Write More

I've been a list-maker again lately, and near the top is getting back to writing. For myself, for public consumption, anything to get the old muscles working again.

I'm really interested in short fiction lately. New on my radar is 365 Tomorrows. I love it first & foremost because it's short sci-fi stories, different visions of the future. But it's also a collaborative writing project. Five writers got together [along with a web-savvy compatriot] and decided to publish one new short piece of fiction for a year. Ambitious, but not all that difficult. It just comes down to dedicating the time.

Of course, I'm a fan of McSweeneys, both internet & print editions. But for some reason, I've been neglecting The Believer online. And while I've been a fan for a while, I actually have some bizarre little story ideas that I need to work up & submit. While it would be neat to get a short on the website -- or on something like Fray -- the process is the important thing. Like Max, who decided that he was going to do a graphic novel & then a webcomic, the main thing came down to sitting down & drawing regularly until it was done.

And, oh yes, he also did a novel last November. Again, it's about putting in the time.

...

Speaking of putting in the time, Max and I have been talking about getting fat. About making excuses to write, draw, housekeep, drink, or anything but exercise. Granted, there is still yoga Monday nights, but my personal practice has suffered. Thankfully, Kat & Nick have been good at taking me up on bike-rides. Nick and I did nine or ten miles tonight, so that was really good.

But back to getting fat. I've weighed myself a couple of times in the last week, and it's come out to about 200 lbs. each time. Let me write that out, two hundred pounds. Now, this isn't a huge deal. [Pun not intended, but kept.] I eat fairly healthily, and I do keep active, but it is a big paradigm shift. I've hovered at about 165-170 since high school, when I topped out at 185 while taking weight training.

Granted, I've probably put on some muscle with yoga, but I think there's more to it than that. Seems to me it's a combination of increased muscle mass & then some poor choices in the past couple of months with regards to diet and my yoga practice.

But more than anything else, it's changing the idea of my body image. It's not just my pants that are shrinking, I'm coming in at two bills. And while that may be just what I weigh at this age, I can certainly be in better shape. So, time to replace the biscuits and gravy for breakfast [for only $1.50 at the shop across the street] with some fruit smoothies. Get rid of the candy & get some more dried fruit.

And oh yes, get on the bike & back on the mat.

When I'm not writing, that is.

Comments

[Holtmann]

And for those of you short fiction admirers, who, like me, have little patience for McSweeney's or The Believer, I offer you n+1, www.nplusonemag.com. Sure, they would benefit from a spiffier web design, but the writing is solid, engaging, and relevant. (And I definitely recommend Benjamin Kunkel's new book "Indecision," which is dedicated to the fledgling magazine.)

For rigorous, intelligent criticism and debate I suggest The New York Review of Books, www.nybooks.com. (Not to be confused with the New York Times Book Review, which ostensibly specializes in praise and terse synopses.) There is always something compelling to be found between the pages of the New York Review.

And for those of you who seek expanded horizons -- who wish you had more access to literature in translation -- Words Without Borders, www.wordswithoutborders.org, has no rival. In my opinion, it's the most important literary publication on the web.

That's my two cents, anyway.

[Max]

I think part of the weight thing is the physiological changes your body is making as it nears the end of your 20s. I saw a picture of myself in high school the other day and it looks nothing like me, and yet I'm only about 10 or 15 pounds heavier now. Plus, when I lost said 10 or 15 pounds when I was running, I still didn't look like that kid. You may be right, you may just be 200 at this time in your life.

[Sean]

Damn...200. That's only one zero away from 2000. I remember going through the same thoughts when I topped out at 230. So long as you're happy at the same time as fat it ain't no thing. Lex and I often reflect on our "Fat and Happy" days. Though, now we much prefer to just be happy.

The OWH did a fluff piece on bicycle commuting today. Hopefully more people get in the practice - it's responsible and cheap! (kind of like me.)