9/25/13

It's still been a bit hectic for me to feel comfortable posting regularly. Even now, I should probably be in bed, but I figured that I need to do this. Also I kind of miss posting. It's a nice break from all the stress and tests I've had over the past week or two now. Not to sound like I'm complaining; I've been working on that.

And that can be a perfect initial topic: complaining. Specifically, my complaining.
If you didn't guess from the last few sentences, I have issues with complaining. I tend to make things about me rather than listen to the problems of others (wow, that makes me sound like a terrible person). However awful it may make me sound, it's true and I regret that. I've been working on complaining less because frankly, it's annoying. Incredibly annoying. I hate it when other people complain, so why should I be allowed to complain? Am I better than the people whom I judge for complaining? Of course not - we're all equal. So if I'm going to be judgmental (which is another thing I'm working on eliminating from my mindset) then I have to at least not be a hypocrite about it all. How does that help anyone?
I feel like people in general tend to be self-centered and complain about themselves when given the chance (yes, yes, take the blame away from myself!). Why is it so hard to just forget our problems and be happy? Is it really so difficult for me to just let it all go and be happy that I'm alive, well, and extremely blessed?
Apparently the answer is yes. I wish it weren't so, but I have so much trouble forgetting my problems.

Time to implicate a purpose for this rambling about complaints!!
Here's the point: complaining doesn't help. Not when done too much. It's definitely healthy, and maybe even necessary to complain about things every once in awhile so you don't allow your problems to pile up higher and higher until it all explodes outwards. I've done that before in addition to letting my problems out too frequently, and this only ends with tears. What's worse is that often they're not my own tears, but the tears of those who I love and care about.
There needs to be a balance between complaining and knowing when to just give it up and be happy. I think that balance is to complain about things that are actually worth complaining about (maybe even in a sense where "complaining" isn't quite the right word); things such as losing your job, a difficult break-up, a death in the family. Your reactions to those may not always be qualified as complaining, but the idea is the same. It is for those kinds of things that you have to relieve some pressure.
However, it's pointless to complain about little things. So often I find myself complaining about bad drivers or other little things that really don't make a big impact on my life. Complaining about that kind of thing is stupid when you think about it. Is a person driving badly really the end of the world? Maybe. But in most cases it's just an inconvenience. It's annoying, but not complaint-worthy.

To sum it up, let out what hurts you because that has to be let out.
Don't complain about the little stuff.
The majority of my posts are cliches.

Anyways, my writing has been going down and down the farther I've written here, so I think it's time to stop. Hopefully I'll get another post up tomorrow, but don't hold your breath.
As always, feel free to comment whatever you please. This is the one case where I'm okay with small complaints being brought up.
Have a great day/night!

9/21/13 - I'm Back

It's been a full week. I think I had at least 3 quizzes and 2 tests this week, along with the many, many writing assignments. Needless to say, I've been kept busy with studying and other homework and therefore I haven't had a lot of time to devote to this blog. While I really do enjoy doing this I have to prioritize, and if that means missing a week of posts so that I don't fail school, then I'm fine with it. The way I see it is that I've paid thousands of dollars for a college tuition; I might as well make the most out of it.

In other news, that short story I mentioned has to be put on hold. I really like the way it turned out and so I'm entering it in a contest! The deal with most contests is that it must be a "previously unpublished work" and I wasn't sure if putting the story on the blog would count as "publishing" it (The big orange button up there does say "Publish"). I may be just a little paranoid about that, but I don't want to nullify whatever chance I have at winning simply because I posted it prematurely.
Anyways, I've set the goal for myself to write a short story by next Friday, and that one is up for the same considerations - I may post it here, or I may enter it to a contest. Either way I'm hoping that people will be able to read it and maybe even enjoy it :)

I haven't really thought of anything to write about yet (I was hoping it'd come to me during the previous two paragraphs) so I'll just talk about what's on my mind. Right now, it's advertisements. It's been brought to my attention that I can stick ads on the blog that will allow me to make money simply by sponsoring those ads. This is something I've always felt strongly about for two reasons:
1) Ads on any web page are obnoxious and irritating, and I know that I personally hate seeing them. They tend to slow down my computer (which isn't anything high-end, of course) and they're just plain annoying.
2) If I'm going to make money off of my writing, I want it to be off of my writing. I want to make money because of my writing, not because of some ads on the side of the page. If my writing is good, then I'll hopefully be selling lots of books that people will enjoy. Putting ads on the blog will be me making money regardless of if it's good or not. I despise that.
Basically, if something annoys me or is there for purely the wrong reasons, it's not gonna end up here. I've never been a sellout (in my opinion at least) and I'm certainly not planning to start now. The Writing Addiction will always be 100% ad free. If that ever changes, I want someone to not only post a complaining comment, but also send me an angry email. If you really want to get crazy, name a nickel your "Hate Nickel" and send it to me in the mail so that I can cry when I see it.

Please only send me Hate Nickels if there are ads on the site or if I do something else offensive. Or if you just really, really don't like me. I suppose that works.

I guess that's all I have to say about all that! Thanks for reading if you did so, and if you didn't read it then thank you for at least bothering to open up the page ^-^ Comment if you feel the need or desire to do so; any feedback is always appreciated! Thanks!

9/12/13 - A Repetitive Post in which I say the Same Things Many Times in Different Ways

I am afraid of people. I wouldn't say I'm "terrified" by people, and I certainly don't freak out in groups of people, but to an extent I am scared of anyone who may speak against me. I hate being up in front of a class because they may mock me or disagree with my ideas; I may say something stupid and everyone will laugh at me. To date, this has not happened, but it could. I'm also just terrified (okay, yes, I'm terrified) of attention being placed on me in general, unless I'm in a small group of friends (in which case I have a need for attention...it confuses me). In a way, I hate writing on this blog because every time I hit the Publish button, I'm allowing anyone with internet access - and the misfortune of ending up on my blog - to see what I think and say, and they are able to criticize me, even if they don't leave such criticisms in the comments.

I'm simply afraid of people.

My point to this is that because this is terrifying to me, I think it will help me. I've been taking actions to become less afraid - writing this blog and trying to actually say the answer if I know it are among the things I'm trying to do. It's senseless to live in fear of other people, especially in the case of this blog, because I will likely not meet anyone who reads this. I know that, yet for some reason I remain terrified. It's definitely gotten better, but there are still times where I think to myself, "Is this really worth posting? Does anyone care?"

The simple answer I've come up with is: "Who cares if anyone cares?" This is my blog, and therefore I shouldn't be negatively influenced by anyone who insults me. Rather, I can take that criticism to grow thicker skin and to improve myself in the ways that I lack.

The other point I'm trying to make is that as a writer, I will encounter people who don't like my writing. People will criticize and insult my books, and I will hear about it. But I can't let myself be affected by it, at least not negatively (as I mentioned before). The point of receiving criticism is to become better. I willingly accept criticism (even though it still scares me) so that I can grow as a writer and become the best I can be.

(If you haven't figured it out yet, this applies to you too!)

This applies to anyone in any activity, be it a job or just something to do for fun (yeah, I said basically the same thing twice in a row. Emphasis). A sports player can take criticism to know what he did wrong in one game, and apply that later on so that he doesn't make the same mistake. A salesman can learn what works for what kinds of people and use that knowledge to make more sales. A student can do poorly on a test or exam and be admonished by a teacher to learn that he may need better study habits. This can be applied to literally anyone. And I mean literally in the literal sense. Not in the nonchalant, overused way people say it now.

Take criticism, but don't be hurt by it. Accept it as an observation that someone else made, and even if it was said in a negative way, take it as constructive. Learn from your mistakes, even if you haven't directly been given criticism; in other words, give yourself constructive criticism (never destructive. Insulting yourself is even worse than someone else insulting you). Do what you like for the reasons you like, but if someone tells you you're doing it wrong, then take what they told you and apply it.

It's all cliche, I know. If you haven't learned by now, just about everything I post has been a huge cliche.

The thing about cliches is that they can be true and applicable. So apply it. Apply whatever cliche impressions I may have made on you (as long as they're positive...I really want to be clear that I don't like bad things!)

Anyone can be great in his or her own way.

With that final, overwhelmingly cheesy, sentimental thought, I bid you a good night.

9/11/13 - 9/10/13

Yes, that's right. Today's superfluous title is yesterday's date.
I missed yesterday for good reasons. I think so at least. I was studying for quizzes until about 12:30 last night and at that point, I figured it wouldn't be smart to stay up much later. Needless to say, I was asleep within minutes. In addition to that I'm treating this blog as more of a privilege than an obligation, simply because I enjoy writing, even if it's senseless nothingness that probably won't be read by anyone anyways (how many times have I said something similar? A free smile and internet hug to anyone who tells me this).

So today is 9/11. It's important to remember dates like this, the kinds of days where we see what humanity is truly like. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but I think it's true. Humans are, by nature, brutal creatures. We kill, destroy, lie, cheat, steal, and sin in all other manner of ways. Of course, there is goodness in humanity too. We have made great strides in saving the world rather than destroying it, and there are many wonderful people in the world among all the awful ones. I think it's necessary to look closer at the good than the bad so that we don't fall into a state of depression because of the world. If we are depressed because of how terrible some parts of the world are, then how can we work to improve it? Rather, we should applaud the good in the world rather than cursing the bad.

Now, I'm not trying to understate the impact of such an event as the terrorist attack 12 years ago. It was tragic, and while I was too young to really remember it, the attacks were devastating, and many innocent people were killed. While we shouldn't go around cursing the badness in the world, I do understand mourning on a day like today, and I think that mourning in this case is an important part of it. We can mourn for the losses, but not fall into anger or depression, regardless of how the attack impacted us personally.

And of course, there are always the people who ignore these sorts of things. That may help the individual, but if they go on as if nothing happened, there is a loss for all humanity, in a way. At least a loss for the society in which that person lives. There certainly isn't a gain in that, in any case.

The other possibility is that we can choose to be affected too greatly by any action, be it good or bad. Being affected too much by the bad will undoubtedly force us into depression or rage at the cruelties of the world or some other form of negative emotion. Conversely, being affected too greatly by a positive influence on the world may end up being a negative for us. It can lead to a false perception of the world and cause us to believe that the world is better than it is in actuality.

Look for the good, don't fall into the bad, acknowledge the suffering of the world, and don't be affected too much.

Just Something Quick

First of all, maybe the titles aren't completely useless. It is nice to type words instead of numbers and slashes.
Anyways, I was curious before I went to bed, so I searched "the writing addiction" on google, and it seems that there are tons of sites with similar names...therefore the name of my blog may have to change. We'll see.

Also, one other quick thing, thank you to whomever is going through and giving each post a +1. I don't know if that's just some automated system that Blogger has, or if it's just a kind person, or if it's someone who - for whatever reason - actually enjoys reading my meaningless postings here and sincerely likes each post. If either of the second two possibilities are the case, then thank you! ^-^ it makes me smile, which I don't do nearly enough.
That being said, I'd be willing to bet it's just some automated system, be it by Blogger or some other someone in somewhere.
But if you are a person, then I appreciate you :)




Edit: Yeah, I think it's automated :P unless someone is sitting at a computer just waiting for me to update and instantly likes every post I've ever made just for the sake of doing it. I think now I'd be willing to bet on that instead of the automated thing. This seems so much more sensible.
Goodnight anyone :)

9/9/13 - These Titles are Superfluous

Nothing much to report for tonight. It's been a pretty nice night, just hung out with some friends and talked for at least four hours. During that time I got a bit of writing done, although rather than continuing with the beginning I began, I started working on the end of the story. I've heard a few times that starting with the end is a rather commonly-used writing style, or at least defining what you want to happen in the end. It can still change, and nothing is even close to being written in stone yet. But I think it's a pretty good idea, starting from the end, and whoever came up with it is a genius in my book (figurative book, not my literal one). It gives you a pretty clear picture of where everything in the story will culminate, and it also gives you a sort of guideline for the rest of the story. For example, after writing the ending I could maybe throw some foreshadowing or something into the story, whereas previously I wouldn't have thought of any way to do that and still remember that it was there in the first place.
Either way (and I know I've probably said this too much anyways) I wrote, and that's the important thing. Honing my skills and all the other things I've said a million times.

In other news, I started on a little short story, although I'm not quite sure where it's gonna go yet. If it goes anywhere, I can guarantee that (currently) it involves treasure hunters, ancient zombies of a dead civilization, and maybe a bit of steampunk for good measure. Emphasis on the "maybe" for the steampunk. That's a genre that's always interested me, but I've never gone too deep into it, and I've never been particularly good at writing it. But I suppose that's what practice is for, right?

Also, I'm ready to admit that the words I'm adding to the titles after the date of each post is absolutely meaningless. I usually just come up with them without much thought put into it, and even so they're usually stupid or cliche anyways. Does that mean I'm going to stop adding them? Probably not.

That's pretty much all I can come up with at the moment. It's nothing special (as if any of my posts have been anything special...it's mostly just me writing because I can :P). Hate to leave so soon but I'm tired and I have to get up early tomorrow morning.
Hopefully in the future, I'll have grown enough as a writer - and just as a person in general - where I can actually write something meaningful here and maybe make some sort of positive impact on someone's life. But until that day, here I am, writing about nothing.
Goodnight!

9/8/13 - (Again)

Oh dear. I just realized there's a way to see pictures of me here :P that's scary and terrifying. Anyways, I'm the guy with the ugly face, and the beautiful angel I'm holding is my girlfriend. Just in case anyone cares. And also because I like to brag about her because she's amazing. I love her <3

...Yup. That's pretty much it. More words from me tomorrow! Goodnight again!

9/8/13 - No (Good) Excuses

I missed yesterday's post. And, as the title suggests, I have absolutely no good reason as to why I missed posting anything. I was busy, but most of the things I weren't busy with shouldn't have had to interfere with this. So...to anyone who actually reads this blog (and honestly, if you're reading this, I have no idea why) I apologize for my irresponsibility. I'd like to say it won't happen again, but I'm almost one hundred percent sure that it will. I'm only human.

Now comes that part where I try to think of something to write down here for the sake of writing something. Hopefully there will be more days where I actually know where I'm going before I start writing, but today is not one of those days. My day was kind of boring, pretty regular. Went to Church. Ate there (it was a potluck...delicious!). Came home. Chilled. Started writing this. That's pretty much it...again, it was a regular day.

I've been thinking about what I want to do in the future with this blog, something that will really help me to hone my writing skills. What I've been planning on is maybe a short-story Friday or something cliche like that. However cliche it may be, I think it would be useful and helpful for me and so I'm going to try doing that. I will NOT guarantee that any of them (let alone a few of them) will be worth reading. They're really just going to be me writing random things because I thought at some point that they'd be really cool, even if I had the thought at 3 am and it was something really weird. No matter how I think of it, I'm just going to write something, sensible or not, and roll with it (do people still say that?). If I do have any readers by now (and again, I'm not sure that I do) I'd also love to read any suggestions you may have for those short stories; I'm a firm believer in the wisdom of others. Because I'm just one person and not every person, I don't have every single line of thought possible. I can't imagine things that someone else someone in the world can imagine. I'm just not that amazing. Do I wish I was? No, I don't think so. It would strip anyone else of the individuality they have. Everyone is unique (this is just gonna be one of those mega-cliche posts, isn't it?) and I appreciate the uniqueness (I honestly didn't think that was a word...I tried "uniquity" first :P some writer I am) of that.

Everyone is unique and I appreciate the uniqueness of that (I figured it might have been good to read that sentence without it being broken into so many little pieces).

In addition to any suggestions you may have for short stories (and believe me, if you do that I'll be sure to make a mention of your name/username in the "credits" of the story), feel absolutely free to leave any sort of suggestions, comments, complaints, or anything else you can think of as a comment (please no swearing, racial slurs, or anything that could be offensive to me or someone else). Want to tell me I use too many parentheses? Do it! (I realize I use a lot of them...it's just how I was born I guess). I'd love to get feedback, and I think that it's one of the most important gifts that a writer can receive. So thank you in advance to anyone who leaves good and/or constructive comments in the bottom, and a high five to anyone who makes me laugh out loud.

With those final thoughts, I'm headed off the computer. I'm to that point where I can hardly keep my eyes open. Goodnight!

Sep. 6, 2013: Keeping Myself Accountable

I think the title of this post is 1) self-explanatory and 2) unnecessary. I suppose I might be able to post it without a title (I've never tried). Or I can just use the date as the title. In this case, I've done both. Because why not?
Anyways, this post has that horrendously awful title because I really want to keep myself accountable here. I've started a blog before, and I think I just lacked the determination to keep it going. I don't want this one to die, at least not so quickly. It feels nice to be writing, even if it's just pointless thoughts on a blog that may not even be read by anyone. But getting read isn't my point (not until I've published a book or any other work, of course; in that case, all I want is for my works to be read and criticized so that I may become a better writer in the future). Right now, my point is simply to write until I feel I have nothing left to say on the subject. Which happened a bit ago, but I don't feel finished. Therefore...

SUBJECT CHANGE!!!

I'm just going to say now (because I have the right and ability to do so; I'm in America) that I'm a Christian. Think of me what you will, be it good or bad. I frankly don't care, because I know who I am, Whom I believe in, and I know other things too, like how to make toast or put butter on a waffle.
Anyways, I didn't just say that so I could talk about toast and waffles (although those do sound fantastic right now). I was just gonna talk about my day, and part of my day was going to a short Church service at my college (it's a Christian college, if you couldn't tell). It was one of the best worship services I've been to in a long time, the last one being a youth retreat a few years back. We were singing some song about all God has done for us, and how I'm surrendering my heart and soul to Him, and it got to this point where I was just thinking about the words really hard, and I just felt so close to Him at that moment; I love that kind of moment. Frankly, I wish it happened a lot more often, but lots of the time I get too caught up being busy in the world and doing all sorts of earthly things and I end up putting God to the side. This morning was one of those moments where I put Him at the top of my list, and I truly wish I was better at doing that.

I guess I can't put it into words very well because reading over that, it's kind of sloppy. I just wanted to get it all down before I forgot the right words. It didn't seem to end right, either, but I got my thoughts out, and that's apparently an important part of blogging. So...yeah. I always have trouble ending a post.

...Bye.

Addicted to Writing: This is a Declaration

Roughly two minutes ago, I came to the realization and conclusion that I'm addicted to writing. And I also came to the realization that this is nothing special. I'm sure that millions of people are addicted to writing, and when I compare myself to those millions, I seem insignificant. However, contrary to many of them, I'm actually taking the actions to feed this addiction in a simple way: posting it to the internet.

Ok, so millions of people do that too. Big deal.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to brag on myself a bit. For school I was given a two-page paper as an assignment. I wrote five. And I could have done more; I wanted to do more, but I had gotten to that point where I was weighing the consequences of feeding my addiction versus how annoyed my professor would be.

In addition to that, shortly before I came to my realizations I was taken by the urge to edit a bit of my book I started a few days ago. Now, this "book" has been going around in my head for about three years. I just never knew how to start it. I know where I want it to end, I know some of the middley, fleshy parts of it, but I had no idea where to start. I've tried tens, maybe hundreds (probably not hundreds) of times just to start the darn book, and I'll get a few paragraphs in, say to myself "I really think this is gonna be the one" and then leave it to die.

I realized that when I get back to working on those things, it gets good. Really good. Now I know that saying that about my own writing is extremely narcissistic, and what you have to understand is that I'm usually not narcissistic at all. But in a way, maybe a little here and there (in complete moderation so I wouldn't even be able to notice that it's narcissism) it was good for me. I've always struggled with feelings of inferiority (I mean, who hasn't? It's a pretty natural thing) and I think that now that I've found something that I actually really like, I've been completely inspired.

My point to all this? I just wanted to write, and my family and friends have been telling me I should start a blog. And I think that'll be a good thing for me; it'll be a good way to feed this addiction I have.

Also, I just really wanted to let everyone know how awesome I am.

That was sarcasm. I'm not that bad.

The other point is this: feed your (safe) addictions. To emphasize that word safe, I will say right now, I am NOT telling you to continue to feed an unhealthy addiction, such as drugs, alcohol (which is a drug, I realize; so many realizations today!), food (in an unhealthy amount), or reality television. What I am saying is to "live your dream" if you will. If you want to be a writer, then write! Write like I am now, or just go and journal; do whatever suits you. If you want to do something else, whatever it is (as long as it's not illegal or harmful to you in any way) then do it. Use whatever talents you have in the best way you can. Make an impact in the world with whatever you do really well. And make sure that you actually do it well. Put forth the best effort you've got to write the most amazing book ever like I'm trying to do, or to become the world's greatest athlete, or to be the first person to live on Mars or whatever planet comes next in our solar system.

Yes, I know it's cliche, and I know that if I hit the big "Publish" button at the top of this page and someone reads this, they too will think it's cliche. But that's alright. Because if you're doing what you love to do, in a way that will hopefully help you to make your life the life you want it to be, then you can be as cliche as you want.

That was my attempt at wisdom. Now go do whatever it is you need to do! I'm going to bed.