Posts Tagged ‘writing’
So, What Did I Accomplish and Learn About Myself in 2009?
This year has been great and I learned so much about myself and what I can do if I set few goals and saw what happened. These are some of the highlights of my year.
- No internet for 2 weeks.
- Read a book in a day.
- Did a crazy cardio challenge for a whole week.
- Multiple times walking 29 flight of stairs (twice with 10lb ankle weights on each leg).
- Went to California and enjoyed myself immensely.
- Figured out my other passion: Photography!
- Read 5 books in a month.
- Did task/goals on my someday list.
- Set my countdown to leave Corporate America.
- I learn how to write better; also, my grammar improved so damn much.
- Start a novel.
- Wrote over 300,000 words.
- Take a trip for the sole purpose of seeing how fucked up a city truly is (Detroit).
- A 900-plus-mile road trip from Detroit to New York.
- Saw how a small business is striving during a shitty economy.
- Wrote for a full month in my novel (nearly 30k words of dedication).
- Bought a house.
- Proposed to my girlfriend!!!!! (She said yes).
- Finished writing my first novel. (Wrote over 108k words! It is a pile of shit right now, but I’m the shit for completing this crazy challenge).
- Wrote every single day of the year and will never stop doing so…
I also figured out many things about myself.
- I’m an impatient person.
- I work best with less goals.
- I think way too fucken much and wish I can turn it off.
- I go into loops of thought and don’t know how to stop thinking about what I don’t want to think about. (This one is weird, will explain once I figure out how to get out of my head).
- I am an extreme type of person. My fiancée notice this when I was doing my crazy challenges.
- I truly found myself. This is an on-going experience, but writing everyday gave me a chance to question everything about myself. In the beginning of the year, I wrote for 2 straight months of thoughts that were in my head. I was surprised by the information that was effecting the way I lived. I strongly recommend people to write for a couple of minutes a couple of days a week to have a clearer vision of what they want to do or struggling with.
- I like walking. It is great exercise and very therapeutic. Besides laughing at all of the fat people running on the trail I frequently walk, I’m still amazed how better it is on my joints and how the weight disappears. Since I’m so much in my head, the walking helps me to not think (well, as little as possible) and gives me the opportunity to calm my thought, provoking ass down.
Tags: goals, perspective, photography, writing
The Big October Challenge(s)
It has been a long time since I’ve written anything. The last post frighten a couple of people and some thought that I was going to kill myself. But, that is simply not true, besides, I have so much to live for.
I’ve already started this challenge and will post from time to time on the progress I’m making towards both goals.
The year is almost done and still is the best year of my life, so far. I’ve learned many things about myself through various challenges I’ve put myself through, and taken a dream and made it a reality. I’m already thinking of next year and how I want to push myself even more towards my passions, business endeavors, and family and friends.
The Novel Challenge
I still have plenty of plenty of fight in me this year and have started the last quarter of the year off grandly. What I have done and will continue to do for the month of October is to write everyday towards my novel. So far so good, the novel is picking up and now managing to provide content by averaging 1200 words per day.
Tags: it feels good, writing
Update of Goals from the last month
I have begun my long 4-day work week. I chose Monday’s off, because I always hated preparing for work on Sunday’s and I will always have a 3-day weekend. This off-day will be spent by more writing, resting, and figuring out what I want to do as a second monetary means of surviving. I’ll fill yall in, of what I”ll learn from this experience. I was able to complete some goals that I set at the end of last month before I started my Monday’s off.
Here is a breakdown of what all got accomplish and what didn’t:
Novel writing - I didn’t get to my goal of 100 pages, but I did get to a point of significant measures. I have got the main character active (he better be active, the story is centered around him) and at the point I’m at now will help me go back and finish the beginning part of the novel. I will soon perform the 24 hours of writing, once I get back from my trip. I don’t know what I will be writing, but should be a fun experience trying.
Business Idea - Figured out that I don’t have the time, money, and more importantly, dedication to recycle paper for profit. So, I am back to the drawing board of figuring out what I want to do, more on the basis of my passions, rather than something I am looking at as an exit strategy.
Tags: goals, Monday's Off, writing
My Other Addiction: Photography!
Why Photography?
It is a good idea, for anyone, who is starting to take something a little more serious than they usually do is to take baby steps. There is no reason to go fully overboard because one may find out it isn’t for them.
I did this very method of finding my passion through writing and now I have done so in the field of photography. I used to take photos with my crappy point and shoot camera. I would take the camera anywhere, I would take a photo a day, I took it even to work to see what interesting things I would capture. I had a great time doing so, but as months passed by I stopped using my camera, I just didn’t care anymore. I made the decision over the past Christmas break to get a present for myself. So I ended up getting a Nikon D60.
Great camera, bulking, but not unreasonable, and I could learn for days on how to use it properly. Everyone learns differently and the way I learn is by playing with things without using a manual. I finally hit a brick wall, so I read some of the manual, watched a couple of the videos, and read some information online. I even bought a bigger lense for my California trip so I could take better images far away. I was in the game and knew this was my second passion of active interest.
I have now committed to being a photographer. I have bought Apple Aperture, a 16 gig memory card, and a photography book that will teach me everything I need to know about photography. I can go to classes and get the experience there, but I want to do this on my own. This is the way I feel I will learn more efficiently and appreciate the art of photography.
Tags: Nikon D60, photo journalism, photography, writing
48-hour Film Festival…sorta gone bad, but…
This photo has nothing to deal with the post down below. I just wanted to let people know I went bald, actually a couple of weeks now. This new appearance has given me the balls to do more and to express myself. We will see how long it last, but I’m diggin it!
The Start of The Weekend…
Last Friday started as they all do: wake up, get dressed, run to the bus stop (because my time management skills suck), and so on and so forth. I already had my day figured and planned, and was looking forward to the events of the night. As the time was creepin noon I received calls from a random assortment of friends. But, there was one series of texts, emails, and calls that I knew that would alter Friday night.
What I See, Story 1- Mr. Homeless guy
This is a new series of post I will do on friday that is called, What I See. During the week I will take photos of various events around me. I will provide a story behind the photo. This is essentially giving my readers a glimpse into my writing, the way I think, and also about my life. It wouldn’t be fair to only talk about writing, I have to be willing to show yall my pieces, too. Let me know what you think.
Mr. Homeless guy was packing up his belongings to begin his day. He had on some old adidas’ sneakers that barely held his feet in place, due to worn out shoe strings. He wore the same outfit every single day, however, whenever I pass him he didn’t smell of an odor. He is a man around the age of his mid 40’s to early 50’s, he is probably younger, but the weathered look of living on the streets for however long, has aged him.
Many people walk pass him, especially during the work-week, I also am a victim of passing him without any care.
Tags: homeless, lost, passion, photography, writing
The Art of Becoming: There is a Path for Everyone.
My Writing…
My writing is getting better: I’m writing everyday, and reading. To become a writer I have to tackle all things: all that I’m reasonable at and all that I’m shitty at (which is a lot). I have a friend who turned me on to Merriam Dictionary Word of the Day. I needed it so so badly, as you can see my words are basic. I have found out that learning new words helps me express myself more and specifically. Now it is time to take my diction and whatever else that I learn along the way to a new destination.
Always Trying to Improve
So far, most of the things I write about are what I see around me and have gone through in my life. There isn’t a problem with that, I just need to find a better way of expressing myself to the readers who read my stuff. Whenever I do things, I tend to go to the extreme.
Earlier this month I sporadically started reading Urban Dictionary. As the month kept moving along I viewed the site more and more, and then I wanted to see if they had a book on Amazon. I read many reviews of other books in the same category, and made the quick decision to order, Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures. I also bought Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
Novel Writing Frustrations
How’s the Novel Going?
Novel writing is frustration. I have been at it since the beginning of the year and challenged myself this week to only write towards the novel during the morning time. The past two days are going no where. I can’t seem to get a paragraph down. All I’m able to do is write about the problem with my main character, how I know the second half of the book (in my head), but not the first part. How my character doesn’t interact with enough people to give the reader a glimpse of the main character’s personality. I am totally lost and can’t seem to write without a care in the world. The way I write blog post, inspirational writing, and thought writing is the opposite of novel writing (at least for now).
The Struggles in the Past
I have been saying I was going to write a story for now 2 years. I started a couple of pages from other novels and have thought endlessly of others. But, didn’t have the courage to actually start one, like I have this year. I’m thinking of the perfection of the process and the story I want to tell. I want it to be perfect right from the jump, without going through several edits I know that it is going to take to get it right. But, damn, nothing is working and I am getting to the point of rather reading a book than write towards this novel.
My New Direction
Tags: frustrations, novel writing, passion, realization, writing
Friends, Where Do You Meet Quality People to Hang Out With?
We don’t know when we will meet people that will change our lives. I met somebody last year that has changed my life for the better and am looking to grow with her for the years to come. However, it is hard to meet male friends after finishing college. Most of last year I was telling my girlfriend and that I don’t have many male friends. She told me that I do have some close friends and that it will take time for you to meet people that you can connect with. I didn’t put much thought into what she was saying and continued to live my life. I did make it a point to hang out with my close friends.
You never know who you will meet when and where…
I met my girlfriend in a bar and most of my close friends I met in college. Some are friends that have fallen off because of their own doing and also because I was and still am doing things outside the norm of a engineering major should be doing. Most of my friends are working their day jobs, going out socially with their friends and girlfriends/wives, and whatever else. I was doing some of the same, however, I drifted in starting a failed business, wasting money on business courses, reading any type of book that I could get my hand on, and ultimately starting this blog that has got me here and will take me to new heights. I believe people go through this phase of their lives only to realize that they haven’t stopped growing and will eventually meet people that will help challenge one’s self and will continue to peel back the layer of orange skin that creates the zest of life that that person wants to truly live.
Tags: books, new friends, reading, writing
- @YEAdamMcFarland The full screen editor are badass, I get plenty done, but there shouldn't be a reason for so many choices. 12:37:20 PM November 13, 2009
