Month: October 2015

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Marketing And Self-Promotion

For me, marketing is a something of a sticking point. As a general rule, I don’t like marketing, for several reasons. Usually it’s because they’re trying to sell something that nobody needs.

So when I think “how can I reach more people” my first response is “Oh God, I’m becoming a marketer!”

But it’s a question I have to start thinking about now if I’m ever going to consider writing for a living. I don’t like screaming for attention, but in person, I tend to… how shall I say this… stick out in a crowd. I like interacting with people, but I don’t see that as marketing. Why?

Because it’s a two-way street. It’s communication, not an advertisement. And advertisements annoy me because they assume they know what you want, when in fact 99% of the time they have no idea. But with communication, I can ask questions and adjust the conversation to suit that particular interest, or maybe segue into a related topic. Continue reading “Marketing And Self-Promotion”

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Back On Schedule

After taking a few weeks off of blogging to do some writing and getting projects done around the house, I’m ready to get back to it.

I found I didn’t really have more time, as I was writing blog posts during breaks and rest time anyway. I’ve got a couple of videos that are going to take some work to complete, but other than that, I don’t have any large writing projects lined up yet. I’ve got a movie review and a few software/hardware hacking projects slated, too.

This weekend I’ll be camping with the Boy Scouts, working on the Rambler, and possibly a half dozen other amazing things.

Or, I might just sit in the hammock for a while.

New posts will start Monday.

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Fitness Check Today

I’m starving.

Well, I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, and I’ve been trying to work all day on an empty stomach. I’ve gotten to the point where I fell pretty bad if I don’t eat… which means I don’t have a lot of spare energy stored in the form of fat.

In about an hour, I’m going to get my company-provided health screening, and I’ll be able to see my BMI and body fat%, plus cholesterol and blood pressure. And of course, I had to fast for the blood tests.

I’m hoping everything comes out well.

UPDATE- The results are in. The numbers look good: Continue reading “Fitness Check Today”

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Outlines, Deadlines, And Lying To Yourself

I haven’t written anything on the blog this week. Instead, I’ve been working on outlining a series of stories, which as it turns out, is very hard for me to do.

But outlines are important, for the same reason that having lines on a highway is important. When you start drifting, you can look over, see the line, and prevent yourself from plummeting off a cliff (or in my case, plunging into a swamp).

Similarly, deadlines are a necessary evil. If left to my own schedule, I would toodle around on a couple of scenes for months, and never get anything completed. I need a deadline to move forward, because it causes me to push aside the perfectionism and distractions long enough to start moving forward again.

But Outlines and Deadlines?

Ouch.

I’ll admit it, I use every trick in the book (pun intended) to get through writing something. In order to edit a book, it has to actually be written, and so without the two “lines” I would go nowhere.

You have to embrace them. Continue reading “Outlines, Deadlines, And Lying To Yourself”