Author: Ian

Holy Shit, I Signed a For-Serious Novel Contract!!!!!!!!111

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Hell yeah I did.

As of three weeks ago, MFA Thesis Novel, my satire about a grad school writing program, is officially signed and scheduled for publication with Vine Leaves Press in April 2022.  That means that my goal of publishing an actual novel is finally going to become a reality.

MFA Thesis Novel is about a twentysomething writer named Flip Montcalm (who’s definitely not based on me) who enters a grad school writing program (that definitely isn’t based on the one I went to at the University of Nebraska) in the barrens of the Midwest.  However, no one around him seems to like his novel, and in an world of fierce competition, Flip has to figure out how to write something that’s both meaningful and that people will actually like.  It’s a novel about fitting in, starting out as a writer, and the desolate working conditions that thousands of underpaid grad students face every year, along with what it’s like to be a lonely young artist in a strange place.

Plus there’s jokes.  And cursing (fuck yeah!).  And lots of pop culture references. Continue reading »

The TRAM (a.k.a. that Magazine I Work on in Japan) is Back!

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Last year I stepped up to co-edit a cool indie zine called the TRAM (a.k.a. Toyama’s Random-Ass Magazine) here in Toyama, and our latest issue went live a few days ago.  In addition to covering local places around Toyama (restaurants, tourist spots, etc.) we publish writing and art, cool articles about Japanese culture, and whatever random stuff we can.  The latest issue features a Japanese rock music column, an essay about the suppression of dialects in rural Japan, and three pages of paintings by local artists.

If you’re interested in Japan or just want to check out one of my many side projects, you can read the issue online here.

I also write a regular column for the TRAM called Let’s Talk About Japan Books! where I share cool books by Japanese writers and books about Japan in general.  The latest one is about one of my personal favorites, Kobo’s Abe’s 1962 novel The Woman in the Dunes, Continue reading »

My Ideal Creative Work Schedule Explained

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I think a LOT about how we structure our days as creative people who have to be self-motivated. It pays to be efficient, and a lot of that efficiency comes from being able to slip into a work routine without a lot of hassle so you can get more done.

However, we also need to work around the realities of real life, which means that making a work schedule requires balancing the way you work best with your particular situation, especially if you have a Day Job.

My work schedule has changed a lot (as has my work situation) since I started keeping this blog almost four years ago (!!!!!!). I’ve worked from home grading standardized test essays, held a full-time office job, spent three months without a Day Job at all, and finally come back to teach in Japan. Each of these stages required adjusting to changing realities so I could make progress on my creative work. Continue reading »

Sometimes I Take on Too Much and Then Screw Up

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Let’s get one thing straight: we all make mistakes, whether it’s in our creative work or at our Day Jobs.  If you think otherwise, you’re living on another planet.

For me, the vast majority of my screwups happen because I take on too much and rush through things.

This wasn’t always the case—when I was younger most of my screwups happened because I was inexperienced, or because I wasn’t organized enough and forgot appointments or deadlines.  I improved the former issue by getting better at things I wanted to do well, and solved the latter by implementing a To-List system that’s served me well for the past nine or so years.

Now, though, I notice a different kind of problem: because I have so much going on, and so much of it coming from different directions, I tend to rush through some tasks so I’ll have more time Continue reading »

Here’s What I’ve Been Working On RIGHT NOW (and have been for the last few months)

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It’s been a while since I updated you on my projects in progress, so I thought I’d change that.

I started posting semi-regular updates on my creative work a few years back both to keep people updated and keep myself accountable.  If I posted that I was working on something, it felt more serious and I’d be more inclined keep working on it so I wouldn’t have to answer to my blog readers and admit that I’d been slacking off—or worse, that I’d given up.

There are a few reasons for my lack of updates—the main one being that I haven’t been working on a novel since finishing my last one well over a year ago, and not having that as a primary focus has felt…distracting.  Without a bigger project to work on Continue reading »

How Many Paid Holidays Does Your Country Give You???

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Last weekend was the 4th of July, which in America was a time for fireworks, socially distanced barbecues, and most importantly, an extra day off from work.

July 4th was a Saturday this year, which means that per American federal holiday guidelines, the holiday was observed on Friday, July 3rd and Day Jobbers across the country took a three-day weekend.  For me in Japan, though, Friday was a regular workday, and I celebrated the 4th by playing some online Scythe with my friends back home.

There is, however, an up side: this month Japan has two holidays, Marine Day and Sports Day, which, because of the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics, the government moved to July 23rd and 24th, respectively, giving us a four-day weekend.  Score! Continue reading »

Day Jobs are Great for Earning Small Wins

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Life can be rough, and little boosts help a lot.

Little boosts come in many forms: I get them when I see my friends, enjoy a fun dinner with my family, read an awesome book, or take a scenic bike ride.  Those aren’t the kinds of boosts I’ll be talking about in this post, though.

When I interviewed visual novel artist Miranda Reeder she talked about earning small wins to get her through slow periods.  Because she usually had several bigger projects going at once, taking time away from them to work on something smaller that she could finish and feel good about provided a small win Continue reading »

A Short Post About Positivity

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Every time you create something, it makes a positive change.

Every time you share a new idea with at least one person, that creates a positive change too.

And every conversation, every group gathering, every hangout, every project, report, blog post, tweet, journal entry, game, cooked meal, video chat, jigsaw puzzle, and inspirational meme makes a positive change too, because you’ve created something that didn’t exist before.

Now, think about this: Continue reading »

Non-Creative Things I Do to De-Stress: Bike Rides

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I can’t drive a car in Japan and I don’t miss it at all.

When I first got to Japan I planned on walking and taking the train to get where I needed to go.  Cars are expensive, and learning to drive on the left seemed like a real pain, in addition to the difficulties involved with buying a car and dealing with foreign vehicle registrations.  Screw all that

…except that things in my suburban small town can be pretty far apart, which makes for a LOT of walking, not to mention tired feet.  So when my coworker suggested I invest a few hundred bucks in a decent road bike, I decided it might be a good idea. Continue reading »

Thoughts on Going Back to Work After School Closures

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Quick Recap: The Coronavirus pandemic hasn’t hit Japan nearly as hard as most other countries, and in my region of Toyama there’s only been 227 cases since COVID-19 came here in late March.  Still, schools in my city were closed for most of March, all of April, and the first three weeks of May.  During that time I mostly stayed home, running a schedule that mixed creative work and Day Job work, where my coworkers and I made English movies for the kids to watch at home.

But that’s all changed now—schools in my city opened on May 21st, and as of June 1st the foreign teachers are back to work too.

Since most schools in the US are still closed, Japan’s school openings…may seem surprising to some of you.  Going to school naturally involves a lot of people being close together indoors for long periods of time, Continue reading »

Things That Bring Me Down During COVID-19

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I haven’t caught the Coronavirus, nor do I know anyone who has.  I also still have a job, got a $1,200 stimulus check from the US government, and I’m going to get another ¥100,000 yen stimulus (just under $1,000) from the Japanese government in a few weeks.  My part of Japan has had relatively few cases, and almost everywhere in my city has stayed open except for schools—which has given me a lot of extra creative work time.  I also got a haircut yesterday—the barber wore a mask, and since not many people go to that particular barbershop, I felt pretty safe.

In the grand scheme of things I shouldn’t feel sad at all, since there are other people out there who have things way worse than me—but still, I often feel down in the dumps.

If you’re like me and don’t have any of the more serious problems I listed in the opening paragraph, maybe you’re feeling guilty that the comparatively minor problems you do have are getting you down Continue reading »

Texting While Working on Something Else is the Bane of My Existence and I Hate it So Freakin’ Much

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Before starting this post I responded to a text someone had sent me and then put my phone away on silent so I wouldn’t be tempted to look at.

Why?  Because I HATE getting distracted by texts when I’m trying to work on something.

My usual mode of working involves disconnecting from my phone and all the distractions that come with it when I’m trying to get something done.  This normally works pretty well…except when I’m feeling down, or having trouble with my work, or waiting for something important.  In these cases I’ll intermittently pick up my phone hoping for a new message that’ll boost up my energy,.

That kind of compulsive phone-checking is…not good, and I don’t like that it invades my work habits.  At best, these microchecks distract me even further Continue reading »