A Writing Dilemma

Now exactly what could be so horrific to cause a writer to panic?

I'm 70+ years old and have several novels published, both traditionally and self-published. Not to mention several articles and posts that have offered internationally. Still, I, like so many other authors, remain unknown.

I'm considering not to continue my supposed writing career. At my age, I should be rocking away on the front porch, enjoying life as it passes by.

REALLY?

Enjoy life as it PASSES BY?  NO!  NO!  NO!

I had a few days this week when I actually considered dropping from the authorial world and just enjoy life, playing with the grandkids and great-grandkids, gardening, reading, and traveling. I almost had myself convinced to just sit back.

Then I decided I would step back from writing and just finish up those few novels I'd written and either never finished or needed to clean up to publish.  That sounded like a better idea. It could be something I do while we are traveling and camping... or sitting on the front porch. LOL.

I figured a one-year sabbatical - two years at the most - would be sufficient.

So, I made a list of those novels I needed to work on... uh, all 26 (the count so far) of them. That's correct!  I have 26 novels in different stages of completion. I actually may have more if I scrounge around on my laptop and backup files. This number does not include the myriad of short stories I have written.

Needless to say, I don't want to peek into the sub-directory named "Future Plots" or the other one named "Ideas" for fear of what I may find there.

Therefore, with the idea of not writing anymore now entrenched in my mind, I have decided that perhaps I should reconsider another avenue.

I won't write any more NEW books until I have the ones already on my laptop finished.

Exactly what does this mean?

It means I won't be participating in any future NaNoWriMos (that is National Novel Writing Month which happens in November) or seeing a wild-flung idea/plot from some obscure news article or tidbit discovered while surfing the internet.  Also, I might have to control my imagination when watching certain TV shows - like Aliens on the History channel or of that ilk. National Geographic and History channel can be great idea generators.  I can't give up Giorgio Tsoukalos, Erich von Daniken, David Childress, Peter Fiebag, Robert Bauval and Luc Burgin. Nor can I give up the SyFy channel.  I'll just have to control (aka lock down) my imagination.

I figure if I can finish, edit and publish at least two (2) books a year - it will take me a mere thirteen (13) years to finish all those I have lurking (aka languishing) on my laptop.  Even IF I were to be able to push myself to 3 books a year; it would still take over 8 years to finish them all. Exactly WHERE did I think one or two years would be sufficient?

Can I control my imagination to not... repeat, NOT want to write something new for the next ten years?

At the current time, I am open to any and all suggestions of how to complete the task at hand.

Uh, so you have a "basic" understanding of what I've got stuffed in my laptop --

5 Amish novels, one is a horror, the rest Christian and sort of a series
5 vampire novels (a series)
4 fantasy novels (a series)
2 action adventure novels (1 is a sequel to a published book)
3 epic fantasy novels
1 Native American werewolf vampire detective story
1 Native American fantasy
1 mainstream fiction
1 historical fiction
1 military fantasy
1 SF novel
1 fairy fantasy

As you can see, a very eclectic selection of stories. Oh, and the short stories are a collage of SF, horror, and fantasy... and we have NO count on those.

Is this the time I should mention, I have one "screenplay" I also have in the works and not part of the counts above?

HELP ME!

Until next I ramble on...

Small Town Movie Theater

Last week I noticed our local theater was showing a couple of movies I really, REALLY wanted to see and well, they're not the type my wife enjoys, so it would be a bachelor night out.

I was primed and excited.  A Thursday night.  I was going to go on Tuesday night but decided there really wasn't any reason since the Tuesday 2-for-1 price really wouldn't have any bearing on the matter. Plus, on Thursday night, it is BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag and let them fill it for free with popcorn.  All you pay for is the butter and extra butter, if you want it.  I've seen a group of 4 girls come in with a black trash bag and get it filled at least 1/3, if not 1/2 full.  Side note: They threw the EMPTY bag in the trash at the end of the movie!!

Anyway, Thursday night it was - a cheap night for me.  Showing was "The Martian" at cinema 1 and at cinema 3 was "The Intern."  With judicial timing, I could see "The Martian" at 5pm and step over to cinema 3 at 7:30pm to watch "The Intern."  It was going to be a perfect night.

Two movies, free popcorn.  Perfect, just perfect.

Did you note the earlier sentence... going to be?  Drove into town, found a parking spot which was easy since the whole town square seemed dead.  Walked to the movie theater, a little confused since the lights weren't on.  And for a very good reason.

They were closed.  HUH??

Seems that week they started the new policy.  Only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

So much for my double feature.  So much for the free popcorn.  As my one daughter-in-law constantly tells me: Sucks to be you.

I went home.  I was really down in the slumps.  I enjoyed going to the show during the week since it wasn't packed full of young kids, crying babies and others who really didn't want to see the movie so they decide to ruin for everyone else.

There was no way in Hell I would be going to the matinee at 5pm on a Friday or Saturday.  Every 15 year old in town would be filling the cheap seats.  And waiting for the 2nd showing after 7pm was just as bad with all the families and/or daters.

So, Sunday night, I figure it might be a safe play.  Everyone is getting ready to go back to work or school.  The 5pm showing could be gamey but not too bad.  The 2nd show should be okay.

Of course, the free popcorn won't happen.  No, I'll pay the senior price for a ticket, $5 for each show.  That will be a major investment of $10.  Then I'll need a big tub of butter popcorn - that should be about $4.50 plus a large diet pop, another $3.50.  I might be able to stretch the popcorn for the 2nd showing, but I'll definitely need another bladder-buster pop. Okay, let's be honest, I love popcorn. I'll have to buy more for the 2nd show.  Hm?  $16 in treats - if I don't buy any candy and only $10 to get in.

What's wrong with this picture?

Usually when I and my wife go out to the show, we call it date night.  And I'm cheap.

Some fast-food chain $1 menu - 2 burgers, 2 fries, 1 large drink = $5.00
Tuesday night 2-for-1 tickets = $5.00
Theater refreshments - 1 large tub of popcorn with extra butter and 2 large drinks = $11.50
Oh, I forgot, she has to have her Snowcaps = $3.00 (the same one you can buy for $.99 elsewhere.).

Well, it "was" a cheap night out until we hit the concession stand. LOL.

What really upsets me though is the fact that the movie theater is closed during the week.  How many remember the drive-in movies?  They were open every night, then only on weekends, and then...

I'm worried that our local theater will be closing.  It was a nice theater when I was kid - it was big with a stage that had magic shows and all sorts of wonderful entertainment, not to mention the Saturday matinees.  I joined the service, moved away and now I'm back, it has been upgraded and downsized into 3 cinemas enabling it to show all the new movies for a week before the next big flick hits the screen.

I think whoever is watching sales and marketing has lost it.  During the summer, it was open and had poor attendance.  Let's review:  It is summer.  I want to go on vacation.  I want to picnic.  I want to play baseball, tennis, go swimming or just enjoy the summer evening.  Now it is Fall.  Kids are back in school. Everyone is home.  Let's close the theater since nobody came during the summer.

Hellllooo???  Nobody was home during the summer!!  Marketing 101.  I'm not traveling as much. I'm not attending baseball games or swim meets.  I'm not picnicking.  I'm home.  In the evening, after the meal, I'd love to attend a movie for some entertainment.

Nope!!  Can't do that.  They closed.

And the scary part?  They may close forever.  Movies are going to DVD faster than ever.  Why go to the theater when it will be available in about 7 months to watch on our own Smart LED 60+ inch televisions?

So, order from Chan Ling's carryout menu, curl up on the couch and download a new movie to watch on your smart television, It's coming!!

Drive ins are dead.  Movie theaters just haven't been notified as yet, but it is coming.

Don't let it happen!!! Go to a movie.  Enjoy an evening out.  Keep your local theater open.

Until next I ramble on...

UPDATE: "The Intern" - an excellent movie which I highly recommend.  "The Martian" was a good movie with a lot of twists and turns, told in an almost diary format. Something tells me the book was lot, LOT better!!!  Oh, and they changed the schedule at the theater for Sunday's viewing. I had to wait almost an hour and a half between movies or miss about 30-40 minutes of "The Intern" beginning.  I figure I can skip up to maybe 15 minutes of the start of a movie that's at/over 2 hours long... but half an hour? Back to "The Intern." Linda Lavin (aka Alice in the TV series Alice or as most people remember, Mel's Diner) has a small but very special part. She was priceless. Anne Hathaway, Robert DeNiro and Rene Russo were great. Even Adam DeVine (famous for Bumper in the Pitch Perfect franchises) did a bang-up job. Will definitely get "The Intern" when the DVD comes out.

Sound Off

Got to brag a little... just a little.  I finally con(ned)vinced my wife into a 60 inch LED Smart TV. I ordered it and it arrived on Wednesday.  I was elated.  I had also ordered a 32 inch for the office area.  I connected the smaller one and was amazed at the clarity and picture. Yeah, I HAD to set up the big one immediately.

OMG!  Talk about huge.  I love it.  I love it.  I love it.

I wanted to attach it to the wall and also ordered a wall mount.  It advertised as a universal mount that tilted and allowed the television to "roll, pitch and yaw" as needed for viewing.

Uh, the only thing the package I got would perform was - tilt.  Okay, I can call that pitch.  What happened to my roll and yaw?

For those who aren't familiar with the terms - I prior U. S. Navy.  Our ship would roll - that means it would rock left to right on the waves  The ship could also pitch - in other words, the bow (front) of the ship would dip down into the wave and then move upwards sort of like a teeter-totter moves.  Now the yaw if more difficult to describe.  It basically is all the other directions now covered by roll and pitch. The rear view mirror sort of does a yaw movement. It allows you to place the mirror in almost any angle and direction.

So, for me, paying for a mount that just tilt - not a happy camper.  Where I wanted to put the TV on the wall, it would be near the ceiling and about 5 inches from the corner on the one side.  Take a peek at the drawing. The red line in the corner indicates the TV as per how the mount will install. The blue line in the way I need it to be mounted for viewing - hence the roll, pitch and yaw requirements. The green lines are seating and the long lines are couches. The couch by the hall arch is for "overflow" seating when the family comes to visit and at that time, the TV is seldom on.  Just image having to sit on the couch and be the person nearest the door? With the blue line, you have a chance. With the red line, the viewing is going to be terrible.
Don't ask me to rearrange the furniture.  I despise having the TV being the focal point of the room. And that little green line at the upper corner is my lounger - need I say more?  Not all the furniture is shown and things are quite to scale, but close. The room is 24x15.

Now, let me get to the real meat of this discussion.  SOUND!!

I was watching a movie Friday night and the music practically blasted me out of my seat and then the characters would start to talk.  Actually it was more like a whisper.  I'd have to raise the volume and then the movie would have the dramatic music and once again I was blasted to become one with the stuffing of the chair. So I would lower it and then dialog whispering would start and I'd have to once more ... Long story short.  My finger got tired of raising and lowering the volume.  The next movie on and did the same thing.

WHY? Why do producers feel that we need to have our butt shaken in the seats?  I think it started back 1977, at the theaters when Star Wars was introduced to the public and the introduction blared and rumbled our seats.  We were hooked.  It was awesome!!

I was busy on Saturday and most of Sunday so I didn't get to watch much television. My #1 son came over, I had the TV on and of course, the music blasted us and I started to rant and rave.

He showed me a setting on the "Audio" menu.  I couldn't believe it.  "Sound Leveling."  If you think your teenage son is a smart-ass - just wait until he is over 40.  My son gave me an innocent stare and said: It's a smart tv, dad. Let it do its job.

Ah, yeah.  I wanted to rant and rave here about movie producers not have the brains they were born with and only wanting to destroy what little ability we have remaining to hear things.

But, in the infamous words of Roseanne Rosannadanna, Oh, never mind. It just goes to show you, it's always something - if it ain't one thing, it's another.

The mount I think is going to be shipped back and we'll get a large piece of furniture to hold the TV up close to the ceiling.  I don't want my little munchin grandchildren stopping between me and the screen as they try to remember why they were going/doing what they were going/doing.

Until next I ramble on...