What would New Year's Eve be without a resolution?

It always amazes me how the busy-ness and stress of the holiday season tends to push my writing aside, despite the fact that writing is generally the way I deal with stress.

I haven't touched my creative writing in what seems like weeks, and even my non-fiction has taken a back seat to the Christmas insanity.

So, I make a resolution here in public - I will not allow my writing to be pushed to the back burner for any reason. It is too important.

A dilemna about dilemma. Or vice versa.

It has come to my attention that I have been spelling the word "dilemma" wrong for nearly 30 years.

You see, as a young boy in elementary school, I was taught that the word was spelled "dilemna".

However, in my post regarding decisions, the spellchecker flagged it as incorrect. Naturally, I assumed it was a glitch in the checker - I couldn't have been wrong for all these years, could I?

Um, yeah - I was. I "Googled" the word, and came up with all kinds of information on what has apparently been a raging grammatical debate for years. My immediate reaction was that it seems many people have too much free time. But after getting over that, I discovered that the correct dictionary spelling is indeed "dilemma".

Oops.

The non-fiction won. Kind of.

I guess I made a decision from the last post. Sort of, anyway.

I've launched my new sports opinion blog (which, fingers crossed, may be picked up by a local sports publication's website), entitled "Everybody's Got an Opinion".

It'll be an outlet for my non-creative writing.....I have a passion for writing, and a passion for sports. It only makes sense to combine them where possible - especially if it can pull some additional exposure for my words and name.

So, if you are a friend of mine....or a sports fan....or just a sympathetic soul, then please visit.

Let me rephrase that. Doesn't really matter who you are. Just visit. Please. :)

Everybody's Got an Opinion

Decisions, decisions........

A dilemna presents itself.

I have several in-progress fiction works on my desk in front of me.

I have the plans and framework for two blogs - one on local sports, and one on sales and marketing tips - on the desk as well.

As I pick up a fiction piece to continue my work on it, I feel like what I should really be doing is working on the blogs, since they could potentially become sources of (teeny-tiny amounts of) income.

But then I feel guilty neglecting my stories, since as writers we are supposed to write what we love, are we not?

Invariably, this will lead to me becoming frustrated and pushing it all aside to go watch hockey highlights on the NHL Network.

Guess that makes the decision less important in the long run.

Distractions

I struggle badly with defeating distractions.

Small apartment (with my computer and desk located in the living room), 10 year old son, job and household responsibilities.......it all adds up to major difficulties in completing a writing project.

Even as I write this, the TV blares in the background and conversations carry on - noise and activity that impairs the thought process for even something as simple as a blog post.

No wonder my book sits in a state of complete disarray.

This is where it started........

My journey as a writer began with a few simple sentences scrawled in a notebook; I had no idea what the sentences would become, but the words spoke to me. Now, several years later, those words form the first twelve sentences of this post - the very beginnings of my in-progress novel, that may someday actually be complete. The story is geared toward teens.

INTRODUCTION

The searing pain shot through him like a lightning bolt, instant and ferocious in its intensity as he crumpled to the ice. A pain that blinded him to his surroundings and seemingly stopped time. Then, nothing. No sensation at all, complete silence. He was, for a moment, deaf to the throng of people beginning to surround him, panicked and screaming, as he lay there in a strange sort of peace. The siren approaching outside the rink ended the silence, as angry shouts broke the peace.


“What a cheap shot!”

“That dirty son-of-a………”

“Oh, God….look at his leg!”


A large fight had broken out several yards away, as a sea of dark blue jerseys attempted some sort of retribution for their fallen teammate. Striped shirts intertwined and whistles blew frantically as the referee and linesmen struggled to break up the brawl; meanwhile the frightened trainer shouted for the paramedics to bring a backboard and stretcher. The voices and chaos blended into a sea of white noise as he faded in and out of consciousness…………..

He awoke with a start, growling in anger and soaked in sweat, the recurring dream having interrupted his sleep for the fourth night in a row.

“Dammit, what do I gotta do to get a solid night’s sleep?” he muttered to himself. “Practice starts in three months – how am I gonna be ready if I can’t get a good night’s rest before training?”

He rolled out of bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he winced in pain. The softly glowing light on the alarm clock read 4:42 AM as he exited the bedroom and limped down the hallway toward the kitchen. Grimacing again at the pain that just wouldn’t go away, he stepped through the doorway and flipped on the light, squinting in the sudden brightness.

After pouring a glass of milk, he sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, trying to forget the nightmare that continued to plague him. The doubts began to creep in again……..was all of this really worth it? He gritted his teeth as he slammed his hand down on the table.

“It’s absolutely worth it……..I’m coming back from this!”