It’s easy to forget the small things when thinking of the big picture. That’s because goal achievement is the brass ring at the end of the endeavor rainbow. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because not sweating the small stuff can sometimes end up making it big.

We never have it all figured out at any point in our lives. We spend a lot of time trying to find out what works best for us. The problem with that is the optics are ever-changing. What used to work five years ago in terms of stress relief may not even begin to come close to what is needed now.

I used to think you needed a beginning, a middle, and an end when it came to good storytelling. Depending on the subject, that is the way it still is. But good endings remain elusive to writers who aren’t careful not to spend too much time on description and buildup that sacrifices an ending their readers deserved.

Writing, like everything else we do, is not a perfect exercise.

Content that constitutes quality writing to one reader may bring a total lack of appreciation to another. So, is writing a lot like life? Of course, it is. Therein lies the beauty of it all.

When we sit down to compose whatever it is we end up with, it is at least partially synonymous with our experiences to date in life. Sometimes authors reveal their years accrued by doing what I call wish writing. This is a way of revealing you don’t know nearly as much as you will someday–which is neither bad nor good. It just is.

As most loyal readers of this blog understand, I typically don’t have a topic when choosing to sit down with my tool of the trade. In this case, it is my trusty Chromebook in an outdoor autumn setting featuring breezes and cool temperatures. It’s conducive to free form, agenda-free writing, just the kind I like to do more often than not.

I use Linux, Mac OS, Windows, and Chrome OS. If I could, I’d take parts from all of them and use what I think are the best parts combined to create the ultimate writing tool.

Presently, I’m in love with the look of Deepin OS 20. It’s beautiful, but its authors are Chinese and the broken English error messages are a turn-off. Whatever the budget had in it should have included a copy editor to avoid embarrassment. It’s a pretty great effort overall, though, and does get my vote for the prettiest desktop interface.

Then sports meet writing

The beginning of the NFL season has finally seen Uncle Covid barging in and creating interruptions to the schedule. Baseball and basketball have already seen these interruptions as have most businesses and schools including the most expensive hobby indulgence of all: college.

I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores, but they’re not for learning.

Elon Musk

So, do you need to have things completely detailed and/or mapped out in advance?

Maybe and maybe not.

If you’re like me and your tendencies lie with how much you or anyone for that matter want to do something or not, my advice is to ride out the hot hand. Kind of like what the Broncos did with John Elway back in the day.

It took until the last two years of his career to win a couple of Super Bowls, but it was worth the wait.

And unlike the cost of getting a college degree, I’m trusting you’ll agree this debt-free ending was as well.