Today I finished getting the new MBP set up, including re-installing Unity, Visual Studio Code, and Sourcetree. I also figured out how to remap some of my keys on the Ducky keyboard thanks to this video from KeebNews.
With that done, I then spent a few hours working through the first half of the Simple Driving game course, which is part two of the Unity Mobile C# Developer course I had started a while ago.
Not done yet, but progress!
As timestamps clearly show I have not blogged in a few weeks, and this accurately represents my activity on the creative front. I have been away from the keyboard. I have not even added anything new to #vss365.
It's hard to explain why, actually? Yes, I did spend time popping down to Washington, DC, to help my son wrap up his first year of college and move back to NJ for the summer. And allergies have been a bugger. And I have dealt with several car issues, and it's hockey playoffs, and my wife's birthday... but really I think it's just been a dip in my energy and confidence. I started building a plot timeline for my larger story idea and then narrowed in on a scene in the story and tried to write it. And that produced all sorts of issues. My descriptions were stilted, and I was unsure it's all that interesting. So I paused and then the pause gained momentum. Grrr!
But I also think this is normal. I need to push through and just keep writing. I already have new ideas because of the struggles. And I will only learn to write good descriptions through practice -- and reading more Mark Twain and Michael Chabon.
So ebbs and flows.
My daughter says, "just get back to it."
indeed.
Hello! I had an excellent trip to Pittsburg with my Son. We visited the Pitt campus and took in two Red Sox games at PNC Park. It was a little chilly-- but such a lovely stadium. And excellent food (looking at you pirogies).
More importantly, I submitted my NYC Midnight/100 story. I was tasked with the following:
Good thing I practiced my historical fiction earlier in the week. :-)
Unfortunately I am not able to share the story until after it has been judged, but then, I will surely post it here.
In the meantime, to help hold you over, I offer you a 100-word SciFi story: A New Beginning
Now I need to start working on some 1000 word fiction, and get back to writing that mobile game.
peace, greg
Fial tune up before NYC Midnight/100.
My first 100-word historical fiction. :-)
feedback always welcome
peace, greg
Hey folks --
The past few weeks have been travel heavy, with trips to Wisconsin and Massachusetts. I will be heading to Pennsylvania this weekend as well. The MA trip included a stop at the cabin in the woods that my family has had since the early 60s (predates me). The picture in the upper right of the blog is from that cabin. I expect to spend a decent amount of time there this summer. It's a good spot to ponder and write.
I attended the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County's monthly meeting last weekend. We (I am now a member...) had a guest speaker, author Aimee Pokwatka. She was a fabulous speaker and had lots of interesting advice for aspiring authors (how she outlines, does drafts, reverse outlines, ...). She also had a handout collecting her thoughts and suggestions on finding a literary agent and writing query letters (a term I had not heard before). I purchased her two novels but have not had a chance to open them yet.
Tomorrow night, mindnight, kicks off nycmidnight/100. I am very excited. It's a bit of a drag that I won't be able to dedicate the full 24 hours to the contest as I will be on the road to PA and at a baseball game. I should be able to scratch out some notes in the car, and hopefully get something decent submitted. My expectations on advancing are quite low, but I absolutely am looking forward to the feedback they will provide back on the story I submit.
What else?
Met with my accountant and financial advisor this morning. We talked a fair bit about S-Corps and LLCs, and the benefits and downsides of both. Clear next steps for me -- make sure I capture expenses accurately, and go talk to an attorney about starting an LLC. They also teased me a fair bit, which I probably deserved.
I am enjoying my new keyboard, but there is one downside so far. I can't use my fingerprint to unlock stuff, like you can on the native apple keyboard. Not that big a deal, but it was convenient way to unlock 1password.
Lastly, head over to my Stories page for 4 stories and links to 32 vss365s.
peace, Greg
I am so excited. My lovely wife pointed me to NYC Midnight - which runs a series of writing challenges during the year. I had no idea! Coming up later this month is a "100-word story" challenge. You get the genre and prompt at midnight and have 24 hours to submit an original story. I am totally doing it. Unfortunately, you can not share your story on social media (or self-publish it) until 10 days after the judging is done. Although the challenge is on April 19/20, the judging takes a few months as I think they get a LOT of stories. So, I won't be able to share what I submit until June.
There are many genres I have not written (or really red). I need to practice.
Over the last week (while I also had an amazing adventure to Madison, Wisconsin, and Boston, Massachusetts), I put together two 100-word stories.
Productive day!
I sorted out my getting the game on to the phone problem from last night. Turned out to have nothing to do with joining the Apple developers program (which I am still waiting for approval for) - but rather a setting on the phone allowing developer mode. It would have been really handy if the error message had said anything about this...
Anyway -- it's not a complete game, but it does run on an iPhone, it does capture touch input, and it works better than the version in the course (IMO). So I am feeling pretty happy. Baby steps.
I went to my first writer's group meeting. Virtually, but it counts. We had a guest speaker, Esme Addison, who discussed her books and fielded questions from the audience. For me, her process and experiences were more interesting than the specific details of her novels. I am not sure I am in the majority there (meaning a few people were into discussing the novels). I did like how the moderator of the group brought it back around, and I think everyone (including Esme) got something out of the session. I'll go a few more times for sure.
It is definitely different than the Apple external keyboard. As I said earlier, I will wait a few weeks before giving the final review.
today's vss365:
I collected and uploaded all my tax info to my accountant. No extension needed this year. Phew!
And we are going to discuss whether I should make an LLC in a few weeks, which interestingly was a question someone asked Esme. (she did make one).
