Comments on a writing workshop

I attended a writing workshop-free- yesterday, and I am still digesting the results.

First off, part of what he said was something most of us already knew-it's hard to get published commercially! I have spoken to two people who have managed it. There were several others who published through an internet company, one with real hands on books and other with e-books. The man holding the workshop has published most of his books privately, and from the way he speaks, he has managed to break even on his costs.

Now, right now I don't have a novel. I have ideas for one, but that's it. I have written a novel that after revision, became a novelette. i need to rewrite the beginning, at least, and maybe then it will creep back into novel size.

The real thing I need is someone who will read my stuff and tell me what does or does not work. At  the same time, that costs, and I am not sure I want to spend the money right now. I could, I think, take classes in creative writing somewhere- I think there's a local college that teaches it- but then again, that's money, and maybe wasted money at that.

I did buy the book with the publishers and magazines that buy stuff. Maybe I should concentrate on writing a full novel or set of short stories for a novel and go from there.

Flu shot blues

I got the flu shot yesterday, and last night I started to regret. This morning I regretted it more.

I am not allergic to the flu shot, though many are. But I do get a mild fever and aches type of reaction to it. Coffee and Tylenol got me over it enough to work in the yard and get some excercise, but now I feel sore again.

The exercise is important, as I am trying to lose weight. I have four pounds to go before I'm not overweight anymore. About two years ago, I lost 19 pounds. Then I regained it after a very unpleasent encounter with a yellow jacket nest (my sons counted twenty wasps that were somewhere on or in my clothes, and I got somehere in the region of fifteen stings. Needless to say I was out of work for a day. Even my doctor felt sorry for me. Recovery involved a predisone taper, and predisone, it appears, makes me hungry. I gained six pounds in a week. Fortunately for me, some of it was water weight from the swelling and it went away quick. The rest was fat, and losing fat is a long and tedious process.

As a result, however, I am finally getting more fit. I am trying to walk a mile and a half to two miles, or work in the yard for an hour every day. Since I have almost an acre of yard to mow with a self-propelled mower, this is not as irritating as it might otherwise be.

As I have asthma, however, a flu shot is a good idea. I don't have bad asthma. I did for a time, and found out later it was due to living in a duplex with mold. The worst of the asthma went away two months after I moved into my brand spanking new modular home. Except for the time I caught bronchitis and it took three months for me to finally get over it.

Getting older is a bitch. I'm sure that is not news to most the the population.