Preparations

I've been thinking for some time I'd like to get a podcast going. I have had numerous podcasts in the past. Some were of a professional nature; some were short-term projects; some were just for the fun of it. I like blogging, but the truth is, I'm much more likely to listen to a podcast than read a blog. Some people prefer reading to listening. So, with the listening audience in mind, I'll post something here within the next week.

I'm writing this post for two reasons:

1. I want to make sure it posts from my mobile phone. I discovered I can change the blog which updates from my dashboard.

2. I want to be certain this blog has at least one post on it.

I'll be hosting the files at the internet archive. It's free. Like all things which are free, there can be some gliches. If the files are not available, check back later. They will be available then most likely. For some reason, internet archive has times where it is impossible to download and when those times pass, things are back to normal. You get what you pay for.

I've started to record some segments. I discovered that my headset creaks. This bumping sound comes through on a recording. I am disappointed in this. I particularly liked this headset. Back to digging through the box and finding something that sounds okay. Mics are such a pain. I'm also using an onboard voice synthesizer and it is distracting. I'm wonderingif I should just turn it off while I am recording. The other alternative is to go with a digital recorder and copy the file. In the end, this may be a more elegant solution though it does mean the step of converting the file from its recording format to a wav file. It would take care of the bumping though and the voice synthesizer interruptions. That may make it worthwhile.

I like very much the evolution of the podcast name and mission. More about that in the podcast itself. I've recorded that segment several times and it is shaping up. Another go at it with a digital recorder and maybe I will have it. I'm still working on the description of the fair itself, its highs and lows, good points and bad. It came out great once, but then I discarded the recording without noting that down. Something to bear in mind for future recording.

I'm still uncertain about the book section. I don't know whether discussing a particular book is the best way to go here or a general discussion. Something to ponder.

I'd like to be more conversational in my speaking than didactic. I always feel like I'm talking to a class than another person. Perhaps it is because I'm addressing the void and there is not another person here in the apartment. Something else to consider.

Muscles

I spend a lot of time thinking about success. Am I a successful human being? How do I explain my lack of success? How do I spin my life experience to demonstrate my successfulness. Do I make decisions about my life to skirt the question of successfulness? Why I am I obsessed about this question?

One of the areas in which I struggle is writing. Early in my life I won a creative writing contest. My mother pushed me to submit a story to American Girl magazine. I hated the whole process of submitting a story. It didn't win. She argued that I ended the story before the outcome of the horse race is known and perhaps that is why it did not win. In reading the winners, I wrote a very straight forward action adventure featuring a boy while the winners featured girls and were more subjective. It put me off contest writing.

In high school I had pieces published in the creative writing rags. One story was too long and could not be published though the English teacher advisor thought it was a good story. No suggestion to cut or editing advice.

AFter that my story writing tailed off and from time to time I have gone back to it, but progressively I have been dissatisfied with my own writing.

Two years ago I signed up for a Nanowrimo account but the month of November was too chaotic to attempt a writing schedule, or so I thought. Last year I dived in. I "won". The story may or may not ever see the light of day. I learned some interestingthings about my character. I will work on another story using the same character this year. Some of the work you've seen here about Star Runer is more background info for the novel.

I was just listening to an old Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing podcast and an author talked about practicing writing. If you don't use your writing muscles, they weaken. No one questions that a musician practices.

Huh. I had never thought about this. I could practice my writing. It wouldn't have to be good. I know enough about practicing music that it means wrong notes, going over a passage, taking this part and then that part and going over it. It means not producing a beautiful piece at any time during the session. I remember explaining this this to my daughter, digging out a recorder and letting her listen to her playing to hear what part of the piece needed more work and suggesting she work on the part of the piece which was giving her the most difficulty. It makes sense to apply this to writing, to write for the sheer practice of writing.

I have thought I would get back into podcasting. Again, practice the recording. If the first take isn't what I want, do it again until it feels natural. Why not? This is a craft, too.

Lifeverse

I'm blogging this more or less freehand. This morning, my regular WPR station seemed to be off the air. In searching to see if my tuner had wandered away from the station, I came across a local update. When it was over, I started to flick the tuner button again. Just before I left what turned out to be a Christian station, I heard an announcement for today's "LIfe Verse". I believe it was going to be from Jeremiah. What came into my mind is how the phrase Life Verse can also be a name for a universe in which life exists. The lifeverse then is a unique place rather than a snippet of Scripture. I don't know how this relates to anything, but I want to hang onto the word for future use.