A packed month

May is strange, because it is always packed with events and things to do and not enough time for the things you want to do. It is the first month the weather is steady enough to do serious yard work and all the projects that formed in our heads in winter. Also the sun is out in full force and please apply sun protection because damn, it is scorching you faster than you think. So please, take care; don’t spread yourself like a little butter on too much bread. May it be a month packed with little and big joys.

Projects

Short story collection(s)

A month ago I foolishly wrote: “The only thing standing between this project and a book on my Ko-Fi shop is the task of reading & editing my own work, which can be a bit challenging.”

Dear reader… you’ll never guess. It still isn’t done, it even didn’t make any real progress! My energies were simply directed elsewhere, and I tend to lose focus if a project slips out of my awareness for longer than… a day? Some hours? Fifteen minutes?

Develop new writing routines

Nothing has changed much in this department. Still trying to improve my craft by doing prompt stories, but somehow, my heart ain’t in it to burn more energy on that. Cooking on a low flame here.

Rewriting my novel

I am still mulling over ideas and directions for this one. I even thought about a new ending, as the one I have written is a bit too much fairy tale. I mean, there is nothing bad about fairy tales, and part of the novel is “what if some of those in Gunnar’s world are simply true and fucking understated?”. But yeah, I think the new ending will be better, has more potential.

Overall progress in words/rewriting? Near nil.

A blink from the past

Sometimes people are exactly what we think them to be. Sometimes they are definitely more than they show. And all roads are troubled, always. Be kind to the stranger, to the road weary, to those hurt and aching.

Promotions

Would you please check out the work of Lou Yardley aka goblinsstolemybrain, thank you! She has her Portal Goblin Saga on World Anvil and you can sign up for free to read it all:
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/portal-goblin-goblinsstolemybrain

Also, if you want a cup that was licked by Goblins (and frankly, who the yuck doesn’t? 👀😅), she has you covered in her Ko-Fi Shop:
https://ko-fi.com/s/070f676fca

Fizz & Bang

I am the father of a nine-year-old, and that can be challenging. But one thing I relearned this way is that we can trap ourselves in our train of thought, and the narrowness of that dark alley our mind shoved us in can be devastating.

Parenting is not without conflict (and hell, I never felt like I am any good at parenting, so that might not help either). The young spirit wants ultimate freedom, and I want a minimum of security; that alone generates friction. But there are so many more sources of disharmony! Concepts that are clear to one mind look strange from the other side of the mirror. We are all behind our own mirrors, looking out; through communication and action, we can reach through them and get a better understanding for the world we together live in, and what is happening behind those other mirrors.

But we forget it is that way. That even those near us don’t see the same reality we do, or not necessarily in the same colors. That my normal isn’t your normal, that my codex I live by is not visible to anyone unless I illustrate with my words and actions.

Actions still can be misinterpreted. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes to get a grasp of why they did the thing or why they did it this way.

Everybody is frustrated at some point, yelling inwards (or out loud) “Gosh, why don’t you understand? It’s so easy, it’s clear, open your eyes!”

That’s of course totally wrong advice - opening your eyes doesn’t do shit to change the filter your brain is putting on everything, the tint of the mirror glass, so to say. Open your eyes is the wrong wording - you must open your mind to find the exit of the dark alley, find the railroad switches that can lead our train of thought in new lands.

I found brains to be lazy bastards. It is hard work to get them to go on a new adventure, leave the old ways behind and learn new tricks, fresh paths, a new codex. Even with that knowledge, my brain sometimes lulls me into that dark alleys, whispering soothing nonsense into my ear, telling me that staying on my path is the sensible thing to do.

Sometimes it is. But often you better fire up some unused synapses and learn a new trick, a novel approach, an uncomfortable truth, against the protest of your brain. It is good for you. A lesson a nine-year-old might learn for the first time. A lesson we all need to relearn from time to time.

And I probably needn’t tell you, but stay the fuck away from GenAI; it dumbs you down, fast. I really hope the kiddo takes that one to heart.

It’s wild out there, be excellent to each other.

Best regards,

Morris

P.S.: Would love to read your opinion/feedback/what you want to know more about? Thx & bye!