2017 continues.
I think if you’re a young American right now (and judging by my feed, also anywhere else), it’s extraordinarily distracting online and in the world. I remember reading that theory from wherever about how every fourth generation has to face some catastrophe. The last was the Greatest Generation. They survived the Great Depression and then World War II. The ‘great generation’ before that fought the Civil War.
And so, us silly ducks are supposedly the ones who will weather this storm, whatever it becomes. Hey, neat.
I will continue to take action in service of my country, to do what’s right, to protect the innocent and defend the rule of law. But on top of that, I’ve got a career and a fitness regimen and a girlfriend and those things are important too. My commitment is to finding a system that lets me be a patriot and also, you know, have a life. Because if it’s going to be this nuts for the forseeable future, anyone who cares about the country is going to have to enter the public sector in a part-time capacity.
On a writing-centric note, this week I’ll try Isaac Asimov’s practice of swapping projects if he was feeling stuck on one. For a long time I’ve thought that that was a feint, that I was bugging out on what I was supposed to be doing. Maybe that’s so, but maybe I can also use that to keep productivity up. There must be a happy medium where I’m still powering through with fear and resistance, and also staying productive.
This is why I’m writing these journal-esque blog posts. On this blog previously I’ve done a range of post types, and most of have an analytical bent (for example, this one on thematic integrity). It’s easier today to talk about what’s happening behind the scenes, especially since I am working on the business and structure side of my career as much as I am working on the storytelling side.
Words last week: 0
>I completed 1k in outline words for a project, plus journaling and blogging, but this is a measure of finished prose. My schedule continues to be insane and I spent a lot of time on Twitter, where things are not calm.
Goal words for year: 3.5/120k
Blog posts this year: 4/52
Newsletters this year: 0/24 (first will come with news of the new thing!)
Books read: 2/20
>I finished both The War of Art and the Daily Show this last week. Daily Show doesn’t have quite the oomph of the SNL oral history, but I loved it regardless. I grew up watching TDS and getting to see behind the scenes of big moments was rad. I remember the somber first show after 9/11, the Jim Cramer interview, and some other big moments. I was surprised that there were awkward and biting interviews that I hadn’t heard about, so I ended up with a list of stuff to go binge on.
Workouts last week: 1/3
>Another area where scheduling is missing. I’m looking forward to an end to this travel block I’ve got so that I can get back to a gym.
