Finished Stoner and the end of Viking-con

Daily Goal: 500 words.
I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished 5/0.

That's it for Viking-con this year. The event will finish tomorrow, but I don't think I will attend the last day. I didn't win any T-shirt this year, but it has been fun.

Tomorrow I would like to write something when the baby hs gone to sleep, but I know that I am a little short on sleep this weekend, so I will probably be exhausted when she finally goes to sleep tomorrow. I am exhausted already, just driving on fumes now that I am back from the convention, before I get my 6 hours of sleep (if I am lucky).

I finished _Stoner_, by John Williams. What a wonderful, wonderful book, a sad, haunting tale, written in sparse, beautiful prose. I will definetly make a longer review if I get the time. My first priority is, however, still to finish a short story.

A busy day of not writing

Daily Goal: 500 words.
I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 5/0.

Today flew by. It was busy and scheduled. I had trouble even finding time to read one chapter of _Stoner_, never mind finding time to write.

This month will be busy and short if things stay the same. I fear I will be writing 8/0 soon. There have been quite a few days now where I have not read or written anything on the short story I was working on. I hope it is not iretrievably lost.

I am dead tired, so I will finish the blog and try to get some sleep. Reading one more chapter of _Stoner_ is tempting, but I know I'll be nodding sleepily over the text in a little while if I do.

Reading Stoner instead of finding time to write

Daily Goal: 500 words.
I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 5/0.

Today has been another long, yet unproductive, day. I could have easily scrambeled together an hour to write in, but I spent what free time I have had reading. The novel I am currently reading is _Stoner_ by John Williams. It is remarkable. I feel like reading a life story of a person I could have been and as I progress beyond Stoner's 35th year, it seems as if I am reading an alternate future for myself.

The only difference, of course, is that the eponymous protagonist of the novel has been able to write and publish a book, while at the pace things are going at my end, I'll be lucky if I ever manage to finish a short story.

Tomorrow is book with family and a gaming convention, Viking-con, will fill the coming weekend. It does not bode well for writing, but I'll at least try to write the blog each day and hopefully manage to keep the story alive that I am (was) working on.

What a great novel Stoner is

Daily Goal: 500 words.
I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 5/0.

Another week has gone by, flown by it seems, and I have not made much progress on the writing front. I still spend most of my free time reading. _Stoner_ is really good. I tried in vain to recomend it, describing the beautiful prose, but after a few tries I just gave up. If you feel like a melancholy campus novel, then give it a try. You'll be sold before the first chapter is over.

My parents are in Denmark for a month. They, of course, want to see their granddaughter, which means that quite a few days the next month will be very busy. Today I've excused myself from writing, by blaming John Williams's beautiful prose, the author of _Stoner_, but I really wouldn't have written anything even if I had nothing to read. I am just so exhausted when the baby finally falls asleep that there is not much energy left.

Besides, she has awoken three times in as many hours, forcing me to rush in to replace the pacifier or whisper a comforting, Shhh. Each episode pulls me from _Stoner_, but the reading is easily resumed once I manage to calm the baby and sneak out. I do no think that writing would survive the interuptions so effortlessly.

Lovecraft and Stoner

Daily Goal: 500 words.
I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished 4/0.

I typed part of my story today in preperation for some editing and perhaps posting an extract here on the blog. I didn't write anything new, though.

I read a H. P. Lovecraft story today, as well as, the first chapter of _Stoner_, by John Williams. The first chapter of the novel was great, really great, so I am sold there. The Lovecraft story wasn't that good, it was one of his earlier ones, but the way I found of reading through his works is great. There is a podcast, hppodcast.com I think is their home, where each episode focuses on one of Lovecraft's stories. The shows is recorded in chronoligical order, so every other week or so I take another story and episode. If you are anything like me then it sounds great (doesn't it?), but I found soon that one story every other week is the right pace to go. Reading a short story followed by half an hour podcast feels like a chore if you do several, back to back.

As for writing: I. Should have written something today, but I felt more like reading. Even though it is late and I am tired, I can't help but want to sneak a peek at the second chapter of _Stoner_ before I go to bed.

What to read next?

Daily Goal: 500 words.
Yesterday I wrote 0 words.
Sundays/Stories Finished: 3/0.

I really shouldn't worry about what novel to read next. I should stick to reading a short story each day and spend the rest of my free time writing. I can't help getting excited, however, when I am nearing the end of the novel I am currently reading, about what I should read next. There are so many good, tantalizing novels still on he shelf.

I am reading Citadel of the Autarch, by Gene Wolfe. Although I have enjoyed the series, I do not think I will seek out another Wolfe novel quite yet. Though there are a number of novels set in the same universe as the Book of the New Sun series.

I have been feeling tired and down lately. Therefore I was thinking of reading something to cheer me up - a comedy. I have heard great things about A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, so when I finally do start another comedy, I think that will be it.

Another option would be to read a lugubrious novel, where I might identify with the protagonist. The novel Stoner, by John Williams, has long been on my reading list and might just fit the bill from what I've read.

A third option would be to drop the long, old reading list and try to keep up with what is current. I could pick up J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, which I am sure will play a larger part in literary fora for some time than the classics above.

I still have a number of pages to go through still, however, and as earlier mentioned, I shouldn't really be thinking about the next novel to read.