Ties are Meant to be Broken

Both games today were close, with ties broken in the end by field goals. Earlier, the Bengals beat the Titans, 19-16. The 49ers just beat the Packers 13-10. It’s snowing Green Bay, which probably means it’s snowing here too.

Tomorrow, it’ll be the Rams and Buccaneers and Bills and Chiefs. Don’t miss the Ram-Buc game. That’s Stafford and Brady. Starts at 3PM, on NBC.

‘Twas a slow day, but I got a few pages into each project. Novel, 380 pages-76,900 words. Story, 6 pages-991 words.

I started watching a creepy series on Netflix called Archive 81. Think I’ll finish this first episode and call it a night.

Not Everything I Write Is Great

Not everything I write is great. A lot of it sucks. I just make it a point to finish every story I start before I start another one, no matter how awful it is or how long it’s taking me to get it done. I will finish it.

This is something I wish I had been doing when I was young. I didn’t actually get into this mindset until my mid-30s.

The thing, for me anyway, is not to write the greatest stories, but to just get all these stories down before I die. Sometimes they come out good, sometimes I think they’re great. Sometimes they suck, but at least I got the thing done.

So, I finished that sport-themed short story today. It closed up with 22 pages, 4,596 words. I’m satisfied with it.

I already started the next short story. This one is another noir. I’m on page 3 and I’m 353 words in. I like how it’s going, so far.

I got six pages into the novel. The novel is now 377 pages and 76,209 words.

So, a total of eleven pages of fiction written today. I wanted to get in a few more, but I’m burning out.

I cooked a good-sized steak for supper. My mom and dad gave me a bunch of different seasonings for Christmas. I’ve been using the Weber Steak & Chop Seasoning a lot. I really like it.

I’m going to watch the last period of the Red Wing-Star game. They’re tied. 3-3.

An Update & Stuff

Production has been slow the last couple days, but I got a few more pages into each project. The short story was feeling like a dud in the beginning, but I like how it’s going now. The novel is taking a direction I did not expect. I’m a little surprised and disturbed by what I’m writing in this current chapter.

I don’t plot out my projects. I don’t have time for plot outlines, and I don’t understand writers who do. I start a story and I stick with it until it closes up somewhere. I generally don’t know what’s going to happen in the story until it happens.

DoorDash recently added some more restaurants. One of the new listings is Maude’s Alabama BBQ, which is owned by my uncle Ron. I already ordered from them a couple times. I might be biased, but I think their food has a quality that I haven’t found in other restaurants.

They now have two restaurants, one in Flint and one in Lapeer. If you haven’t tried them yet, you should.

The Pistons are not far behind the Kings. 64-71. It’s halftime.

You Gotta Understand

I grew up in a rock n roll family. All through my childhood and teens, my parents were in rock n roll bands. Our home was constantly blessed by the tones of rock n roll. Several people I’ve known all my life are rock n roll musicians.

Basketball, Groceries & Fiction

The Pistons stayed toe-to-toe with the Magic tonight, winning, 97-92.

I wish the NBA would figure out that when one team wears a reddish color and the other team wears a brownish color, it’s hard for the colorblind of us to tell who is who. The game is less enjoyable and more frustrating. I could accidentally be cheering for the Magic. Thank God, I wasn’t at the game, ’cause that would’ve been embarrassing.

I’m a firm believer that one team should wear a light color and the other team should wear a dark color. Never should both teams be wearing dark colors.

I made it to Kroger today. A lot of stuff was cleaned out, but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. I’m not happy that prices have gone up, especially on the meat products. The meat is costing twice as much as it did a few months ago.

I used to be able to get a package of pork chops for around five bucks, now it’s more like $10. But I found enough meat to fill my freezer.

I started the next story today. I like it’s beginning. Hope it stays satisfying. Think I’m going to pull an all-nighter. I got down three pages of fiction so far today, two into the novel and one into the story. I like to try getting at least five pages into each every day.