Vol IV: #1 The Beginning of Year Four
Since the beginning of the month, I’ve spent considerable time contemplating my next step as a writer. The goal was to answer the the basic questions regarding goals, subject matter, and purpose. I thought about including book reviews of the books I read. At my current reading pace, I’d have 2-3 reviews a month. But, I decided against the idea because the world doesn’t need more reviewers. No. What the world needs- in my view- is more storytellers and poets.
So, accordingly, I’ve decided to write more with the intent of learning how to tell a story. And I need to distinguish the difference between writing and publishing. In my first year of writing, I published 330+ blogs which was insane. The goal in Year Four is to dedicate at least one hour every single week day and two hours each Saturday and Sunday to honing my craft. How many blog posts and poems that will produce is yet to be determined. If I spend multiple days on a post, so be it. Similarly, I may pump out multiple posts per Saturday. Who knows?
This approach has me excited about the next 365 days. By my calculations, if I stick to my new target I will write on average nine hours per week. Factoring in sick days, travel, and a few holidays, I figure I’ll write for nearly 458 hours over the coming year. That’s a lot when you think about it…kinda like a part time job? Hobbies don’t become jobs by fluffing around or being a weekend warrior. Right?
What’s got me jazzed the most though is deepening my experience as a storyteller- the learning to wrestle with words and characters, of setting a story, building characters, and leading my readers to new places. At times, it feels like a waste. What do I have to say that hasn’t been said? How are my stories any different or worth reading than the last? This where I lean back on my culinary past for a glimpse of what I know is possible, because I’ve created dishes no one else has or thought to: seared scallops with compressed watermelon and tequila, smoked short ribs with roasted rice cakes, kimchee, and soy/red wine reduction. My personal favorite was the broiled cured pork belly, topped it with fresh salmon and black soy caviar. And these dishes weren’t given to me by God in dreams, but were the product of time spent learning how to cook. I mean, I spent hours and hours pouring over cookbooks, watching and rewatching YouTube videos, shopping for speciality ingredients from all over, and making mistake after mistake. I’ve over-salted clams and undercooked chicken, and I still haven’t nailed down truly great fried chicken. But, damnit, I can cook. And the food business wanted me, up to the very end. I still had offers to run a kitchen, cook what I wanted. Now I’m here, toiling away in my dingy little tent of internet. And If I become the same creative author I was as a chef, I’m gonna be happy. Very happy.
Here’s to the year to come. May the Lord bless me with patience and grace and the wisdom to find help when needed.
