Aside from having an absolutely delightful stay in the northern hinterlands, I managed to finish the majority of little tasks I set out for myself. My workspace at home is not entirely re-jiggered, but it’s much better and the end is in sight.
There was one goal I didn’t mention in the last post: To bring a book with me on my morning commute instead of messing with my phone the entire time. Not that there’s anything especially wrong with phone-messing, but I’m in need of a few habit adjustments and this seemed like an ideal way to carve out some additional reading team. I’ll catch up on my RSS throughout the day instead of reading it like a newspaper in the morning. I like the idea of that swap.
One thing I wanted to mention in passing: When I’m re-reading my old stories or posts, I can almost immediately pick out which author I was reading when I wrote the piece. I doubt that anyone else would notice because I doubt I could really write like any of these authors even if I were trying to do so. To me, though, I can hear the voice in my head. I’ve always been extremely susceptible to this sort of contact influence. As you might imagine, when a song gets stuck in my head, it stays there.
Finally, if you’re not subscribed to Warren Ellis’ newsletter, I strongly recommend it. Some of my favorite writing by John Steinbeck wound up in the journal he kept while he was writing his best novels. As much as I enjoy Ellis’ work, I find the writing he does about the writing (and reading and thinking and talking) just as interesting. If you think you’d enjoy reading that sort of thing, you can sign up for the newsletter here.