trim his toes. I also ignore him sometimes. I would think these would be worse than the torment my wife gives. Yet the sigh was not directed at me.
From time to time, I have sighs in my writing. A character will sigh when I think that is the most appropriate thing for them to do at the time. The result is that I have too many sighs in my writing.
In my novel writing, I try to limit my sighs to less than one a chapter. In my short stories, a maximum of one every five pages. One reason I set this limit is that there are many other ways for characters to express themselves. Actual dialog for example. Or a well put cocking of the head is another great expression.
Sighs are also ambiguous. Sometimes a sigh is to show frustration. Other times it will show sorrow. It can also show other things. To avoid the ambiguation, you have to put some sort of modifier (i.e. "he sighed in relief").
With so many meanings for a sigh, what did Jynx's mean? I've assumed frustration, but I can't be sure. It makes me question my use of sighs for my characters. Thoughts?
There are many quirks about my wife that tend to piss Jynx off. My wife will grab him, flip him upside down, and rock him like a baby. She also will hold him tight at other times. My wife will also get in Jynx's face every once in a while. But she hadn't done any of these things tonight to warrant a sigh.
Granted, there are many things my wife does that Jynx enjoys. There are just more bad things than good.
There are also things that I do that piss Jynx off. For example, I trim his toes. I also ignore him sometimes. I would think these would be worse than the torment my wife gives. Yet the sigh was not directed at me.
From time to time, I have sighs in my writing. A character will sigh when I think that is the most appropriate thing for them to do at the time. The result is that I have too many sighs in my writing.
In my novel writing, I try to limit my sighs to less than one a chapter. In my short stories, a maximum of one every five pages. One reason I set this limit is that there are many other ways for characters to express themselves. Actual dialog for example. Or a well put cocking of the head is another great expression.
Sighs are also ambiguous. Sometimes a sigh is to show frustration. Other times it will show sorrow. It can also show other things. To avoid the ambiguation, you have to put some sort of modifier (i.e. "he sighed in relief").
With so many meanings for a sigh, what did Jynx's mean? I've assumed frustration, but I can't be sure. It makes me question my use of sighs for my characters. Thoughts?
May 16, 2015
playing
Jynx loves to play with charging cords. Since I use my phone as my alarm clock, I have a cord next to my night stand. Jynx loves to play with this cord.
Long ago while playing with my cord, Jynx had knocked my phone off the night stand so many times that the coupling is bent. Now the coupling is so loose, he starts playing with the cord it unplugs from the phone. Every morning it is interesting (or frustrating) to see if my phone even got charged any.
I've been playing with my writing here lately. What I have been playing with is trying to get out of my comfort zone. I wrote a short story that is pretty racy. While it isn't quite to the levels of being erotica, it is on the verge. I think it makes the plot twist in this story really interesting.
With my novel, I have deviated from my outline. I thought something was missing from my outline, but the chapter ended up at the same place that my outline called for. I think it makes for a better chapter than what I originally planned. I'll see if my critique group feels the same way.
I'm sure I'll keep playing with my writing style just like Jynx keeps playing with my charging cord.
Long ago while playing with my cord, Jynx had knocked my phone off the night stand so many times that the coupling is bent. Now the coupling is so loose, he starts playing with the cord it unplugs from the phone. Every morning it is interesting (or frustrating) to see if my phone even got charged any.
I've been playing with my writing here lately. What I have been playing with is trying to get out of my comfort zone. I wrote a short story that is pretty racy. While it isn't quite to the levels of being erotica, it is on the verge. I think it makes the plot twist in this story really interesting.
With my novel, I have deviated from my outline. I thought something was missing from my outline, but the chapter ended up at the same place that my outline called for. I think it makes for a better chapter than what I originally planned. I'll see if my critique group feels the same way.
I'm sure I'll keep playing with my writing style just like Jynx keeps playing with my charging cord.
May 8, 2015
invasion
Last weekend, my home was invaded (I mean this in the nicest way possible) by my mother-in-law, her husband, and her dog, Fletcher. Fletcher and Jynx do not get along. Fletcher is a playful basset hound.
When Rosco was around, Jynx could play around the house pretty much all he wanted. It was only when Jynx would play with or around Rosco too hard that Rosco threw a fit. Usually it was a grump or a snip that Rosco would exhibit.
Fletcher is a completely different type of animal. He would see kitty and would run after it thinking it was play time. Jynx would have to run up on a counter or something to stay away. Fletcher invading his home is worst thing that could happen to Jynx.
Having company over is also the worst thing that could happen for a writer. While I love my in-laws, I can't get much work done with them around. This doesn't bode well for my goals.
Though I can't blame my in-laws for my lack of productivity of late. I have been going to a bunch of coin auctions and that is taking up my precious writing time. Coin collecting is another invasion of my time. But I love this hobby as much as I love writing.
Now one benefit of these invasions to my writing time is that it gives me a break. I think I would go insane if I was writing 40 or more hours a week. Then again, my sanity is questioned at the 5 hours a week I am currently doing (I was doing about 20 hours a week in January through March).
It is also nice to visit people as it can sometimes give me ideas for stories or dialog. For example, my wife said "WT f*cking F" on one trip to my in-laws. That line is now in my third novel, Tech Fear.
Anyway, invasions can be detrimental. Just ask Jynx. So balance them with everything else that is going on in your life.
When Rosco was around, Jynx could play around the house pretty much all he wanted. It was only when Jynx would play with or around Rosco too hard that Rosco threw a fit. Usually it was a grump or a snip that Rosco would exhibit.
Fletcher is a completely different type of animal. He would see kitty and would run after it thinking it was play time. Jynx would have to run up on a counter or something to stay away. Fletcher invading his home is worst thing that could happen to Jynx.
Having company over is also the worst thing that could happen for a writer. While I love my in-laws, I can't get much work done with them around. This doesn't bode well for my goals.
Though I can't blame my in-laws for my lack of productivity of late. I have been going to a bunch of coin auctions and that is taking up my precious writing time. Coin collecting is another invasion of my time. But I love this hobby as much as I love writing.
Now one benefit of these invasions to my writing time is that it gives me a break. I think I would go insane if I was writing 40 or more hours a week. Then again, my sanity is questioned at the 5 hours a week I am currently doing (I was doing about 20 hours a week in January through March).
It is also nice to visit people as it can sometimes give me ideas for stories or dialog. For example, my wife said "WT f*cking F" on one trip to my in-laws. That line is now in my third novel, Tech Fear.
Anyway, invasions can be detrimental. Just ask Jynx. So balance them with everything else that is going on in your life.
April 26, 2015
trip effects
I went out of town this last week on a business trip. After a week of no Jynx, he let me know just how he felt about me being gone; he peed in my suitcase minutes after my arrival.
Who is to blame for Jynx peeing in my suitcase? He did not get sufficient loving this past week, so he made sure to let me know that. But he also could have gone to the damn litter box all the same and chosen other ways to let me know he was mad.
With my trip, I had a full schedule. If I wasn't working, I was rubbing elbows with customers. This meant that my writing was ignored this week. I feel like a part of my life was missing. I'm just glad my writing can't pee on my suitcase.
Who is to blame for Jynx peeing in my suitcase? He did not get sufficient loving this past week, so he made sure to let me know that. But he also could have gone to the damn litter box all the same and chosen other ways to let me know he was mad.
With my trip, I had a full schedule. If I wasn't working, I was rubbing elbows with customers. This meant that my writing was ignored this week. I feel like a part of my life was missing. I'm just glad my writing can't pee on my suitcase.
April 18, 2015
turd
Jynx was in big trouble this week. I came home and found a couple of turds on the entryway rug. He then covered up the mess by folding the rug over it.
Folding the rugs is something that Jynx likes to do. For the entryway, since it is on tile, he likes to run up to that rug and then stop on it. He then skids on the rug and it folds up.
Other rugs, Jynx will just reach under them and push up a corner. Then he can get on top of it and roll it as much as he wants.
So me coming home and finding a rug folded up isn't unusual. In the past, I have unfolded a rug with my foot only to find that I had stepped in a hairball. So I was cautious when I unrolled this rug. Good thing that I was.
Finding a turd when you least expect it is not fun. Especially when that turd is your own writing. Care must be taken when a turd is found so that you aren't flinging it around when you unroll the carpet (edit the page).
A couple of weeks ago, I started writing a story. It was in first person point of view (my first mistake since I am not used to writing this way). The point of view character also had no memory (my second mistake). It was hard to keep using pronouns to refer to herself since she couldn't remember her own name. This character just wakes up on a beach and is naked (and yet another mistake).
So, I'm writing this story and I have a two pages before I realize what a turd I have. Having her naked made it seem like erotica. That was not the intention of the story. It was supposed to be a science fantasy.
Like Jynx's turd, my literary turd had to get flushed down the toilet. I've started to rewrite the story. It is now in a different point of view, the woman character has not lost her memory, and she is not completely naked. I've also put a lot more research into the setting and mythology behind the story so that it has even more drama to it. I hope that it turns out well when it is finished.
Folding the rugs is something that Jynx likes to do. For the entryway, since it is on tile, he likes to run up to that rug and then stop on it. He then skids on the rug and it folds up.
Other rugs, Jynx will just reach under them and push up a corner. Then he can get on top of it and roll it as much as he wants.
So me coming home and finding a rug folded up isn't unusual. In the past, I have unfolded a rug with my foot only to find that I had stepped in a hairball. So I was cautious when I unrolled this rug. Good thing that I was.
Finding a turd when you least expect it is not fun. Especially when that turd is your own writing. Care must be taken when a turd is found so that you aren't flinging it around when you unroll the carpet (edit the page).
A couple of weeks ago, I started writing a story. It was in first person point of view (my first mistake since I am not used to writing this way). The point of view character also had no memory (my second mistake). It was hard to keep using pronouns to refer to herself since she couldn't remember her own name. This character just wakes up on a beach and is naked (and yet another mistake).
So, I'm writing this story and I have a two pages before I realize what a turd I have. Having her naked made it seem like erotica. That was not the intention of the story. It was supposed to be a science fantasy.
Like Jynx's turd, my literary turd had to get flushed down the toilet. I've started to rewrite the story. It is now in a different point of view, the woman character has not lost her memory, and she is not completely naked. I've also put a lot more research into the setting and mythology behind the story so that it has even more drama to it. I hope that it turns out well when it is finished.
