You know, writers aren’t forced to waste time, but we must be aware of the difference between actual research and plain old entertainment. We must also be alert for a terrifying realization that goes something like this: “Jeebus, this arcane essay about Hamilton’s hat size is so much more interesting than my own story!” At which point that writer might want to reassess his commitment to the craft.

So Yes, reading up on hemp-growing by the Founding Fathers (a hot topic these days on the history sites) might be research. But, well, you know what I mean.

* Excess-italic alert!

This morning I’m off to the service wizards, where I do more pencil-on-paper drafts as I wait for my appointment with destiny.

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In what way is this a Good Thing?

I didn’t give it much thought. But her next words–”I just tune it out most of the time”–reminded me that that is exactly what I do when I’m ‘out’ writing in a coffee house, or (yes) doing that #pubwrite thing: I tune it out.

The tuning out allows me–forces me?–to concentrate on writing in a way that doesn’t work in a quiet home. Here, I have laundry, dishes, prepping dinner. To say nothing of the cats.

So I’m going to give it a try. I’ll start with some Gotan Project, or maybe the Modern Mandolin Quartet, and see what happens. Bonus: It will keep the cats at bay.

It’s yet another opportunity for me to set aside actual writing in order to undertake more research.

1917 – Vladimir Lenin issued a decree establishing the Cheka, the
first Soviet secret police.

Source: Wikipedia

But no longer.  I now see a box telling me that there has been a “Communication Error” as a result of a “Bad username or password.”

I should be writing instead.  Current project:  A lightweight “ghost” story.

Really, it’s not my fault.

I’d hoped that I could clarify the unfinished novel by working out some story difficulties in the radio format, but I’ve had to make a vast number of changes to accommodate the medium, hardly any of which suit the novel itself.  And it’s more of a picaresque thing now, as the hero doesn’t have much opportunity to chart his own course.

As to the script version, I’ve divided it into five half-hour segments.  At first I fretted about the break points, but by a stroke of good luck all but one of them concludes at a natural cliff-hanger.