Writing Thoughts

It has been a while since I just sat and wrote a post that was simply me putting my feelings on a page. I figured now was as a good a time as any. Sorry guys, no pictures this time. There are a huge number of things that have been going on that I want to talk about, but for sake of time I'll limit it to one, writing.

I have not posted a story for a while and that is because I have no finished stories to post. And I feel extremely guilty for that. That was what this blog was supposed to be for. This blog was supposed to be me writing something every day. And I have failed that challenge miserably.

It is not that I have lack of ideas. It is that I have don't sit down and finish anything that I have worked on. And that really kills me inside. I want to share my stories on this blog, but they just never seem good enough or polished enough. And some just simply aren't finished.

I tell myself, why not work on something shorter and easier. This way you have more material to post. But I just don't have the ability to write a short story. For some reason, I believe that everything I write has to be some sort of epic tale that has to span across a book series. I don't know what it is to whittle a story down to its simplest form and put the essence of that in a few pages. I'm pretty sure that I just practiced writing with a word limit, I could overcome this. But for now, it is just me writing long works or posting snippets from long works.

I am working on finishing something currently. And when it is finished, I believe that it will be one of my better stories (at least that is what I'm hoping). But, my impatience is getting the better of me. I want the story to be finished already. I want to show people, because I have been talking about it for a while. And it frustrates me, because I can already tell that I am going to need to edit this story several times before I get to where I want it. Don't get me wrong, I am having fun writing "Gold and Gunpowder" (the working title). The story interests me, so I am hoping that the readers are just as interested in these characters as I am. However, crafting of this story is taking longer than I had first expected. And I have no idea if that is a good or bad thing. Sure, I don't want to put out something that could have been better. But overthinking and overworking a story is not good either.

I went looking for some writing inspiration, so I started paying more attention to writers and writing organizations on social media. Normally, my Twitter was nothing more than people talking about video games, because I mostly followed Twitch streamers and people who are part of the Twitch community. I was quite amazed at the difference shifting gears made. Now, I see tweets talking about books, summer reading lists, quotes from well known authors and things of that nature. I don't know why it mattered that I now see these things on my timeline, but it does. I suppose it is because I feel part of a larger group. There are others out there creating. It's not just me.

So, my current writing plans...I am probably going to spend the afternoon working on "Gold and Gunpowder" and see how much head way I make. And I already have a second story waiting to be put on my editing table "Child of Prophecy: The Awakening". I feel like the title is much cooler than the story will be. But only because there was a lot of back story that went into me writing this and I think it will probably be lost on everyone that wasn't part of the forums where these characters were first created. It's like writing a huge inside joke and you just hope you are doing it well enough that the reader doesn't need to the context to enjoy the story.

So there, my thoughts for the day :)

What I'm Watching: Team Medical Dragon

It is interesting how I find new shows to watch. I was having a conversation with a friend about a musical composer who we both liked. My friend told me that this composer had done music for a Japanese drama called Team Medical Dragon and he strongly suggested that I watch it. I will be completely honest, the name of this show didn't really instill any confidence in me. In fact, I dragged my feet a bit before finally watching it (at my friend's behest, I might add). Now that I have seen it, there isn't enough good things to say about it.

Team Medical Dragon is a medical drama that centers around one man, Dr. Ryutaro Asada, a virtuoso in the area cardiovascular surgery. He is so talented, he has been dubbed a surgical genius. However, his moral convictions about how one should act as a medical professional causes him to challenge his superiors and eventually gets him blacklisted from the Japanese medical community. Several years pass and Asada is given the opportunity to re-enter the surgical community, despite the black mark on his name. But only because of one simple reason. He is the only surgeon in the country who is skilled enough to undertake one of the riskiest heart surgeries known, the Batista.

This show is brilliant on so many levels. There are numerous power struggles layered through out the show. The struggle against corrupt authority, to fall in with the crowd or to stand alone on your beliefs, finding one's personal convictions and understanding your true self, the show goes through all of these and more with seamless continuity. I also love the medicine that is shown on the show. There is always a thorough explanation of what is happening while the surgical procedures are taking place or being discussed. I cannot express how much I adore shows that take the time to get the medical aspects of the situation correct and present it in a logical manner. (Time Slip Dr. Jinn does a good job in this same area).

And of course, I have to talk about the music. I don't believe I have ever been so excited, anxious, and on the edge of my seat while watching surgeons walking down a hallway to the operating room. It is like watching a group of superheroes slowly stroll out to the battlefield. Sawano does a magnificent job with the score on this drama series. My favorite song from the soundtrack right now is Dragon Rises. You should give it a listen.

Team Medical Dragon has 4 seasons and currently can be viewed on Crunchyroll (www.crunchyroll.com) for anyone who is interested in watching. I highly recommend watching it. It is well written, you become invested in the all characters almost from the moment they appear on the screen. And there is no lack of plot twists and surprises. In my opinion, this show is absolutely wonderful.