Daily Update, April 2, 2026

The night before Thursday, I got to bed several minutes before 2 am. I'm relieved I'm back before 2 am. I do think I feel better rested, even if it's just a few minutes. I can't help hoping to move it further back. before the pandemic, I'd worked back to 8 am, which gave me more of a morning to do stuff in, but my bedtime slipped forward during the pandemic, and I'm having a terrible time getting it to move back again. {smile}

I didn't have video counselling because my counselor was unavailable, so I read Forward Day by Day during breakfast, and got onto my computer after breakfast. I browsed videos into lunch, then began writing up Wednesday's daily update during lunch. I took many to read web comics, running well into the afternoon. When I finished, I cleaned myself up with the help of my main nurse. Next, I went into City of heroes: Homecoming. I checked on my friends who play the game. Then I started talking with Kitten. We got together and did a bit of an April Fool's special event before we joined the late-night short, large-group event and ran it. It started early enough, and went fast enough, it ended just before I was called to dinner. {Smile}

After dinner, I read a few comics. Then I went into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I checked on my friends who play the game. Next, I said hi to Dr. Faustus and Seb on Discord. I also talked with Kitten in the game. Kitten and I teamed up and did a bit of an April Fool's event. After that we tried to do a story arc, but we had to restart because my difficulty settings were too high. Also, Dennis had said hi, but Kitten got pulled away, so I did the story arc with Dennis. It took long, but we both got a badge, and Dennis got a second badge I'd asked for on his behalf. I worked on the in-game auction house, storage and crafting as well as game money juggling on a few characters. Then I wrote in this. I switched to making notes in this, with breaks for Cross Stitch World, a couple of comics, and a little web browsing. I finished my evening by saying The Lord's Prayer, Saint Francis's Prayer, and the motto of the Daughters of the King. {Smile}

My daily update will be late... Sorry, but...

 {chuckles} My daily update will be late. There is a reason for this... 

I've been watching a lot of writing advice videos recently, and I just realized a problem with the story I've been working on, "Snow in Hawai'i." Whether I read parts of it to folks, or just talk about the story, folks get excited. They talk about loving the relationships in the story and want to see it turned into a picture book for children...

...and that's where I hit a problem. It's not kids who get excited about the story. Kids aren't getting invested in the story. It's grandparents, great-grandparents, and grand- and great-grand- aunts and uncles. That partly shows who I'm around. My creative writing class is strictly for older people. When I enquired before my 55th birthday, they said I had to wait until I was 55 when I registered. The session where I turned 55 a week or two after registration closed, I was too young. I also talk about it at church, where our congregation is largely older. Even there, it's not our "young people under 50" who are getting excited and joining the conversations, let alone our few actual kids. Most of the folks who are getting interested in and even excited about my story are older than me, and I'm 57.

And... I'm concerned. If I really want to make this story appeal to children - and cut it down to a good length for a picture book - I'll have to tighten the focus on the kids, cutting out at least one conversation pretty much entirely, and cutting others drastically back. Which... I'm afraid will lessen the excitement and the investment I see in the folks who currently love the story.

That can't be right, can it? When you find an honest and strong interest in a story, you don't cut that audience off and go court an audience which can't be bothered with it. That... that doesn't scan. It doesn't make sense at all.

Help?