Hey Crickets. Welcome to day number forty-four of Operation Achieve Anything, where once again I have mixed feelings about this dumb books decision to be so repetitive that it’s lessons feel like filler half of the time. I really liked yesterday’s assignment because it was something new and there was focused direction to the assignment but then I opened the book today only to find the book literally mocking me while pointing out that it was going back to focus on the less talk, more rock lesson that it’s already spent five days on with recycled garbage.

The book even pointed out how its promise to move on was a lie with the excuse that this lesson is so important. Yes, the idea of actually starting what you set out to achieve is key to being able to finish a task but how many how many different ways do you need to say that same exact thing especially when the advice so obvious.

Again, the book being hung up on this topic is extra annoying to me because I’ve never really had a problem with putting off starting a project other than maybe a day or two of initial procrastination which isn’t the avoidance that the book is warning against. No, the book is talking more about things like getting so caught up in the planning that you never start or just living in a fantasy where you’re at the finishing line without having to put in the effort to get there.

As I’ve said in the past, I don’t have this problem with putting things off which is why I’m a prolific writer. Whether or not my work is any good is one thing but no one can say that I haven’t put in the effort. If I do put things off, it’s usually due to the fact that I’ve already got too much on my plate and don’t have the time to cram in another goal even if I wanted to.

Sorry for the rant, but it really pissed me off when I found that the book had taken a step back when just yesterday it was promising to move on. Speaking of which, yesterday’s assignment was actually pretty fun since it asked me to draw a picture of my aspiration so I decided to draw a rough sketch of the dream house where I want to write out the rest of my life out in the middle of nowhere.

My drawing skills aren’t quite that good so I’ll quickly explain the idea. I dream of owning a three-story house that might sound grandiose but in my head, it’s more cozy and small and made from storage containers.

The first floor would actually be that basement and would be a studio apartment-sized living space that I could use as a panic room. I figure since the idea would be to live in the middle of nowhere, I’d like an extra safe space in case I get freaked out by all of the open space which I’m not used to as a city dweller. I also like basements for night time fiction writing because just like Stephen King wrote in his book On Writing I like a dank/dark corner with no windows when I work so that my imagination can go into overdrive to break through the empty walls.

The second floor would actually be ground level and would have no windows or doors. This floor would mainly be for storage with a large portion of it set up to be an indoor garden where I could grow my own food and weed no matter what the season, especially since I hope to live in an area with snow in the winter. The rest of the storage would be for store-bought food. I’m not talking survivalist/emergency food but food to keep me from having to go to the store all that much. There could also be a walk in closest with a washer and dryer to keep my clothes off of the other floors.

The top floor would be another studio apartment only a little bigger than the basement with more room for any potential guests. This room would be open with lots of windows to be the polar opposite of the basement studio so that I would have the option to write in a lighter space for when I’m not working on fiction or just don’t feel like living in a dungeon.

Outside, there would be a deck that surrounds the entire top floor and it would have retractable stairs as an added level of security. This is why the ground level wouldn’t have any doors or window, making the second floor the only floor with an entrance. Again, this is because my city dwelling mentality is scared to death of animals entering my abode so I’d like to add as many obstacles as possible. Plus, as a shut-in, I’d also like to add these obstacles to discourage any random visits from strangers, if they manage to get past the moat that would be filled with fish to eat and water to drink in an emergency.

Alright, the moat may be an exaggerated idea for if I really make it but the rest would be feasible considering that it would be made from storage containers stacked and welded together on cheap land in the middle of nowhere. I feel this aspiration to become a hermit stem from me just wanting to be left alone to work on my projects without any distractions from the rest of the world where I once had fun collecting all of the ideas for the stories that I want to share.

Here is the rough sketch that I managed to come up with:

As for today’s assignment, as I said, it’s back to the less talk, more rock routine where the book wants me to list three things that I can start right away to further my efforts toward reaching my goal and then get to work on completing the newly created list items. At least there’s some direction with having me create a list but other than that this is the same task that I’ve been told to do over and over again during the entire week that I had the flu and I’m over this less talk, more rock lesson.

Oh well, I’ll come up with something to share for when I check in with tomorrow’s update. Until then, it’s now that time where I say, good day and good luck to you and all of your projects.  

Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

The Wicker Breaker

P.S. Below are links to my novel, which I plan to promote as part of Operation Achieve Anything, as well as a link to where you can buy the book that is providing the structure to this project in case you would like to purchase it in order to play along.