A day late

Well, I didn't go to jury duty. I slipped last night and aggravated my hip. Walking to the train station, even with my walker is out of the question.

So, day ten, WOO HOO!

Almost thought I forget to start my timer. I didn't.

I am really beginning to dislike rainy weather. My wrist hurts when it comes around. I am now a human barometer. Well... Except that I can't give any specific numbers.

I mean it's not yet four minutes into the fifteen and I already hurt badly.

I need to call the court clerk so I can tell them why I am not there. Since my slippage happened after 4 pm, at which time their phones go into busy mode. Whenever you call them, you get a busy signal. Which is not good. They need to get a voicemail system installed. I mean, it's the Dallas County Court. Not a very low budget.

I hope I can get that keyboard soon. My cursor gets placed randomly on the page because I accidentally touch the touchpad.

Okay.. I lasted a little longer than yesterday, but I need to stop. Maybe I'll add another session later.

Okay. With my hand hurting like it is, I decide to break the last fifteen minutes into three five-minute chunks. That way, I still get my time in, but I can rest my hand.

Question of the day: Do you have any physical problems that try to keep you from writing, and if you do, how do you overcome them?

I think this might help. Since my hand doesn't usually start hurting until about five minutes in. I might do it for the entire thirty minutes tomorrow. See if that helps.

Since I didn't have a question yesterday, here is another one for today.

What genres do you enjoy most? Reading? Writing?

I enjoy fantasy, especially urban fantasy and horror.

Just a few seconds to go. My hand is not hurting yet, but why push it.

Well, that wasn't such a good idea. I completely forgot to come back. I'll be doing two posts today then, this one, that was supposed to be posted yesterday, and one for today.

Need a new title process

 I probably won't be posting tomorrow. I have jury duty. It depends on if I get selected or not, as to whether I will be able to post.

Oh! THIS is interesting. I just typed that line above, and noticed, the entire paragraph I had typed before it is no longer there. It went something like this, “Here we are on day nine. Raise your hands if you didn't think I would last this long. (raising my hand)”

I really dislike this touchpad.

And, since starting this exercise, I have not thought abut my story idea's in a few days.

We will be getting rain today, I can tell. My hand hurts like I just broke it and the shock has worn off. I'm only six minutes in and I can't type anymore. I'll have to leave off here.

Okay. Im back and it's raining today. I'm actually back a tad later than planed. Gotta love ADHD! At least I keep telling myself that.

I'm trying out a new timer called Focus Timer Reborn. I might just stick with my kitchen timer though, as this one is mainly for longer periods of writing. Breaking it down into smaller chunks and taking long or short breaks. Since I'm only writing thirty minutes a day, I don't think it will be of much use for me. Maybe later when I actually start writing something other than stream of consciousness and buckle down on a story.

The problem with rain, as explained earlier, is that it causes my hand to hurt, that much worse, so today I might just have to cut it short. As I want to get this posted today, and might not be able to writge at all tomorrow.

I forgot to post the photo of Bug yesterday, Ill do that today. He's still my buddy, but he's been trying to sabotage a lot of my stuff today. ;)

Ooh! Just heard thunder. Good thing none of the animals here are afraid of thunderstorms.

Well... Too much pain to soldier through today.

Hopefully, until tomorrow.

And on the eighth day

On and on I go. I'm having fun doing this. And on the eighth day, I'm still going. Okay, that's enough.

It's weird. The temperature is higher now than the previous few day, but it still feels cool. Granted, the last few days I came out wearing sweat pants, and today I'm wearing shorts, so that could have something to do with it.

Bug started to go out when I went out for my cigarette but evidently changed his mind, as he just turned around and went back inside. He's such a goof, but he's still my buddy. I'll post a photo of him on today's post.

I actually researched keyboards yesterday. I found one and a USB hub for just under $40. I need the hub because my laptop only has two USB ports, and right now, they're both occupied. One with my external speakers and the other by my mouse.

Okay... Bug is starting to infringe on my arm space, making it more difficult to type. I need to evict him from his current spot.

There, elbow room.

To earn a little cash, I have been participating in online surveys. One of them doesn't pay out until you reach $50, or 5000 points. I'm so close to 5000 points but haven't gotten a qualifying survey in a while. I need about 700 points. Hopefully, I'll be able to fill that soon and use that to buy my keyboard and hub.

It's no fun to be broke all the time.

Nine minutes in and my hand hurts, but not a lot. I think moving the laptop closer helps a little. I usually have it a little farther back as I watch a lot of streaming videos.

Question of the day: Should I keep this stream of consciousness, or should I go some other direction?

As for my animal sightings today, there haven't been many. Just a cat, and a mockingbird. I guess the Cedar Waxwings cleaned of all of the ripe berries on the mulberry tree, I haven't seen them yet. Hopefully, Ill be able to get some for us. I love mulberries.

Okay... Hand starting to hurt, but less than a minute left of the session. So, I'll go ahead and stop for now.

Back for round two. Even the dogs have to wait until I'm done.

Still no new animals for the count. Well, I take that back. Dog and human.

My brother and his boys went to go see a movie, and left me to my own devices, so I cleaned a bit. That is until my hand said, “No more.” So I rested a while watching Supernatural. I finally made it to season 12, and am almost caught up.

I want to increase my readership. How would I go about it? I'm sure I have more than one reader, shes just the on;y one who leaves comments. But I still don't have any “subscribers” or “followers,” or whatev3er Blogger calls them. I share it to Facebook. To my wall, to my writer page, and to a group I belong to. What might I do to increase views?

Well, I know it's on;y six minutes into the se4cond session, but my hand is telling me I'd better stop, or pa the consequences.

Until tomorrow.

A whole week!

Here's to a solid week of writing. A total of 3 ½ hours. I never thought I would make it.

I was looking out my window, by my desk, and saw a large flock of Cedar Waxwings attacking our mulberry tree. These birds are beautiful. I was able to get a photo of one, I'll upload it when I post this. I'm not really sure what type of bird they are, but I THINK they may be finches, they have some similarities to some of them at least.

Bug got out again this morning. He sneaked out behind me as I was going out for a smoke. He has been coming back later in the afternoon lately, as opposed to, a few days later, like at the old house.

Every time I go out for a smoke, I use that time to observe the local wildlife. I take a running count, in my head of the different animals. So far today, I have seen a Cedar Waxwing, Dove, Mockingbird, Cat, and Human. Yes, I count humans, we are animals after all.

Oops... I forgot to set the kitchen timer, as I was busy when the alarm went off and missed it. Usually, when I do that, I set the kitchen timer app on my phone, but I forgot to do it this time. Oh well, I'll just type until my hand starts hurting too much.

I am still ignoring the red worms, as I type. That's not exactly true, I see them, and notice them, but I don't go back and edit them. Sometimes, while I'm typing, I notice a typo without even looking at the screen, and I automatically edit, but I'm doing better.

I have my cup of coffee next to me, however, this afternoon is going to be not so much fun, as I'm out of my diet soda. Too much coffee and I get an acid stomach. No fun. What are your “go juices?” I, almost exclusively, drink coffee in the mornings and Diet Dr Pepper, or the Kroger version, Diet Dr. K. Oh yeah, and I put nothing in my coffee, no sugar, sweeteners, cream, creamers, or milk. Now occasionally I will put about a half teaspoon of cinnamon in the grinds. That gives it a bit of flavor.

Well. The hand is telling me it's time to chill for a while. I'll be back this afternoon.

Hey. Should I post the two sessions together or as separate posts, so it makes more sense when I say things like that?

Back for round two.

And nothing...

OH! I can add a couple of animals to the list. A cockroach and a grackle. Not much, but something. Oh yeah, and a white butterfly. Not sure what they're called though.

I'm almost coffeed out. I need soda. But, I don't have the money. Maybe I can convince my brother to go to the store. ;)

Speaking of him. He showed me a snapshot of his Facebook feed. It showed my post about my blog mentioning jury duty, and right below it was another friend posting about jury duty. That, I thought, was quite humorous.

Starting to get bugged by the red worms, but I still haven't gone back to fix them. I am getting stronger about that.

ARGH! I keep forgetting to research keyboards! I MUST remember to do that when I'm done here. Someone remind me, okay? ;)

Ugh. Hand starting to hurt now. Gonna soldier on until I can't stand it or until the fifteen minutes is up.

Only eight minutes. I can do this!

Another reason I need the external keyboard is that touchpad. I hate it. It erased two entire sentences as I was typing them.

Ugh. I help the shift key too long and it produced a loud and high-pitched beep asking my if I wanted to activate Sticky Keys. NO! Those are annoying.

Here is my question of the day. What do you write on? Your phone? A tablet? Laptop? What? Let me know. I enjoy finding all the ways people write.

Okay. Three minutes left, but I can't take it anymore. My hand is shaking so bad and it really hurts.

Until tomorrow!

Here is the picture I promised.

Whoa... Day six!

Now on to day five! Or is it six?

Argh! Now I want to check! I'll check when this session is done. There. I'll let you know when I do the second session.

I really need to start thinking about these more often, then my mind wouldn't go blank. I mean. I don't want to tell you about every cough or itch. ;)

The first time I used an emoticon. It's difficult typing without them because How would I let you know I'm kidding?

I want to do a shoutout to Stephanie Barr. She has supported me throughout this whole exercise. She comments on every one of them. Either here or on Facebook. Thank you so much, Stephanie. If you want to give her blog a visit, here it is. http://stephanie-barr.blogspot.com/

Must ignore notifications.

Man. I know I said I didn't want to talk about all my coughs and itches, but there is one particular itch. Bug, one of these days I'll have to upload a picture of him... He was using my arm as a pillow. He had one of his claws embedded in my right wrist. Now it' itches like fire.

I have been on a hunt for books or stories about werebears. There seems to me a dearth of them. The only ones I can find are erotica or paranormal romance. I want to read a horror book, or (non-romantic) fantasy about them. I guess I'll have to write one myself.

I'm going to go a little overtime on this session because I took time out to look for Stephanie's blog.

If someone else wants to comment on this, you are more than welcome. I don't bite. ;)

Getting feedback is important. It will help shape this blog into something more than just a stream of consciousness writing, into something more substantial.

Oh yeah. And there's only one movie about a werebear. I Was a Teenage Werebear. Gay erotica.

Okay, back. This is day six.

Dang. Almost forgot to start the timer. I came back late because, well, life happens. So instead of going by alarms, I'm going with a kitchen timer. The import part is, I still made it back to the session.

Bug got out again this morning. I just brought him back out. He seems to enjoy his time out but gets very needy when he comes home. But right now, he's eating and getting a drink.

I'm actually looking forward to Tuesday. This is my third jury summons. Ever. The first one was for Dallas county, but, at the time I was living in Pennsylvania. I called them and let them know. The second one came just two days before I came back to Dallas. They must be psychic. I went to it, and viola, I was chosen. I had a good time actually. I learned a lot. That one was a misdemeanor case. I have no clue as to what to expect Tuesday, but I hope I get picked. I forgot to get a soda out before sitting down to type and am now very thirsty.

My nephew is home from school today because he had a minor run-in with a large dog on his way home yesterday. Nothing major, just in some pain, and trying to prevent infection. So I can't ask him to get me one.

Mental note, Mark. Research keyboards.

Must. Fight. The. Urge. To. Go. Now.

There. That's got the urge to go away.

But, my wrist is beginning to hurt a bit. Okay. More than a bit, but I have just over five minutes to go. I can stay calm and soldier on. Right?

I have an interesting question. What is the strangest thing you have ever had to research for a story? A friend of mine put one out on Facebook yesterday and it was so funny. “'How does someone live without intestines?' Asking for a friend.” Love it! For me considering my MC's predilections raised an eyebrow when I was talking to an actual taxidermist. I'm sure he thought I was some crackpot, and wanted to hang up. Unfortunately, he didn't know enough of the history of his profession to help.

Well, so ends another session.

Until tomorrow!

And now, day five!

SWEET! I made it to day five!

Annnnnd I'm blank.

Oh well... I can do this.

I have jury duty on Tuesday. I have mixed feeling about it, though. I actually enjoy serving o a jury, I've only served on one misdemeanor case, but I know it's vital. The downside is, I have to leave the house at 6:30 in the morning to get there by 8:00. Catch the Red Line, then a bus. But, I so hope that I get selected. I enjoyed the one I served on immensely.

...mental note, Mark. CHECK ON HOW TO DISABLE THE TOUCH-PAD...

It is cold outside. I am already used to having it in the 60s when I get up, but yesterday and today, it's been in the low 50s. I like hot weather.

Ugh! I hate when I accidentally hit the touch-pad and the cursor winds up somewhere else on the page.

My wrist isn't hurting much, although it's bee eight minutes. That's a good thing. Maybe moving the laptop a little closer helped.

My cat, Bug, got out yesterday, he came back last night. When he gets back after getting out, he gets quite needy, It's almost like he's glued to me. He was quite upset when I had to move him so I could start writing. How many of you have pets, and do they try to hamper your writing any? But, he's my buddy.

Well, the fifteen minutes is up, and I will return at noon.

Okay, I have returned.

So I had a thought about a story, between sessions but completely forgot what it was.

As I always say, Gotta love ADHD.

Anyway... I could not find a way to disable my touchpad. That sucks, and the formatting evidently didn't stick, except for the double-spacing part. I miss Word.

I'm wanting to get a few books, about writing, and some software, namely Word, but I don't have the money.

It's not cold anymore! But I still need to wear my hoodie to use as a sun block. I wonder what the SPF is on a black hoodie...

OH! Maybe the indent DID work, but their definition of .5” is vastly different than mine. It seems to be indenting one character space, as opposed to the .5” I specified. I will look into that later, however, as I need to be using this time writing.

My wrist didn't hurt as much by the end of the first session, but so soon into the second, it starts bothering me.

I need to research how much Word will cost. Maybe I can talk someone into getting it for me for my birthday, except I need it now, and my birthday isn't until August.

What is your favorite word processor? Do you use OpenOffice, as I am now, Word, Scrivner, which I can't seem to get the hang of, or something else?

I think I'm going to stop using the double-space for these exercises. It doesn't look right.

Can any of you recommend a decent, yet free, online writing course? I can't seem to find any. I KNOW there are some out there, I just haven't been able to find many, and the ones I do find seem too unstructured.

Oh well... That's all for today.

Until tomorrow!

Wow! Day four!

Now on day four!

Still going. I am glad I decided to use the alarm function on my phone to remind me to do this. Otherwise, I don't think I would be. I would think about it, then forget. Even if I'm watching one of my shows when the alarm goes off, I pause the show, and open OpenOffice and start writing. First for fifteen minutes, then later, at noon, fifteen more. I hope it works out better today than it did yesterday. If I get that ergo-gnomic keyboard, then I might be able to do it in one solid thirty-minute block again.

The show I interrupted is the season three opener for iZombie. I love this show, to me, it is one of the best horror-comedies on the air. And the name of the MC cracks me up. Her name is Olivia Moore. But she goes by Liv. Get it? Liv Moore? She's a zombie. Love it.

Does anyone know if you can change the formatting on OpenOffice to auto-indent and auto-space after hitting the enter key? I know for the blog it doesn't really matter, but if I start working on a story, it will matter.

Seven minutes in and my wrist doesn't hurt as much as it usually does after five minutes. Maybe this is actually helping my hand. One can hope.

My cat, my buddy, Bug, has been quite needy lately. He spends all of his time laying on the table that serves as my desk, or on the table laying on my arms or in my lap. He hasn't been feeling good lately. I hope he gets better.

Wow, I'm getting more typing done to I'm farther along the page than I normally am at this point too. There are still a lot of misspellings and typos, but I am ignoring them, or at least not correcting them.

As I was falling asleep last night, I had more thoughts on that fantasy story I mentioned earlier, and, of course, I can't remember half of what they were. I know that if I had a voice recorder by my bed, and started voicing them, it would just wake me up, so I can't do that. And I can't type it, for a couple of reasons. One, is I would have to get out of bed to put my glasses on, and the other is the same reason about voice recording. Okay, now my hand is really starting to bother me. And I have just over miute left. I'm going to soldier though it though. I can do it for one more minute, right?

What ar some of your biggest blocks for writing, let me know and how you overcome them.

Okay, so I'm starting late, but at least I'm starting, right? Instead of going by the alarm, Im using a kitchen timer app on my phone to time the fifteen minutes.

Bug is still t his station making sure no one bothers me while I write. Hopefully he'll obey himself and not bother me.

I did better the first fifteen minutes, than I did in both sessions yesterday. ...mental note, Mark, ignore typos for now...Mind blank again, maybe splitting the sessions up wasn't such a great idea. I had this same issue yesterday, where I went blank, instead of just typing. Gotta focus.

I know! Ill talk about the one of the MCs in that fantasy idea.

His name is Brianags of the Ironbeard Clan. He's a Dwarf. He Is also 5'9” tall and weighs 210 pound. He is bald and has a great red beard. He is a hunter and his dog changed into a black bear and became his hunter companion. He wears chain mail and leather armor. His main weapon is a crossbow, and his “sidearms” are a pair of axes.

In fact I think I've gotten more written than even the first day, so I guess, mentally at lest, this is getting easier. Still need to work on the physical aspect however...

I think the swelling, which never really went down, may be getting worse. I'm going to have to get to the Garland Parkland, so I can start seeing my doctors again.

Okay... Three and a half minutes left, but I REALLY need to stop because the pain in my wrist is becoming unbearable.

Until tomorrow...