Writing and Reading

Time to rage, baby. Like “hate metal”. Only without the racial overtones. Quincy don’t play that. Neither does the Wretched Writer.

But you know what I’m talkin’ about–that wrenching emo-style, angry revenge rock, the kind of stuff that gets under your skin and reminds you how much the world sucks, how much humanity really sucks!

Yeah, that’s how the Wretched Writer feels right now. So he made a request. And, quite frankly, I feel the same way!

He wanted to express to you one song in particular that he absolutely loves to listen to when dealing with particular scenes that have to do with vengeance, death, hate, fear, stuff like that. The kind of stuff that buries itself deep inside your guts and your brains and your bones, cutting away at the marrow. Makes it hurt. But you love the hurt, baby! YEAH!

That type of gut-wrenching emotion gets the words going, the anger, the fury. You got to hold onto that stuff–even if it hurts, even if it’s bad. Because when you get down to it, having all that hurt and anger inside and then letting it out on paper–well, it’s therapeutic, man! Have at it! Here’s a bit of real powerhouse, guitar-raging, screaming, guttural voices and demonic faces with their petty hate and fierce, freezing fires! Let the rock rip at your souls! May you rest in peace….

WHAT! YOU GOT A PROBLEM??

Okay. It’s Monday. It’s finally kicking in. It’s Monday. It’s the first day of the freakiest week in my professional life as a grocery store cashier–

THANKSGIVING WEEK

Oh, dear God…help me….

So, needless to say, I’m extra loopy right now. Kind of in that psychedelic way. Like, I’m seeing colors, baby…. I’m losin’ it. I just need the weekend to show up. Big time. Better, yet, I need to stop working like a dog. I need to get published, so I can live a normal sane life and not the life of a workhorse. Very soon, they’re going to put me down and turn me into glue. Good ol’ Elmer’s Glue. They’ll change my name to Elmer, actually. I’ll be Elmer Roustan. Instead of Pierre Roustan. Because I’ll be glue. I’ll be glue, which once was a workhorse. A workhorse gone mad.

So to feed my craziness, my wreckless, wretched insanity, I have a clip here, yet again, from the master of insanity himself, Jim Carrey. And it’s fitting, too. We have here “The Cable Guy”, and, like I said, I’m psychedelic, baby. Happy crazy Thanksgiving week. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Enjoy.

I’ve gotten questions before on when I find the time to write–

I mean, yes, I work part-time at a grocery store. Yes, I work a full-time day job as a caption editor. Yes, I take care of my son by myself three days in the week. Yes, as I’m writing this, I’m on break at the grocery store right now (I’m using my super-cool phone to write this post–in the bathroom, I might add).

Here’s my point–write whenever you can. Write for a few seconds. Write for a few minutes. Write, write, write. Establish a malleable routine. Wing it. Roll with the punches. Sometimes life can throw you curve balls, and you got to know when to bunt. Make it to first base first before trying to hit that home run (unless you got the arm strength, and you swing for the fences).

In case you’re not getting the metaphors, what I’m trying to say is don’t push to write those 11,000 words if you simply can’t (translation: shoot for first base). When you’re dealing with a hectic schedule, it’s nearly impossible. But if you don’t have that hectic schedule, by all means write until you fall asleep at the computer, dear God! (translation: swing for the fences!)

It may seem like such a long stretch, but the fact is this, people–I wrote THE CAIN LETTERS in about five months time. That includes time off for Christmas vacation, being with the fam, and things like that. I also wrote it mainly during my breaks at my day job. That should tell you something–I didn’t have a whole lot of time to myself to write the novel. The point is that when you hold to any routine–and I mean any routine–be it five minutes a day, ten minutes a day, thirty minutes a day, whatever–you’ll be surprised just how fast your novel comes together. And also the frequency at which you write your work will directly affect how you edit, too.

You may find that the shorter periods will require less editing–or more. It depends on who you are. Most likely, it’ll be less. But who knows. How you write will affect how passionate you are about your present work. Finishing it becomes a passion just as much as writing it. You develop a way of working. That’s the most important thing. And in no time, you will finish your work–no matter what kind of schedule you have. I guarantee it.

Since we’re on the subject, Happy Freakin’ Thanksgiving as I plunge into this week of work (grocery store’s scheduled me for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). It’ll be insanely busy. And I will have even less time to write on the blog, work on my projects and browse freelancing.

But, again, I’m game. Bring it.