Sunday, November 20, 2011

Progress and Memories

Work on the novella turned novel has been progressing much faster than I'd anticipated! Plus, I think I'm close to naming it. I've several possibilities, and I have some more kicking to test the 'durability'. Try before you buy, right?

Watching my sons interact with one another has also aided in my great leap of progress. It reminded me of growing up and how I miraculously coped with my one older brother. Now, my boys aren't there yet, but I literally hated this brother. We fought constantly, particularly since it was easy to kick my ass. That is, until I had discovered the miracle of outrunning him. It pissed him off to no end, but I outran him like a gazelle evades a lion. Survival of the fittest in all. After years of running I faced him finally, to my defeat. But something happened that day, he began to respect me because I stood up to him, although he still liked to torture me, brotherly love you know. Now, we're closer than ever, and my boys remind me of us. They can get along and coexist quite harmoniously, whilst duking it out like mortal enemies. The fighting, the torture, those were the days. Anyway, they inspired me to change the relationship between several characters in my latest WIP. I've been writing a lot differently lately which is out of my normal comfort zone, but it feels so right the way it just spills onto the page. So, as long as they clash, I believe my writing will be growing to incorporate new and different styles that I never felt I would before. How about you?

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Return

I'm back, again, and this time I hope for much longer. Better news for my son has me jumping for joy (figuratively, of course) though I am still wary and cautious to not get my hopes up too high. We have a very strong feeling that his recovery could be a lot sooner than we'd originally feared, which is awesome! We still have some waiting to endure though as the coming tests cannot be rushed. Poop! But my tough little stormtrooper has endured his  condition much better than I, as I have the neurotic  problem of worrying a lot. That coupled with my own condition has not helped, and quite honestly, almost killed me.

For the past two months I've suffered from increasingly severe abdominal pains that doctors were unable to explain for weeks. Two ER visits with no answers, being unable to stand and sit upright, and a wife with a whip (figurative, of course) prompted me to consult a GI who got the ball rolling. Well, after a scheduled Iodine CT scan went horribly awry in which I had a rather terrific allergic reaction to the iodine resulting in hives the consistency of toad skin, shortness of breath, vomiting, the runs, and a high fever. I actually argued with my wife about going to work, and my boss won: I had to call off. This perfect storm of symptoms drove my wife and her proverbial whip (slowly manifesting into cruel physical form) to haul my ass back to the ER in which everything fell into place. This new doctor and surgeon were guffawed that previous docs couldn't see my lovely marble-sized gallstone had inflamed and infected my gallbladder to the point that it had to come out NOW, or else... Needless to say the surgery went well, I'm slowly on the mend, though sore as hell, now my full attention is refocused on my youngest son. This is the first I've been able to sit upright for extended periods of time and actually write, which has been MADDENING!

I wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and will be frequenting your pages as well as my own  as originally intended. So please remember me and come back, because I'm still here! God bless you all!