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Trying to…

Working on my 4th daft. If it takes 14, whatever, I have to bring my story to life. The #writingcommunity is admonishing me through a mural in an alley. Thank you.

I am too. First draft, I vomited on the page. Later drafts, I’m wiping up the goo and polishing the good chunks.

I do exactly the same. I’m walking my toddler around the neighborhood… Then I get an idea… Eyes go from child to phone… Frantically preserving idea… Son falls… That walk filled a pothole. I know I look like a great dad.

The 7.5-year-old wants an iPhone 14 Pro. “Dude, no. After taxes, that’s like $1,200.” “Come on!!” “Let’s start talking about Hercules and the labors you will perform.” “Yeah, I can earn $2,000 that way!” And maybe I should buy it for him. He will need a calculator for life.

That Was So Boring

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. - Robert Frost

I have found the one thing that holds my #ADHD son still: Dipping an OREO Cookie in milk. Getting maximum soak requires a calm hand.

I’m listening to Maxine Rae (COLD GIRLS out now!) on the StoryStudio Chicago Chicago Writers Podcast, and she’s talking about social media promotion. Contests, graphics, lists and making yourself do it after your full-time day job. Good luck, and I hope to drop into that quagmire soon!

So many layers to this blockbuster about traffic stops in Illinois: ✏️In Chicago, Black drivers were stopped more than 4 times more than white drivers ✏️Regulators at one point went 7 years without meeting. Via WBEZ + Investigative Project on Race and Equity: tinyurl.com/2hm3hhss

At the playground with the 4-year-old. “OK Dad, we’re going to play ‘Zombies.’ You walk slow, and we’re going to hide!” So we have a new name for ‘bedtime.’

8-year-old: “On Dad’s birthday, we treat him mean and he gives us presents!” Me: “So every day is my birthday.” Which explains why I feel so old.

I’m on the 4th draft of my debut novel. Following some experienced friends’ advice, I’m making big changes. Just like I did for the 2nd draft. Tonight I’m listening to sara zarr on Good Story Co | editing for writers at all stages. “Something felt different. I cared enough to keep rewriting it for years.”

“Have you got it together? If so, how often?” Every year I grow, the @PetShopBoys’ question becomes more important.

My 4-year says he can count to 100. I cared when my 8-year-old did it four years ago. Now I’m busy. But he wants Dad to be proud. Fast-forward 5 minutes and some stammering, and he’s at 107, and indeed he has made Dad very late.

I’m a middle school history teacher, and I’m still going over my notes from Mario and Mandela Van Peebles’ visit with Sway Calloway on Sway In The Morning. I’m about to take my classes through the Civil War and then the West. Stagecoach Mary? The origin of “cow boys?” I never knew…

Served my 5-year-old a healthy breakfast this morning with several fresh strawberries and a full water bottle. “Dad, what is there to eat is space?” “Oh dude, in space, it has to be a lot of frozen stuff. Not super healthy.” Toaster pops. I serve him two Eggos.

I’m listening to Rowan Beaird on StoryStudio Chicago’s “Chicago Writers Podcast.” She’s talking about revisions, and looking back at her first draft: “I scanned to a random page and had no idea what was happening.” I’m working on my 4th draft. She published her 15th.

On my 4th draft of my best book idea; writing notes for 7 more. I’m like “if I find a publisher, I’ve got others ready…but they don’t feel as good.” Michael Mammay on Queries, Qualms, & Quirks: “When I tried to write the 2nd book, I was not nearly as good as I thought. So I started to study.”

The 5-year-old wants to play hide-and-seek again. Just me and him. 7th game this morning. I have to convince myself that I’m covering my eyes and counting to 10, not burying my face in my hands.