Tag: The Puppet Kitchen

Thoughts from the Kitchen (#5 – Bad Obligations)

Writers are, or at least should be, familiar with deadlines. Even those which might be self-imposed. In general, I consider this a good practice (as I would, seeing as I’m doing it right now), but I have created a situation for myself which is leaving a rather bitter taste, and I’d like to talk about that.

As I’ve discussed before, I chalk up goals for every new quarter of the year. One of my present goals is to “write an installment for the Puppet Kitchen every other week.” However, I should have known this wouldn’t work, because that’s not how I operate.  The purpose of this specific goal was not about writing in specific time frames, but instead to ensure there would be material available in those intervals, through delayed publication.

On the one hand, this is something I should know how to do.  To successfully pre-generate all of those items would suggest an ability to perform forward thinking and put my nose to the grindstone.  While this is my final article for the quarter, I’m writing it half way through July.

The reason this is a bad thing is because I gain immense satisfaction from completing these goals, so in order to gather some momentum and check off a few of them, I first aim for the lowest hanging fruit.  In doing so, I sacrifice quality for speed.  This is my sixth post of the last three months, and if you look at those which immediately precede it, you may notice a lack of…I don’t know, life? Enthusiasm?

They drip with the essence of obligation.  I see those things and I can only read between the lines, to see what I was thinking at the time of their conception, and you know what they say?  “Go! Go! Go!” and “Only one more article after this one!”  Each of them are rushed to death, and devoid of personality.  No pictures, no unique formatting. Yet, I do not feel bad for having done this, because it means my quaint little “completion” bar is going to be sitting at 100% long before this article drops, and I’ll be able to move on to my other goals uninhibited.

But that’s pointless.  That does no good for my readers, nor myself.  I am fulfilling an empty obligation and damning my integrity as a writer in exchange for a little dopamine hit.  So, next quarter, I’m not going to include any goals related to my blog.  If I want to write something, or share something, I will do so.  Not because a marker board with a shiny 50% bar says I should, but because I want to or find it interesting.

To do anything else is a waste of your time, and mine.

(Here. So this post breaks the cycle, I’ll include a gif from my favorite new anime. You’re welcome, I guess.)

 

Thoughts From the Kitchen (#1 – Organized Chaos)

05/30/16

Returning from the dead, I’ve got a handful of fun new features I’m presenting on the site for your benefit and my ever-turbulent sanity.

Firstly and least important, I updated the background.  This means nothing, really.  I just never do it, so I felt it was significant enough to mention.  The new background is a wallpaper of the city of Cloudbank from popular, indie video game “Transistor.”

Next up to the plate, the site name.  The url is unchanged of course, but the blog itself goes by “The Puppet Kitchen” now, in accordance with my long-standing spree of being quite overdramatic.  I do love my fanfare.  The name is appropriate in more ways than can be adequately captured here, so please be content just knowing that I put a good chunk of soul and time into its formation.  It’d been tumbling around the upstairs for a while, so it feels good to finally put it out there.

I’m launching a slightly more formal version of my usual updates, handsomely titled “Thoughts From the Kitchen.”  You know, that thing you’re reading right now.  These function largely the same as before, but with a few caveats.  They are more organized and deliberate now.  Each installment will possess my musings and feelings, but with a newfound direction or theme lacking in my old updates.  What’s more, I’ll be revealing upkeep on projects and ending each update with a personal challenge to myself.

Another series of posts will be called “The Puppet Masters” in which I share words and advice from other writers or a source from a related industry.  Basically anything that I find useful for facilitating growth in prose or storytelling.  To follow this advice, I will be giving a personal response to the material.

And of course, there will be actual stories and exercises of my own design.  I’ve been keeping a running word count of all my writing this year which I’ll be updating every once in a while.

Those are my new features.  So with all the enthusiasm of one who has stayed up all night for his day job (ha…all night…day job), I thank you and bid thee adieu.

Challenge – Since I tried and failed a 30 Day writing challenge before, I’m going to attempt that again.  However, I am going to make the prompts, as I did not fancy any of the ones I’d been doing.  Expect my list to be have an overly dramatic name.  Can’t break the running theme, now.