Tag: ramble

Inspiration

That was a kind of trick. I really do not have any answers on finding inspiration, or on how to cope with the reality that you have to continue to exist without any.

One trick that I have discovered is to just kind of write with nothing in mind and see what happens. Maybe mess with grammar and formats to see what kinds of actions jog the creative streak. Of course, I am talking about writing in this instance. I have no clue how to cancauct creative stive in other feilds.

Oh! Another path I tend to lead myself down is to flex vernacular waves and push myself to expand what I think that I comprehend. Yes, I did just write that sentence to flex. Fight me.

Something I have been struggling with, as of late, is having a lot of things going on all at once, but not having anything concrete for a single one of them. It is fun, but also very stressful.

Publisher?

This is a strange post, so you have to read it with an open mind.

I came to the realization recently that I have accidentally stumbled into a publisher.

I can hear the confusion already. “This is the third pressing of your book. What do you mean you JUST realized that you have publishers?”

I should note at this point that I am happy with my short stint with Friessen. They were fantastic, and very cognizant of the fact that I had little idea of what I was doing.

Olympia is different.

They told me that, as soon as the book was pressed, it is hands off from me until they need me for unforeseen events. They want me to sit back and work on my next book, and not worry actively about additional distribution. They claimed that they will look for publicity in the forms of interviews and reviews, and they have already contacted several stores, both online and off, about carrying my book.

For the sake of comparison, at this point, Friessen had pressed my book. By their metrics, their mission was done. I do not fault them: I had signed that contract for production, and they were a temporary storage facility for distributors to collect copies of the book when time needs.

A simpler way to explain it: Friessen was a producer, Olympia is a partener.

Some, if not most readers of this blog, are screaming “NO SHIT” at their screens. I do not think that it is unreasonable to feel that way.

Counterpoint: I was not aware what I was in for. I am far from offended, and I am trying my best to be prepared. I do have my next book over 70% done. It’s just strange to think that this is actually kind of happening! I am more that certain that someone will feel as if I am wrong on parts of my mindset.

Hell: I will probably come across this post in a few months and think “…you fucking pleb…” and then resist an urge to delete it to pretend that there is no record of my ignorance.

To be completely blunt: I am kind of writing this post BECAUSE I am in such disbelief right now. As I stated, I made this realization rather suddenly just the other day. I am still kind of reeling.

No, this is not a thinly veiled brag. Honestly, this is me coming to terms with what is going on.

Seriously: it would mean the world if you looked into my book. If you have a copy, there is no obligation to get a new copy. I mean, the cover is beautiful, and the grammar and spelling is cleaned up. It’s a bit more streamlined, and some of the ideas are given greater weight. If you have the old version, either old version, thank you. If you want to see what has changed, get yours today!

OH! I should mention that I am looking for “sponsors” on my vlog! I have started a “Buy Me a Coffee” and a small donation of $10 is enough for 1 min of ad read! The only other stipulation is you have to give me an ad to read. I am happy to say that I am working with a friend of mine, once he gets me a script.

HEAR THAT, CORY? I NEED THAT FUCKING SCRIPT!

International Wheelchair Day?

Did you know that there is an International Wheelchair Day on the first of March? I had no idea. I have things to say on the matter:

Yes, I do think it’s a good thing to have. It reminds people that there are some of us in a wheelchair. There are a lot of us, for sure. However, there is a very small percent of the world population. I feel like pointing out that fact may create a social backlash revoking some accessibility actions.

I would love to be proven wrong. I want the world to be accessible. Not even for me, but for everyone. Let’s face it: who doesn’t love being able to reach things on a top shelf? Who wouldn’t benefit from lighter, more accessible doors? I am not saying that a ramp into every location is nessissary, but not having access to even a temporary one, is just selfish at this point.

I am not going to go out of my way to make an issue at every place I go if they are not accessible. That’s not my job, and it is too large of an issue to put on one person. I am going to scream into the internet and point out just how STUPID it is when things aren’t. If you are a store, you are cutting yourselves off of a potential source of revenue.

I went on a rant a few months ago over on Twitter about how stupid it is when companies brag about having accessible parking now, only because not having it stunts any potential client growth, but now I am going to leave this here as a point of rally for people with disabilities of all sorts to raise their voices. I know that there are some things that are impossible to plan for, but at least companies should try. Just try.

Wow: got sidetracked there. My initial point was how I didn’t know International Wheelchair Day was a thing. I blame society. Yep. Point finally concluded.

Personal Blog

I haven’t written one of these in a while. I just don’t think that I’m particularly interesting, and I have a hard time thinking that anyone would have any interest in anything that I am up to. So, I guess that’s the warning!

I wrote a new book! Not that I haven’t been riding that train for weeks now…

It’s been re-released under You’re Not Dead, but I fixed the grammar and spelling huge, plus I filled it out with fictional bits. It now sits just over 200 pages for the physical copy. Amazon has been… awkward… with their restocking of it, but the store over on Friessen Press works beautifully! They print on demand, as well. That ensures that you will get the right version! I am still looking for a publishing agent, and that journey is hard and depressing. Yet, this is the path I chose, kind of. I only say “kind of” because, if you have listened to my PodCast I did on Taker Wide in the past, you know that art is less of a choice and more of necessity.

I’m pretty sure that I have mentioned this part before, but my wife and I moved back in with my parents last year. It’s going well! I will say that I haven’t seen many friends since we moved back here, but that isn’t a huge change since Burlington.

If you aren’t awkward with south-western Ontario, that’s less than an hour away. Unfortunately, it is a separate health system, so it’s a bitch to get everything reset as far as doctors go. We’re slowly figuring that out. In fact, today I have a place that I’m going to! Right on time, as well!

I have written the next ansP recently. The last one underperformed, but that is, in part, due to me not realizing what day is was being released. If you haven’t read it, go do so (please). If you have read it, what do you think of it? It was fun to write, but I don’t intend to do the same style anytime soon. If there is an interest, though, I will write another one.

We don’t have wheels any longer. We got rid of our car recently, because upkeep was too expensive. On that note, the Patreon is very close to $100, and I find that stupid exciting. It would make it possible to go to events and maybe do meet-ups in the future!

Write Everything.

I found myself in a bit of a jam the other day. I knew I had to write, but I couldn’t find a voice or tone to use. My topics all seemed petty, my vocabulary was dower, and everything seemed wrong. So: I just wrote anyway.

The result? I wrote a script. Not a good one, but it did loosen up areas of insight in my mind. It seemed to be the concept that was drowning my thoughts and not allowing me to continue to write different things.

I will admit: it’s loosely based on a real conversation I had with someone. It paints “me” in a rather pretentious light and her in a horribly arrogant one. I enjoy it, but also acknowledge that it’s very poor in quality. I will be releasing it in the new year under the anewsinPublishing banner because I don’t like to hold anything back.

That brings me to the idea I want to put out there. I am a firm believer in that whatever comes to mind should be written down. That includes if it’s bad. Just get thoughts out there. I find myself stuck on, what feels like, nothing for days on end. I have a document on my desktop full of half-stories that will probably never see the light of day. I just need to get them out, then my brain is no longer full of stupid and generic shit.

Oh! I should mention that it’s my birthday on the 12th! I will be posting my usual masterbatory BIRTHDAY message then vanish for the remainder of the year, like I always do. I’m not entirely sure if it’s going to go the same way that it has in the past, though. I have “foam” coming out on the first, which I am stoked on finally releasing to everyone. I also have a couple applications for things that I want to address as soon as any sort of result comes from them.

It’s starting to be Christmas season once again. Please, consider donating to my Patreon so I can afford to give my wife something nice and my pets food. Even a dollar means the world!

Holy Fish (Shameful Sheep inspired)

  1. Does anyone else have things that autocorrect has changed for the better? Even if it is better in just your mind. My personal favourite was that my phone could never allow me to use such profanity as “fuck” and would therefore always change it to “fish.” It really does change the tone of what you are saying drastically. Usually, it would be for the better. “what the fish?” usually sounds less petty than the proper. Unfortunately, that very phrase can be used at the worst times, making everything you say sound sarcastic and dismissive. “I was just fired” is not a good time to have your phone correct your words for a PG-13 audience.
  2. I owe a couple of people huge apologies. I keep receiving EPs and albums for me to check out, and I always intend to do so. Recently, I have just plain forgotten. When I finally do remember, it is when I am getting another collection of sounds to listen to, then look up and think FUCK! [SO & SO] SENT ME SOMETHING LAST NIGHT. I will just simply say that I am so very sorry, and I promise that I will listen to everything over the next few days. As I write this, I am already queuing up two more. That will take my number of forgotten gems down from eight to two. The one is actually from a producer I worked with on the Chance Procedure album, Ryan Prasad. He is a brilliant musician, and I am beyond excited to listen to his new work!
  3. You may have seen the announcement in my last post, but I am going to be giving Patreon supporters who back me more that $10CDN/month a free PDF of what I am working on. I do not think I made it clear enough, so allow me to elaborate. I write a lot of short stories that I do not post anywhere. I do, actually, write more than one of those a month. I am also looking to change my publication strategies over the next little bit. So if you have recommendations for my next step, please pass them along.
  4. I have stolen this whole numbered layout from The Shameful Sheep. I cannot even pretend to be as funny as her, or even remotely funny, but I love her style. If you have not looked over her works, I highly recommend it. She is funny, brilliant, and sarcastic as all hell.
  5. I almost forgot: WordPress wants my monies again. The orginal URL for this site (which is too long and complex for me to remember, let alone type out) has come up for renewal. I have decided against it, and keep getting little notices every time I open this blog up. If you are having a similar issue, please let me know somehow. I am working hard as balls to fix it but seem to have hit a kind of roadblock.

I am sorry for you dealing with it, potentially.

500 words, fuckers!