Blogging Harvey

I am holed up in my house for at least the next few days. Hurricane Harvey isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Even in Tropical Storm form, it is going to be brutal. My neighborhood is not in a flood prone area. Tropical Storm Allison had no impact on it. Hurricane Ike only managed to rip away a few shingles. This monster may be different. The full impact won't be known for several days. Evacuation would have made no sense because we are not in a coastal area that floods easily. We'd be in gridlock, running out of gas, and fending off road rage.

Found out today that there is no work on Monday. The building will be shut down. I work for a large insurance company as a claims adjuster and we cannot even make it in to work. That's when you know shit has truly gone sideways. It could even be Tuesday too. There's a lot of unknowns right now. Hurricanes are oxymoronic. Their arrival can be predicted but their path can be all over the place.

Since I am going to have some down time, I need to commit to doing some work that I haven't had time to do because of my day job. This blog post is a good start. Any other writing that falls into place is a bonus. Reading along with writing are two loves that get little attention. It's seven o'clock before I get home most evenings and by the time dinner is finished, there's a tiny slice of time for family before I shove off to bed and start all over.

Harvey sucks, but I am going to try to make the most of the situation. Hunkering down with the dogs, family, and a good book with a side of writing sounds nearly therapeutic. I appreciate what I have and  hope that others are able to stay safe during this catastrophic event. Houston and its residents have  weathered many terrible storms over the years and emerged stronger. This one will be no different. We will persevere.

What Writers Can Learn From Diana Nyad

If there's one takeaway from the 64-year old's 110 mile swim from Cuba to Key West, it's never give up. She made several attempts over the years and came up short of her goal. A lot of people would have just quit. It's in our nature to want to succeed right away. Anything less than immediate victory and we're talking ourselves out of our dreams. Ms. Nyad's story is proof that with intense focus and a can-do attitude, the world is there for the taking. I sometimes wonder how many writers have quit over rejection by an agent or dismal book sales. Writing is tough and selling your work is beyond difficult, at least in the beginning. The ones who stick to their plans will be rewarded for their efforts.

Jeff Dunham and the Pursuit of Goals

My son has many interests outside of what some might consider "normal" for an 11 year old.  He was probably the only kid who dressed up as a Xenomorph from the Alien franchise.  His newest fascination is Jeff Dunham, or more accurately Jeff Dunham's ventriloquist act.  We recently caught a rerun of Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy on the Biography Channel and it grabbed his attention and mine for a variety of reasons.

While my son was entertained by Dunham's colorful cast of characters, I was drawn into his story for different reasons.  For one, he had intense dedication to his goal of taking his act to the Tonight Show and like any good story, he suffered setback after setback.  He faced criticism from other comedians who regarded his act as too different to make it in the cutthroat comedy scene.  A last minute rejection from the Tonight Show threatened to send him over the edge.

What does this have to do with writing?  On the surface, nothing.  If you look a little deeper, you can draw parallels between Dunham and anyone who has ever wanted to be published.  A goal is a goal and reaching that goal amid obstacles is the essence of great storytelling.  Another correlation is the journey of the indie author, the one outside the mainstream who grew stronger with each rejection and published their novel.  Like Jeff Dunham, the author never abandoned his goal.