My Cardboard Balcony

No update on the OneWord website today. Oh, well!

So. Back in 2012 and 2014, I won at National Novel Writing Month. And what I mean by that is that I was able to write 50,000 words each time, though one of the novels was completed while the other remains unfinished. There have been a lot of reasons why I have waffled on doing NaNoWriMo this year. The reason why I didn't do NaNoWriMo last year, by contrast, was obvious: I was working two jobs and doing my student observation and teaching credential classes. There just wasn't enough time in the day to write more than just a OneWord or a poem or a short story here and there. Don't get me wrong: I'm still very busy with work, though I'm not doing as many things as last year. But let's just break down the list of why I haven't exactly been working on any long writing projects, let alone novels, shall we? - Too many ideas. Over the year, I've brainstormed a lot of ideas for novels. I have done nothing with any of them. And it's still going to be a hug...

We needed a drummer for our band, and I made the mistake of informing my father of that fact while we were sitting at the kitchen table, eating cold scrambled eggs and drinking really bad coffee. I saw his eyes light up beneath his jungle-like eyebrows, and instantly I expected the worst. "Well," he mused, "he hasn't performed in a while, but there is Larry." "Larry?" I blinked. "Your buddy with only a thumb on one hand?"

Welp. It's about fifteen minutes to midnight. I'm tired. I have a headache. I've been talking a lot with my wife about what we want to do with our lives. And I'm anxious. There's a presidential election happening in my country on Tuesday, November 8th, that could change everything. For one nominee, it's maintaining the slow but steady progress we've been making since 2008. For another, it's total incompetent chaos. Yes, I'm scared. No, I'm not ashamed to admit that. It's affected my work, my social life, my attention span, everything. And the campaign's almost over, but my God, what a toll it's taken on the nation I live, and you bet it could get only worse if the results don't go the way they should. I really, really wanted to take a lot more time tonight to argue why you should vote a certain way. Why getting involved in politics matters and why, as a teacher, I can easily encourage you to take a stand for the greater good o...

I Got Game by Belinda Roddie I was drunk. Your wife was hot. She liked it.

They told me if I prayed enough, then I would be guaranteed everlasting life. When my knees started to hurt, they did not heed my complaints, accusing me of weakness and a lack of faith. "Jesus," they reminded me, "went through much worse." "For fuck's sake," I suddenly heard Jesus groan in my ear. "The point of my suffering was so nobody else had to suffer, either!"

Look At The Stars by Belinda Roddie Look at the stars! I'd like to catch them with a giant net and take them to the sea where my home sits along the sand. I'll sift through each of them and find one just for me, to hang up in my room like a night light. It cannot be too small, and not too dim, but also, it can't be too big and bright, or else I will be blinded. As I skim my books, the star beam upon each word, guiding me through each story that I read. My mom says taking a star is absurd, saying it must guide others still in need of constellations in their life. I guess I shouldn't put her worries to the test.