Creative Writing

So What Will I Be Writing Here?

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

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Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day!

Coming back after such a long hiatus has actually been a wonderful feeling for me. But at the same time, it leaves many questions for you, the gentle reader, and me. Mostly, what am I going to write now that I am back?

In the past, this was an everyday blog with different styles or topics of posts for each day, but I no longer think I want to do that. I simply don’t have that kind of time. I am also learning more and more what my autistic brain likes and dislikes. If I were to explain it, on the one hand, I like routine and order to things, but on the other hand, if I feel that it goes beyond my own free choices or is more expected of me, I tend to rebel a little to that, and it becomes a drag. I am now sure that a lot of my desire for autonomy stems from this autistic defiance, sometimes of even my own unconscious defiance of my own plans. I am still scratching the surface of this issue, so forgive me if it doesn’t make sense, and I could be wrong.

So then, practically, if I want to write regularly and have a routine to it, what am I going to write that will allow me to do that? Let’s just stick to ‘the what’ for now. How is something I might have to be both flexible and routine about, which I want to talk about data later time.

  1. Poems – Despite the smaller tweak of pain I get from a broken heart every time I write one, I also get this sense of emotional expression and relief from writing poems that I find beneficial.
  2. Short Stories – Short stories are always experiments with new characters, concepts, genres, etc. But sometimes, they are good stand-alone posts.
  3. Essays – I do have thoughts on things, but I will say that on The Grey Wayfarer, two topics will probably not be discussed – religion and politics. I have other places to express those.
  4. Fiction Series – I love doing series, and I actually have an idea for a new one that might be like some others I have done with no clear end in sight. plus a few others.
  5. Journaling – Occasional – ‘where am I’ posts help me a lot.

My ultimate goal is therapy and feeling even better. But you never know when good writing project that might get published will come up.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

My Three Writing Projects

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Mani’s Day!

I want to elaborate on my three many writing projects at present to clarify my own thinking about them. So sorry for the info post again, but creativity is in the works.

My first project is regular writing on this blog. But the change is going to be that this blog is now my outlet for the “What do I feel like writing today” itch. My other two projects have very specific objectives so this becomes my writing steam valve where I let off creative steam for other ideas. This can include poetry, different genres, more informal posts about issues, etc. Mostly, I need a place to just flow with my writing in whatever direction it takes me. I am going to continue my Dungeons and Dragons series, but creative writing won’t be the exclusive thing on this blog.

My second writing project is my novel. A few months ago I did a post on this blog: Grey Avatar – ‘Spiked Coffee’ – Part 1 of a Grey Wayfarer Serial. There was no Part 2 because my thought process did a double take and realized that if I combined it with two other ideas I had (one new and one old), I would have a pretty good novel idea. So that post is now currently the second chapter of my novel and I won’t be presenting any more of it here. Sorry, you will just have to wait for the book to come out.

Lastly, I am starting the process of writing my story from faith to atheism. What I am still trying to do is figure out how I want to present that story. I spent an hour or so yesterday working on it. I think once I know the outline, it will practically write itself. Now that I am past being a Christian by some time and have shifted in the deconversion process from the ‘getting over it’ phase to the ‘moving on’ phase, I can have a better frame of mind while writing it.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Getting Back to Writing with a Better Plan

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Freya’s Day!

I want to, first of all, thank everyone for being patient and for your understanding as I struggle with my new understanding of myself. The old GI Joe cartoon used to say: “Knowing is half the battle”. The high probability that I have autism has been a major revelation of knowledge. How affects me is in some ways obvious and in others not so much. The real question is “Now that you know, what now?”

If knowing is half the battle, what is the other half? The other half, in my mind, is coming up with a plan that can be executed and be effective because you know. So today I am going to hit the planning part. Or rather, I am revealing my plan for dealing with this issue in relation to my writing. That is the plan I think will lead to effective action.

Effective action means I make progress on my writing goals, but it has been a while since I have stated my goals and I have a harder time sticking with them. The plan has to have a routine or system to it and I have to spend the time getting the discipline to do it.

First things first, I have redefined my goals for writing and related tasks:

  1. Reading for a half hour every day.
  2. Regular writing on this blog – This will include both creative posts and stuff about my journey through The Grey.
  3. Regular Writing on my novel for publication
  4. Regular writing on my non-fiction book, also with designs on publication.
  5. Daily Journaling at the end of the day.

The first task to make this work was getting these things into my daily routines. I have to have routines for things to work well for me. The daily reading of a book and journaling are everyday activities. The other three would best fit in a daily activity of writing where I rotate them at certain points. This system will be me doing the following rotation with whatever writing time is slotted.

Writing Rotation:

  1. One blog post – written, edited, and posted
  2. 1000 words on my novel.
  3. 1000 words on my non-fiction book.

The important thing to remember is I have time limits where I can write. For most work days I can do the reading and the writing until I leave for work. On days off I can go longer until I hit my walking time. Extra time, if I am in the mood, is always going to be a go as well.

The real problem is actually controlling my downtime. I need it to recharge my nervous system. However, sometimes those activities steal more time than they need. I need to change that and probably take drastic action to do so.

But this is the plan, so for you the gentle reader, it means more regular posts hopefully. It also will be leading me to a more regular fulfillment of a long-term goal for myself – being a published author.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Creative Writing Plans

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day!

I spent a few hours outlining my plan for a new YouTube Channel and now my thoughts turn toward the writing part of my life. There has been a long-running debate in my head about what type of writing I would like to do. I find the most relief and escape in writing fiction, in particular, fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. That said I also feel at times that a non-fiction book would be the best.

I think creative writing is where I will end up going. Mostly in the idea that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Most of my favorite authors are fiction writers who through telling stories made people think. This is my goal as well and to do that I need to focus on something I don’t often do which is the theme. That said, I think the great problem with today is that people spend so much time trying to make a point they forget to write a good story.

So write to make money by writing something entertaining and at the same time – as a good storyteller does – make a point. That’s the goal.

My future plans involve creative writing:

  1. I will be doing some of that on this blog. I have an idea for another serial but it may take some time to set up – world-building and character creation and all that. This one will be a full-on fantasy story.
  2. Short Stories – I find this works best with some genres for me. Some genres just lend themselves best to short stories. Some I might publish here, and others I will collect for publication.
  3. My Novel – I actually have written a novel already but I wouldn’t publish it as it is pretty bad. But I learned a lot from that experience and it’s that most novel writing is getting things on digital paper and editing. Planning the plot ahead of time is going to be the necessary element this time so the story flows better.

There are many other things but I have to have an eclectic mix to keep from getting bored at the same time progress and variety need to be there.

To-Do List 1-25-23:

  1. Apply for the apartment I found and search for more.- done. I need to see if this is going to be a good option
  2. Orientation at my Job. – done. I start tonight on the third shift so shifting my sleep pattern will be the priority through the weekend.
  3. YouTube Channel Designing.- done. My target date for launch is Feb 1st.

To-Do List 1-26-23:

  1. Go through the back of my car and organize things and get it so my daily stuff is more usable.
  2. Look for apartments closer to work – options needed
  3. Look at needed routines and systems for my life.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!