Whiskey and Writing

I’ve been trying to race through some editing.  Once the writing is finished, the editing seems like an even stupider process.  The writing takes a year, the editing takes less, but its like reading something you already read and have to gut it like a fish.  You’ve got plenty of patience getting the original writing done, but the editing is something you want to do quickly.  Sort of finishing a job you already finished.  I hate it, because I do most of it myself, so there’s probably something wrong with the final product somewhere.  I’m trying to write a couple of books right now, one is a story about a man looking back on life, and one is a western.  I plan on tying the western to a little book I did before, at least vaguely.  I think the world is sort of looking for a little distraction, and looking to things that may have been easier, or simpler.  No era is perfect, but there’s reasons we look to other times and other situations for entert...

There’s nothing worse than planning a book. Once you get most of the particulars out of the way, but that planning... It’s worse than writing, because at least you can edit or rewrite the actual writing.  The details have to matter before the writing matters. That’s it, that’s all I got.  I got a vague notion that I want to write something, but no idea if it’ll go anywhere. But that’s exactly I how I started my first book.

The title kind of speaks for itself doesn’t it? We’re supposed to all these things, and have responsibilities, it just depends on how many you decide to take on for yourself.  And there’s been a lot of change in the last couple of years too.  We’re taking on either more or less, or finding ourselves doing things we didn’t think we’d be doing before. I’ve been spending most of time trying to figure out career changes at forty, and trying to write a few books at the same time, hoping even one will be successful.  I try to take stock of life and see how crazy people are now, and what drives them, and I can’t fathom how people get to the point of sheer madness. I think it’s important to find something that doesn’t drive you to stupidity or hate. For me I try to do a lot of things, because I get bored easily, and I try to find things that give some kind of meaning.  That’s it really. Find something, anything. I’m trying to do some things, and enjoy things because there ar...

 I’ve spent a lot of time working on books recently.  I’m doing two more and I think I might call it quits after that but we’ll see.  I did two already, and I’m not sure how much more I have in me.  But I do like to work on them when I’ve been drinking whiskey.  I dunno why that is.  I usually put on some jazz, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and I’ve been playing BB King quite a bit these days too.  BB King obviously isn’t jazz, but he’s probably my favorite musician, and I think a little booze and the right music will give you the right mood for a book.  I’m not talking about being so drunk you can’t see straight, but a couple of shots just seem to do the trick.  I’ve been drinking several different kinds Jack Daniels, Leadslingers, Jameson, and Johnnie Walker.  I know we all have different backgrounds, different things we want to do in life, but I think the right drink and the right music will give your whatever it is you’re working on...

 So I recently published a novel called Silent.  It means a lot to me, even if its not all that great.  I worked on some of it when I was overseas, and some in America.  There were pieces of it I’ve been working on since I was a teenager, and its nice to finally see it done.  I didn’t put it in the book description, but it has to do with some aspects of the Japanese involvement in World War 2.  I tried to briefly capture what I could about things happening in the aftermath, as well how the main character is involved in all of them.  I know I probably moved a little too quickly on some things, and maybe could’ve found ways to expand the story, but I also tried to leave some things for the reader to figure a few things out too.  I probably have about 2,000 books in my house, and its so weird to see one of my own on a shelf.

 I managed to publish three books in the last couple of months.  This last one was my favorite.  I tried to make it about dealing with the aftermath of wars, murder, and fear.  But I also tried to have a little fun with it.  It took me a year to get the first draft done, and I think it’s a halfway decent story.  I’m happy that I’m at least putting stuff out now, instead of just perpetually working. 

 I think most of us were hoping 2021 would be easier or smoother than 2021.  That’s clearly not the case.  It’s sort of its own dopey little sequel.  I suppose that’s life though.  Everything changes.  At this point though, it seems like things are just...unstable.  Instead of rushing around, we’re staying home more, which is fine for some, but many of us still have to go out and do what we can to make it.  All these lofty ideas we have for ourselves, maybe we can achieve them, maybe we can’t.  All I know now, is that some of the things I wanted to do, I’m not in a hurry for anymore.  I used to want to write thirty books, then it was fifteen, now its maybe four.  It may not be anything more we’re all so busy, but I tend to think its because I re-evaluated some stuff, and got a more realistic look at things.