Captain’s log #4: Harshmode, stardate 26-09-03
Rerouting around a system failure
This week was a stagnant one, beginning last Wednesday when I felt lethargic, but I continued chugging along. Then the body chills Friday night and cough, sore throat, and dry nausea that wouldn’t stop on Saturday. That resulted in loss of appetite, upset stomach and body weakness, well you get the point. Large gatherings often lead into illnesses circulating throughout, as it tends to be the case. Viral infections (including the common cold) typically feel more severe in the summer. Those are the sorts of distractions and messes nobody expects, wants, or prepares for. But, the show must go on.
Football is around the corner. Go Indianapolis Colts! I’m not sure what to expect from them this year. Our quarterback Daniel Jones returns from an Achilles tear that ended the Colts’ 2025 season when they were lighting up the league. This campaign, a lot is up in the air. General Manager Ballard and head-coach Steichen appear to be on the hot seat – either show something or leave. Our offense is improved, but our defense appears shaky. Ballard’s teams struggle with pass-rush and this time, our young linebackers are untested. I hope our secondary stays healthy, but that somehow ALWAYS goes wrong each year. Jones says he is back to slinging the football, but he is coming off a brutal injury. The question lingers – is he able to stay healthy? Only time will tell. Last year’s squad returns mostly intact. The sports writers and critics are counting us out yet again, but what else is new? Here’s to a successful season! 🫡
Quote (or passage)
The show must go on
The phrase began during 19th century circuses. When an animal got loose or performer became injured during a performance, the ringmaster would use the phrase to continue the program forward. Regardless of circumstances, the show never stops. I picked up the quote from a famous Indian film ‘Mera Naam Joker’ (1970), and perhaps nobody encapsulates it better than Robin Williams. Despite the hardships and depression Robin Williams underwent behind the curtain, he strove to bring joy to people.
In life, there will be moments of triumph and moments of gloom, but neither should result in stoppage. Keep pushing forward, keep moving forward. I find myself muttering that mantra from day to day.
What I’m listening to
Demons, Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons has become my favorite band the last 6-7 years, leaping past Linkin Park. Most are aware that Demons was one of their first hits that brought them into the limelight. What many don’t know is that they wrote the song in two hours, and it’s dedicated to a 17-year-old Imagine Dragons fans who died fighting cancer in 2013. The song is not about doing evil or demons, but about admitting to the imperfections and struggles. It takes courage to wear adversity on one’s sleeves rather than hiding behind a mask. It essentially says “I have these dark flaws inside me that I’m trying to grasp and deal with. I don’t know if I can keep them away from you, so stay away from me.” There’s also the human vulnerability worry. If others see the real you, what if that only pushes them away? Very poetic song that may not necessarily be optimistic, but it’s relatable in this day and age.
Lag Ja Gale, Lata Mangeshkar
I introduced my favorite Indian singer Kishore Kumar in a previous Captain’s log. Today, I present another beloved, everlasting giant of Indian music. Many say she was the greatest singer in Indian history through her 8 decades of professional singer from the 1940s to the 2010s). It took me time to find a Lata Mangeshkar song from the many I enjoy that fit with demons (I debated using ‘believer’, potentially an easier song to connect with). When I reheard the opening lines, I knew ‘lag ja gale’ was it, even though the tone, atmosphere, and meaning are mountains apart. The idea of this song is to embrace what you desire because there may not be a tomorrow. An unknown exists tomorrow, but we are blessed to have this opportunity now so hold on before it’s gone. Lyrics: https://www.filmyquotes.com/songs/4291
The two songs act as a continuity. “I desire what you have to give me, but I’m broken. What will you think of me if you learned my pain? I still desire everything you have to give me, and our time is short. What if I lose that chance?” It’s beautiful when contrasted and merged together into a single thought. The story doesn’t have to be something romantic; it can be of acceptance, friendship, empathy, compassion, or life. To bring it together, each song fear loss and separation for different reasons, but both cherish that human connection above all.
What I’m writing
Last time, I focused on my developmental editing process. This week, I’ll go through my line-editing process, which covers flow, pacing, consistency, and clarity of each sentence and paragraph. This is a bit simpler than trying to juggle a million things at once with development editing, but I find it more time intensive. I plan on reading a non-fiction book on line-editing, hoping to make my process more efficient. While I believe my process might be effective (I can’t say because it’s my first time doing it), it’s tiring and takes up too much time.
-First, I open the chapter in Scrivener and read it start to finish. While reading, I make changes of blatant errors or repetitious sentences, phrases, terms I come across. For example, I might spot “The dog rose up from the floor.” The phrase ‘rose up’ is redundant so delete ‘up’. Every unnecessary words need to be cut because they result in slower pace and readability issues. Also, you don’t gain anything from fluff words/sentences that add nothing to the story. Perhaps it’s acceptable in dialogue if it’s your character’s voice, but it’s best to streamline prose for flow and clarity. I occasionally slash useless adjectives, adverbs, and anything that appears wordy on read. Stick to the point, keep it tight, and don’t go off the rails rambling on and on. Brevity, brevity, brevity. Say you use long sentences, big words to make yourself sound smart, but your reader puts your book aside two paragraphs in. What was the point?
-Second pass, I bring in ProWritingAid (PWA) into the mix. PWA is a software to help edit both fiction and nonfiction writing. It highlights things like overused words, sticky sentences (wordy sentences difficult to read), adverbs, cliches, etc. PWA is not perfect because it still makes plenty of mistakes. I avoid using the rephrasing tool except in specific cases because that tool uses AI and often may change your voice. Don’t use the rephrases it gives you because they alter your voice. I disabled the Sparks tool, which likely uses generative AI You have to be careful accepting everything it flags because I see errors every time. I find PWA useful for grammar checks and certain reports, especially for repetitive uses of certain words.
-Third pass is essentially repeating first two passes all over again in conjunction. I might read out sections for rhythm or awkward phrasing.
What film I’m watching
Last Saturday, I streamed the film ‘Misery’ (1990) for the writing group, and it seemed to excite more people than I expected. I mean it’s a horror film written by Stephen King about a kidnapped author. The relevance struck close to home! I previously reviewed Misery (1990), but it’s a fun flick. Two hours go by before you know it with brilliant acting from Kathy Bates, writing, directing, cinematography, and editing. Watch it if you get a chance.
While in bed those days, I watched an Indian show named ‘Kota Factory’ (2019-2021). The city Kota is a popular coaching hub in India where thousands of students go each year in preparation for entrance to IIT, a network of 23 universities that focus on research and technology. Over a million students apply annually, but only 15k students (1% of applicants) get accepted. The show depicts the fictional journey of a group of friends and their struggles. The acting, cinematography, writing, and production value are mind-blowing.
Looking Ahead
I lost four days being sick. I planned to have chapters 22-23 finished and begun ch24 last night. I finished 22 and couldn’t finish 23. It’s time for catch-up. Before football begins, all distractions go aside. I intended on doing a ‘Gone with the Wind’ film review for next week, but that’s out the window for now. I could have finished 22 today if I did that instead of this, but it’s okay.
That’s it for this biweekly. Feel free to post any questions concerning anything posted here or if you want me to focus on something specific next time. I’ll catch you next time. Carpe diem!
