Mostly About Parsnips and the Fate of Entertainment

I had my overnight oats for breakfast this morning. I added in some blueberries and some maple syrup, which made for a passible meal. I made another batch for tomorrow with a ¼ cup less milk and a tablespoon of cocoa powder added to the recipe. Hoping for a thicker texture and a chocolatey breakfast flavor.

My fist day back at work went relatively well all things considered. No I.T. problems for a change. Everything connected and worked right out of the gate. Did about five hours of HR videos that were a real struggle to stay conscious through. Really, I deserve a medal.

I passed all their little tests anyway.

Had a few meetings, mostly just to catch me up and those went well. Nice to see everyone and a new face to boot. I have some software training tomorrow morning for a new asset tracker system we are now using. My first look at it made me think it was promising and would be a good tool to help us get work done more efficiently.

I actually got assigned some work and got started on it, which never happens on the first day. I was happy to dig into some “real” work near the end of the day.

I skipped my lunch walk because the meetings were too close to the lunch hour and just got through some of the HR videos instead. Best to get those over and done with.

My back is a little tight from sitting in the chair all day. I used to use some orthopedic pillows to help with that, so I’ll have to dig those out again.

We did a quick sheet pan dinner of chicken and vegetables and then headed out to pick up some grocery items. We took the opportunity to pre-order a pizza for tomorrow’s event of Pizza and Love is Blind. Our local Fortino’s grocery store makes a really good brie and prosciutto with arugula and a balsamic drizzle which is to die for. I am definitely looking forward to that followed by a hot tub. I’ll probably sleep like a baby tomorrow night, and that could be a problem. The 2026 words per day challenge isn’t going to write itself. And since we’ll be gone from the house for at least five hours tomorrow night, I’ll have to stay up late writing. The things we suffer for our art!

Actually, I am thinking about bringing the BYOK with me to do a bit of stealth writing while the others watch douchebags trying to find love on a reality TV show. I think you can guess my opinion about this show and the others like it.

Seems like it would be a good test case for the device, but I’ll bring my laptop just in case, because let’s face it the laptop is still the best portable device for writing. You could argue a tablet with a keyboard case is good too, and I would likely agree with you.

I’ve had some time to digest my writing mentor’s comments about my last assignment. I knew as soon as I read her response that she was bringing the truth. I feel like taking a beat to redo this assignment, with the knowledge of her critique will be a good learning experience for me. She’s basically analysed my scene and drawn out what wasn’t working, and what things should have been in what paragraph. She circled some sentences and paragraphs saying, this should have all been before the bottom of page one.

With all the courses I have taken, u can see why she’s saying to do that. It makes sense intellectually; now I have to make it make sense creatively. Have the details of the story unfold at the correct time. They call this Information Flow, but it also has to do with Pacing. You can’t really break the two things apart. They are part of each other.

I was going to start my novel tonight. But after reading her comments, I figured it was best to delay it until I have a handle on this assignment. Everything I learn this week will make the beginning of my novel and every chapter a better reading experience. Not to mention the increased confidence I’ll have moving forward with a better understanding of the craft. Even if it's just getting my foot in the door.

I found another Robert Crais novel that I owned. I’ll be typing some of those chapters to get some muscle memory learning and to study how a master writer handles Information Flow and Pacing at the beginning of a chapter.

I went through the third week of the Sales Copy class that Dean Wesley Smith is teaching over at WGM Publishing’s website. Writing sales copy is such a difficult thing for a writer to do because it involves talking yourself up like you are the most important person in the world and your story is the best thing ever. On top of that, the temptation to write about the plot, which is essentially giving the story away, will ruin your chances of anyone ever wanting to read that book. It really is strenuous to do. He’s put out a way to write it; breaks down all the sections you need to have to write successful sales copy, and yet it is still difficult for almost all writers. He likens it to learning a new language, and I have to agree with him. I have written sales copy for about eight books I have up on Amazon and this website, and each one felt like pulling teeth. Like dancing naked down the aisle at someone’s funeral. But practice makes perfect, as they say.

He’s added a bonus third assignment. We can send him sales copy for one of our books, provided we go back and watch the 15 videos and make sure we have followed his instructions. I wonder how many of us will have the guts to send one in. I am planning to write the sales copy for a novella I just finished last week. Getting feedback from someone who is in the business is valuable, even if all he writes is that I didn’t get it right.

I haven’t been doing much dictating this week as there have been too many other things going on. I still type all my assignments in by hand because I feel I get a better result that way. It’s the way I have more experience with and that just feels better.

Dictating is still a skill I want to ger better at and will do more practice on I settle back into working the 9 to 5 again. I still have to get used to commuting on the train three days a week as well. Something I dread.

We watched an episode of the new season of Alex Cross tonight on Amazon Prime. The series is based on the James Patterson novels of the same name. I always enjoyed the Cross novels and the TV series seems to be doing a good job of it. The character is living in the present time as opposed to in the book, so you have to expect some updating. Overall, it’s a good watch and entertaining. A good detective mystery show.

Strangely, my favourite character is one that barely gets any screen time but steals the spotlight every time he is in a scene. The actor is Johnny Ray Gill. I haven’t seen him in anything else before, but someone give that man his own show already.

There seem to be more and more good shows coming back to the streaming platforms without all the forced messaging. I like that the focus is getting back to good storytelling and strong characters. The characters on ‘Cross’ act like adults instead of petulant teenagers, and the last few years of robbed us of that.

I’ve heard there might be another ‘Sherlock ‘television episode coming out in the near future as well, starring Cumberbatch and Martin. I loved the show when it first came out and am excited to have more, please!

I’m happy that ‘Paradise’ is getting a second season as well as ‘The Vampire Lestat. A new show called ‘Spider Noir’ with Nicholas Cage revising his role as Spiderman, but life action this time around. There is apparently a ‘Blade Runner 2099’ in the works as well. The Boys Season 5, For All Mankind, Daredevil: Born Again, Star Wars – Maul (please don’t screw this one up Disney), and possiblty a Stargate relaunch. There are many more in the works, and the TV industry really needs it. It's been a bit dry the last little while for getting solid entertainment on the tube.

I’m really hoping we see a bit of a renaissance this year, but pending mergers may get in the way of some of these shows. It’s really hard to predict anything these days with all the volatility in the industry and countries.

I’m really impressed with one streamer in particular, though. Apple TV hits it out of the park consistently. There haven’t been many shows of theirs I disliked. And to be fair, I loved almost all of them. If I ran into one that wasn’t for me, it was really just not to my taste, noting wrong with the quality or story. I think the emphasis on making good books into shows is what is putting them ahead of the pack. That and really good production values. Kudos to you, Apple TV! Keep up the good work.

Tomorrow, I have decided; I am going to write a short story. I’ll grab some half-titles from my half-titles list that I keep beside my desk and try to come up with something. I’m getting tired writing extremely long blog posts. Writing is the most fun and challenging when I am creating characters, places and events. When I don’t know where the thing is going to go. 

Getting to that mental place where the characters start correcting me and telling me what to write down. That’s the magical part of writing. The blog never comes close to scratching that itch. It has helped me in some ways, learning to express my thoughts, for example. Getting better at that is never a bad thing. Unless I have terrible things to say. But I’m sure I am not destined to turn evil anytime soon.

And this blog is a good place to practice. I get some touch-typing practice or dictation in, and it’s a safe place for now as no one is really stopping by to read these rants.

I can experiment and talk about anything I want, but having a place to post this is an important aspect of this blog as well. If it wasn’t getting posted, writing it might not seem as crucial. That might sound like a silly thing to say, but I believe having a destination in mind for your work is helpful. It gives you another reason to keep coming back and writing. Just in the same way, keeping a streak going does the same thing.

And it allows me to write down crazy, random thoughts….

…Like we went out for groceries tonight and on my list was parsnips. I had capitalized it. After having the most delicious parsnips of my life, cooked by our friend Paul B., I promised myself I would give them a try. Tomorrow being Pizza Wednesday is going to put a kink in my plan, which means I have to wait until Thursday to have more delicious parsnips. I mean, he served us a perfect prime rib roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, and I am still going on about the parsnips.

They were that good, I tell you!

Once I have worked out the recipe, I will post it hear for posterity. Paul let a few details slip about his prep and cooking process, but he didn’t provide me with a recipe.

I have deduced from the roast that the parsnips were cooked at 350°F for about an hour in beef tallow. From the finished parsnip I can figure out how he sliced them and to what thickness. He did let it slip that the parsnips were cut to size and then frozen. Does this affect their texture or flavor. Who knows? But I will follow in Paul’s footsteps to see if I can recreate those mouth-watering root veg. My family will thank me if I can pull this off.

Okay, enough of this incessant rambling about parsnips et al.

Time for bed.

Nite.