inspiration – Fireflies & Laserbeams

Throwback Thursday: Writing Guilt Revisited

Thursday July 18, 2019 | By Hieronymus Hawkes | Blogging | Leave Comments

[caption id="attachment_1480" align="alignleft" width="200"] Guilt_Finger Credit to Gaël Blanchemain [/caption] This goes back to Dec 30, 2010. So, if this is actually true I started this writing journey 12 years ago. I don't think that is really accurate. Maybe I thought I had started, but I hadn't actually written anything yet. I was close on the retirement part, but I left a year earlier than this estimate and ended up taking another full-time gig that I like a lot. The guilt is still a thing, though.

I started down this writing road about 3 years ago, or was it 4? Slowly but surely I've learned the tools of the trade. I've also slowly become more immersed in the act of writing. I have a day job still and will for at least 9 more years, but I'm preparing myself for writing success and a career after my current career. I write more and more in my spare time. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing or blogging about it. I recently saw a quote:

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." - Gloria Steinem

I find that to be very true. Then there's this one:

"Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life." ~ Lawrence Kasdan

LOL, it's so true. I used to like to watch a few TV shows or catch up on DVDs of movies that I missed at the theater. Now I just write in my free time and if I'm watching one of those TV shows or a DVD I feel guilty, that I really should be writing instead. Anyone else have this issue? Clear Ether!

Thursday June 27, 2019 | By Hieronymus Hawkes | Blogging | Leave Comments

This gem dates back to Dec 30, 2011. Please to enjoy.

It’s the end of the year and it usually brings an overabundance of introspection and reflection and for me it’s not just “what did I accomplish this year” but I find I’m looking at the big picture. Is my life shaping up the way I want it to? Am I having an impact on things that matter to me? Am I positioning myself to be able to influence things that are important to me? I’m approaching the big 5 0 and that may have something to do with it. I can remember being a fresh-faced lieutenant and looking at what seemed an endless dark tunnel of training and hoop jumping to get where I wanted to be. It was great to finally get through that tunnel and into the daylight again. It took years of hard work and dedication to see the light at the end, but I made it through. The thing is, once I got over the fact that I had achieved my initial goals, I found that I was sitting on a knoll looking down at several more tunnel entrances. It had opened up possibilities and I had choices but I was going to have to go through more training and learning if I chose to come down off the knoll. It was nice sitting there for a while, basking in the sunlight, but eventually you want more challenges. You find that you are not fulfilled for whatever reason. Maybe you aren’t doing what will really make you happy or have the impact that you want. You have to choose a new tunnel and start the process all over. (more…)

Saturday August 6, 2011 | By Hieronymus Hawkes | Uncategorized | Leave Comments

In case you missed it, I finished the 1st draft of the WIP. You get to go on this journey with me as I move to this next phase, the rewriting phase. I have two main POV characters, and they are as different as night and day. For the first pass I've decided that I am going to go back through and stay with one character's story line to the end of the book just to stay in their head and get their voice right and try to tighten up their perspective. I have a little helper to get me in the right mindset -- it's called music. =) Do you like to listen to music when you write? I do, and I find that different types of music put me in a different mindset while I write. For Laurent, who is a Nemesi, or what you would call a vampire, I like something edgier, a little darker. I have a playlist for this type of music which includes Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Red. For Anneliese, my female bad-ass pilot, I like something a little different and have a set with TRON:Legacy Soundtrack, Muse, The Black Keys, Radiohead and 30 Seconds to Mars. They can help with emotions and feel, they actually have empathy for my character. How about you? Do you have a thing that helps you get into your characters head? I'd love to hear about it! Clear Ether!