Blog – Page 19 – NAK Baldron

Writing Log July 14th, 2016

July 14, 2016 No Comments

2:24 – Word count, 0. I’m about to start my night of writing. Tonight’s goal is 3,500 words. If all goes well I’ll hit that before 6 am. I’m at home tonight rather than at work, so this will be different. I’ve got myself setup in a comfortable spot. I’ve got my headphones on and will listen to classical music. I find that it helps me focus a little more. The only down side to writing at home, is everyone else is trying to sleep, so I have to be extra quite and keep the lighting low. I’ve had my pot of coffee and have plenty of water. I find that writing these blog entries help to clear my mind and focus me on the task of writing. It’s almost like free writing to get my mind in the ‘writer’ mode. 3:09 – Word count, 1,303. Not bad for about […]

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Æther Walker: Game Changer Cover

July 13, 2016 No Comments

My hands are shaking from a mixture of Death Wish coffee, and the amazing cover I just got in for my novel, Aether Walker: Game Changer. Domi, over at Inspired Cover Designs, did a fantastic job and was extremely helpful throughout the process. If you’ve been following the blog, you know I’ve been a small rut; not putting out the words per day I wanted. The cover art is just the motivation I needed to get my ass in gear. My heart is racing, and it finally feels real. I’ve been in this weird place for a couple months where I’m becoming an author, but not feeling like one. With the cover in, where I can see my name and the title, I feel like an author. I’ll have to get some cards made, so when people ask the annoying proverbial question, “what do you do?” I can answer, “I’m […]

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Back From Break

July 11, 2016 No Comments

Sorry for the laps in posts. As of right now, I’m at the 60% mark for the novel, with just over 43,000 words. I’m back at work after a four day weekend. I took the time to read and relax. I feel fully revitalized. I’ve learned that I can’t put off reading while I’m writing. I was avoiding it so another author’s voice wouldn’t affect my own, but upon review I think that was a silly worry. Reading helps keep my mind sharp. I need other stories to help me see new ways of developing plot, character growth, etc. etc. I also got a new hair-cut for the summer. With it being well over 100 here I had to take a few inches off to cut down on the heat on my head. I’m happy to be back, and excited to tear into the novel. I’m going to set myself […]

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Step Six: Make Your Job Work For You

July 3, 2016 No Comments

First, I’ll give credit where credit is due. My life-partner had recommended I do this for some time. However, it wasn’t until I heard Brandon Sanderson discuss working night audit, that I considered it seriously. So babe, I’m very sorry I didn’t listen to you sooner, and thank you for showing me the door. After loosing my job with Uber, I started looking for new options. After about a week, My life-partner suggested a night audit position again. We had both worked in hotels before while we were in college. However, she had been a General Manger and I work for a property management company handling their debt collection. By far one of the most entertaining jobs I’ve ever had. I had already made major life changes, but was still looking for an even better way to make writing my first priority. In comes a Night Audit position. We found […]

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Writing Software Review: Q10

June 29, 2016 No Comments

I was digging through the old blog and found this post from early 2013. Everything seems to still be true. Every blog post you read here was written using this software. Even with my novel, I use this in conjunction with Scrivener. I’ve been using my handy dandy notepad for years now. It’s much easier for me to write without lines and spell check distracting me from the ideas. However, I’ve found something better to use called Q10. This self contained simple piece of software comes in at less than 1mb, and can be ran from a jump drive. All of the files can be exported as .txt files which means they can be used on any system. The only drawback is the program is meant to run on Windows. However, I’ve been able to use it with Linux through Wine. You can find the software here, http://www.baara.com/q10/. List of awesome Features: Full Screen mode – The […]

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Federal Security Bureau: Case Number VI.1432.2.1

June 21, 2016 No Comments

Here is an old short story I wrote in 2013. I found it in the archives of an old blog. There was even a photo of me with long hair. Hopefully you find this entertaining. Thank you for reading. Jack didn’t understand how it came to this. He had always been a strong supporter of the party, paid his taxes, went to rallies, and contributed to the campaign funds during national elections. However, there he was sitting in the darkened cell chained to his chair, and all the FSB agent had told him was he would be detained until the incident could be contained. Jack had no idea what they meant by incident. That morning he had gone to work like normal. Stopped at the Starbucks on his office buildings first floor for his morning coffee and then taken the elevator up to the 20th floor. The moment he stepped […]

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Step Five: Shit Happens

June 18, 2016 No Comments

The City of Austin decided to regulate ride-share companies at the beginning of 2016. The new regulations that would be implemented on-top of the federal regulations would result in both Uber and Lyft pulling out of Austin. As such, citizens untied and quickly organized to form and petition to stop the implementation of the new regulations. Over 60,000 Austinites signed the petition. As such Prop 1 was formed and placed on the ballot for May 7th. A vote yes on Prop 1 would force the city to stop all actions to regulate ride-share companies and their drivers. A vote no on Prop 1 would leave the regulations as they stood and they would go into effect as scheduled. Prop 1 didn’t pass, with about 55,000 people saying no, and 34,000 people saying yes. So, once again I was unemployed, but this time not by choice. We were shocked. My life-partner […]

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Night Audit June 16th, 2016

June 16, 2016 No Comments

3:23 – Word count, 2,527. I didn’t start writing until after night audit. So that’s an hour, maybe a tad over. Regardless, that’s a new record not only for words written in an hour, but also words written at once without stopping. Feels great. I guess my mind knew it needed to make up for the past two weeks. I’m still about 6,500 words behind my goal, but that’s ok. Goals are just that. A place I want to be. I want to reach the point that I’m constantly writing 12,500 words a week. It will take time, focus, and dedication. Until then I’ll just take solace in the fact that I just broke the 37,000 word count for the novel. Besides, I’m sure once I hit the point that I write 12,500 words a week, I’ll want to raise my goal and aim for 15,000 or more. Goals are […]

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Night Audit June 14th, 2016

June 14, 2016 No Comments

0:44 – Word count, 419. Not bad given that I’ve only been writing for thirty minutes. The hotel is insane. It took nearly an hour for the person working before me to wrap up and leave. I didn’t write a single word yesterday. I’ll need to make that up over the next few days. I need to find a place I can write at home. I keep the same schedule when I’m home. Waking up at 22:00 and going to bed around 15:00. However, I don’t have a good place to write at night when I’m home. 1:57 – Word count, 867. Night audit is messed up to the point that I can’t run the reports. My GM won’t return my calls. I’m now stuck and have no idea how to resolve this issue. I’ve officially crossed my limit. When I get home, I’ll shower, put on some nice cloths, […]

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Night Audit June 12th, 2016

June 12, 2016 No Comments

1:24 – Word count, 783. I’ve only been at it for about an hour. The night started off a little crazy, and there have been more calls than usual. However, since about 0:40 it’s been quite. Unless night audit is a total mess again, I should be fine. I missed my weekly goal of 12,500 words last week, by 3,354. That would require me to write over 5,000 words tonight to make it up, so I doubt that will happen. However, over the course of the week, I only need 2,266 per day to hit this weeks goal and make up last week. I think that is achievable. I spoke with my GM on Friday about how the job has been. We agreed that I’ve had to take on more responsibility than anticipated, due to under performance of my coworkers. She has agreed to address that with them, but we […]