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.

My thinking has definitely been improving. I have no idea of when I'll be recovered, but it has been about three years.

I am revising my children's novel which is coming along very well. The last time I checked it was about 6,100 words. I have decided to write a sequel, which is still in planning. There were excellent ideas, including a number that contained literary elements such as foreshadowing that are left over from the first children's novel which I didn't use; however, I will probably use them in the sequel.

My thinking has been improving. I am not going to be unemployed very much longer as I plan to find work as soon as or possibly before complete recovery. I am skeptical about finding work before I completely recover because from what I can tell, my mental illness affects my speech, which hasn't been diagnosed by a professional. All I can tell is that as I recover, my speech improves, in that I do not stutter (or what appears to be stutter) nearly as much and I say what people say, meaning I do what a healthy person might.

I can only imagine what life must be like for a homeless person like me in that her or his speech would be adversely affected if they weren't receiving treatment. How could they get and hold a job? I know it would be very frustrating as it can be for me, communicating effectively, that is.

Several days ago, I completed a rough draft for my children's novel. Over the past several days, I've been reading and revising each chapter, assuming a chapter needs revision. It is an approximate 6,100 word manuscript.

I really enjoyed writing a fictional novel about a ten-year-old boy and his family which contains literary elements as mentioned in previous blog entries. It will be some time until it is ready to submit to a publisher.

My picture book manuscript about a boy and his paranoid schizophrenic older brother is waiting for me to completely recover. Then, I will do a final proofreading, which might result in a change or some changes. I do not want to wait, but must to ensure quality work. Hopefully I will completely recover as I've been patient about it.

Being on television should be interesting. I've never been on it as far as I can remember. I'd like to be on television for all my future fans to see.

My children's novel about a ten-year-old boy is coming along very well in that even though it needs revision, it is excellent. It is about 4,725 words which is about at least half as many words I probably want to write. It probably is best suited for seven to ten year olds, although, teenagers and adults alike will most likely see the literary elements such as symbolism, foreshadowing and theme. These elements will make my book famous, in my opinion. (I am still a show-off, but like being modest in that there are other books with these elements on the market which are well-known, at least to many people, but not all of them.)

I haven't revised my picture book manuscript about a boy and his paranoid schizophrenic older brother because it is probably finished and I'm waiting to completely recover to make sure it is before sending it to a proofreader and editor.

I didn't weigh myself today, but will soon. I've been trying to lose some weight with at least twenty to thirty pounds being my eventual goal. Please excuse me for being lazy and not going on brisk walks. Please encourage me to take our beagle on daily brisk walks in the neighborhood and consider doing so yourself, if you can (and please check with a doctor before doing so). I really should briskly walk for at least and hour each day, which is what was recommended to me in a book which I haven't finished reading, assuming I will finish.

I've been working on my fictional children's novel. I have been writing and revising just about every day over the past week or so. My work is basically made up of short chapters which make editing easier, but there's a more important reason.

Short chapters will probably make it easier to read, at least from what I may have heard, and it is more likely, from what I have heard, for a reader to continue the story because they have a short chapter to read next instead of a long one which might discourage continuation as a long chapter would take longer to read. The assumption is that people reading my book will want to stop at the end of a chapter and will not want to stop reading in the middle of a chapter, for example, and continue later. Or, short chapters will result in the reader finishing the book in one sitting as they will see the next short chapter as only a little more reading to do each time until the end.

I weigh more, about four pounds, than when I started my diet, assuming our scale is correct. I'm not discouraged, as I feel better, happier that is, eating healthy, or at least healthier, foods.

Recently I weighed myself after changing my diet to discover I haven't lost any weight yet. Actually, my initial weight was taken later in the day the day after I began my diet which was the night before. It's possible I assume that I lost weight during the time period before I first weighed myself. That would mean that obtaining an initial weight a while after starting my diet does not provide an accurate starting weight. It's been over a week since I began my diet.

My fictional children's novel is coming along well. I revised the first three chapters, which includes the first chapter being divided into two. It contains symbolism and other literary elements such as foreshadowing and theme.

Symbolism is text in a work that symbolically means something else, another meaning which can state the author's political opinions, opinions about society and the like. Foreshadowing is when literature indirectly foretells an event in the work, a hint about a future event in the story. Theme can be something special as it tells the reader what the author believes is important in an indirect way, not word for word, the same as the previously mentioned elements.

Coincidentally, I happen to like writing with literary elements, and that's why I am in my children's novel. I also write about things that I know or know something about.