Old Routines Die Hard

Before I was laid off from my job of almost 19 years (I was a technical writer for more than 25 years), last March, I was a creature of habit.

I would wake early, get ready for work, and head out. I liked to arrive at the office as early as possible—usually no later than 7—to get set up for the day and try to get as much accomplished before most of my colleagues arrived. I enjoyed working with my peers but wouldn't be as productive as I was when I was on my own.

Image: ChatGPT

When COVID-19 shut everything down and we all found ourselves working from home, my routine didn't change much. I'd sleep in a little later but I'd still be showered, dressed, fed, and at my desk at a decent hour—no later than 8.

In the office, I liked to be done between 3 and 3:30; at home, by 4.

Now that I'm unemployed, my weekday schedule hasn't changed much. Because I'm not bound to a 40-hour week, I don't feel the need to be at my desk early. I am usually awake by 7 but will often linger in bed until 8, catching up on news, social media, and any correspondence.

I'll also play a couple of games that get my brain going.

Instead of working for a multinational corporation, however, I now work for myself, writing my novel, putting together blog posts, and editing videos for my YouTube channel. It's a non-paying job (so far) but it leaves me happier than I've been in years.

But there is a bit of a downside to this new routine. It seems to have me behaving as though I was still in the old routine.

I sometimes feel chained to my desk. I feel as though I have to be productive, somehow, between the hours of 9 and 4, or sometimes even much later, depending on whether I'm caught up in writing and don't want to lose focus.

On some occasions, when I have to run errands or have a medical appointment, I feel that I have to get back to work as soon as I can. Rarely to I tell myself, take your time: enjoy being out. A couple of months ago, when I went to the Rideau Canal for a solo paddle, on a week day, I felt as though I was playing hooky.

It felt good to be out but there was an underlying pull to get back behind my desk.

Before I was laid off, I had thoughts about retiring and how I'd have the time to do all of the things that I want to do: I'd go on trips; I'd take my kayak out whenever I wanted; I'd learn to become proficient with my drone; I'd take my camera gear and capture so many photos; I'd make a steady amount of YouTube videos.

And, I'd write what I want to write, when I wanted to write it.

So far, I'm writing, almost every day. But sometimes, it feels like as much as a job as it is a passion. I've somehow got the belief that unless I'm working at my desk, I'm not being productive.

I've gone on trips, often combining them with kayaking. But I tend to do that on the weekend, with DW, who is still gainfully employed. I haven't touched my drone very much, only taking it out when the weather is optimal (low wind) or I have a specific idea to use it.

Peru, of course, was our greatest trip in many years but it was planned and paid for before I was laid off. DW and I will be leaving on a vacation, again, on Friday, where we'll camp and kayak in some pretty spectacular places. Stay tuned for that.

My cameras have literally gathered dust. The only time I pick them up is to clean them off. Even though I've told myself that tomorrow, I'll get up early and head out with my cameras, I've never followed through.

My desk keeps calling me.

I have made more YouTube videos this year than I've made in previous years but not as many as I had hoped. I've done the editing on weekends and on weekdays, depending on when I've captured the video clips, so at least I've mostly kept that plan.

Maybe, I haven't convinced myself that I'm retired. I thought I had a few years to prepare myself—I didn't expect to retire until my 63^rd birthday—and I suddenly found myself in a position where I didn't have a job.

I had come up with the initial idea for Dark Water on the very weekend before I was laid off, and my initial reaction to my job loss was that I thought, great! I can put my full attention into writing this book.

I did throw myself into writing my crime novel and I thrived. But now that it's done, I don't want to stop. I want to start the next book right away, even though Dark Water hasn't even been submitted to a publisher.

When DW and I return from our vacation, I'm going to force myself into a new routine. I'm going to commit myself to doing specific things on specific days that keep me away from my desk. Of course, there will be days where I sit down to write but they won't necessarily be 9 to 5 time slots. I hope our vacation breaks me of the old routine.

Wish me luck. Old routines die hard.

Water Rescue in Arnprior

A police officer thought we might need help but we didn't.

For a couple of weeks, DW and I knew that we had to get some practice in for water rescues, in the event that one of us overturns in our kayaks while we're paddling in the fjord of the Saguenay River. We're hoping to not fall in but we need to be prepared anyway.

The last few weeks, however, have either been too hot, too smoky, or too hot and smoky. We went three weekends without kayaking—the longest gap this season and one of the longest gaps of any kayaking season.

I was hoping to put out a kayaking video every one or two weeks but it's been a while. And as I write this, I realize it'll be several weekends before I release any video, as DW and I will be away. I'm sure I'm messing up the YouTube algorithm with my inconsistency in video releases but it can't be helped.

So, as I said in yesterday's video, DW and I took our kayaks to Arnprior and put them in at a boat launch at the mouth of the Madawaska River, where it opens into the Ottawa River. We planned to paddle downstream on the Ottawa River to the Mississippi River, go up as far as we could towards Galetta, and then paddle back.

But first, we were going to practice water rescues.

Within a minute or so of heading out from the boat launch area, DW and I realized that we hadn't stripped down to the bare necessities in our kayaks. We were still wearing our hats and sunglasses, and we had other gear strapped to our decks. We needed to put them somewhere safe, so we paddled to a tiny beach so that we could place this equipment in our kayak's storage containers.

DW flipped her kayak over first and I rescued her. That's when the cops showed up.

You can see the action plus the rescues in my latest video. Have a look:

Because it took us more than 45 minutes to prepare for our rescues, practice our rescues, and set back up for a paddle, we didn't get to the Mississippi and decided to turn back, especially since time was getting on, the wind was picking up, and the skies threatened some rain.

All in all, it was a good paddle. Even though being upside-down, under water, played havoc with my sinuses for two days after.

If you like my videos, please do me a favour and subscribe to my channel. I have a loyal but small number of followers and I'd like to surpass 300 subscribers by the end of the year. I have kayaking videos, travel videos, and other goofy shit, so I'm hoping there's something on the channel that grabs your interest.

Thanks.

Don't Fall In

At the end of this week, DW and I will be heading out on another vacation. This time, we're heading east, following the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, past Québec City, to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier, where we'll do some camping, hiking, and kayaking along the Jacques-Cartier River.

We're hoping to shoot some class-1 and maybe even some class-2 rapids on the river. If the water isn't suitable to shoot with our kayaks, we'll rent a couple of kayaks that are better-suited to the river conditions.

As much as I don't want to fall out of my kayak, I don't want to risk damaging it because

• I don't want to wreck my kayak, obviously; and
• I'm going to need my kayak for the second half of our vacation.

We'll spend a few days in the park and will then continue, further up the St. Lawrence, to the Saguenay River. We have two nights of camping and several more days in B&Bs and hotels. We're going to explore the small towns in this region and also get our kayaks into the fjord for some exploring on the water.

And, with any luck, we'll spy some beluga whales.

In preparation for this trip, DW and I wanted to make sure we were prepared in case we fell into the Saguenay River. We've bought some Farmer Johns—essentually, wet suits that are sleeveless. They'll also be good for keeping us warm when we're going down rapids on the Jacques-Cartier River, but they'll be absolute necessities in the Saguenay.

We also practised performing water rescues on the weekend. We drove out to Arnprior, on Saturday, where we planned to paddle from the mouth of the Madawaska River to the mouth of the Mississippi River, along the Ottawa River, and did our rescue practising close to a beach at the mouth of the Madawaska.

DW and I get ourselves into position.

Last year, we practised these techniques with our Paddlefolk on a lake, and we easily lifted ourselves out of the water and into our kayaks with the help of our partners. We did the manoeuvre where we hauled ourselves onto the stern deck, pushed our legs into the cockpit, and turned ourselves around whilst our partners held tightly onto our kayaks.

This time, DW and I practised the leg-hook method, where you lie on your back, next to your kayak, take the leg that's furthest from the kayak and hook it into the cockpit, you grab the opposite straps on your kayak and haul yourself up.

It sounds complicated but we found it easier than the other method. Headwaters Kayak has a great instructional video on their YouTube site. Check it out.

One of the downsides of flipping over in your kayak, for me, is that you find yourself briefly upside-down while you're under water, while you exit your craft. And for me, being upside-down, under water, is not good.

For years, I've developed a condition that when my head is under water and I'm not the right-side up, my sinuses revolt. I get completely congested. My ears block up and squeak, and I get off-balance. My eyes become itchy, as if I was having a bad allergy attack.

In essence, I'm allergic to being under water.

All night, Saturday, and all day, Sunday, my body felt like it was having the worst headcold or allergy attack ever. I was barely functional for a good part of the day.

On our trip, I'm going to be extra-careful when we're in our kayaks. I don't want to get cold and I don't want to find myself upside-down, under water.

So, I just hope I don't fall in.

I'll have a video of our water rescue, tomorrow. Happy Monday! 

The Watcher

Is it too soon to start thinking of another novel?

I've completed the second draft of my Dark Water manuscript but I've sent it to friends and family who will proofread the story. I'm hoping they give me honest feedback and can point out any holes in the story.

When I get that feedback, I'll make any necessary changes and then submit the final draft to a professional editor and a possible publisher. There is still a lot of work to go before we see Dark Water in print, if we see it at all.

I'm hoping it gets published. I like the characters of Inspector DS Erin Hayes, and I'd like to see them move forward in another story.

Last week, after running through my first full read of the completed manuscript, I had an idea for the next case. I've even come up with the title.

Image: Perplexity

The Watcher.

So far, there's not much to this story but that was exactly how I started with Dark Water. When I made the decision to write my first crime novel, I started with the victim and a location where she'd be found, and I built from there. At the start of my outline, I didn't even know who the killer was nor why the victim would end up floating in the Rideau River.

With The Watcher, I'm thinking about creating a serial killer who has targeted people in Ottawa's ByWard Market. There's also a minor detail that I briefly touched on in Dark Water that I'd like to continue in the sequel and expand upon.

I'm even thinking that the case won't be completely solved by the end of the story, with one antagonist getting away (and I'll save them for a third novel).

Wow, I'm really getting ahead of myself.

As I said when I finished the first draft of Dark Water, I was surprised at how quickly I was able to come up with the story, create the bare bones, and flesh out the details. I had a lot of fun writing the story and my own excitement spurred me on.

Now that I'm almost ready to start the final draft and have no major writing to do with it (unless it comes back from the editor with serious changes suggested), I want to keep the writing going. I want to see what Calloway and Hayes do next.

Here we go again... stay tuned.

More Changes

I know, I seem to be talking about nothing but my novel, lately, and with good cause. Ever since I lost my job, working on my crime story has been my new day job and I sit at the same desk over the same daytime hours as I did when I was working from home.

I just don't get paid to be here.

Putting in close to 40 hours each week writing Dark Water is what allowed me to finish the first draft in such a short period of time. And, unlike my old job, this book has given me a great deal of joy. I had a lot of fun putting the story together.

(I was really good at my old job but to say I had fun or that it gave me joy is a stretch. It paid the bills and allowed me to enjoy the rest of my life.)

I'm now at a point in the writing process where I've started reading my book and making corrections to the grammar, spelling, and other errors. In reading just the first two paragraphs of the prologue, I realized that I had left out something from the epilogue, and used that morning to add the new content. I then started from be beginning and read through the story.

By the end, I had cut some material, added new material, and corrected existing material. I also made notes of things that I needed to research more and made sure I had followed all of the clues that the detectives discovered.

And, after reading, I walked away from the book for the weekend.

As I wrote, a couple of days ago, I made some changes to one of the detectives, Erin Hayes. Using an advanced AI search engine, I was able to make her more believable, even if that meant she was knocked down in rank.

At the beginning of this week, I started reading Dark Water a second time, and by the second chapter, I decided to make a major structural change. And this change took me the entire day.

When I started writing the outline, I wanted to structure the book so that each chapter was an entire day, with the exception of the prologue, which spans two days (it's short), and the first and second chapters, which were one day but from the perspective of different people.

The problem with keeping one day per chapter was that the chapters became very long. Some were as many as 60 8.5 x 11 pages, which translated into 80 paperback pages or more. I used asterisks (*) to denote scene breaks, hoping they would make it easy on a reader, but I decided that I need to give up my one-chapter-per-day structure.

So I went through each chapter and broke it up where I thought the scene change warranted a new chapter. Some chapters are as long as 14 pages while a few are as short as one or two pages. After I restructured the book, I've ended up with 58 chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue.

I'm hoping that it is now easier to read: I'm currently going through my first reading with this new structure so I hope I made the right decision.

When I demoted Erin Hayes, I made her a Detective Sergeant, which is still a fast track for someone her age, but I thought I'd need to create a backstory that explains her rise in the ranks. This involved me creating another crime story, which actually came pretty quickly, though I find the crime-fiction genre to be my calling (more on that, tomorrow).

Without giving too much away, Hayes is known as the Detective Constable who cracked the Jackpot Kidnappings case, which had reached international recognition. By the time she is promoted and transferred to the Ottawa Police Services, Mickey Calloway had heard of the Jackpot Kidnappings.

While I was brainstorming for Hayes' backstory, I took a look at the image that I had AI generate, a few months ago, of our two detectives. I had already generated a new image of Hayes, alone, which I used for my blog post about her demotion. It's perfect in its depiction of my "ridiculously beautiful" detective and I won't be generating any more.

The new Calloway (Perplexity)

But I've always thought that the AI image of Calloway was too 'Hollywood' in its portrayal of my lead male detective. Calloway is huge (two metres tall and broad) and has an imposing look about him, but he can be as gentle as he is tough.

I wanted to create a less-perfect image of him, so after attaching the old picture of Hayes and Calloway into Perplexity, I asked the AI tool to make him less 'TV-ready' and to give him a more human appearance.

The image gives him a softer, more rounded face, though I believe that when he wants to look intimidating, he can. The new image also has him appear like he would be a good dad, and that's how I've written Calloway.

So this picture is also a keeper.

Someone asked me, in an earlier Comments section, if I would not use a human graphics artist for my book cover, and they are right. When Dark Water is eventually published, I will seek out a graphic designer (or the publishing company will).

When I had Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary published, the publishers offered a few cover designs from which I could choose. I assumed they had a few stock covers and suggested the most suitable ones for me to inspect. I chose the cover it ended up getting.

I've created these AI images to use as ideas for a cover, and I would show them to the graphics designer as a template. In the meantime, I've created them to use in my blog posts. They were never intended as a final book cover.

I continue to go through the manuscript and make changes as needed. I'm still several weeks away from submitting it to an editor, so there's lots of work ahead of me.

I hope you're not bothered by me sharing my thought process and status of the book. In fact, I hope that I'm building anticipation, so that when Dark Water is finally published, you'll be interested enough to want to buy a copy.

Happy Thursday!