Family and Adding to Stories

My wife and I had the opportunity to babysit my niece and nephew. It was an interesting and tiring experience. I was more focused on “play” with the kids while my wife was concerned about everything else. It is easy for me to be sillier and put myself to the children’s level, and my wife looked out for their well-being more than I did. It is obvious that the world at large is new to a young child, and they are curious about everything and their own capabilities. As an adult, that sort of childhood innocence and wonder is in the past, but I suppose that writing my own worlds and characters helps bring that part of me back.

I am currently adding more to my novel, The Land of the Wooden Statues. I rushed things at some points of the story, and now, I am going back to flesh the story out more. I am writing about one character and have expanded his backstory extensively to make the audience care more about him, and the overall story is better for it. The minute details matter, and the story does not have to be all action, all the time. It was a good lesson to learn and helped me become a better writer.

Even though this is taking a long time, I am glad that I am rewriting and adding to this story. I learned a lot and can put that into future stories as well. I feel confident that I can write well, but sooner rather than later, I have to put it to the test and see if audiences will like what I wrote.

Los Angeles and Having a Team

I went to Los Angeles specifically to Grand Central Station and the Walk of Fame with my wife, her cousin, and her cousin’s boyfriend last weekend. Overall, it was fun and something different to do, and everything that I do now is a new experience now that I have my wife with me. It was interesting seeing the contrast from Orange County and Los Angeles, one being more of a suburb while the other was a big city. I personally favor the quieter suburb than the hustle and bustle of the big city. However, there are some neat and interesting things to do in Los Angeles that are not available in Orange County from places to eat to sights to see.

My wife and I went over some ideas as far as where to take this whole writing thing. We are a team, and it is necessary to have people work on this with me. Admittedly, I tried self-publishing and failed before, as I created content but did not have the time or energy to advertise my works and really put myself out there. It goes to show that there really is a limit that one can do alone, and having a team to help tackle an endeavor is game-changing.

It will be interesting to see where this goes moving forward. We have a goal in mind and content to put out there from short stories to novels. Hopefully, things are now put in place so that I can become a successful author.

Settling In and Writing Content

I have been settling in with my wife and being married, but there always seems to have something that needs to be done. My weekends so far have always been booked, and that does not seem to be stopping anytime soon. We are eating out every weekend, and the places to go around here appear to be endless. Things like Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Korean Barbecue, Shabu Shabu and so many other places to go are still on the docket, but seem so far away. That does not even include vacations and the like, but that will come with time.

The home has seen improvements and better organization. Having a bachelor pad before I got married, I only had things that I needed, which was not much. The walls were pretty barren, but I did keep my place clean. That has changed now that I am married. There have been some economical improvements like hanging clothes on the walls, better use of cabinetry and whatnot. Overall, there is just a lot my stuff around the house. Thankfully, I have been able to keep a lot of the same time to write, watch UFC fights, practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and whatnot that I had before.

Writing should be interesting as I am thinking about how to have more content and better utilize my works. I think that I will submit my short stories regularly again to short story contests, which is a nice ego boost and good critique as far as how much I have improved but also what I need to work on. I actually think that things will get interesting in the near future as far as writing is concerned, and I have the support for it as well.

Everything New and Everything Different

With my wife having moved in with me once we got married, everything that I used to do by myself feels just a bit new with her. My wife is not from the U.S. but the Philippines, so a lot of places that exist here are not in the Philippines. Going to somewhere like Denny’s is new and different now even though I have been there numerous times, and the same goes with shopping at Walmart or somewhere else. I look forward to going to many places now, as it feels like going there for the first time. That also includes plans to go places that I have never been to before.

Things have settled down quite a little since my wife moved in. I am back to practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu again, and I have had friends over for different events such as UFC fights or the Superbowl. We bought a lot of stuff, and it was different having to buy things like a blow dryer and other items that I would not have had to buy before I got married. I have actually been watching less anime, as every season, dozens of new titles come out over many different streaming platforms like Crunchyroll, HiDive, Netflix, Disney Plus and others. I can honestly say that I do not particularly miss it, as many of the titles that come out are a bit mediocre. Now, I think about things like writing, self-publishing, making more money, and other such things that have a little more importance.

Self-publishing looks like the way that I am going with my novels. I am coming in with very low expectations and know that it is not easy. I have help now with my wife, which is awesome, as I went about self-publishing in the past and failed miserably. Maybe now, I will be able to redeem myself.

Married Life and Differences

I got married on January 20, 2023 in the Philippines. It was an indescribably amazing experience. The wedding itself was great especially with the photography and videography. The first reception was quite honestly, and I am not just saying this to be biased, the most fun wedding reception that I have ever been to. The teams that we got for different aspects of the wedding were on point, and the reception was constantly entertaining while moving quickly. We also had a second reception, and it was fun in large part because of my wife’s family being so hands-on with everything.

My wife is with me now in the U.S. and living with me, and it is so much different than living by myself. Everything from obligations, stuff to buy, getting sick, to the highs and lows are different. Ultimately, it is a much better situation now where I have to take care of not just me but of someone else as well. Any type of personal growth seemingly plateaued by myself, but now, I feel like everyday is something new. There definitely was a monotony to how my life used to be, and while it was fun, it had a clear ceiling. Now, I do not even know where the ceiling is.

Everything is just starting out, but my writing goals have not changed. If anything, it feels like the rewards will be greater now that I am married if I reach the goal of becoming a successful author who can make writing a career. Being married, there are now two people trying to achieve a goal instead of one, so it has only helped.

The Last Days of Bachelor Life and Writing Incentives

This weekend was the last weekend in the U.S. where I would still be living a bachelor lifestyle. My fiancé lives in the Philippines, so I have been living like a bachelor despite being in a relationship. Next weekend, I am flying out to the Philippines and getting married in the subsequent week. It has been fun living this way, but I have to admit that it has its limits. I am enjoying myself and hanging out with friends, but even that becomes routine after a while. My general satisfaction is relatively high, but with a clear limit or ceiling. It will be nice to have someone else there to be with and have my back.

Things will change, but my writing goals have not changed. If anything, these goals will be strengthened having someone else there as motivation. While I just have a passion for writing, I do want to make money with my writing as well ultimately being an author as a career. It is just further motivation and incentive to continue this goal, and it helps that I already have completed works. Now, it is a matter of continuing to pursue getting published in the traditional way or trying again with self-publishing.

Whatever I decide will be fine. I have re-edited The Mustard Prince to the point where it seems like a new book, and currently adding new chapters to The Land of the Wooden Statues, which should be done soon. It will be exciting to bring these out, as I feel that I have improved as a writer.

New Year 2023 and Future Writing

It is the new year, and I already have big changes that are going to happen in my life this month. My roommate is moving out, and of course, I am getting married. My wife will be moving in with me by the end of the month, so there will have some changes in my home and just in my life in general. I have been living this bachelor lifestyle for years now, and I feel that I have reached the height of whatever satisfaction that I can get from this. This is a much-needed change in my life that will involve growth and sacrifice.

I am very much thinking about how to move forward with my writing. Having completed works already but not being able to get a literary agent has made me really look into trying again to self-publish. The publishing market looks to be seeking books with diversity, and while I can make some changes to my characters, it will be difficult to go back and make changes to something that is already established. That is not to say that I won’t take serious consideration to it in future works, but the novels that I have now have pretty established characters.

I actually think that 2023 will be a much better year for my writing. I have made it a habit to write daily, and I still have the motivation to become an author, maybe even more so now. I do not think that this will change despite all the changes happening in my life.

Changes and Routes

My roommate decided to move out in January. While it is unfortunate considering the time and effort it takes to find a suitable roommate, and that we developed a routine, thinking about it, this may be a blessing in disguise. I will be married by the time that he leaves, and this will allow me and my soon-to-be-wife to live in our own place uninterrupted. If we should decide to get a roommate, then we can decide on one together instead of having the one that I picked. It is a change that I was not expecting, but may actually be helpful.

I have been hesitant to send out query letters to literary agents considering that I will not be in the U.S. for two weeks in January. It will also allow me to strongly consider if I should take the self-publishing route once I get married and have gotten back to the U.S. at the end of January. One thing that was noticeable when I was researching books of my genre is that there are a majority of intersectional books out now, and that being something of a strong focus these days as far as what publishers are looking for. There is nothing wrong with that and their prerogative, but it is different from what I am writing currently.

Despite it all, I just want to create good stories. I have to really think about where I want to go with my writing and publishing my stories. Should I follow the trends or go against the grain? We will see, and I am still optimistic coming into 2023.

Finality and More Effort

At my church, we divide the members by younger than eighteen, eighteen and over but unmarried, and married couples. I am part of the eighteen and over but unmarried group, and I attended my last monthly meeting for this group as I am getting married next month. Also, I regularly host UFC pay-per-views at my home, and UFC 282 was the last one that I would be hosting while still living a bachelor lifestyle, as my wife will be moving in with me at the end of January. It is demonstrative of the changes that will be happening in my life. Things are fun as they are now, but it is something that I am doing regularly, so my overall satisfaction has a ceiling.

I still have not reached a goal of mine to get a literary agent, which is disappointing but also, not unexpected either. I have had to re-edit and revise much of my works along with my query letters. I still think that I am presenting myself to literary agents in a way that does not stand out, so that will be something that I need to fix moving forward. I also am starting to reconsider my stance on self-publishing. I failed at it the first time, but admittedly did not put the most effort that I could into it. Self-publishing may be the way to go in this current publishing climate and environment, as literary agents are looking for particular attributes in the characters of stories.

My desire to become an author really has not changed, and it is now just a habit to write every day. I actually have more ideas and stories in the docket that I want to get out there. Despite everything going on, I still have the motivation to write these stories.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie and Relatable Characters

(Spoiler Alert) I just came from watching The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie, and it was a long time coming for it to come out in the U.S. I had my favorite quintuplet, Miku Nakano, and I was hoping that the main character, Futaro Uesugi, would end up with her. However, that did not happen, and he got together with Yotsuba in the end. The funny thing is that when I was thinking of the relationships, I did not think that he would get with Yotsuba, but acknowledged that they get along the best together, but more like she was a bro. Yotsuba was always there to help, but that is what I missed, in that she was always there. It makes sense looking back, as three of them were more upfront about their feelings for him, one of them was just kind of on the outside, but Yotsuba was always there but just in the periphery. I kind of feel fooled, in a sense, like I should have figured it out, but at the same time, just about any choice would have made sense.

There was some good character writing in making these characters seem like real people with their own goals, personalities, complexities and ambitions. Even for me, that is a struggle, especially writing primarily fantasy adventure stories. Someone named The Mustard Prince who can do magic can be difficult to humanize, for example, and I try to do it by how he reacts to different situations. Obviously, with him not living in our world or in a real-world setting, it will be more difficult to humanize the character, but he does have fears, courage, a lack of understanding of basic things, and the like that keeps him relatable.

I have found that when writing characters to really think about them and how they would react to certain situations or other characters. It has helped me a lot and has made my writing better. When I first started writing, my characters remained as these blank slates throughout, and it was not conducive to good character writing. I want to create characters that audiences will remember.

Philippines November 2023 and Wakanda Forever

I went to the Philippines on the week of Thanksgiving, and it went by quickly. The food was great along with the lower price for pretty much everything compared to the U.S. Going from a bachelor lifestyle to a couple’s lifestyle is so different with just being with someone and having to behave considerately instead of selfishly. Going back to the bachelor lifestyle along with jet lag was an adjustment for sure, but thankfully, it will not be for very long. I expect December to go by pretty quickly, and January will be right there.

At the Philippines, me and my fiancé watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I just thought that it was okay, as I felt that it was too long, and there may have some Marvel fatigue as well. The costumes were great, but being a person who looks for characters, I thought that this movie left a lot to be desired. Many of the characters were a bit too similar for my taste, and I could not find any of the new characters to be particularly interesting or standouts. The movie overall looked great from a visual standpoint, but it did get hard to get invested in the story or characters.

I looked over my own work and wondered if my writing style is palatable for readers. I am my own worst critic, so any imperfection brings doubt to me that audiences will enjoy what I wrote. As much as some fear it, criticism from third parties is a good indicator of anyone’s work. It has helped me quite a bit, even if I did not want to read it.

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira and Organic Stories

At UFC 281, Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Title in the main event. He was losing the fight on the scorecards but won it in the fifth and final round by TKO. The story heading into this bout was that Pereira has beaten Adesanya twice in kickboxing, one win by decision and one win by KO. Adesanya did well in the first bout, and some argue that he should have won that bout. In their second fight, Adesanya was winning the bout, and even got Pereira a standing eight count, before he got knocked out. For some reason, Adesanya can beat most competition in MMA that he has faced, with the exception being Jan Blachowicz at a higher weight class, but he just cannot seem to defeat Alex Pereira in combat sports no matter how well he does against him. It is a fascinating story, and I strongly suspect that there will have a rematch, so the story is not over yet.

Organic stories such as this are the best that I have seen in sports. In that UFC main event, the technique that creates the violence eventually led to the end goal, but the story that was playing in the cage itself was just as fascinating and absorbing. Every time Pereira threw strikes, there was fear and anticipation that Adesanya would get hurt badly and lose the Title that he held for a long time. As time ticked away and Adesanya was ahead on the scorecards, there was a story of whether or not Adesanya could hold on against this opponent in Pereira that has been something of a boogeyman for him, and he could not. There was no happy ending for Israel Adesanya here.

Good stories have these qualities and stakes to them, and as a potential author, I need to be able to articulate that in words to an audience. Obviously, it is very difficult, taxing and time consuming. However, the end goal is what matters after all the hardship.

Highs and Lows and Satisfaction

It was a great and bad week for me. When I get married, my wife will fly home with me, and I attended my brother and his wife’s baby shower. I also had to spend thousands of dollars on car repairs and California property taxes, which illustrates just how expensive it is to live in California. It goes to show the highs and lows of everyday life, particularly being an adult and having multiple responsibilities. Things are not always fun or pleasant, but it is just a part of being an adult. Getting things taken care of though feels good and brings a bit of satisfaction.

Getting a bit of writing or editing done everyday consistently also brings a little satisfaction. It is a sacrifice and discipline for a higher goal. There are definitely highs and lows with this writing journey, but more lows than highs. I have submitted my works to short story contests and have won. Some feedback from literary agents have been positive despite getting rejected. Obviously, getting rejected by a literary agent is no fun, and the grind can feel never-ending.

The fact of the matter is that I would most likely use that time that I would be writing idly anyways watching something on a screen, so being productive is the better choice for me. The saying that if you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward really applies to writing, even if progress is slow.

Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva and Selling Stories

This past weekend, I ordered the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva boxing match and watched it with a group of friends. It is a funny thing paying money for the potential of watching someone lose, but that is what happened in ordering this boxing match. Me and my friends wanted Anderson Silva to win, but more specifically, Jake Paul to lose. Paul was in the toughest boxing match that he’s had so far, but he ended up winning the bout. There is something frustrating about this person who made his fame through YouTube fighting hand-picked opponents in boxing matches, usually former MMA fighters that are much older than him, and at times, much smaller than him. It worked though because we put down money to watch him lose, and we were the ones left feeling like we lost. We paid and played into the hands of these people and the narrative that they put together.

I suppose that writing a book and wanting to sell it to people has that commonality. I write a story and want to sell it to general audiences. The audience does get a sort of escapism, as that is what most forms of entertainment are meant to do. Of course, I am not selling a fight and purposefully making myself a bad guy to sell tickets. I am a potential author hoping one day to sell my books. We are both trying to sell a story of some sort though.

Their story was entirely visual whereas my story is something that one reads. I am selling fiction, and in a way, Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva was selling a sort of fiction as well.

Sudden Surprises and Reacting

Right when I thought that my week was getting better, I get a sudden flat tire on my car this weekend, and the tire shop does not have the tire in stock. I have to wait until Monday to get it fixed. It goes to show that unexpected things just kind of happen in life. I cannot control the outcome, but I can control how I react to the situation. For all intents and purposes, it looks like it will get fixed on Monday, and the only inconvenience that I will happen is getting an uber to go to work and back. It still is a situation that I would not want to be in but have to accept that things like this will happen.

I suppose that this goes for trying to be a professionally published author, or any goal, as well. I get a lot of rejection from literary agents, and just a few will provide feedback. I generally react to the rejection not feeling particularly good, but I do not stop my routine and just grit through it. It is on to the next one. This sequence happens with looking for a job, for example, but the hope is that one employer will eventually pick you over everyone else. However, I have to present myself, or my work in the case of writing, as best as I can to raise the probability of me getting picked.

Making my stories through repeated editing has been one of the tasks that I have been doing to present my works better. It is not particularly fun to do and can get tedious many times, but it has to get done.

A Better Week and Writing Options

Compared to last week, this was a better week for me. Not having a fly infestation alone was a big improvement for the week. My car issues have been resolved and same with the wedding stuff. It took a bit of work, but things eventually worked themselves out. A lot of the issues from last week derived from procrastination along with these issues happening all at once, which always seems to be the case. I cannot say that it will not happen again, as most likely, it will happen again. It is important to look back and remember that bad stuff happens, but one can work through it and come out the other end just fine and maybe even a little wiser.

I have been looking for other ways to make money through writing. I have submitted short stories to writing contest, and I did get second place one time and prize money for it. Otherwise, besides the main goal of being a professionally published author, I would like to explore getting paid for writing articles, writing blogs, ghostwriting, and just building a writing portfolio. Time is the biggest reason why I have not pursued this, but considering that I am feeling more confident about my writing, it may be a good idea to look into this again.

I figure that I have a degree in English and write regularly as it is, so why not monetize it if possible? I am under no illusion that this will be easy, and I have heard that many people who write articles and such started out writing for free for a while. However, it will improve my craft, and that is something of value.

Lousy Weeks and a Lack of Boredom

I have to admit, but I did not have the greatest week. Car trouble, wedding stuff, fly infestations and a few small things were what I had to deal with this week. All of it was stressful for sure, but some of these issues came about due to my own procrastination. It really goes to show that when problems are kicked down the road for a later date, that the problem just snowballs and compounds with other problems at the same time. Whether one believes in a higher power or just how life works, it does feel like someone or something is giving me a kick in the pants for being too complacent.

While I can get complacent, one thing that I have noticed for a while being an adult is that I am hardly truly bored. There was a time in my life where I was particularly lazy and idle in my twenties, and somewhere along the way, I decided to live much more productively. That decision really turned my life around, but also, I generally have not been bored or finding myself with nothing to do. Besides having so many books and manga to read, and anime that I own that I haven’t watched yet, there is also just a plethora of new anime coming out on various streaming platforms.

Writing every day has been a part of this lifestyle to be more productive. There is a feeling every day of something important to accomplish, and when that is done, then I can relax a bit. So far, it has worked out for the better, so it only makes sense to keep at it.

Anime and Older Media

The summer season for new anime has ended, and the fall season has begun. There are some returning favorites like My Hero Academia or Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun. There is also one being rebooted, Urusei Yatsura, which is a big surprise. I do not feel that the aesthetic of the show really fits in modern anime and entertainment, and reboots have quite honestly been more misses than hits. It goes to show that while there are a lot of new anime coming out, fresh ideas are hard to come by, especially with the prevalence of isekai anime and all its sub-genres out there. It has been done to death at this point.

I have been watching a few of the older anime out there from the 80’s like Tenkū Senki Shurato (Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato), which funny enough is an early isekai. I like the general artistry and care that is put into older anime, even if other areas like strong characterization or stilted dialogue may not be as prevalent. It seems to be something of a theme with just entertainment in general where the older media just seems to have more personality than what is out there today which prioritizes style over substance.

As a writer, I can understand it. Every story has pretty much already been done, so it becomes a matter of just putting a new spin on what has already been established. My novel, The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom, for example, is a medieval quest and adventure, which has been done before but with a more humorous and anime-inspired element to it. At the end of the day, it is all about entertaining the audience, and that has not changed.

Robocop and Eagerness

I re-watched the original Robocop movie with friends this weekend, and it was the Unrated version. It was kind of funny that I watched this movie as a kid, and it was ridiculously violent. There is something about these types of classic action movies that are kind of refreshing though. There is not this feeling that the creators of this movie are trying to promote some sort of message, and they were very unrestrained as far as what the characters can say and some of the violence that they committed. The only comparison that I can think of in modern times that have that unrestrained movie making is in a few Asian movies that I have seen recently.

I am adding more pages to the Land of the Wooden Statues, as two literary agents told me that the story is too short. One thing that I catch myself doing is reading through the already finished material, and I am always telling myself that this needs to be read by the larger public. I have taken time and care so that the story flows well and is easy to read. While self-publishing is an option, I still strive to get this published through traditional publishers that will be able to help in the story getting more reach. Marketing by myself would be time-consuming and a hustle in itself.

I just have to grind and make opportunities, I suppose. I think of the time that I worked part-time at a Blockbuster Video, and I was so eager to get a full-time job when the economy was not doing so well. It took effort, grit, discipline and constant resumes sent, but I finally ended up getting out of part-time work. I can only hope that seem mentality will get me professionally published as well.

Roommates and Rushing Things

After an arduous process, I have found a new roommate. I used past experiences as far as who to look for and questions to ask any prospective tenants. Nothing is guaranteed, and for all I know, I could be in for a world of trouble, but at the very least, I did what I could to mitigate any problems by stating what I want and what the prospective tenant could expect from me. Of course, you never truly know someone until you have lived with them, so it really is just seeing how it will all go moving forward.

This experience goes with writing and sending query letters to literary agents as well. I made a huge mistake in submitting query letters for The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom well before it was ready, and from what I have read, it is not a good look to re-submit the same work to a literary agent. Those are now missed opportunities because of my own inexperience, but also because I rushed things. Rushing things has been a common mistake in so many things that I have done such as break dancing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and in writing as well.

All is not lost though. I feel that I am submitting much more polished works, and I am learning from past mistakes. I have better discipline in grinding through, making time to write, and editing my works. I’ll keep at this, and it really is just seeing how it will all go moving forward.