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Poetry Night at the Writing Life, 27 April 2024: Tried a long poem and got four short ones
Writing Journal, 24 April 2024: Still chasing my quota, but doing better at least
As much as I have procrastinated and wasted time in my younger days, I’m surprised it wasn’t as obvious to me recently having less time available for writing might be a factor in why I wasn’t as productive at times.
Then again, as much as I’ve been using data to track my writing productivity, it should have made sense I’d have more time to write this week when I only have to commute 50 minutes round trip to work as opposed to two hours when I was driving all the way from Des Moines, where I was staying with my son in his apartment, to south central Iowa (Marion County) and back again. Who knew, right?
So, even though I did enjoy the experience of living in downtown Des Moines and urban existence, and it turned out my son and I got along relatively well as roommates, I enjoyed having a shorter commute and more time to myself last week. Also, it had a positive effect on my productivity.
Writing statistics for the week ending 20 April 2024:
5,203 words written.
Days writing: 6 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 2 of 7 for 120 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 7 of 7 days.
Even by my current standards, this was a pretty good week for me. I’ll be interested in seeing what the numbers look like after next week is done because we’ll have one-third of the year wrapped up by then, so I’ll want to know how far behind I am on my writing quota. I was a couple thousand words off my pace to write 200,000 words this year, and just on target to make my other goal of meeting my daily goals 75 percent of the time. Well, we’ll see what the next week brings.
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
The Writing Life, 20 April 2024:
Well, there’s a passing in my life this week as I return to the Pella area temporarily as the end of my time in south central Iowa comes closer to an end. Let’s talk a little about the writing I’m doing (or not doing) right now, as well as a few other things.
The Home Front
I never grew up with pets, but my wife Laura did. By the time our kids were in elementary school, we had Samantha, a calico kitty and former resident of the Clinton County landfill; Snickers, a white Shih Tzu pup rescued from the Muscatine Humane Society; and Winston, an adoption from one of our friends in Muscatine. For a short while, we had a nice little menagerie at our home.
I enjoyed all of them, but Winnie was the one I had the longest relationship with. In his younger days, he’d clamber up on my chair and we’d catch the soccer games on the weekends. He was more of a chilling dog rather than an excitable, toy-playing dog, but that was all right with me. Of course, he worshiped his mom who would always hook him up with his special dog food.
Time passes and pets cross the rainbow bridge, of course. Samantha joined us in Clinton and left us in Muscatine. Snickers joined us in Muscatine, followed us to Chariton, and there was where he left us. Winnie was the hardiest of them, joining us in Muscatine, then in Chariton, and then finally leaving us in Fort Madison.
I’m down, but Laura’s gutted. She lost many pets as a kid, but she wasn’t there when they had to pass over. Seeing it happen with Snickers was shattering for both of us, and I’ll always be sorry I wasn’t there when Winnie left. Then again, what happened was because of Winnie’s schedule, which in the end is for the best.
This might be it for us and pets, sadly. It is a considerable time commitment for a pet, and you just can’t leave a dog for days on end while trying to travel somewhere. I’m also not sure we’re up for adopting another pet only to go through this process one more time at the end.
He’ll always be part of us, though. This I know. As Sir Terry Pratchett might have written, GNU for him1.
When not missing my dog, I am living the hotel life somewhere in Marion County, Iowa, after a week spent as my son’s roommate in downtown Des Moines. The price was right and living in the biggest city in Iowa was exciting, but it is nice to have a 55-minute round trip commute rather than a two-hour round trip commute every day. And I actually enjoyed having my son as a roommate and hanging out with him on a regular basis, even though it meant sharing a one-bedroom apartment and tucking into a couch every night. You tend to treasure spending time with your kids after they turn 18 and you don’t see them around every day.
The kid is doing much better and is able to get along and take care of himself, even though I can be over there if he needs something. He is eager to get back to work as a heating and air conditioning (HVAC) tech and continue to work toward his journeyman license. I’m glad his accident in the end has only delayed this process slightly and not altered it.
Speaking of kids, my daughter Madeline is approaching her final weeks of study at the University of Iowa. She is looking forward to beginning her career as a chemical engineer at the hometown firm my father worked at for so many years. I’m super excited as she prepares to begin her professional career and all of the adventures ahead for her.
One of the things I am very happy with is I never attempted to try and persuade them to go toward a particular career or path. I never expected them to do anything like what I have done as a career or passion or like their mother. I was just happy both of them found their passions and have pursued them. I’m absolutely proud of both my kids and looking forward to their future adventures.
As I mentioned before, I am back to hotel living for about another month’s time. It’s been difficult, as it was five years ago, when I went into a school year knowing I would leave for someplace new a year later. I haven’t had to go through an entire year as a lame duck teacher, although I certainly was one for at least half the amount of time and perhaps slightly longer in practical terms. Financially, I’m glad I made the decision I did to stay, but in all honesty I’m not sure I will wish to repeat the process again. After a while, the knowledge you are leaving and it’s only a matter of time before you go begins to wear on you. I have truly enjoyed my time at Twin Cedars, but I can sense my time and purpose there is almost done. A poem I wrote around five years ago, when I was last a lame duck teacher, “Rest Holds,” seems just as pertinent now as it did then.
What I’m Writing
I just finished up a story that will be part of a dark romance short story collection, I think. As soon as it gets published, I’ll get people a link.
Inspired by my recent connection with the Society of Great River Poets out in Burlington, I’m going to uncork a brand new poem for Poetry Night at the Writing Life next week. The subject is going to be a body of water I’ve been running across repeatedly in recent weeks and months, the Des Moines River. It certainly is a different creature than the Mississippi River I used to live next to (I still do, but I used to, as well2).
I feel bad I’m going to miss their next couple of meetings due to book fair commitments, but I definitely want to go back there the next chance I get.
As for my other projects, both announced and unannounced (not counting what I post on this blog), I think it would be best to talk about them whenever I actually get some work done on them. As I have sometimes said around here, you’ll see it when you see it.
What I’m Doing Having to do With Writing
There’s actually a lot going on along these lines. Some of those things are a bit more of a promotional nature, so I’ll hold off on talking about those until a little later below.
I have been updating the site, setting some posts for all subscribers and others for paid subscribers. In short, you get some of my pieces (the regular newsletter, as well as some other random pieces and promotional pieces) for free, while some of the other exclusive items are available only to paid subscribers. As you might see once you check out my site, my paid subscription plan is pretty cheap compared to others, especially if you pay on a yearly basis. I say check it out if you want.
What I also need to do is to go through my list of subscribers and those I subscribe to and do more to recommend them. As with moderating and administrating my site, its something which will take some time, time away from time writing. But it is something necessary. If I want people to take a glance at my own work, I need to do what I can to look at their work and promote their work. There are so many great writers on this platform and I want more people to know about them.
Writing Quote for the Week
A good quote this week about doing your own thing as a writer.
Concentrate on what you want to say to yourself and your friends. Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness. You say what you want to say when you don’t care who’s listening.
- Allen Ginsberg
A Few Links About My Books and Appearances
This is a link to my upcoming appearances, which just got updated. The most recent one will be TODAY beginning at 1 p.m. at the Ankeny public library.
My first book is a journalism thriller set in Chicago during the turbulent days of the 2008 election and the start of the Great Recession. Check out more about it here.
My second book, the first in the projected The Yank Striker series, is a soccer drama telling the story of the beginning of a young American’s career as a player. There’s more about it here.
Shameless Plugs and Notices (please forgive)
For direct links to purchase my books in paperback and ebook form, including The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning and The Holy Fool, click on the links in the Substack sidebar or the links on my Substack author page. Or, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.
You can also get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:
- Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
- Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
- The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.
All these are great independent bookstores, but I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
While you’re here, I wanted to add just a quick description of how The Writing Life works. With a free subscription, you always will have access to my newsletters on the first and third weekends of the month, as well as selected articles up to a month after they’ve been published. However, If you have a paid subscription with me (which is pretty inexpensive), you will have access to all of my articles here, all of my archives, and my eternal gratitude. Plus, probably some first-dibs on possible future offers.
Final Thoughts
It’s been a roller-coaster week. I’m looking forward to later today when I get back home to my wife.. Many times, life is about the things you lose over time than what you accumulate over a lifetime. But, you also value what you have when you have it.
Love to everyone. Writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.
-30-
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
Writing Journal, 17 April 2024: One word – doldrums
[PHOTO NOTE: I’m still using these pics of my bookcase even though there is a good chance this bookcase is no longer with me. Or, it might be in another location which is not my den/writing area/home library/etc. Anyway.]
There’s no way to sugarcoat the debacle that was last week, even though it’s not like I didn’t write anything. At this point, I’m not happy with anything other than a successful and productive week.
I’ll be honest, however – I felt like I was driving half the week last week. During that time, I was staying at my son’s apartment in Des Moines while commuting an hour away to my work. I was happy with the opportunity to spend time with my son and hang out in the lovely city of Des Moines, but it left not as much time for me to get going and try and write something. And then. I felt like I was spending much of Friday and some of Saturday on the road. At a certain point, it starts to tire you out mentally.
In years past, such a situation might have meant I didn’t write anything during the week, or maybe just posted this journal of a few hundred words and called it good. Nowadays, I have a little more pride in my work and manage a couple thousand words.
Writing statistics for the week ending 13 April 2024:
3,129 words written.
Days writing: 5 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 2 of 7 for 60 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 6 of 7 days.
Basically, anything under 4,100 words per week is under par, and I’m already trying to play catch up so I can write at least 200,000 words this year. I’m just barely meeting my goal of… meeting my daily goals at least 75 percent of the time.
Whelp, I’m back to the solo life for the next few weeks, living in hotels during the weekday and either resting at my home in Fort Madison or hanging out at book fairs and promoting my books on the weekend. I might manage to be more productive if I’m by myself and not having to travel as much during the time. We’ll have to see, I guess.
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
Prose Night at the Writing Life, 14 April 2024: Adjusting to poetry writing
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Writing Journal, 10 April 2024: Slight dip as I go into the new month
Last week was the end of a two-week stint living alone in my son’s apartment while he was recovering from his fall at work. I’ve been trying to adjust to writing in a totally different environment while commuting for longer than I usually do.
How did that translate into productivity? It was a slight dip from the previous week, but not by a serious amount. I did want to get it up more, but I would term it as acceptable. At least I’m not losing any ground.
Anyway, here’s the stats:
Writing statistics for the week ending 6 April 2024:
4,273 words written.
Days writing: 7 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 0 of 7 for 0 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 6 of 7 days.
Now I’m going to see if I can manage to write and keep my sanity with my newly returned son as my roommate. I’ll let you know how it goes lol 🤣.
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
The Writing Life, 6 April 2024: Hanging out in Des Moines
Things have been hopping for a bit as I now sit in “voluntary exile” in Des Moines, apartment-sitting for my son as he continues with his recovery. It is a strange situation when I don’t know necessarily where I might be laying my head come next weekend, much less next month. Yet, life and writing goes on. Let’s talk about it.
The Home Front
I’ve gone from being alone in a house in imminent anticipation of being sold, to having that home sold, living in a hotel by myself, and visiting my new home in Fort Madison on the weekends, to living in my kid’s apartment in Des Moines, commuting to south central Iowa for work, and making it back to Fort Madison on the weekends. All of these arrangements, for various reasons, lasted only two to three weeks at most. And now, it appears I’ll be roommates with my son in Des Moines now that he’s back from his rehabilitation facility where he was getting therapy after his fall and concussion on the job way back at the end of February. And I’m only starting my third month of this stuff. To be honest, I’m barely getting my head around everything.
But I am glad about this new development. It means Jake (my son) has made a lot of progress toward getting back on his feet and reaching his goals of getting his heating and air conditioning journeyman’s certification, and I’m delighted at the idea.
What I’ve Been Writing
Short answer, lots of odds and ends, but not a massive amount of progress toward completing something. I don’t want to get into details here, but my word count for last month was lower than the last one, but not as terrible as January.
I got some random fan fiction completed over the course of the past several days, but I am getting way behind on some of my other projects. I could say part of the reason is I’m not sure where I’ll be sleeping on a consistent basis four days or so out, but that would be a cop-out. I just need to stop procrastinating and get done what is overdue to be done, including this newsletter lol.
One idea for a poem I’ve gotten recently is about a river I seem to be encountering a lot in my frequent travels across the state – the Des Moines river. It seems like I cross the thing at least two, three times every time I commute between Polk and Marion counties and even more traveling between Marion and Lee counties. From a distance on a basic Iowa map, it looks like it runs straight southeast from north of Des Moines to the combined Iowa/Missouri/Illinois border straight into the thick Mississippi channel. But if you take a closer look at its path on Google Earth, for example, it’s a skinny sidewinder all throughout Iowa. I’m looking forward to the challenge.
What I’ve Been Doing Having to do With Writing
I’ve been busy with “side activities” quite a bit over this past week. I have been busy with getting some appearances in the area set up (check out the links further down in this post for details.
I’ve made plans to become a member of some writing groups I’m familiar with. First, I’m planning on rejoining the Midwest Writing Center from the Quad Cities, which was a good organization that I needed to make more use of. Now that I live closer to the area, now’s as good a time as any.
For the first time, I’m planning to join the Iowa Poetry Association. I’ve been increasingly trying to develop my poetry and poetry production in recent years, and I want to hear from more experienced hands what I need to do to develop both my poetry skills and how I should present it to the reading public.
Some Writing Advice
For this week, as I typically do, I review some well-known writing advice and analyze whether it appears valid or not. Behold:
Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.
– Isabel Allende
Allende is a famed Chilean-American writer, known for House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts1.
Scale of 1-10 as far as the relevance/usefulness of this advice: 7.
At a certain point, you can’t just call yourself a writer and not put in the work. You have to be consistent with attempting to write and produce something, and if you make a conscientious effort to be productive, the product will come. Now, I think what is left unsaid it you really need to be compelled to tell stories in the first place, and the statement seems to imply you’ll figure out how to write later. However, I think what she means (it’s the implication I get) is that you can have an idea for a story, but not realize exactly how to tell it at first. That’s where brainstorming, and then revising after writing, comes in.
Writing Quote of the Week:
This week’s quote comes from one of the few writers I’m willing to read who were dodgy people in person, from one of his most dodgy novels 😅.
A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.
- Graham Greene, The End of the Affair
Here’s What to Expect on This Page
My current plans for what I write here are the following:
- I produce my newsletter (The Writing Life) every first and third weekend of the month, in a similar format to what you are reading here. It’s basically an update on me and my writing experiences. I will always leave these posts free.
- Every second weekend, I put out Prose Night. This will be original writing, whether fiction, which can be self-contained stories, excerpts from works in progress, essays, or other types of nonfiction. I’ll keep these free for about a couple weeks or so, and then they go behind the paywall.
- Every fourth weekend, I put out Poetry Night, where I post original poetry. Again, I’ll keep those free for about a couple of weeks before putting them in the archives, so to speak.
- Certain other pieces, especially promotional stuff or info about my writing, will also be free for all.
if you have a paid subscription with me (which is pretty inexpensive), you will have access to all of my articles here, all of my archives, and my eternal gratitude. Plus, probably some first-dibs on possible future offers.
A Few Articles About What I’ve Written and Where I’ll Be
So far, I’ve put out two novels over the past couple of years, The Holy Fool and The Yank Striker. Here and here are some recent articles I’ve written about them. If you’re interested in thrillers and/or sports drama, they might be for you.
Here’s where you can run into me during the next several months.
Where You Can Find My Books
For direct links to purchase my books in paperback and ebook form, including The Yank Striker: A Footballer’s Beginning and The Holy Fool, click on the links in the Substack sidebar or the links on my Substack author page. Or, you can go to this page on my WordPress site, Liegois Media.
You can also get them in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:
- Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
- Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
- The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.
All these are great independent bookstores, but I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
Final Thoughts
That’s caught you up on everything so far. I appreciate more people signing on to read what I have to say, and reaching out to me online. I appreciate all of you.
-30-
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
- No, I haven’t read them. ↩︎
Writing Journal, 3 April 2024: Still a ways to go
Hi, everyone.
It’s been a bit of a chaotic time for me. My official home (where my wife is) is in Fort Madison, Iowa (in the southeast corner of the state), my workplace is in the small town of Bussey tucked away in south central Iowa, and I’m actually laying my head down in my son’s apartment in the heart of central downtown Des Moines, since I’ve already sold my house that was near my job. And I’m staying in my kid’s apartment since he’s currently not using it.
Look, if you’re dying to know the whole story, you can read my The Writing Life newsletters, such as this most recent one. For now, let’s get on with the stats.
For those who are just happening onto this blog for the first time, or even those who might have read it before, I do not list my writing productivity as a means to drive reader engagement or to get people’s attention. I do it as a way of keeping myself publicly accountable for what I do write, and what I don’t write. These are all real numbers, trust me. If I was lying, I’d be reporting a lot better numbers than I have over the years, especially this year.
What I can say is while I’ve done all right this week and not disastrous this month, I have a ways before I get back up to pace where I want to be at this point of the year. I’ll explain it after the numbers.
Writing statistics for the week ending 30 March 2024:
4,439 words written.
Days writing: 6 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 1 of 7 for 60 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 7 of 7 days.
Writing statistics for March 2024:
Words: 15,096
Revise/Plan: 180 Minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met: 71%
So, It was a good but not spectacular week. My writing productivity was halfway between January (horrible) and February (pretty good). The quota I am shooting for is at least 200,000 words a year and meeting my daily goals 75 percent of the time. Usually, I’m keeping on pace if I am writing a little over 4,000 words per week, so this week wasn’t so bad.
But, with all the turmoil going on, I’m not on pace. I should have written 50,000 words during these first three months of the year. I’m now about 3,790 words behind this pace – not a massive deficit, but still something I want to make up before it’s too late. I am meeting my daily writing goals at least 75 percent of the time, but I would prefer to doing a little better in this regard.
Anyway, time to get back to work. More later.
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
The Start of the 2024 Book Tour
I knew I said I was going to take a weekend off due to today being my birthday (yea for making it to another one), but I decided to update everyone regarding where I’ll be appearing at some local book events over the next several months. This will likely change and hopefully grow over time as I continue to promote my current works, The Yank Strikerand The Holy Fool, when I’m not at work writing my new projects.
That said, let’s get to the appearances.
Current Schedule for 2024:
- I am now confirmed to be at the Ankeny Book Fair at the Ankeny public library from 1-4 p.m. April 20. Several of my writer friends in Iowa have appeared at the event in years past, but this will be my first time appearing here. I’m really looking forward to it.
- Pella Books is going to be part of the Pella Tulip Festival, and I’m looking forward to being part of its 4th Local Author/Illustrator Book Tent event. I’ll be at Pella Books, 824 Franklin St., Pella, at the following dates and times:
- 12-2 p.m., April 27 (Saturday)
- 6-8 p.m., May 2-3
- 12-2 p.m., May 4
- It will be my second time attending the Authors on the Riverwalk event, which will be from 12-4 p.m. May 25 at the Des Moines Marriot Downtown, 700 Grand Ave., Des Moines. It was a fantastic event last year, and I’m hoping for an even better experience this year.
- I’ll be at the Valley West Mall, 1551 Valley West Drive, West Des Moines, for the 9th Annual Indie Author Book Expo. I’ll be there with many other area and regional authors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 7, and at the same time Saturday, June 8.
- I’ll be there for the Windsor Heights Book Fair in Windsor Heights, Iowa, from 12-6 p.m. Sunday, 6 October. More information when I get it.
- Finally, I’ll be part of the local author book fair sponsored by the Iowa City Book Festival. Not sure about the exact day or time, but it should occur sometime during this year’s festival, which will be 14-20 October in Iowa City.
I am very interested in appearing at other events and venues between now and Fall 2024. If you know of some events or are organizing one of those events, I would love to hear about them and show up. You can email me at jasonliegois@liegois.media or mention something in the comments.
Also, if you can’t make it out to one of my events, you can get my books at the links on the sidebar of this page or the “My Work” page. If you want to get some copies of my books in person, you can check out the following independent book stores in Iowa:
- Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave # S1, Des Moines
- Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
- The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.
I’m always looking for some new places to place my books (especially now in eastern Iowa), so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
While I do appreciate you following this blog, I really would like you to subscribe to my Substack page. By subscribing to that page, you’ll not only be receiving my Substack newsletter, The Writing Life With Jason Liegois (the companion blog to this one), but you’ll also be signing up for my email list. Just click the button below.
Writing Journal 27 March 2024: Slow week as I got used to a new place
For me at the moment, long-term plans are a bit of a contradiction in terms.
My son is out of the hospital now and in a physical and cognitive rehab facility in the Des Moines area. I wanted to check up on him through the week, so I decided to stay at his apartment through the week to keep him company.
How long that’s going to last is up in the air. By the time this posts, we may have heard he will be headed home in a few days or a week. Then I might be in another place altogether.
This has not necessarily been good for my writing consistency. It sort of bites, actually:
Writing statistics for the week ending 23 March 2024:
2,782 words written.
Days writing: 4 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 1 of 7 for 30 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 4 of 7 days.
At this point in my writing development, anything less than 3,000 words a week is an unacceptable week, and anything above 4,000 is minimally acceptable. I think I have a chance to make this month be a bigger turnaround for me as far as productivity goes, but it’s not guaranteed. The (electronic) page awaits.
Liegois Media 