110: A Room of One’s Own
4/20/2016
I finished Womb of Darkness (renamed from Into the Dark) last night. It really turned into a monster. I meant for it to be short and easy, but for some reason I just couldn’t bring it to the preconceived conclusion naturally without all these unplanned things cropping up.
Introducing the Hira in this chapter wasn’t planned, but once there it seemed obvious and natural for it to be born within the womb of darkness. Then Diallo having to dig his way through the jungle wall’s birth canal, and wrapping up Guma’s riddle… All of it just dragged on and on.
I think it turned out well, but good or not it’s too long. I’m going to have to be conscious about making chapters short down the road to compensate for these long ones.
I had a roommate move in yesterday as well. He doesn’t read and is a talker, which is going to greatly inhibit my writing productivity. We’ll see. I just have to do what I can.
Present-Day Reflection
9/12/2026
This happens all the time. Or, I should say, it used to happen all the time – living with someone who completely disrupts and distracts me from any meaningful work. It’s happened so many times, I’ve currently committed myself to never living with anybody ever again. I don’t care how attracted I may be to someone, or how much I love them, I will NEVER live with anybody ever again.
It’s all I can do to negotiate my time and space with Diallo – my cat. She needs more affection and attention than any cat I’ve ever known, but she’s still a cat. She’s more self-contained than any dog would be. Or a lover.
I still have my day job where I’m interacting with dozens of friends and hundreds of strangers every day. That’s much more than enough socializing to keep me connected with life. When I come home, I just want to be left alone. And Diallo is more than enough as well.
