Why the new Star Wars movie makes episode 1,2 and 3 better

WARNING: Spoilers Below! I finally got to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I did not go the weekend it came out, but did the following Wednesday. Everyone I wanted to go with had to work when I was off and vice versa. We had trouble getting our schedules to match up so we could go see the movie. Finally we found some time last night to go see it.

It was awesome. Since the movie came out I have not heard any bad things about it. Everyone who had seen it told me they loved it. Then I threatened them if they spoiled it for me I would unfriend them. The writing was better than episode one, two and three. For the most part they seemed to flow better. There were only a few moments of clunkiness. The dialogue was not as formal and felt more realistic. That's what threw me in episode one.

The writing was better. There was more showing and less telling. I felt in episode one the writers were trying to explain too many things and showing those things were difficult. The biggest example was the scene involving the Mediclorians and how they made Shmi pregnant without a father. 

All the dialogue seemed forced in the prequel trilogy. I think it was because the culture of that time was more formal and there were more rules about how to act and how to be proper. Most of the viewers could not relate to this time period. The emotion seemed to be hidden, suppressed, which might explain why Anakin exploded in rage.

Anakin's winneyness and temper tantrum's can be found in both Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo's attitude. There seems to be a childish side to the Darkside that only shows itself in the Male genome of the Skywalker Family. Both Leia and Rey seem to have control over their abilities and their emotions.

Loss of the Jedi order means relearning Jedi tricks, retraining lightsaber skills. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jin both were able to wield a lightsaber with speed and accuracy. It seems when Luke Skywalker was wielding a lightsaber he had the strength but not as much speed. I'm thinking now that he has had 20 years more experience, as he teaches Ray in the next movie he will be able to give her the speed and ability that a Jedi should have with a lightsaber.

I'm looking forward to the next two movies. I think they should step up the Jedi powers. There will be more Jedi like Master Yoda. There will be a strength that will match the powers of the Sith. There will be balance in the force.

Five Alkaline Foods for Your Health

I'm trying to turn my health around. Drinking a 2 liter bottle of soda every day and eating mostly carbs at every meal is not good for me. I don't think it's good for anybody. I find my body is constantly reacting to my environment. My nose is always clogged up. I'm constantly clearing my throat. I am tired all the time, most likely to sugar crashes throughout the day. I think if I can change the types of food I put in my body I will have more energy and I will be healthy and avoid all the illnesses threatening my life today.

I'm not a doctor and you should consult your own doctor before changing your diet. The following is my opinion about what I have researched. I don't claim to be an expert. Im not responsible for your actions.

I've always been interested in the idea of my body's pH balance. Because I eat mostly carbs and sugar's, my body is always on the acidic side. It's working extra hard to get the acid out of my system to balance the pH. Because it's having to do this it's leaving my immune system susceptible to attacks and makes me sick more often then I would like to be.

The following are five areas of food I want to change and I think will help my system become more alkaline.

The biggest change I need to make is eating more vegetables. I don't eat enough, and the vegetables I do eat are very carb dense. I am used to eating things like blackeyed peas and corn. They have a lot of starch in them. The vegetables I need to eat are plants like broccoli and cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, kale, beets, etc. if I can eat darker green vegetables like peas and peppers and especially spinach, I think my body will take on more the nutrients it needs to be awake and alert more often.

Because I eat so much sugar during the day, I find my body crashes and I just want to lay down and sleep. I think a lot of that has to do with the types of sugars I consume. I eat all these processed sugars like cane sugar and candy and all the high fructose corn syrup found in cereals and soda. I think I need to change the sugars I eat to those found in fruits. Great alkaline fruits include apples and bananas and berries. Lemons and oranges, peaches and pears are all great fruits to eat that will help turn my body chemistry around. They all taste good and I think they can help me have more energy.

According to what I've read, meats cause acid buildup in your body. So if I am to eat more alkaline foods I will have to stay away from most meats making me either vegetarian or vegan depending on how far I want to go. I don't think I have to give up all meats because my body does need a balance of all kinds. I just need to reduce the amount of meat products I eat and increase the vegetable and fruit products I eat. There are other places I can get protein. Many nuts have the protein but not all of them will increase your alkaline PH. Almonds and chestnuts and even tofu are great sources of protein that will also increase alkaline in your body.

Since I am trying to avoid processed foods and products that contain the foods that give me more of an acidic pH, cooking my own food would be a great way to control the amount of bad foods going into my system. There are some great spices that benefit pH level. Some of these include cinnamon, ginger, curry, sea salt and mustard. Just because I'm trying to eat better doesn't mean I don't have to have great flavor is well.

Sodas are a horrible way to get the caffeine and sugar to keep my energy level up. The sugar only lasts for a little bit of time before my body decides to crash in beg for more sugar. Teas and coffee are better but caffeine itself is not good for me in the long run. Drinks that help with pH include things like coconut water and green tea.

My research into increasing the alkaline pH of my body has led me to a lot of great foods I can eat. It also led me to what I am not supposed to be eating like meats and soda. I'm looking forward to giving this a try and hoping I can be consistent and focused on increasing my health. If you have other options and opportunities to increase the alkaline ph in my body, please post a comment and let me know. I'm willing to try all kinds of new foods I may not have known existed.

7 Things to Think about Today on Christmas Day

1. Don't be afraid to say Merry Christmas. Today is Christmas and even if some people don't celebrate Christmas, it's still Christmas Day and recognized as a national holiday. You can still say Merry Christmas, meaning for them to enjoy their day off. If someone gets all bent out of shape about saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, just remind them that it's Christmas Day and you are enjoying your holiday. If they choose not to enjoy their's, that is their prerogative.

2. Turn off all your technology. You should not be surfing the Internet or working on your latest project. Don't let your tablet distract you or pick up your cell phone to play games in the slow moments. Take time today to spend with your family. If nothing is happening, then enjoy the fact that nothing is happening. Revel in the silence. How often do you get the chance to enjoy a moment of peace. We spend the rest of the year surrounded by noise and technology and the need to get things done quickly. Today is a day to slow down, enjoy, and spend time with family and friends.

3. Start a new tradition. If you find yourself in one of those moments where no one is doing anything, where everybody is sitting in silence, think about what you can do together. There are all kinds of things you can do around the house. Make Christmas a family game night. Play a game that will take hours to play. Watch a movie. In fact Watch a specific movie. Maybe you're like me and like Star Wars. Watch the entire trilogy on Christmas Day. You can also make ornaments or build gingerbread houses or start a campfire in your fire pit out side in the backyard. Just find something that will peak everybody's interest and do it together.

4. Start an annual Christmas thoughts book. Buy a composition book that you can write in, that you cannot rip pages out of. Get everybody in your household to write their Christmas thoughts on one page each. Then every year you bring out this book and you have them do it again. You will find it interesting how things change when you read back to previous years. Make sure what you write is all positive thoughts. Write things about what is going on in your life and what you hope for in the future. After 10 or 20 years of writing in this book you will find all kinds of interesting facts about yourself and about your family. You will get to watch your kids grow up as they change the way they think and dream of new dreams.

5. Wear your Christmas Footy pajamas. Imagine everyone in the family having a pair of these pajamas. Everybody wakes up and opens presents in their cozy footies. We all eat breakfast in these pajamas. It might even be fun to wear these pajamas all day long. Invite the rest of your family to come over wearing their's. Make it a pajama day, a Christmas pajama day.

6. Reconnect with someone you haven't spoken to in a long time. We all have friends we've lost contact with over the years. Many of them have been friends for decades. We only talk to them once or twice a year and Christmas is one of those times we can take to catch up with those friends. Even if we don't get around to speaking to them again until their birthday or Easter, Christmas should be one of those moments where we remember those who have touched our lives in some way. You might take the opportunity to make amends with someone you've grown apart from. You might track down that high school best friend you haven't spoken to since graduation. Take a moment give them a call and wish them a happy new year and a Merry Christmas. Let them know you were thinking about them.

7. Read the Christmas Story. Open your Bible and read the chapter about the birth of Christ. Reflect on it. Talk about it or just sit in silence and stare into the lights on the tree as you relive the journey and emotions of the three wise men traveling to see the Son of God. We would not have Christmas as we know it without the birth of Jesus. If you don't believe in the story of Christ, then learn about it and understand what your Christian friends are celebrating. Use it as a way to bring up what you believe.

Consistantly Writing Blog Posts Every 3 Days

My plan is to post more regularly. I think having an assembly line of posts will help me be successful, kind of like Henry Ford and his assembly line revolutionized the way products were made. His consistency in creating a product everybody wanted was a way to make himself popular, important, relevant and wealthy. I'm not saying these blog posts will make me wealthy but I do think my opinion may help someone in the future.

I've designed a three day process to help me publish a blog post more consistently. With this process, getting segments of the work done at certain times will help me complete the blog posts in a timely manner. Having this available in a written format will give me a goal for every day. I will be able to see my results as I put them down on paper.

On day one I will outline three posts. I don't want to just have one post in mind. I want to have several to choose from. This way when I go to write the post I can choose the one I'm most passionate about at the time. This will allow me to be more concise. The thoughts will be more constructive and I won't be forcing what I want to say because the one idea I had did not inspire me at the time of writing it.

I hand write my outlines. I can outline 3 posts on one page in a composition book. I break up the post into seven parts. Each part will represent at least one paragraph. I know I can be flexible on the number of paragraphs if I have more to say about one specific topic. On each page I have room for one title and seven bullet points for each of three posts. I write as much as I can down on one line for each topic. I need enough information to write about that part of the post. In the margin I write keywords I think about as I'm outlining the post this way I can come back and add those keywords when I'm ready to push the publish button.

On day two I actually write the post. This is the time I can sit down and either type in what I want to say or I dictate it into my phone. I find I can write a whole lot faster dictating into my phone than I can typing on a keyboard. When I write I don't worry about editing. Editing takes a different part of the brain. All I want to do today is get the words down on the screen. I can edit it tomorrow on day three.

On day three I actually edit and publish the post. I want to make sure I have everything I need including the image which I should have chosen on the first day. I tweak the keywords I need to bring readers to the page. I read through what I have written and make the words flow better. I make sure there's no spelling errors or grammar weirdness. I make sure all my punctuation is in the right place. I want people to read it smoothly and not be interrupted by a mistake I've made. I go through the whole page one more time making sure everything is correct and then I hit publish. 

Now all I have to do is repeat this process consistently every three days. Each part only takes 15 to 20 minutes. I know I can find that amount of time in my busy day with a full-time job and a family at home. I keep a pad in my pocket to write down new ideas. I usually have two or three a day. If I can write these down when I think about them, I will have something to outline on day one. Sometimes I have more than three ideas to write about. That is fine. I will outline every idea I have. This ensures I always have something to put out there on my blog.

If I find myself short of ideas I make sure I am reading the responses from my readers. There will always be questions and criticisms about what I write. This will always inspire new ideas and new responses for those I want to clarify or change my opinion about.

Now that I've written this post, tomorrow I will sit down and start editing it. Then it won't be long till you are reading it. Please leave a comment and let me know how you are able to consistently post your thoughts on your blog on a regular basis. Take a moment to put your email address in to receive my posts in your inbox when I release them every three days.

Outlining an Epic Series

I've been working in a world that I've created that is 343 novels long. The problem I'm finding is I don't know where to start. I have all these stories I want to tell but taking on the task to link them all together in one cohesive story is overwhelming.

I have broken up my world into seven ages. Each one falls into a category I want to write about. There is a fantasy age, a contemporary and a science-fiction age. I've even come up with a way to have a sort of zombie age and a space opera age of some sort. There's plenty of post apocalyptic type moments in the story arc and the storylines are so wide and spread out that it's hard for me to pick a spot and just start writing.

I'm thinking about writing an outline for the whole series. I want to come up with people that are involved in every aspect of the story arc. I want to start laying out the plot twists and how they all interact with each other. If I can make this happen, I will have some world bible.

Awesome Halloween Morning Sunrise

I got to work early this morning so my lunch break was around 7:30. When I walked out the door this is the sunrise I saw. Beautiful orange yellow clouds streaking across sky. It made me stop and think a little bit about the moments that passes by with me are too focused on what's inside of our heads. We don't take the time to look around and see the things that are beautiful.

As you're getting ready for your Halloween activities today, take a moment to stop what you're doing and just look around you. They're all kinds of things going on that you might miss. Look it up parents playing with her child or see a dog chasing after it's brother or sister. Take a look at the flowers or the leaves that are changing colors right now because of the cold weather. All the trees are starting to go dormant for the season. We don't always realize when this happens because were so focused on work or where we need to be.

You are who you hang out with

 I've been pondering the concept that "you are who you hang out with." It's come to my attention how true this statement really is.  Think about it. If you hang out with people who complain and gossip, you will join in on the complaining in the gossiping. Soon that's who you will become and people who do not complain and gossip will not want to hang out with you.

If you hang out with people who are hard workers and you start to  work as hard as they do then you will become a hard worker. If you allow others to hang out with you, you will become the sum of who they are.

 I wonder what it would be like to find a group of successful millionaires I could hang out with. That would be the trick. Who knows where millionaires hang out. They tend to hang out with people like themselves. They try to stay away from people who do not think like millionaires. And probably makes it really difficult  to find out where they hang out and introduce yourself to be one of them.

It's National Chocolate Day

I can't think of anybody who doesn't like chocolate. I guess there are a few of them. Once in a while I will come across a stranger who does not like chocolate. I usually tell them I can't be friends with them.

It's national chocolate day and I think it's a good excuse to eat as much chocolate as possible. You can have chocolate chip cookies or a box full of chocolates or just go to the candy aisle of your grocery store and buy as many snickers and Milky Way's as possible. I think my favorite chocolate is fudge. It's so easy to make now with that microwave recipe. It might not be as good as real footage but it will satisfy the chocolate urge.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do today for national chocolate day but I am sure I will find something I can eat. They make all kinds of chocolate flavored cereal's. My favorite is that cereal by Kellogg's called Krave. When lunchtime comes around I will probably have a sandwich and then pig out on some chocolate chip cookies. Then tonight I will make sure there's plenty of footage for dinner.

10 movie franchises you need to watch to keep your geek card

1. Star Wars

2. Back to the Future

3. The Matrix

4. Lord of the Rings

5. Indiana Jones

6. All Marvel or DC Movies

7. Star Trek

8. Pirates of the Carribean

9. Transformers

10. James Bond

Growing my Balance with Moon Bitcoin for Free

I started collecting Bitcoin Satoshis again by claiming them from my favorite faucets. I really like Moon Bitcoin. They have made some changes since I have been there last. There are more ways to earn than ever before. 

They let you claim every 5 minutes. I rent to claim every 30 minutes to an hour. If I stay on it, I can get 10,000+ Satoshis everyday.

I earn even more if I claim everyday. There is a 1% increase every consecutive day I make a claim. If I claim 100 days in a row, I can double my earnings.

I can also earn when you click my link ( http://moonbit.co.in/?ref=4c5ac892f6c9 ) and claim your own Satoshis. I earn 50% of your earnings forever. You keep 100% of your earnings. So claim often.

You can make even more by getting others to claim theirs through your affiliate link. There are so many opportunities. Take them now.

10-27-2015 10AM: 21,136 Satoshis

How do You Find the Energy to Write when You have Worked All Day Long?

I work a full-time job and many days I work 10 to 12 hours. When I get home I will make dinner and wash dishes and fold clothes. I will do the things every other family does. I will play with the kids and walk the dogs. The question is, when do I find time and energy to write after all of that.

Today I wanted to write a decent post with bullet points and suggestions and research, but the time and energy just did not permit. I got up this morning at 2 AM so I could be at work at 3 AM. I worked till almost 2:30 PM. When I got home my wife had me put up a ceiling fan and I had to run to Lowe's to get the part I needed to make that happen.

By the time I got home and finished installing the ceiling fan it was time for dinner. We decided to eat out so I had to run out to the restaurant to pick up the food. The thought of doing any kind of writing at this point was exhausting to think about.

What I decided to do is write this post you're reading right now. I'm able to dictate it on my phone while I am sitting in the parking lot waiting for the food to be ready. I can finish it up when I get home sitting in my driveway. The nice thing about dictating this post is I can write 500 to 1000 words in about 15 to 20 minutes.

This post will turn into a journal Blog post telling you about what's going on in my day and what I'm thinking about. It won't have any kind of research or how's other then what I'm experiencing right now. I'm telling you what I'm going through and hoping you will get something out of it. 

I think people enjoy these kind of posts but I don't think it's a good thing to do every day. I know some people do and if their schedule is as hectic as mine then it might be the only thing possible if you want to do any kind of writing.

If your day is as busy as mine and you feel exhausted by the time you sit down and want to write, take a moment and collect your thoughts and dictate a post. Write something that comes from the heart or at least off the top of you head. It doesn't necessarily have to make a lot of sense. It's more about getting your thoughts out than about the actual writing itself. You can always come back at a later date and edit the post, adding points and how to's and more information that might make the post more useful to others. I do that a lot with some of my older posts. I like to come back and add something else to it. I like to add new experience and edit what I have written in the past. My mind changes a lot and sometimes it's good to let your readers know that times have changed and the way you do things have changed.

7 Ideas to Write About for a Blog Post Every Day

1. Come up with a list of things people want to know about.

2. What are your thoughts about current events?

3. Explain how to do something. If you are having to work on a project, is a good idea to document for others to learn from

4. Review of a product or a movie or music or album. Tell everyone what you think of each item.

5. Plan for the future. Everyone what you want to accomplish. If they keep you accountable then you will be more likely to complete your goals.

6. Go on a rant. Explain to the world why you're upset about something. Give them the opportunity to respond and debate with them or you were right.

7. Write a short story. Short piece of fiction your system out of your system. Let others read it and critique your work so you can find ways to write even better next time.

21 clean Halloween jokes to tell your cub scouts

I am known as the joke man at Cub Scouts. I always have a joke ready for our opening. I'm always on the lookout for good clean funny jokes. Here are a few for Halloween. 

1. What do ghosts eat for supper? Spooketi

2. Why did the skeleton cross the road? To get to the body shop.

3. What room does a ghost not need? A living room!

4. Who did Frankenstein take to the dance? His “ghoul” friend!

5. What do ghosts use to wash their hair? Shamboo!

6. When is it bad luck to be followed by a black cat? When you’re a mouse.

7. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite.

8. Why do ghosts make good cheerleaders? Because they have a lot of spirit.

9. What do vampires take when they are sick? Coffin drops!

10. What do you get when you cross a duck with a vampire? Count Quackula!

11. Where do ghosts buy their food? At the ghost-ery store!

12. Where does Count Dracula usually eat his lunch? At the casketeria.

13. What is a vampires favorite holiday?  Fangsgiving

14. What do you call two spiders that just got married? Newlywebs

15. Which building does Dracula visit in New York? The Vampire State Building

16. Where do most werewolves live? In howllywood, California

17. Why did Dracula take cold medicine? To stop his coffin.

18. What do you call two witches living together? Broommates.

19. What are a ghost’s favorite rides at the fair? The scary-go-round and rollerghoster!

20. Why do ghosts like to ride in elevators? It raises their spirits.

21. What can you say about a horrible mummy joke? It Sphinx!

Bonus. Two monsters went to a Halloween party. Suddenly one said to the other, “A lady just rolled her eyes at me. What should I do?”

“Be a gentleman and roll them back to her.”

Find Robert T Gasperson on Amazon, Twitter, & Facebook.

10 Ways to Hide Your Outdoor Trash Can with Lid

Trash cans can be a eyesore, especially if you don't have a place to hide it. I have two cans that have been hard to conceal ever since we dismantled our carport. This inspired me to do a bit of research about how to hide my exterior garbage cans.

1. Build a garbage can enclosure. There are many different plans out there to building closer for your garbage cans. Some of them are made from brand-new wood and some of them are made from pallets. The idea is to screen the garbage cans from the view of the public. Feel free to get creative and think about how this enclosure can match the rest of your yard and your house.

2. Build a decorative planter hiding spot. I saw someone slide their garbage can into a oversize planter. There was a door in the side of the planter in the garbage can slid inside. The top of the planter had about 6 inches of dirt and ornamental plants growing in the top. I'm not sure what the drainage would be like on this kind of project.

3. Plant hedges around your trash cans. I think planting hedges around the spot you keep your cans is probably one of the best ideas. You can let the hedges grew up large enough to trim and to design to make it look professional and pretty. You can plant fruit trees around you can as well and use that as a way to grow fruit for your family.

4. Build a privacy fence or stone wall for your cans. Instead of an enclosure you could just build the screen of some sort. You can use privacy fence already put together at your local box hardware store you could build it out of brick or rock of some sort. 

5. Paint your cans as if they were a work of art. The idea is to make your garbage cans pleasing to look at. If you can paint a picture on them, making them a work of art, and being out in plain sight may not be a bad thing.

6. Compost, recycle and burn all of your trash. One of the best ways to hide your trashcan is to not have one at all. There is a movement that is becoming popular called the zero waste movement. The idea is to have very little waste coming out of your house. If you can do this then you won't have any trash going to the dump. You can recycle and reuse a lot of the paper and plastic that you bring into your house. All your food scraps you can compost and used to grow new plants.

7. Line up lawn chairs in front of the cans. I don't know how good of an idea this would be. I don't your friends and family will want to sit around the outside of your garbage cans. The chairs could be used as a screen to hide your garbage cans and then you can move them when you have company closer to the fire pit or your outdoor grill. You would just leave the lawn chairs there when they're not being used.

8. Bury your garbage can. I saw somebody bury a garbage can to store their route some potatoes. I also saw somebody punch a bunch of holes in a garbage can in. To use it as a compost bin. I wondered if you could bury your garbage can without punching holes in it and use it for trash. You would just have to find a way to keep water from draining into the can.

9. Build an outhouse. Some people like the look of an out house. If you live in a rural area, and our house is not in unusual sight. It's more of a decoration these days but you can use it as the enclosure for your garbage cans.

10. Hide the cans behind a shed or in the woods. The cheapest way to hide your garbage cans is to put it behind a shed you already own. You could also put it out in the woods behind your house. Only problem with this is you may set yourself up for Critters knocking over your cans. Find a place to hide it. Find a place that is not in front of your house where everyone can see it.

The Summer is Over

I have been goofing off most of the summer. I finished 2 books when I wanted to write 8-10 (8,000 words each).  Now that the kids are going back to school, maybe I can find a regular weekly routine to write everyday. 

I want to find a writing trigger. I want to find something I can look at that will make me want to write. Once I get started, then I will continue as I get excited about what I am writing.

I am pondering an app that will provide triggers that will get you writing. I just need to find all the triggers that will help get me started.

Just Begin. The Rest is Easy.

The founder of Publix supermarket, George Jenkins, was quoted as saying, "Just Begin. The rest is easy." I find beginning is the hardest part of any project. Beginning to write each day is the hardest part of my writing routine.

When I think about writing each day, i write an outline of what I want to write for that particular day. If I have a plan, then I have more success finishing the books I want to write.

I have created a formula separating each book into 21 parts. Most days I write 1 of those parts. If I can write several parts at one time then I can get the book completed quicker. Sometimes I am able to write a book in about 4 days depending on how motivated I am. 

Editing each book tends to be the most labor-intensive part of writing. Usually I go for a two or three day editing session where any free time I have is been editing.  If I can edit 5 parts every day, then I can publish each book fairly quickly. 

Here are a few things I do to help get me started.

1. I look at my notebook and outlined several ideas at once. I will look back at some of my other outlines and complete them or use them to start new outlines. This inspiration will sometimes give me writing.

2. I will look at blog posts that I have written in the past and use them to either write new blog posts or I edit them to make them better. Sometimes editing these posts will jumpstart an idea and I can set it aside and get started writing something new. If nothing comes out of that blog post then I have just created a stronger post for anyone who might be reading.

3. I go somewhere different. If I can find a park or a quiet spot in the woods or take a walk down the street. I can write by dictating into my phone. This allows me to remove myself from distractions and I can get started by focusing on what I'm writing. The walking is the way I begin.

Mailing lists and email

I'm trying to decide what I want to do when it comes to a mailing list. There are a lot of good services out there that charge you a nominal fee to keep track of email addresses from your fans. These companies are great and do wonders for most people. My problem is I don't want to spend money on a mailing list I'm not sure is going to help me in any way.

What I'm thinking about doing is using this blogger account to send notices to everybody who subscribes to it. This means I will use it just to update everyone on finished projects and where they can get them.

I guess I could use it to talk about things that interest me. I can use it to create a conversation between me and my readers. I could use it to let people know about what I am reading. If I do all these things then I guess I am using it for what most bloggers use their blogs for.

What I might do is make a point to get people to sign up for the email notifications. This means if you are opted in to receive notifications on this web blog, every time I make a post you will see it.

I am also thinking about making my email address public. I'm thinking about letting people email me when they read my books. I know that's asking for a lot of punishment. I know people are going to start emailing me all kinds of good and bad comments. I will set myself up to receive a lot of spam. This is all part of the decision.

The reason I'm thinking about doing this is for the feedback. If I have a lot of negative comments coming my way through email then I know I have to do something about it in future projects. If I'm getting good feedback, I know I'm doing something right. I can also use the feedback to inspire new projects. There may be questions I can answer in long form, as a book I can offer to my readers. 

I can also use the feedback to figure out what my audience is really interested in. If I'm getting a lot of responses about the same thing then I can focus on that one thing and create a solution.

Whatever the case, I think I'm going to start making some small changes to my workflow. 

I need to find a way to write every day and to edit every day and to release books on a more regular basis. I have allowed myself to fall into a rut, not writing for the past three or four weeks. I am going to find a way to inspire myself to write more. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this yet but I am hoping you will be active and respond to me and let me know how you get yourself to sit down and write every day.

Don't worry about what other people think

Today I am trying to decrease my #stress and #anxiety by being #happy about what I #amwriting and #love getting any response people might have to it, be it good or bad.

I find I worry about what other people think about my writing. I pondered the reason why today when I sat down to write this post. There are several reasons I might feel a little uncomfortable with people reading what I have to say. For one, they might disagree with me. They might disagree and then in turn, try to prove me wrong.

These readers might also laugh at what I might have to say. They may not take me seriously or find my writing thoughtless or insignificant. They might go to their friends and point and laugh. I just picture being on a elementary school kickball field, A group of kids standing together pointing and laughing because I had just missed the ball and landed on my rear end. Maybe that's what might happen if I put my writing out there. Maybe I will miss the point, land on my proverbial rear end, everybody in the world laughing at me.

I've come to realize over the last 10 years or so that most people are not even aware of what you're trying to do. They may read your writing, think about it for a brief moment and then continue on their way without a second thought. They might agree with you and send you a small note saying they do. They might disagree and let you know why they disagree. That's okay. Every person has their own opinions.

Most people are not out to get you. They're not interested in pointing and laughing. They have their own problems and their own concerns. They're probably worried about what they might be doing that you might laugh at.

If they do take the time to tell other people how bad your writing is or how wrong a specific point was, they just advertised your writing for you even though it was negatively. There'll be a percentage of people who will come read your writing just to see if their friend was right. They will want to make their own choice. That means more people will read your writing.

I don't know if anybody is actually reading my blog. I think a few people have come back on a regular basis whenever I post something new. I definitely don't have the largest reader base but that's not really why I write these posts. I write them to help myself write every day. This is the third day in a row I have written a blog post. I'm not really setting myself any goals as to how often or how long I will be writing, but I like the idea of writing every day even if it's only a paragraph or two. We will see if I can keep the interest of my readers and possibly draw new readers to the blog. If I can, that's awesome. If I don't, well, I can live with that too.

I am trying something different today on this post. I added a few hashtags to the beginning of the post to see if I can draw any readers from Twitter. When I post this blog entry, it automatically sends a tweet on Twitter with the first line or two of the post. If I can get it to show up on some of these popular hashtags then maybe more people will come read the blog. It's an experiment and I don't know if it will work. I will let you know what comes of it.

Baseball excitement and battling self-doubt

I have ignited my own excitement about major-league baseball this year. It all started last week when a friend and neighbor came over with his baseball cards wanting to trade with me for a couple of rookie cards I had shown him. It made me think about all the fun I used to have watching baseball and collecting baseball cards.

This week I started looking for news and score apps to help keep me up-to-date with what is going on in baseball. I found MLB actually airs their baseball games on YouTube so you can watch them a few days after they have played. I think this will be a great way for me to watch some baseball on days when I'm home by myself and need to get a little writing done but want to watch something on TV as well.

Spring training is almost over and my team the Atlanta braves are just about ready for the beginning of the season. I am getting myself acquainted with some of the new players. What I find intriguing is many of the players these days can throw with both her left hand and their right. Some of these players on the Braves include Eric Young Jr., Nick Markakis, Freddie Freeman and Christian Betharcourt. I am interested in seeing how some of these players stack up to the other teams they will play playing over the next few months.

One of the other things I've come across is the Alanna Braves are now worth more than $1 billion. That amazes me.

I started writing some of this stuff down and hoping I will be able to use some of it in future writings or to be able to expand upon them. I don't know if I'll ever be able to use anything about baseball but people like baseball and maybe I can use it to expand on some of the things I think about.

One of the things that occurred to me this week is my reluctance to write about sensitive material. I have outlined three books about the love of God and having a relationship with God. I find many people have opposing views on some of the subjects. I have allowed the fear of what others might say keep me from writing. 

Twice this week I have been told to just write what I want to write and not to worry about what other people might say. When I allow that worry to control me then I'm allowing someone else to stop me from doing the things I enjoy. When I worry and allow my actions to reflect that worry then I automatically lose. So instead I need to sit down and write these books. So that's what I'm going to do starting today.

Well I was going to try and write something...

I'm sitting here on my lunch break trying to think of something to write about. I wanted to update my blog but what to write about has been rather difficult. 

I'm trying to find something I can write about on a regular basis. I am thinking about letting you read my thoughts as they come out of my brain. Sometimes they makes sense but most of the time what comes out is utter nonsense.

I am hoping I can find something I can share with you every day when I am on my lunch break. I will sit down and write several things that I have been thinking about and then spend time dictating it on to my blog. This will allow me to release some of the creative juices that don't get released when I am working in the store.

One of the things I have thought about doing is writing sections of the books I have outlined in my notebook. There are probably about two dozen books I have outlined and have yet to sit down to write. If I can get myself to write for at least 15 to 20 minutes then I will have a decent size blog post to send out to you. 

My only worry is it won't be interesting and you will just laugh at me and walk away from the blog. I guess it's not really the reason I write the blog. Usually I write to focus my mind and think about the things I want to write about. I write about things that are going on in my day so I can leave them on the blog instead of allowing them in my writing. 

I think what I'm going to do right now is to finish some of the outlines that are towards the last few pages of my notebook. I started them with a chapter number in mind and I write down the ideas for each chapter. If I can come up with enough ideas to make an entire book then I can go ahead and start writing it. I have three of these notebooks I have filled up. There are dozens of outlines in them so I will never run out of things to write about.

Ignoring Negative Reviews

I noticed this week I had a few reviews on a couple of my books. Two of them were negative. They really didn't say anything of value that would help me in the long run. One of them said the book was boring and too short. The other one said it was providing common sense and not worth the dollars spent on it.

I know it is self punishment to read your own reviews. Many people write reviews just to be mean to writers. I should not let it get to me and honestly it doesn't. What it does do is help me think about how to improve my writing in the future.

I am thinking about how I can make my writing more interesting in the upcoming books. I am also thinking about how I can go back to some of my previous books and add more content. I have some ideas to double the length of one or two of the books I already have out. I think there's more information I can provide.

I have decided I will allow these reviews to drive me rather than put me down. If I allow them to get under my skin, then I run the risk of put my writing down and never returning to it. That's not how I need to look at negative reviews. I need to use them to fuel future projects, to drive me to improve my craft and provide more valuable information for my readers.

Doing a weeks worth of work in two hours

I was listening to a podcast this morning about a writer who sits down and groups his writing tasks into two hours allowing him to get most of the blogging he needs to do for the whole week done in those two hours. This frees up his time during the rest of the week to write his books.

Today I'm thinking about how I might be able to implement this into my own weekly routine. If I can spend two hours on my day off preparing the following week's work then I can spend the rest of the week focused on writing my books. 

The more books I can get written, the more I can gets up on Amazon. Then maybe I can get more readers to notice my work. It will also allow me to be more consistent with my posting. I will have a post here on this blog. I will be able to post more regular content on Facebook and Twitter. Then I can spend the rest of my week editing and writing.