My Own Widgets

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately written by other writers about how to get into a "habit" or "routine" of writing at the same time every day or every other day. I'm terrible at this, because my life changes from day to day. I have begun to view my writing more as a job as time has gone by, though, and I feel that has motivated me to write more steadily.

Many people consider themselves to be "aspiring writers", like they're trying to achieve some level of relevance that depends on people outside of themselves. I'm not an aspiring writer, I'm a writer. You can read that last sentence as, "I'm a writer, period." Do you know why I can say that? Because I typed these words out, and you're reading them. Of course, I don't think someone else necessarily has to read your work for you to consider yourself as a writer, any more than whether or not you're a gardener depends on someone else walking through your backyard to view the plants you've worked for hours to cultivate. If you do gardening, you're a gardener. If you write words, you're a writer. Even if what you write has never been seen by another pair of eyes aside from the ones that are in your own head.

I think this small change of thinking from "aspiring writer" to "writer, period" has helped me. My whole life, from the time I was sixteen years old, has been filled with me going to work in some building or another, or at least logging into my computer at a time set by someone else, to get a paycheck. This was the case right up until about three months ago. Now it's purely up to me whether or not I produce on a given day. Funny thing is, it's ALWAYS been that way, ever since I got my first job as a teenager. It was up to me to decide whether or not I was going to show up when I was supposed to, and to decide if I was going to actually work while I was there.

The only thing that's changed now is that I won't be officially fired for failing to produce. Back then, if I wanted a paycheck, I had to earn it. Today, for me to have any expectation of getting a paycheck, I'll have to produce. The only difference is that I've decided to make and move my own widgets rather than someone else's. Although my widgets (words on the page) are easier to move (read: electronic transmission, potentially globally, at the push of a button) they take much more energy personally on my part to produce, and absolutely NOTHING will happen without my own personal effort.

Wasn't it Uncle Ben who said, "With great power comes great responsibility"? Well, with great freedom comes even greater responsibility. Now, I can't just show up somewhere and mindlessly move widgets from one side of the building to the other for eight or ten hours at a stretch. Instead, I have to dream up the widget, and figure out how to design it and describe it so others can recognize and understand what that particular widget looks like. Then I have to physically spell it out by pounding the keys on whatever keyboard I choose to use at the time. Only then can I transmit it to people like you, who hopefully like what I have to say, and tell their friends and family to check out what This Aaron Guy just transmitted out to the world.

Being a writer isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the most fulfilling thing I've found to do in my four plus decades on this spinning rock that I currently inhabit. Don't sell yourself short by calling yourself an "aspiring" writer, or gardener, or dog walker, or whatever it is that you want to be. If you've taken the plunge and you're going through the same actions that other write-ers, garden-ers, or dog walk-ers go through each day, then you, too, are officially a writer, gardener, or dog walker. Even if you haven't seen that first paycheck. Even if not a single person has read what you've written, walked through your garden, or had their dog walked by you.

So, what, exactly are your aspirations? If you want to see what's over the next hill, at some point, you're gonna have to head over in that direction. No matter what someone else thinks about your desire to see it. Why are you going to let someone else dictate how far you can go? Or tell you what you are? Or what you are not?

Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.

That Aaron Guy

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child -- A Book Review

Killing Floor by Lee Child

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Although this is the first Reacher novel that was published, it's actually the third one I've read, having read The Enemy and The Affair a few years ago. I'm a bit of a nerd, so I like reading series novels in chronological order if I pick them up when several books have already been released. I've given that up now on the Jack Reacher series, though, as Lee Child keeps releasing prequel stories.

I really, really enjoyed this one, as is evidenced in my finishing it in only 4 days. In Killing Floor, Jack Reacher is travelling across the deep south by bus when he decides on a whim to walk the fourteen miles to smalltown, U.S.A., also known as Margrave, Alabama. In a downpour of a rainstorm. After walking for hours, he gets arrested for murder as he's finishing his breakfast in the local diner. Of course, he knows the charges are trumped up idiocy, but the resultant situation is the perfect set up for Reacher to bust a few heads. He does this in fantastic fashion, as a matter of fact, and this wouldn't be a Jack Reacher story without a bit of violence, now would it?

In the back of my mind, I was expecting this to be at least slightly inferior to the other two books I've read from the series. I mean, this was novel #1, and the other two were #8 and #16, respectively. Most writers get better with time and additional writing, but I honestly think Child hit his stride right out of the gate.

If you enjoy Mystery/Thriller/Spy/Military/Action novels, and you haven't started reading Lee Child, I think you're missing out. Pick one of his books up today. You can thank me later!

Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.

That Aaron Guy



View all my reviews

A hectic, but productive week

This past week has felt hectic here in the RV, as I've been updating all of my social media accounts in an attempt to polish them up. I've also been diving into the new-to-me realm of Google +. Who knew there were so many HUGE groups there? Well, just a few days ago, This Aaron Guy had absolutely no idea! So, I've been joining groups, sharing my book, helping other authors out with book covers, and whatever else pertains to the whole social media self publishing book arena thing. All this in an attempt to build my author platform to get the word out that I have a book, and that I'm officially an author. If you feel the urge, come look me up HERE. I'm sure we'll find something interesting to talk about!

I also actually took the time while I was offline to continue writing in the novel, and rewriting what I already have there. The rewriting process seems to go much slower than I had ever imagined! Yesterday afternoon, I figured it was probably about 2:00 or 2:30, and when I looked up at the clock, it was after 4:00. Where did my day go?! It's been going well, though, and I really think I'm getting the story and dialogue polished up. All those other author blogs I've been reading have been teaching me tons concerning technique and storytelling, and I've been implementing all of this newly integrated knowledge. I finally feel connected in the writers' community. I know, sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I generally get there eventually!

I've also been reading a lot more in the past few days than I have in a very long time. I blasted through the first Jack Reacher novel that was published between Saturday afternoon and last night. Be on the lookout for my review of Killing Floor on Goodreads in the coming days.

Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.

That Aaron Guy

I'm Baaaack, and I'm Published!

I've been busy writing these past few months, not that you would know that judging by the elapsed time since my last post around these parts. For that, I sincerely apologize, and I resolve to make the posts here much more regular, so I'm planning posting here on Wednesday afternoons. I'm embarrassed to say I had completely forgotten about this blog space, and I accidentally stumbled on it earlier this afternoon. When I saw it, I said to myself, "Oh, yeah! I have this Random Musings blog... Wow! It's been almost a year since I wrote anything here." Hopefully, none of you Faithful Readers have been too starved of words since then! ;-)

Deborah and I are still enjoying life in our home on wheels, which has been situated a few miles from Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a couple of months. We're loving being in the mountains, especially early in the mornings, and after about six o'clock in the evenings. The afternoons have been warm enough they drive us both back inside to the safety of air conditioning. We've been checking out all of the new to us restaurants in town and taking mountain drives on the weekends. Our camera has been getting quite the workout most Saturdays!


At the end of last month, I released my first collection of poetry, Always Enough Air, out into the world, and I've been integrating my brain with any and all information pertaining to the world of being self-published. You can already find it at major ebook retailers, which still just blows my mind! Search for it at your favorite ebook store, or click the Buy Now button on the widget to the right.

I've also been feverishly pounding the keys, growing the word count in my debut novel, which is currently at about 30,000 words. I'm excited each time I sit down with my fingers poised above the keyboard, because I'm never quite sure where the story is going to end up next.

Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.

That Aaron Guy