When we’re out delivering the mail, we have a notation we make on the route paperwork “Animal Interference”. This is normally reserved for the any stray dogs that make us unable to deliver a certain part of the route, or in my case, a stray hawk wanting to eat part of my satchel.
That’s a tale for a different time, but I sent this to my Postmaster, citing “Animal Interference”.
The Postmaster responded with “They’re behind a fence, so you should be safe.”
Sir, I don’t think that fence is going to stop those dinosaurs. But I managed to get through the day without being eaten. It was a near thing, though.
As the title should tell you, there was an attempt!
The moment of downtime from yesterday was taken up by the reason for the title’s question, which I will get to. Instead, I went about my traditional writing time, late in the evening and struggling against the exhaustion of being a late-30s guy with a manual labor career.
This is to say: I got another page of story before my sleepiness started influencing my typing, resulting in an additional two pages of incoherent babble. This means, unfortunately, that my late-evening awake period was spent cleaning up what I had worked on earlier and deleting the word salad.
Maybe I can sell the latter parts for political speeches. They’d probably make more sense than what those folks keep trying to promulgate.
In regards to developing the Lightspear Forms, I’ve come across an interestingly frustrating snag. I’ve been trying to find an artist who could help me with visuals to those Forms (who hopefully will understand that payment arrangements would be made; I support artists, but I am also poor and could never pay a full commission right off the bat) much like the Lightsaber Forms do.
These are absolutely gorgeous illustrations.
The snag was when I realized I couldn’t find the artist of the above illustrations in order to credit them or seek them out for possible work/references. I’m going to find out who made this artwork eventually, but the initial searches proved fruitless. That’s irritating to me; no artist should have their work up without their name attached to it. If any of my readers knows who created these illustrations, please let me know.
In the realm of the day-job, I was shown some kindness by my customers and presented with a gift: a new hat!
This is now my favorite work hat and I will not be accepting anything else.
We postmen complain about bad customers, but I have to say that I have good people on my route.
And finally, a moment of startled embarrassment. I’ve been learning what I can about the business end of being a writer, limited as I am without a higher education in the field (or any field, really; learned more math through my work than ever did in a classroom), and I was told by several folks that “I need an agent”.
‘Why’ was my first question. I’ve known of writers having agents and that doing so could help the writer with selling a series, but that’d make sense for an established author. For someone like me, who’s been writing for 20-odd years and hasn’t had a single response to his submissions, it strikes me as wasting the agents’ time. But I looked into it, nonetheless.
After a morning of research and not really finding any definite answers (ah, the internet; so vast and full of information, but dammit does need a library system to sort that information into ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ essays), I came across an agent who had some big names on his list. Terry Goodkind, Mercedes Lackey, Harry Turtledove, and what caught my full attention: Timothy Zahn.
I managed to find the firm and agent who represented authors I was a huge fan of (and vaguely interact with online; Turtledove is very polite to his fans), so what do you suppose I thought to be a good idea?
I wrote him an email. After reading his page and seeing how he went about taking on clients, I thought he’d be the person to ask for advice on the world of literary agents. I wrote about my personal science fiction story I was working on (I won’t be putting it up here, as there is a slim chance it could be publishable) and asked what I’d need to make it presentable.
That’s all par for the course with me, understand. I’ve gone to people seeking advice before, and thought nothing of asking questions of high-level writers (and when they respond, they’re genuinely helpful), but I’ll admit I was nervous about writing to someone like this individual. It wasn’t until after I hit “Send” that I realized something: my email has this blog’s address attached to its signature, as I write emails to current and prospective players.
I basically wrote a fan letter to a high-level literary agent, asked him for advice and what I needed to gain an agent, and sent him an invite to read a blog. My best case scenario is that the email was deleted before being read. At worst, he’s read it and come here to look my fan-fiction over, and that’d be the end of my writing career. I need a very deep hole to hide myself in from the sheer embarrassment.
So, with that story-time finished, I’m off to sling letters and hope for a few moments to whittle away more at the Sidewinder Stories. To the agent I inadvertently invited over here, if you’re reading this: I apologize.
Stay safe out there, readers, and check your email signatures.
The kids noted two things while we were ambling to leave the house this morning: “Dad, it’s still dark out here!” and “It’s way too cold!”
Sigh…they’re Louisiana kids, and they don’t have experience with autumn or winter temperatures. Gotta give them slack.
I, on the other hand, have fond memories of the South having actual seasons. Today is what we call “Mailman Weather”.
Amazing.
The kids will learn eventually that having triple-digit temperatures is not preferred, most likely when they realize that they’re not slowly cooking while playing outside.
While they’re struggling with weather changes, I’m handling my own struggle. I knew that it would happen eventually, but I was not expecting it to happen so soon: Math homework is confusing to this old man.
I have no idea what’s going on.
If this were algebra, geometry, or even basic calculus, I could help the kid. But I read the instructions and stared at this sheet for a solid minute before the 6yr old took it from me and said “It’s okay, Dad, I’ll ask Mom.”
Thank God Sarah is in the education field and an actual mathematician. I proved to be no help at all, and I find that to be deeply insulting.
There will be moments throughout the day that I’ll be able to work on the Sidewinder Stories. At this point, I’m pushing myself to finish Mardek’s Side-Arc so not only you can read it, but I can read the thing. This is what happens when you keep telling yourself to finish a story: you start obsessing over seeing the finished product.
With that, I’m off to sling letters and handle route maintenance to finish the half-day. 400 addresses to update…yay…
For my players going into Arc 3: This post has a spoiler detail.
I haven’t worked an over-12-hour shift in a long while, but today was especially drawn-out for the mail route. This does mean I’m going to see a nice increase in the paycheck that will cover this week, but it also means I will have to explain my actions for today. The irony to it is that I did not take any rest stops while on the route, meaning I never stopped moving. But by the time it was around 3:30 PM, I was dragging myself along through 100-degree heat.
Maybe management will hear that explanation and stop haranguing me for my rest stops. Most likely they won’t, but it’ll be fun to explain that to them and watch them struggle to rationalize with the facts.
But I’m finally home, the kids were put to bed, and I have my notes up for writing. I might be tired but I also have been wanting to get my ideas down, so there’s a small pot of coffee brewing. As the players step into Arc 3, named “Wartime Diaries”, I wanted to explore the aspects of ground warfare within Star Wars. We’ve seen parts of it in several novels, and Rogue One did a great job at portraying it on the screen, but I wanted to reflect the background of The Empire Strikes Back in this Arc. In my writing, I went to one of my favorite Star Wars authors for inspiration: Timothy Zahn.
I knew I wanted an overall antagonist for the Arc, but I didn’t want the focus to be on just naval combat. I didn’t want to use a Grand Admiral. I knew the primary focus of the combat scenes would be on ground/personal combat, so I needed a type of military leader who was an equivalent of a Grand Admiral.
So, the Galactic Empire has a new rank: the Field Marshal.
Whereas the Grand Admirals were numbered 12 and in overall command of the Empires’ Fleets, the Field Marshals were numbered 7 and responsible for the tactics and uses of the vast Imperial Army. So far, there’s only one Field Marshal in the story: Field Marshal Erdan Tam.
Marshal Tam will be the ultimate antagonist of Arc 3. I haven’t decided yet if he will become personally involved in any interactions with the Field Group, but I’m looking forward to seeing the Group overcome his plans.
It was my regularly scheduled day off today, but management wanted me to come in. I was expecting this, but I had not expected them to attempt putting me on a route that was not my assignment or anywhere near it.
I ended up having an argument with the supervisors and was given the day. While this is normally a victory for me, it was also a message being sent to management: I was standing up for myself.
This means I have to be well-informed about the various contracts and union regulations that are integral to my day job, so while I was running errands for my household, I was also downloading every PDF even remotely related to my union.
I was the Local’s Reference Librarian for the day. This is both fun and infuriating, as I enjoy looking through various sources for similarities. It’s actually a very regular occurrence for a GameMaster/DungeonMaster, so I’m comfortable with the research. It was infuriating because I was wanting to write during my downtime, not read through five different manuals.
Alas…
This action led to multiple carriers calling/texting me with questions about the contracts. After several asked me to print up the rules I was looking at, I asked the Local steward if we had a website I could refer the questions to.
Turns out, none of our union representatives set up a site for us. My immediate thought was “Well, that’s not right”, and before I knew it, I was building the thing.
Y’all owe me, just saying.
Why am I doing this? Because it’s necessary. Also, I’m a glutton for work. I’m going to have to put my writing off until the evening, after the kids are put to bed. That’ll make for a fun challenge.
I’ll be updating the Session Schedule with what will (if I’m lucky) be finished tonight and posted. Might have to make a pot of coffee to get it all done, though.
Gonna be a fun evening. Stay safe out there, readers.
Welp, it’s just after dawn and it’s time I got back to slinging letters.
Yay…at least it’s pretty in the morning
The irony to this is that while my writing time is about to be severely reduced, the walking helps me go over my ideas. Hopefully, I’ll still have energy left to me by the evening to get at least a couple pages.
Though I did pack the tablet with me, so maybe I’ll be lucky and have a few moments of downtime. Here’s hoping.
With the kids off to school, it’s time I walked back into the office and the world of the postmen.
It’s been said to me before that when you set something in your memory, a friends’ vehicle or a regular but significant interaction, you start noticing it more often in your everyday life. In the past, I would have scoffed at this notion.
But ever since taking up with the US Postal Service, I’ve found it all but impossible to avoid noticing the presence of the post office, even on my day off. I’ll be at home all day, never once stepping further from my home than the property line, and I’ll see a mail truck in some sitcom or movie. My family has taken great delight in pointing out a collection box or postal vehicle and saying “Look, it’s you!”
The sarcasm is strong in my family.
There are moments, however, that I’ll spot something that reminds me of work but doesn’t annoy me. Those are things of history, mostly. When I find something I know we used to use but is largely defunct, I’m always intrigued.
Spotted this in Dallas while I was out walking. That is a mail chute. When you have a multi-storied building that has multiple offices occupying it, you need an area to drop off outgoing mail, preferably on a floor the postman can access quickly. So, instead of leaving outgoing mail outside the office, tenants would simply drop the mail down the chute, and it’d be collected at the end of the day.
I wish we still used these, to be honest. Not only would be useful, since it’s uncommon for building tenants to use the collection box, but it’d be a connection between me and my postal brethren of decades past.
Small moments like this are things I enjoy immensely.
I did manage to get some sleep, but thanks to Old Man Casey thinking he’s still a puppy if he tries hard enough, that sleep was intermittent as I had to push the 80-lb Golden Retriever around. Felt like fighting a sibling for sleeping space.
With everyone else sleeping in for their Saturday, I went through my morning routine and snapped a photo of the sunrise for Hannah.
Pretty, but makes me wish I lived somewhere with elevation.
With the scheduled posts up and my priority list for GameMaster notes finished, I’ll be looking at the list to see what I can work on during the weekend. Come Monday, however, I’ll be whittling away at the stories every day until the Main Arc session.
The Field Group had put in a request for an hour this evening so they can go over the Aftermath. Arc 2 ended on some high notes and they want to be ready for the next Arc.
On that note, I’m off to sling letters and get an answer for today’s question: Can a postman outrun a storm?
I was handling the early morning chores, taking the trash out while kids were getting dressed and wolfing down breakfast. Stepping onto the carport in the predawn light, I noticed a strange but familiar sensation.
It actually felt cold outside.
Twenty minutes before dawn in rural Louisiana
It looks like we’ll have an actual Fall season here in the Southern US, and who knows: it might last a full week! I’m not going to get my hopes up on that, though.
As it’s Friday, the mail is lighter and I’ve rested some after the Side-Arc session, so I’m confident I’ll get more on the writing list taken care of. I also packed the tablet for lunch (and might even take a lunch break) to handle what I can in the afternoon.
Best to check the Session Schedule and see what to expect during the day. This also reminds me to update the damn thing. Takes a while for a new habit to settle in.
With that, I’m off to sling letters. Stay safe out there, readers.
Had to move today’s post to Drafts for a bit as the events of the day presented themselves.
It was a historic day, readers, and it took a while for me to think about it. But it was also a day of personal joys and challenges in the game-writing world.
I started this post early in the morning with wanting to give praise to my players for their maturity with scheduling, and I will write about that. But the morning had me helping on a mail route that used to be my territory when I started out as a postman, and I came across two areas I wanted to make note of: my lunch tree and the House That Won’t Fall, as I call it.
A tiny spot of peace in a rough neighborhood.
Nowadays, I stay in my truck for mealtime so I can also write, but 11 (or 12? The memory is fuzzy) years ago, my customers learned that if the mailman is under that tree, they needed to leave him alone so he can eat.
Seriously, why don’t you fall?!
I’ve been passing this house for a decade now, and it’s slowly fallen into this state of decay, but every time I see it, I’m always amazed it’s still standing. One of these days, a hurricane will finally knock it down. I’ll be sad when that day occurs.
Speaking of sad days, I’ve been mulling over the news from the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II died today.
I’ve been ambivalent over this news. As a US American citizen, my national soul is tied to rebelling against the British monarchy. As a man of Irish descent, the memory of Royal British mistreatment of my people is at the forefront. But Queen Elizabeth II was an interesting woman with a great amount of history to her, and her stories were phenomenal to consider. It’s difficult for me to not be impressed and have respect for a woman who became Queen before my father was even born and still reigned when my daughter had just turned 6 years old, though I will be taking another look at her history to see how I feel about it with a different perspective.
The evening ended with my wanting to give praise to my players. The bane of a GameMaster is and will always be scheduling, especially in our adult years. I’m fairly strict with the Main Arc scheduling and the players understand that. If they can’t attend, they need to tell me in advance. I do have leniency for a couple of my players on the East Coast: they have infants and we start late for them, so they deserve sleep.
But we have a secondary set of sessions in the schedule, and there, the players thrive. Since everyone can’t always make the regular sessions, they will set aside time throughout the week for Side-Arc sessions. They can explore a different plot line and develop their characters.
Granted, it’s also putting a new challenge on my shoulders to come up with these plots, but as I view that as my area to really stretch my creativity (IE, I’m slightly insane with wanting to write so much), I see no problem with this. Unfortunately, those sessions are also plagued by exhaustion among us adults, so they don’t last long and often have to be broken into multiple segments, like this evenings’ with Gilga and Beak (expect Beaks’ Bio soon and Gilga’s once I get into Arc 2). We’ve set the follow-up for next week, and I’m looking forward to how they do.
With all of that said, it’s time I sought my bed before the desk becomes my pillow.
Swift's Corner 