Michael Pickell

  Song mood: Just Like Heaven by the Cure. I downloaded another writing craft book: Writing in the Dark by Dean Wesley Smith. It was a writing book recommended in the Be A Writing Machine book that I’m reading. Basically this book is about writing without an outline, or writing in the dark. Most writing groups and creative writing teachers and most of the writing community in general are against pantsers, or people who write by the seat of their pants. Writing in the Dark is book that shows how to write a novel without outlines. I need to do whatever it takes to get stories done. Which, is why I’m reading all these craft books at the moment. I discovered pulp fiction and the successful writers like Georges Simenon. I read the Maigret books and say, these are good quality books. I’ve a had a few low energy days for the last several days. Where I just wanted to sleep. The last couple of nights I have been watching the Murdock Mysteries. It is what it is. The series takes place in

  Song mood: Feel Good Inc by the Gorillaz. I heard that the vaccination schedule has opened up for 18 and up in Nebraska.  So far of all the places that are doing are filled up for appointments.  Or that is what their websites are saying.  I will probably be calling the places as well.  I want to get the vaccine as soon as possible. My stimulis check came and I am using it along with the previous one to pay off credit cards.  That’s also where my tax return will go.  My goal for this year is to eliminate credit card debt.  And then continue to build my savings account. I want to build a certain financial stability.  Another reason I want to be a successful pulp fiction writer. I started listening to The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.  It’s an excellent break from mysteries.  Part nostalgia, part twilight zone and every bit sci-fi.  The audiobook is of the original and not the updated one of 1997.  The reason I know is because of the dates in the book.  Many guys complain

  Song mood: Need You Tonight by INXS. I added another book to my growing list of books: Be a Writing Machine by M.L. Ronn.  He has a lot of advice on being prolific.  I want to write more books.  Mainly because I have a lot of story ideas that never get written.  So, I'm getting over the need for my stories to be absolutely perfect.  And now I just need to get projects done. From the start, Ronn mentioned Scrivener IOS.  I have Scrivener on my Mac.  When I looked it up for phone apps, I found out that it was a free download because I already bought the program.  I'm writing this post on my phone.   I have no problems writing stuff on my phone.  It was just awkward with the basic notes program.  Now I just need to sync up from my phone and that's where Dropbox comes in handy.   It will be a game changer to be able to write stuff on my phone with a decent writing program.  I could write at a lake or state park without the need of my computer. So for the next part of

  Song mood: Situation No Win by Big Audio Dynamite (BAD). Currently I’m reading The Big Four by Agatha Christie. This one isn’t grabbing my attention. When she tried to write international spy novels, the weren’t as good when she did straight out mysteries. Her spy thrillers weren’t realistic at all. I’m also reading Maigret Sets a Trap by Georges Simenon. I wanted to know how the book compares to the television series with Mr Bean playing Maigret. This book caught my interest right away. It is very similar to the TV series. Georges Simenon published 10 Maigret novels in the first year he became a he started writing the Maigret novels. About as many the second year. He published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. There were 75 Maigret novels and 28 short stories. Granted most of the Maigret novels are actually novellas, but still, the numbers are impressive. He truly was a pulp fiction master. I’m hoping that by studying his works, that I too could become a pulp fiction m

  It was a tragedy that those Asian women and their patrons were killed in the latest of the American shootings.   A sad tragedy.  More the reason to learn a martial art.        I joined a karate Dojo.  It was in the YMCA where I was living.  It was then I knew that there were some really good people in the world.  My Sensei, probably of Scandinavian descent, is one of the most understanding people in the world.  Which is why I felt guilty moving to Omaha when I was a second degree purple belt.  If I would have stayed one year later, I would have reached third degree brown belt and the next test would have been for my black belt. But I didn’t.  I left when I did because I thought bettering my English and Writing were very important.  I know enough about karate to know when proper form is being taught and when it isn’t.  There were no karate teachers in Omaha who could teach me because their form wasn’t correct. Well, now decades after I first moved to Omaha, I am way out of practice.

Song mood: Beautiful Day by U2. A bit tired today.  I maybe woke up around fourish.  Sometimes I have the fortune of falling back asleep.  This morning I started thinking about character types and just spending time journaling about each type.  The three types I was thinking about was the giver, taker, and the self-made or empowered person. So I’m taking it easy.  I’ll probably read a bit of a James Scott Bell book and mark down that I did craft study.  This blog post counts as journaling. I should be working on my mystery or my serial fantasy, but I’m tired. And so, like the last several years, I stayed home on St Patty’s Day.  There isn’t a real reason to go out.  St Patrick’s Day is religious or family holiday, so why has it been a party holiday in America?  But then there are people who drink a bit during Christmas. I’ve been eating corned beef for the last two weeks.  Mainly because it’s cheaper around this time of year. At around the beginning of the 19 th century, Irish Americ

  Song mood: Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve. My progress on my projects is slow.  But I am making progress.  Doing things the pulp fiction way helps.  It helps because I always needed my writing to be perfect.  An idea of the story that I could never quite manage.  Granted I’m not working on the projects I deemed as important.  But in the act of doing, I’m learning how to write the way I want to write.  It doesn’t make too much sense, but it is what it is. Another thing that aided in my progress is having a sheet to check off what I did each day.  That has helped a lot.  Which is why the list wasn’t all about writing, but exercising as well.  Now I need to tweak my diet a bit more.  I mean not eating as much french fries and cutting down on carbs. I had my eye exam on Friday.  My sight had changed a bit.  The optician looked at my cheap glasses and told me why it was weird.  Of course I didn’t tell him that after accidentally sitting on a pair of expensive glasses I ordered t

  Song mood: Inside Out by Eve 6. Saturday morning, I will be at Lauritzen Gardens to see the Folklore exhibit again.  I think I may go to Louie M’s Burger Lust afterwards as I like to go to that restaurant when I’m in the area. I’m making more progress on my mystery.  I’m doing the initial interviews that Inspector Trevor makes upon the murder scene.  The book will be in three parts.  Each part will be broken down by date.  Then the scenes will be labeled by numbers so that when the book is read the listener will know there is a new scene.  Like when there is a couple of interviews of suspects, they don’t bleed into each other. I have fun with mystery, but at times I write a bit slower. The serial fantasy story, I seem to be writing week by week.  I have fun writing that as well.  It’s a different kind of fun. So far, I have increased the amount I write.  I have also increased the amount that I exercise.  My three main goals for exercise is to lose weight, have stronger core m

  Song mood: One Thing by Finger Eleven. Due to my becoming more of a private person, I don't post as much on this blog.  Tonight I was watching this artist’s vlog on youtube and decided to do a blog post.  Nothing super personal. I’ve been wanting to reach out to other artists and writers.  But now days I don’t want to be a burden to other artists. One thing I would like to do is hire someone to do is my logo.  A friend from my writing group just published a book through a small book publisher.  Within a week, someone had ordered the book and then copied and published it again through Amazon.  Though the book was copied, the thieves were in a hurry and there were a lot of typos and grammatical errors not to mention that the proceeds of the fake books went to someone else.  The thing that the fake copies didn’t have was the logo.  She was able to spread the word about the no logo copies.  But the logo may be easy enough to do by myself. The other thing that I would like to