Kenn Ghannon: Blog

I've taken another week off of writing. Between work, hitting the gym (again) and other things, I've just not had the time. There are, I'm told, only twenty-four hours in a day. We really should look into changing this because I have twenty-six hours worth of things to do in any given day. Thirty-four, if you count sleeping (and I really need to). However, I'm back to poking things on my keyboard so we'll see how I do.

The title of the blog isn't about my lack of time, however. The title is a nod to a rather common concern I've received about 'Runesward'. The correct term for an archer placing an arrow against the bowstring is called 'nocking an arrow'. In Runesward, I've gone with 'notching an arrow'. Let me clear up the confusion.

The groove in the rear of the arrow is called a 'notch'. I took archery lessons as a kid many years ago and, honestly, I couldn't recall what term was used. Instead, I went on the internet and looked it up - the term I found, at the time, was 'notching an arrow' (in hindsight, I'm not perfectly certain this was placing the arrow on the bowstring or carving a groove into the arrow but...). When a reader first approached me about my incorrect term, I went to a colleague whom I'd just found out TEACHES archery to kids on the weekends. I asked him about it and he indicated the 'absolute correct' term is "nocking an arrow". HOWEVER, he also told me the two are used interchangeably by both teachers and students...so I can use whichever I want.

So, I'm going to leave it alone. For now. Going forward, I'll try to be more diligent about using the absolute correct term.

I have not written a single Runesward word in ten days.

I'm not proud of the fact - and I have the next bit of the story in my head and raring to go - but it's the truth. I just ... haven't had the energy to write it. The chutzpah. The drive.

Then I read this. I'm now ashamed - and strangely motivated.

I recommend EVERY WRITER read the article.

Yes, it's Fox News. Yes, I'm a fiscal conservative and social moderate (basically, I don't give two shits who you love as long as you don't make me - or anyone else - pay for it). However, I'm not here to spout any political rhetoric. There is NO political rhetoric in the article (you may have to avert your eyes from the ads if you're a liberal, but the piece itself has nothing political in it). It is an ode to writing - and I honestly think it can help all of us (as people who write) make strides in our projects.

I took a week off from writing. My real job heated up a bit and I just didn't have the strength at the end of the day to do any writing.

Part of my 'weakness' was because I was bogged down. After I finished the previous chapter, I started getting too focused on 'micro-time' - which is to say, I was describing everything which happened minute by minute. This story is not suited for play-by-play.

Unfortunately, there are things which need to happen to progress some plot points which make the most logical sense to be included at this point in time. Too many things, honestly, coming from too many directions. I hate when the story gets bogged down by minutiae - it starts reading like a technical guide instead of a story.

So, I scrapped the current chapter. Completely (the 'delete' key was my best buddy). I then tabled it for a week and pondered what I was trying to say here and started planning scenes out in my head.

Result: I've got the plan for the next two chapters! It hits all the points I need to - as well as a few I was worried about because I wasn't sure where the heck I was going to fit them in - and it doesn't get over-whelmed. Now if my brain-to-keyboard interface works the way it's supposed to ...

Thank you, muse!

What can I say about Runesward: Tome 2, chapter 8*? Nothing good, unfortunately. I had quite a build-up to it in chapters 6 and 7 and I'm having difficulties filling the emotional void with Chapter 8. No spoilers but - I feel as if I need something special here, something memorable and I can't seem to do it justice. I've written the opening 4 times now and I'm either unimpressed or just not happy with any of it. It's driven me to eat, for Deia's sake! (See what I did there?)

Some of you might not know, but as my life progressed, so did my stomach. It got to the point I was 90 pounds overweight. No health concerns, thankfully, my heart and blood pressure and sugar stayed good...but I was obese. I saw a picture of myself last summer and...it was not pleasant. You never truly see yourself until you see a surprise picture someone else took that you didn't know they took.

Now, I've been happy to say I was 'overweight' for the past decade or more. After seeing that picture, though, something had to give. That wasn't me. That was some fat dude masquerading as me.

I have an older cousin (4 years older) who was overweight as well - though nowhere near in my league. When I saw him over the summer, he was svelte. He'd dropped a ton of weight and was looking muscular. I asked him his secret...

...and thus, I started on the Keto lifestyle. It is NOT for everyone. Basically, you have to cut most everything that tastes good out of your life - except meat. The one saving grace to this diet is you can eat all the meat you want. All the butter, too. All the eggs (though I can't stand eggs, really). No breads. No pasta. Limited vegetables. No sugar (though, Monkfruit sweetener is your best pal here).

I committed to it in August. I lost 75 pounds by mid-December. I was off the diet for about 2 months and hovered consistently at a loss of 60-65 pounds (meaning I gained 10-15 back and kept it there). I started back on it after my work trip - but I fell off the wagon today, mostly because of this stupid chapter. I just can't crack it.

Anyway, just thought I'd update everyone.

*Chapter 8 in Tome 2 is, over-all, Chapter 37.

My work trip is concluded! As you can tell, I survived. It isn't that I don't like flying, it's how little control I have while in the air. Even when I'm a passenger in an automobile, I have a bit of anxiety. I know flying is statistically safer than driving - and I'm pretty sure that is a GREAT comfort to the people who die when a plane crashes. (Yes, I'm probably being a bit silly).

I'm working on 'Runesward - Tome 2: Callisto'. I didn't get as much time as I'd have liked during my trip but I did get some time. I've sent a few chapters off to my editors. One of them have shown I need to re-read the rules of ellipses. Evidently, you're supposed to have spaces surrounding the ellipses when they're used in the middle of a sentence and before the ellipses when you're ending the sentence with one. The grammar nazis are going to hate me - because I just used Word's 'Replace' functionality to replace every instance of '...' with ' ... ' - beginning, middle and ending - and re-posted the whole of 'Tome 1'. Not my finest hour but ... it's done and I'm not going back to re-correct everything. Word counted and I've used ellipses 525 times ... I'd like to spend my time writing in Tome 2 today. I may go back and fix it later, though.

Tome 2 is a little different than anything else I've ever attempted in that I've actually started a number of chapters AT THE SAME TIME. Instead of a partially finished story, I now have partially finished chapters. Sigh.