Take the Time To Slow Down

If you're like me, your life is really busy, and at times a bit stressful. Do you feel like you're constantly going, or even constantly in a rush? I wanted to hit on how helpful it can be to take little breaks in your life to chill out and let yourself wind down. I've got a few ways to do this that don't include drinking alcohol, or anything else like that! So I hope they are helpful to you, and can in some way enrich your life, and help you to slow down every once in a while. A word my brother came up with that I think describes this well, is chillax. For the writers, try these when you get writers block.

To the guys reading this, you may call me metro, but I dare you to try this first one out, then come back and leave a comment and tell me what you thought. I learned this one from my wife, trust me, the candle really helps. Take a good half hour or so from your evening, kids are in bed, the house is quiet. Draw a bath, and also put a candle somewhere in the bathroom. When is the last time you actually took a bath? If you’re like me it’s been years; I'm a shower man myself. Seriously, draw a hot bath, light a candle, turn off the lights in your bathroom, close the door, and soak in the tub. Let the hot water and flickering flame melt away all of your thoughts towards things you need to do, problems in the story you're writing, or situations that are stressing you out. Try it, and I bet you'll feel unwound and relaxed afterword. I bet you'll even have more energy to go deal with those things that were bothering you.

Here is another great one. If there is a thunderstorm going on, and you have a space outside which is covered, take your wife, or go yourself if you're single, and sit under that space watching the storm. Don't let it go by while you sit inside surfing the web or watching TV, go outside. My wife and I were able to do this recently, we sat next to eachother, enjoying the sights, sounds, and eachother's company. We didn't even talk much as we watched the sky light up, and listened to the thunder rumble. We sat on our porch together, which is very small, but it was really fun. It almost felt like we were camping together, or on a date, and we were just sitting on our porch. I highly recommend this one, though you must rely on the weather for it, so you can't really go out and try it at anytime.

Another thing you can do, is purposefully take the long way round. Like me, you may feel as though you're constantly racing from one thing or place to the next. Sometimes it's nice to force yourself to slow down and relax. Take a different way, one that offers a better view. Or drive down the main roads, avoiding all those hairpin shortcuts you usually take. Use the time to enjoy the ride, music, and/or company you are with.

Here is one I know will be hard, because I've never done it myself. A friend told me that while in the grocery store, he will sometimes choose the longest line to stand in. He does this to remind himself to slow down in this very busy life. Perhaps someday I'll give this one a shot; if I ever find myself not in a hurry to get somewhere.

This one, I know you can do. Watch a movie that moves at a slow deliberate pace. I'm not talking about a boring movie, but one that's done with purpose, so that you'll pay more attention to the subtle things in the film. I recommend Capote, with Philip Seymour Hoffman. If you listen to the commentary, they say that the opening shots were designed to slow down the audience, from their busy lives. It's a shot of wheat blowing in the wind, and a train rolling down some tracks. The shots last much longer than you would expect them to, see if it doesn't slow you down a bit. 7 Pounds, K-pax, and Doubt are also good movies for this.

Finally, one of my favorites! Find a place where you can sit around a fire with friends, or even alone. You'll tend to watch the flames dance, and hear the wood crack as it burns. It a very soothing event for me. I bet you'll have much deeper conversations with your friends than you're used to. You will also probably remember that night, and keep it as a fond memory.

Personally I like the thunderstorm, sitting around a fire, movie, and bath things the most. Even though I still find the shortest grocery line, while waiting I sometimes think of the guy who stands in the longest one and am reminded to enjoy the small break, and use it as an opportunity to mentally chillax and realize that life is good, and I should take the time to enjoy it. For the writers reading this, lots of story ideas can come to your brain while you let it slow down; which is much better than getting all of those ideas at 3 in the morning, trust me!

I hope this is helpful, thanks for reading it. I will relish any comments you leave.

P.S. Listen to this sermon on sleep by C.J. Mahaney, it's really good.

My Entry for Scott Brick's Share the Experience Audio Narrator Contest

Scott Brick, my favorite living audio-book narrator, is holding a contest. It is open to anyone who has never made a cent doing professional narration work. I've always thought how cool it would be to read books for a living, so I submitted myself reading a passage from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I'm not expecting much, but thought it would be really fun to give it a shot. I've posted a link to my submission audio below. Enjoy, and please leave comments.


Click here to hear my submission

---

One Great Weekend with Crazy Going Ons

I had a really great weekend, even though one of my friends literally got punched in the face! I used to be in a band Dying To Live and I stayed with my good friend Ryan, the drummer of my old band. He lives with his brother, who is the vocalist for his new band 7 Horns7 Eyes. Check them out, they are really good. Anyways, after getting to hang out over some delicious Mexican food and ice cream with the incredible writer, Mark Ferrari, I went to go see my friend Aaron, one of the old guitarists for Dying To Live, play in his new band Surface Tension Surface Tension. There was a fight there, the first one I've seen in my whole life at age 26 thankfully, and then on our way from the show up to Aaron's house (guitarist in 7 Horns 7 Eyes) to hear the new drum tracks my friend Ryan recorded, someone trying to merge onto I-5 side swiped his car pretty bad. The jerk then gets out, swears at my friend, and then punches my friend directly in the face through the open car window. We all stayed in the car and called the cops, eventually seeing him taken away in hand cuffs, arrested for assault. It was a crazy night! But what a great day, getting to meet Mark Ferrari, an amazing author published by Tor, play baseball with my old band mates (another of whom is now in 7Horns7eyes, Sean Alf) and hear some of their new songs!

Classic Tales & Contemporary Albums II

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

&
Eat, Sleep, Repeat by Copeland
The images of Dicken's Great Expectations are brought to life by Copeland's Eat, Sleep, Repeat. They go very well together. I rediscovered this album hiding away in my glove box. I had not spun it in my cd player to for over a year. This was soon after reading Great Expectations, and some of the tracks reminded me so much of Pip; all of his inner monologues, the odd miasma of Pip's childhood house, Ms. Havisham's house, and Bernard's Inn. I felt while listening to them that I was transported back to these places. Sitting with good old Joe Gargery while dreading Pip's sister and her beating stick the tickler. Standing in the dark room untouched by time in Miss Havisham's house, her gaunt figure sitting in that yellowed bridal dress, the room around us completely dilapidated to match. Sitting in at the fireplace in the dim Barnard's Inn, pondering on Pip's problems with his companion Herbert Pocket, or writing all of their depts down once more so they felt better about it. Read the book, and listen to the album, you'll see what I mean, it's wonderful.

I Finished My First Manuscript!!!

I didn't quite get to 50,000 words, but maybe in the rewrite process! I may end up fleshing some scenes out a little more. It feels great to have finally finished an entire book! I learned a lot more about plot and structure than I would have guessed. I can't wait to edit it, working on the writing itself now that I have the story elements worked out. I'm pumped!