tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48910019681496863062024-03-05T11:56:48.567-06:00J. R. NovaOn Writing and LivingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-47573833942408810122013-09-16T13:36:00.001-05:002013-09-16T13:36:46.195-05:00500 Words
I'm tired of inconsistency
from myself in writing. I'm sick of having a great few weeks and then
having the well go dry on me for several weeks at a time. I've
decided to set a very small goal for myself, and see if this helps me
detour those periods of writers' block.
My goal is simply: write 500
words a day.
I can write 15,000 words for
all I care. If I feel like it; if a story catchesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-90580801320877676342013-09-09T12:51:00.000-05:002013-09-09T12:51:02.133-05:00Roadblocks to Success
I
was watching football last night, pondering the success of the men on
the field, the coaches on the sidelines, the owners watching the game
(Jerry Jones, in particular). I shared some preliminary thoughts with
a close circle of friends on Google+.
I was wondering what the
difference was between successful people and the average person, like
myself. I have dreams, and am very goal-oriented,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-22993996739029163122013-07-18T20:04:00.001-05:002013-07-18T20:04:16.672-05:00SatoriI haven't been writing. I've been putting myself into Satori, peering into my true nature. Life is rich when boredom is ecstasy, anxiety is joy, depression is bliss...suffering is an acknowledgment of my realness.When I can feel fucked up and copacetic at the same time, I know nothing. When I can feel happy and not seek to capture that sensation with words...I have found over the last week that Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-9065009998082985282013-06-21T12:45:00.000-05:002013-06-21T12:45:58.872-05:00Wu Wei In Action
Or is that inaction?
Wu Wei can be a
complicated principle in Taoist philosophy, because it can be
translated in different ways, presenting various meanings to English
speakers.
Wu Wei can be translated
as “non-action.”
Or as “actionless
action.”
Or as “not doing.”
The overall sense is that
something is not being done, even when something is being done.
That's close to the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-65748818803811619602013-06-17T16:13:00.003-05:002013-06-17T16:13:46.177-05:00Book Publishing Debate
Today a friend shared this link: http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/self-published-authors-are-destroying-literature/
To be honest, I wish this were true:
“Self-published authors and their insistent need to spam social media and pump out a copious amount of horrible ebooks is ruining the modern online bookstore.”
In such a situation someone with a well-written book—a rare sight Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-80603019038373005902013-05-22T12:51:00.000-05:002013-05-22T12:51:02.060-05:00Trust the Body
A “detox diet” is a bit
of a misnomer.
The body is geared for
detoxification. Organs—the lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, spleen,
lymph nodes—rid the body of unwanted waste, viruses, and
carcinogens.
When we eat to detoxify the
body, it's not the diet doing the detoxification, but the body
detoxifying itself.
Eating the Standard America
Diet (SAD), eating out, eating processed foods, we Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-44986613517892092872013-05-13T12:38:00.000-05:002013-05-13T12:38:34.042-05:00Inflammation
The Diet, Part III
Inflammation
I began this new diet largely because
I've been experiencing some inflammation around the top of my neck,
under my jaw. I've had lymph issues in the past, when I am eating poorly and stressing out. I have been eating poorly and stressing out, so it was a time for a change.
I made a
list of foods that were anti-inflammatory, in an effort to replace
the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-28858964405574833182013-05-09T10:25:00.000-05:002013-05-11T11:06:28.256-05:00The 24-Hour Fast
My diet revolves around
eating cycles. For 24 hours I eat...and for 24 hours I fast.
This is by no means meant to
be absolute, do or die, but an ideal to strive for—not to get upset
about if I fall short of the mark, and I am free to make adjustments.
I can easily turn this into a 20-hour fast, or a 36-hour fast.
I am aiming for three
24-hour fasts a week. Ideally the end of each fast Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-65094964011631556712013-05-07T16:32:00.000-05:002013-05-07T16:35:44.849-05:00The Diet: Part 1
I haven't posted in a while but today I
decided to begin blogging my new dietary changes, my experiments with food, and
some of the research I'll be doing on living a healthy lifestyle.
Going forward I must note that I have
several biases that will make this scientifically inaccurate. I
expect this to be positive. Based on past experience with intermittent fasting and eating whole foods, I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-44401919168428388412013-04-22T18:54:00.000-05:002013-04-22T18:54:39.447-05:00The Sad AmericaI've seen keyboard jockeys in the last several days disregard the rights given by the sixth, seventh, and eighth amendments to our constitution, as they rail in anger against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.If anger is all the reason people need to throw out the constitution....Explain to me how the average American is any different from the average political extremist or even mentally ill person. The Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-5490843163944033292013-04-08T19:49:00.000-05:002013-04-08T19:49:39.528-05:00Full on Writer Mode
I have not blogged for a
while—not for a month, obviously—but that is not an
indication of a fallow field. I have been hard at work, spending
March working on three short stories, getting rough drafts completed (coals for the fire).
Two of these were stories I had
written as a teenager, and the third is from a couple of
years ago. I rewrote them, and I hope to revise and publish them in
theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-88387422911002656852013-03-12T20:45:00.000-05:002013-03-12T20:45:20.647-05:00Mindful of Health
There are many ways of looking at health. We can live a
healthy lifestyle to prolong life, or to avoid future disease, or
because it's interesting or fun or a challenge.
I focus on my health to feel good right now. I am less interested in
longevity, or avoiding disease. I do not feel I can control the
future.
What I can control, to an
extent, is my current body. This is far easier Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-66186548926462088312013-03-07T14:09:00.000-06:002013-03-07T14:13:11.269-06:00Do It, And Get It Over With
Progress is slowly but
surely being made in my recovery from Social Anxiety Disorder.
Last time I wrote about my anxiety I was talking about overcoming
speaking on the phone and driving a car. I hit a plateau in that
time, as I ran out of things to work on, but now I've set my sights
on getting a job.
As far as I'm concerned,
working or going to school are the worst of my problems. These areAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-4269177900918415452013-02-26T08:43:00.001-06:002013-02-26T08:43:02.400-06:00The Success of Consistency: Part II
One of my biggest problems
in recent years (prior to 2012) was a lack of focus on whichever
writing project I was working on. Writing a rough draft was the easy
part, the hard part was finishing any of them. I wrote five novels in
a six year period. I finished none of them.
There were several reasons
for this. One was the psychological problem of being afraid of
success. I felt that if I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-11256799658771184872013-02-22T11:29:00.000-06:002013-02-26T08:43:30.088-06:00The Success of Consistency: Part I
I define consistency as
performing an activity on a regular basis. Otherwise we perform
activities irregularly, maybe once a month at random intervals, or
give up altogether after a week or two.
A regular basis can be
daily or weekly, depending on what we're doing. It can also be
cyclical. In fact, consistency need
not be every day for the rest of our lives, nor should it be. The
body and Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-26006976563211628782013-02-18T15:30:00.000-06:002013-02-18T15:32:20.654-06:00Tao of Anxiety: Letting Go
There is a debilitating
misconception about forgiveness in Western culture. It's that
forgiveness is about the other person.
Reality is that
forgiveness doesn't have to involve the other person at all, if we choose not to.
When we
forgive someone we are letting go of something within us. We are
acknowledging that though the other person has hurt us, it is not
that initial hurt that Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-20740636043993068342013-01-28T13:20:00.000-06:002013-01-28T13:20:10.771-06:00Writing For Myself, Now and Tomorrow
I am writing
for myself, for today.
But in a way I am writing for my future
self.
When I am 40 years old I will
have written a dozen or more novels, numerous short stories and
novellas, blogs—my byline will be plastered to the internet.
Today I have published one short novel
and two short stories. I am 26.
This is the problem I have. A question:
What is more important right now,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-3646933984643744702013-01-25T12:01:00.000-06:002013-01-25T12:38:14.096-06:00Tao of Anxiety: Continued Change
My recovery
from anxiety continues.
I've gotten over three phobias since
arriving in Louisiana.
I drive now, I use public restrooms,
and I talk on the phone. All three were restrictive in their own way, and now that they are gone I am capable of doing much more in life.
I'm not working yet, but I take
risks each day and with each risk I take I feel more confident and
open to the world Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-3710387802609541852013-01-22T18:51:00.004-06:002013-01-22T18:51:55.333-06:00Thinking About Writing...More
From now on
(for the rest of 2013, or at least for the foreseeable future) I'm
going to put more effort into marketing my writing. This means I need
to put my marketing cap on top of my writing cap and my research and
development cap on top of both of them because I'm going to have to
dig deep and come up with creative ways to get people interested in
what I write.
I know one thing. The Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-82218103685595668152013-01-18T11:55:00.001-06:002013-01-18T11:55:28.988-06:00Book Review: Inside Out
“Inside Out: A Personal History of
Pink Floyd” by Nick Mason
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. “Inside
Out” is a personal look at the evolution of Pink Floyd by drummer
Nick Mason. Not only is it interesting and educational, but the
writing was flawlessly succinct. (I could really write this on how
well edited the book was, and how easy it was to read.)
I have always imagined Pink Floyd
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-3988712589082209722013-01-11T17:58:00.000-06:002013-01-11T17:58:56.952-06:00Book Review: Why We Hate
“Why We Hate” by Rush W. Dozier,
Jr. was an interesting book. Dozier substantiated many of the ideas I
have had about hatred: namely, that hatred is a “normal” human
defense mechanism. Racism, for example, would not be possible without
the human instinct to regard what is different as dangerous (the
opposite of our instinct to be curious, but something that would have
protected us from Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-4581480973007056122013-01-08T10:02:00.002-06:002013-01-08T10:02:54.781-06:00The 2012 Fighting Irish
The Notre
Dame Fighting Irish had a fantastic football season in 2012 and I'm
glad it's over so I can sit back and enjoy it in full. I'm doing just
that. You'd think that after getting blown out in their last game of
the season I'd be dejected, but I feel as if I've discovered the
leprechaun’s gold.
The team won 12 times. The Irish
beat three teams that had a legitimate chance at the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-24319235051539543872013-01-04T13:30:00.001-06:002013-01-04T13:30:39.488-06:00Book Review: Jingo by Terry Pratchett
“Jingo”
by Terry Pratchett
Note: This isn't going to be a
review on a novel so much as a review on an author and myself.
I don't often take, at least
immediately, someone's suggestion to read a particular book or
author. I usually file these in the back of my mind for when I'm
bored or am looking for something new to read. But this time I asked
my friend, Daniel Golightly, what he Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-19764819506280718362012-12-28T17:09:00.000-06:002012-12-28T17:09:11.083-06:00Book Review: The Science of Yoga
“The Science of Yoga: The Risk and
Rewards” by William J. Broad
At around 220 pages, The Science of
Yoga is not a very long book, but it is a very demanding
one—if only because it contradicts so many mistaken beliefs.
William J. Broad attempts to bring perspective to this ancient
practice, not to disprove it, but to make it better.
Broad takes Yoga seriously. He's benefited
personally Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4891001968149686306.post-65535098521939292312012-12-21T10:34:00.001-06:002012-12-21T10:34:39.610-06:00Book Review: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
A very short preface: This is book review #1. Since I'm now living in a larger city, the public library has much more to offer. I was there a week ago and checked out several books, and in the course of reading I decided that for any book that I enjoyed (any book that I actually finished), I would review it. As if the subject of my first review is a foreshadowing of my goals for this series, IAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04454406837183787620noreply@blogger.com4