MediocreMan

Writing Fiction · 13 September 2025

I am not sure how it works, but I when I write fiction, the characters seem to have their own wills and do what they want. It is crazy. Then again, it is a bit like real life.

Now I am not just going to rehash what I wrote when I wrote Just the Watcher. In fact, when I looked at the title of this piece I thought, “I wonder if I already wrote this?” So I looked. I have several pieces on writing fiction, but I found what I was looking for among all the detritus that is my blog. It was right there in the piece, Just the Watcher. And that piece is true. I just watch the characters in my mind and narrate what I see. At least to a certain extent.

I was marveling at the extent to which my characters were doing their own thing in my current book project. In fact, I was marveling at the way I approached this project from the beginning. It might be the first time that I have done a story this way.

What might that way be? I am glad you asked.

I knew the beginning and the end of the story of my current project so I started there. I actually wrote the prologue and the epilogue before I wrote anything else. I do not know that I have ever done that before. Written both the beginning and the ending. That is absurd. But it was rather satisfying in a strange sort of way. Think about it. If you know the beginning and you know the ending, you just need to fill in the rest. How hard can that be?

It turns out that it is not that difficult at all. At least it has not been so far. The interesting thing though is that there have been twists and turns in the story that I had not anticipated. There were things that did not make sense that I had to change (actually, one in particular that I still need to change). But there have also been things that I just did not think about until they happened. One character knew another one in a previous context. One character becomes sympathetic towards another. And quite frankly, he is supposed to be at the very most neutral toward the other character. Oh the drama!

The thing is, I am supposed to be the creator. I am supposed to know how the story goes from beginning to end. I am supposed to direct everybody’s actions. Be the puppet master. But I suppose writing is like herding cats. You have a general idea of what is supposed to happen. You know where the cattle drive is starting out and ending, but you never realize that it will meander where the cats are taking you. The road to the end is not as straightforward as you imagined. At least that is what I experience when I write fiction. For me, writing is The Long and Winding Road. But instead of leading to your door as the Beatles sang, it hopefully leads to the ending that I envisioned. That I even wrote already.

Which, by the way, is not a given. It appears that I might have a slightly different ending to my story than I have already written. I know this even though I am not all the way there yet. Ah well. The best laid plans of mice and men…

I am not sure that I have given much insight into the writing process. Even into my own writing process. But I suppose that is par for the course. For maybe even when writing a short blog post, I just narrate what I see in my head. Or rather, what I hear in my head.

When all is said and done, maybe writing is not all that mysterious. Maybe it really is just knowing where you start and where you end and figuring out what happens in the middle. Which makes sense. For is that not what life is like?

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The Moo Zone · 6 September 2025

I do not know why, but students like to line up at the door before class ends. So I have a deterrent. It is called the Moo Zone.

Maybe it is human nature. Maybe it is impatience. Maybe it is clock watching. Maybe it is something else. But whatever it is, students seem to think that they ought to line up at the door to wait for the bell to ring. It is strange.

You would think that they would want to learn more than the class period would allow, and would be surprised that the bell rang to signal the end of the period. You would think that the teacher was so engaging and the subject matter so important that they would be begging for more time. You would think that they just needed a few more minutes or maybe a lot longer to work on that important project. At least that is the way I remember school.

Yeah, right. And if you believe that, I have some beautiful swampland that I will sell you for a great price.

No. I am sure that students have been lining up at classroom doorways as long as there have been classroom doorways. I am not sure what the first kids in the first classrooms wanted to do when they were done with classes, but leaving was probably way more interesting than whatever they were studying. They probably wanted to go do their chores. Or get back to work in the fields.

I am not sure what the motivation is for students to want to leave the classroom as soon as they can, but they sure do want to leave. I do not mind them milling about for a few minutes, but I do have a line. I call it the moo line.

Actually, I call the area near the door, the moo zone. And there is a moo line. It denotes where the moo zone starts. The moo line is not designated by a physical line on the floor, but it is physical line. The moo zone starts where the edge of a set of drafting tables ends and extends to the front and back of the room. It extends both ways because I have two doors in my room.

So what exactly is the moo zone? I am glad you asked.

The moo zone is the area where students are supposed to make noises like herd animals. They are supposed to make such noises because they are behaving like herd animals. Moo. They are lining up at the door because somebody else is lining up at the door. I have seen it happen where one student thinks the period is almost over so he or she gets up to line up. Even though there is lots of time left Then, others see the person and do the same. Moo. On such occasions, I have mentioned how much time is left. Students shrug their shoulders, look at the clock, then head back to their seats to do a little more work. Moo.

Students are free to line up to prepare for departure as long as they do not enter the moo zone. Once they enter the moo zone though, they need to make sounds like herd animals. Moo. Baa. Moo. Baa. They usually oblige once. Then, when I tell them that they need to keep mooing as long as they are in the zone, they usually move out of the zone. Some of them just keep mooing. Or baaing.

I have had a couple students think they are clever and try to meow. I tell them that while teaching is indeed like herding cats, cats are not herd animals so they need to make a herd animal sound. They usually baa. Of course, I am usually not so clever as to remember the part about teaching being like herding cats, but that is beside the point.

I probably should not post this while I am still teaching. After all, somebody might call my boss and insist that I desist from this practice. Then, a bunch more will call and say the same thing. Ah well, so much for a good blog post.

It is almost time to go, so I need to stand at the doorway and look at my watch. Moo.

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Focus · 30 August 2025

I have been so focused on writing books lately that my blogging is suffering.

Okay, suffering is too strong a word. How far down can you really go from mediocre? Especially, if that is really what you are trying to achieve? Especially, if you are just trying to become good enough to be MediocreMan? Sheesh. So maybe my blogging is not suffering, it is just languishing.

I used to have ideas all the time for what I would write on my blog, but now the ideas seem to be fewer and farther between. I have written stories about my family, but the kids are mostly grown and we are all pretty boring anyway. (Okay. I am just speaking for myself.) I have written stories about my wife, but I keep messing those up, and now need written permission in triplicate to publish anything. (Shh. I am not seeking permission for that one line.) I have written stories about writing, but blogging about blogging or writing about writing seems superfluous. There are already too many people doing those things and I am no expert anyway.

So the well has run dry. So to speak.

I suppose that I could listen to those around me, and blog about teaching and coaching. The problem with that is that I am by no means an expert and am not prepared to interview enough experts to keep that up for more than a few weeks. I suppose I could actually write serial fiction, but that seems like too much stress and angst, and I am not ready for the kind of commitment necessary to keep a story flowing week after week. I suppose I could write about writing and blogging, but like I already said, there are too many people out there doing that already. We do not need another blogger blogging about blogging. Sheesh.

Actually, the most logical thing for me to do is to quit it. Quit blogging altogether. I think it is a simple solution for all involved. I could stop worrying about striving to become mediocre. I could stop worrying about what I am going to write each week. I could even stop thinking about my quality suffering. Which is what started this whole post in the first place.

But then again, I like blogging. I like the idea of putting a finished product out there each week for all to see. I like having a large body of work to point to when people ask me what I have done lately. Sure, my writing may be suspect. Maybe even mediocre. Or at least approaching that level. But it is writing. And it is what I am supposed to be doing. Not just because I am striving to become a mediocre man (and writer), but because I believe I am called to write.

I was going to talk about my other writing here. In fact, this whole post was supposed to be a promotion of what I have been writing in terms of larger projects. But alas. I have gone down the rabbit hole and have not found the way out. Ah well. Such is the way of best intentions.

When it comes right down to it, maybe my blogging is not suffering because of my focus on other writing. Maybe I just need to focus on writing. Period. Any kind of writing.

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