Richard Writes - A Blog by Children's Writer, Richard Carlson Jr.

My blog is being written while I have been recovering from my illnesses, therefore it has been influenced adversely by my condition. I apologize in advance for any confusion.

I've noticed a dramatic improvement with my thinking over the past week. I can see myself completely recovering which now I believe is probably going to occur. Based on my progress and how I'm feeling now, I anticipate being recovered by my next psychiatrist appointment, which is still a while from today.

I have a few local Tucson employers in mind for a job after I recover, one being because they offer medical benefits. The others I haven't researched into enough to see what kinds of plans they might offer. I really haven’t spent enough time looking at the options available for me, as I've been busy with writing apology letters regarding my self-published print-on-demand books which are not well-written, as you might already have read. That's a different issue I'll discuss next time, perhaps.

I have made a decision to eat healthier and lose weight. With my shoes on, I weigh two hundred thirty pounds on our scale. I also made a list of healthy (or at least healthier) foods and snacks for me to start eating regularly. I also am planning to completely overhaul what I eat after moving out of my parents' house, because I'll be doing the shopping, although now I usually go with my mother, but don't always get to pick out what we eat. I also usually don't make the decision for what we eat for dinner. I'll be making these decisions soon, as I plan to move into an apartment as soon as I'm all better and have full-time employment with medical benefits that cover my illnesses.

I read and reread the children's picture book about a schizophrenic homeless man and a boy. I noticed certain words in the book that are demeaning to the mentally ill including a word in the title.

The story is not as good as it could be. Yes, I'd love to rewrite it and get credit but that would be plagiarism! The story doesn't portray a realistic main character (a boy, and later as a grown man). I do not know how true-to-life the mentally ill man is. Is what he does actually what a mentally ill man might do? My uneducated guess is maybe especially because the author isn't a schizophrenic. A doctor is given thanks on the copyright page which means that a qualified person might have approved of how the mentally ill man was portrayed in the story.

In the book, I noticed that e-mail is spelled with a capital e, which isn't appropriate for where it is located in the sentence. I also noticed that e-mail is spelled with a hyphen in the text and without in an illustration which is very wrong. The author also writes at least one incomplete sentence which is also very wrong to do unless it is dialogue or a person thinking for example.

I will be proud to offer a complete refund on my poorly written paperback books, after I am living on my own and ready. Please forgive me for self-publishing poorly written books.

Please be patient as I completely recover from paranoid schizophrenia, or at least as much as possible. Every day it appears that I slowly recover. Every so on I can tell the difference than how I thought previously. I plan to find full-time employment as soon as I completely recover. I have been thinking about potential employers, with emphasis on jobs that I might enjoy more than others. I do not have a college degree. I dropped out of college when my paranoid schizophrenia fully manifested itself at almost twenty-one years of age. I did take some college classes afterward but that was almost ten years ago. Maybe I'll attend college again and earn a degree someday, as I'd like to. I also hope to be self-sufficient and not have to rely on my family for assistance.

My picture book manuscript about paranoid schizophrenia is nearing completion, if it isn't already complete. I changed the story from first to third person which means that instead of it being told from the main character's point of view (him telling the story, only revealing his thoughts, and stating only what he knows) it is told by a narrator who tells the story and reveals each characters' thoughts and other things unknown to the main character. I resolved an important issue with the story before making this change and resolved others afterward by adding details that are unknown to the main character. It is very promising in that I will be satisfied after I completely revise it, assuming it needs more revision.

It provides a realistic mentally ill character and other characters. The story will appeal to children and adults alike which is a plus. I anticipate being published very soon. Actually I'm patient, but still look toward the future. I hope to find an at least decent publisher after I am certain my manuscript is all ready, meaning free of grammatical, spelling and other errors.

I have begun writing a cover letter for the submission of my manuscript to at least decent publishers. Actually, I'm waiting to read a children's picture book about a mentally ill homeless man and a boy. I suspect that the book might not be realistic in that it might not tell a story about a true-to-life mentally ill man. I also wonder if the story line is realistic.

Another book that is out of print, gives me the impression based on the description that it isn't based on a realistic story line. It might be too early to tell as I haven't read it, of course. I might soon.