Leto Armitage: Blog

I tried to get chapter 47 out for proofing this weekend. It hasn't happened. Why? Uh, life. I've had some life changes recently, good ones but things that have required adjustment on my part. I've started using a Chromebook to help my writing at odd times. It has taken some adjustment but I'm starting to be fond of it. The battery is amazing. As a typist, I've discovered that the Chrome-based Google Docs does not work as well as it does on my mac but the Android installed app works very nicely. As someone who can't wait for text to appear as he types this is a big deal. I'm not a great typist but I'm not hunt and peck either.

For content, the chapter has proved to be longer than I at first anticipated and there is a logical flow at the end I am still working out. As I wrote to someone a bit ago ...

You know, Lavi and Melissa are fascinating to me. I once read that a sculptor said something to the effect of 'I do not carve anything, I just reveal what was already there' - and I thought, 'that is such bullshit.' But now I get it. I really do feel like I stumble around with words until they say 'yeah, that is what happened.'

I am going to go to be bed now and think deeply about this. And if the idea of what to do appears just as I'm finally fading off ... I might lose a lot of sleep.

Good night.

I survived hell week at work and though there were bumps it went pretty well. My weekend was supposed to be relaxing but then there were plumbing problems. Turns out the little humans didn't know they weren't supposed to put grease down the sink so there was a monumental main line clog into the septic system. I think I may have been exposed to something while having my upper body in the septic system as I've been fighting something off and super low energy but I'm getting back to normal.

And if the above sounds gross - it was even more so.

Meanwhile, I've tried to not let momentum completely stop on writing. I've written the first part of chapter 47 and am rewriting it because the first draft of the dialogue felt forced to me. The second half will be more fun to write though there are breadcrumbs to lay there too.

Mechanically, I often have found myself in circumstances where my laptop isn't viable for writing, I need something small and portable. When I have to I use my phone but I found myself often wanting something laptop like but smaller and more portable. I experimented with a tablet and keyboard but it often didn't work for my needs so I've bought a Chromebook. My hope is that it will allow me to write at some additional times.

Cheers to all, I hope you are well as you head into summer or winter or whatever your local seasons are.

Hello all good folks,

I have been slow in getting the next chapter out and my messaging inbox is, well, intimidating. The cause is, frankly, life. I'm well health-wise but work has decided to consume more than its fair share of my life the last few weeks, something that will continue on into this week. Aware of that I am working hard on the next chapter of the Pool Girl and diligently annoying the voices in my head that want me to work on other projects as well.

I was talking to a writer today who told me she does AMAs for her characters. Contributors to her platform get to submit questions of her characters that are then answered in character.

I'm intrigued by this. If I were to do this as a side piece, where the characters step outside the fourth wall and become aware of the audience and take questions are there any that people would want to ask? Feel free to email them to me and if I get a healthy number (and I reserve the right to post this again) then I will do it.

Warning: sappy emotions incoming.

I'm a little different from many writers. I have put a few things out for sale but I don't try to promote them. I make enough every now and then for a decent bottle of whiskey or rum which makes it taste a bit better. I've kept everything available for free here on SOL though. Why does this matter?

When I was a child I would watch my mother paint. She was very good. Once a local art society put several of her pieces in a museum exhibition. But she rarely did anything with her art other than keeping it around the house. In the age of Instagram, I think she might have posted it but that's all. She did art purely for herself.

As a young man, I didn't understand that. Isn't art created for an audience? What I didn't understand was her audience was her family and a few friends. I never became the writer I wanted to be. In retrospect, I didn't want to write but wanted to be a writer. I'd love to time travel and explain a few things to younger me. Then over a year ago I sat down and realized I was still young enough to try to learn to write but too old to put it off longer. I thought I would do a short warm up work called the Pool Girl.

I'm now working towards the conclusion of the second "book" of it which should end at chapter 53 (assuming a few more don't sneak in). I've learned a lot in working on it. I am a better writer than I was a year ago and still have a lot to learn. And I'm writing because I want to write not because I want to be a writer. It has also brought me closer to my mother who passed many years ago. I think I understand her better now and why she painted.

So, I want to thank everyone who reads, who provides feedback, who says they liked it. Your encouragement is more than ego feeding. Validation also enables exploration and growth. And I encourage you to write to writers even if you don't think their writing is perfect and tell them what you enjoyed about their writing.

So, thank you.