Trying and doing

One of my least favorite quotes in the universe is "Do or do not. There is no try."

There absolutely is "try." It occurs when you have put out the needed effort, and the success of the venture is dependent on others.

When you have written the story, edited and submitted it, you have tried.
When you have done all you can do, and still failed through no fault of your own (say roads iced so thick you can't tell where they stop and the ditch begins), you have tried.

Some would argue that you are still doing.
No, you're failing at your objective, so you are not reaching "do." You are still at "do not" despite putting out everything you have, despite doing all you can.

When it would have gone off, if everyone around you had not dropped the ball, that is a try.
When you have done, and are awaiting the judgement of others on your success, that is a try.
When you are in the process of doing, but accomplishment is not yet in sight, you are trying.
When you accomplish most of what you wanted and can live with the rest, that is trying.
When you do things by the directions and the outcome is still unexpected, that is a try. (I have this issue with pasta)

I put out the effort in the prescribed ways to create a result. The universe around me determines whether I accomplish my goal or not. The outcome may or may not be what I want.

All we have, in the end, is try.

Six Sentence Sunday

This is from an untitled World War II piece.

The pounding at the front door disturbed Arthur just as he was dropping off to sleep. It had been a long day, getting the vardos and trucks ready to move out for the summer carnival work season. He and Gordon had been too tired to do more than tumble into bed, with barely a nuzzle before Gordon was snoring in his rumbly purr.

Now the pounding came again, along with a man calling “Frank, I know you live here.”

Daddy Frank was in trouble. The thought cleansed Arthur of his fatigue and spurred him out of bed.

Weekly Round up

It has been a week of some accomplishment here at Chez Mudd. I sold a short story to an anthology, and Hard Reboot (a heterosexual cyberpunk piece)

My writing has been sporadic, because of computer issues.
Not my most impressive week, but Hard Reboot ate my life.

Writing/Editing: Hard Reboot edit finished, book submitted and accepted. Synopsis written for Man-Hunt, 604 words
Reading: Finished The Harlequin, Building Websites for Dummies
Workout: 650 calories on Wii. Dance 15 minutes. Touched toes, sit ups, pushups
Crafting: worked on shawl
Flying: swished and swiped 5x; made bed 1x; bedroom declutter, 15 minutes (2x)
Movies: none
Business: Signed up for online banking. Paid credit card. Returned my presenter form for FroliCon. Balanced my business checkbook. Got my Square. Got my Website.

State of the Sooky

Writing/Editing: 1044 words on next furry piece, talked to nbrooks
Reading: Field of Blood
Workout: 100 calories on Wii.
Crafting: worked on shawl. Ran out of yarn unexpectedly and had to get the next skein
Flying: swished and swiped, laundry, groceries
Movies: Sherlock: The Blind Banker
Business: none