Closed for business--come visit us at our new location!

Yes, I know I just moved everything over to WordPress, but when I was experimenting around recently, I realized that I could open a blog that had a much shorter name: my own. So, I'm transferring my blog (again) over to mlawrencekey.wordpress.com. See--isn't that easier to remember (and type) than furtherupandfurtherinajourneyofwritingandlife.wordpress.com?

From now on, look for my blog there. I'll be shutting down my former Blogger and WordPress blogs over the next few days and sending out messages on all my social networking sites where you can find me at the new location. As always the welcome mat is out and I hope you'll pay me a visit!

Moving to a new neighborhood

I've decided to move my blog over to WordPress and I'll be updating all my links to reflect this. I like the interface for WordPress much better (at least for now--we'll see if that changes), so for the time being, you can find me over here. 

Welcome, and keep visiting! 

Good feedback

I'm getting some great feedback from the members of Review Fuse for the passel of stories I've posted there so far. I've only put up stories that, for one reason or another, haven't been published anywhere yet. 

Some of them have never been sent anywhere, while others have been rejected a few times from various markets. In all cases, the feedback and reviews I got there have helped me a ton knowing how to edit the stories. Thanks, guys! 

Hopefully, over the next few months, I'll be able to get to them one by one, edit them, and then start submitting them to different markets. I'll post here on how that process goes. 

My problem with TV and computer games

I'm a writer. But I'm also an ESL teacher in a cultural center. I'm also a husband and the father of four--soon to be five--kids. As you can imagine, I don't just have tons of spare time. I honestly like watching TV (though not just anything--I have several favorite shows--some canceled, some not), and I like playing Wii and computer games.

But I can't do it all.  Something has to go. 

If I want to get a lot done, writing-wise, then I can't play games and watch TV, pretty much (okay, maybe just a little). 

If I want to get some time with my wife to sit down and watch one of our favorite TV shows together or play a Wii game with my son, then it means that my writing time has to go. 

Am I trying to be dogmatic? Nope. Just practical. If I'm serious about writing and being productive, then it means over the course of my lifetime, I'm going to be watching fewer TV shows and playing fewer games than I might have otherwise. 

It means I'll be less "entertained," but in the end, I'll have something to show for those hours. 

Not that I don't sometimes close the laptop and choose otherwise. But it's a conscious choice, and I know what it means, and what it costs. 

Yet, that choice is often the right one, as it means time with my wife or son. So that's good, too. 

In other words, balance. The trick is, learning how to strike it, knowing that there is an appropriate amount of time for everything, and not getting sucked into the black hole of entertainment (which is sooo easy when you're tired) and being disciplined to sit down and write. 

No words needed...

"Hawa Died Last Week" Online Now

My short story "Hawa Died Last Week" is online now at Harûah Magazine. It should be appearing in their print edition later on. You can also leave comments about the story, if you want, at the Harûah blog thread for the story.

Thanks for your support!

Kids and Writing and Life

Just in case anyone out there is wondering: yes, I have four kids, and yes, I write (though not for a full-time living). And sometimes, I have to multitask.

Case in point: this morning. While my wife was out visiting a friend, I stayed home and supervised their school work. I parked myself at the dining room table with my laptop and kept them on task (more or less) with their various school assignments. I realized a long time ago that I most likely will never be the type of writer who has a big office that he goes to during the day, shuts the door and works for hours on end.

As long as I have kids in the house (and probably after that), I'm going to be the kind of writer who seizes the moment, who does more than one thing at the same time, who learns to write with interruptions and life going on around him.

Sure, there are moments in cafés and other quiet places, especially when my wonderful wife takes all the kids somewhere else so I can have an hour or so of peace to write. But those times are the exception. The rule is that writing and life, at least for me, happen together.

I don't feel frustrated about that. It is what it is. And when I write in the middle of things, so to speak, I get to be involved in the rest of my life--the life of a father and a husband.