The Tortoise and the Hare

Have you heard of the fable about a tortoise and a hare? Let me recap it for you.

Two animals decide to race for some reason. And they aren’t doing a hundred-meter sprint. Apparently, they are both fans of long distances. When I hear the story it always feels like they ran a marathon or at least a 10K, although the fable doesn’t specify the length of the race.

But no matter how long the race is, here’s how the story ends: The tortoise wins.

That’s an odd way to summarize the fable, for anyone who is familiar with it.  The story is basically about the hare—not about the tortoise. The hare gets out to such an early lead that he has all sorts of sojourns and adventures along the way. What the listener or reader hears about is the hare getting up to all sorts of fun. Occasionally, there is a very unexciting update about how the tortoise is just plodding along, trying to catch up. It’s the same update every time.

Basically, the tortoise only wins because the hare gets all tuckered out from having so much fun that he falls asleep. He naps for so long that the tortoise has crossed the finish line by the time he catches up, something like that.

What’s the point?

Well, as someone who identifies with the tortoise most of the time, it was pretty funny to have someone else remind me that the tortoise is the winner. Because it doesn’t look like it for the large majority of the story.

I thought about this weird dissonance, how logically I knew that the tortoise won and yet he really doesn’t feel like a winner. I think the crowd does cheer him on after he wins, though, so that’s nice. Victory for the tortoise!

(Sidenote: I honestly think a modern retitling of this fable would be just The Hare. It’s his story. Even though he loses, I’m pretty sure everyone thinks he only lost on a technicality.)

With the launch of The Writer’s Cat under my belt, which took a while to get to, this just felt relevant. I don’t know if I have a point, actually. Maybe to celebrate the wins, because otherwise it’s so easy to lose sight of them.

Also…

It’s fun to retell a well-known fable, fairytale, or legend. Trust me, lots of writers do it.

Later, reader!

Just publish it

Time flies when you have a deadline. Other times, it creeps by in the most frustrating and slowest way possible. Even when I had only one day left before my big deadline (completely self-imposed), I felt both extremes of the effect you get from that looming deadline.

Fortunately, I don’t report to anyone for this deadline, it wasn’t too stressful and I got to feel some excitement about it too. I mean, I guess I report to you, reader, internet person, what-have-you, but you seem pretty chill. It’s basically just free reading coming your way, so I’m sure you’re excited about this new content too.

And now it’s here!

But what is it? What am I publishing? Is it even good?

I can answer the first two questions, which are basically the same anyway. But the last one is for you to figure out all on your own. Anyway, today, Monday, September 29, marks the official release date of my web serial/web novel The Writer’s Cat. If you’re looking for a serious, dramatic read, then this isn’t it. Instead, I am sending out into the world a light, sitcom-like web novel about a cat.

The cat is named Dot, and she lives with a writer named PJ. Together they make the great writing duo that is PJ & Dot. There is a long, drawn-out writerly battle against deadlines and unforeseen circumstances. There is even a fantastical world the cat dreams up when she’s bored. But mostly it’s about the writing stuff.

Did I write and edit nonstop before publishing this thing?

No, definitely not. I wrote and edited, sure. But a lot of my time over the last couple of weeks has been spent figuring out how to get this story out to you and any other readers in the world: What is Substack? How does social media work? Is there an ideal structure for a web serial novel like mine?

Regardless, I made it. Dot made it. PJ made it. We’re all here.

If you, reader, are interested in seeing what the world of PJ and Dot is like yourself—AKA the world of The Writer’s Cat—then there are a couple of ways to check it out. If you just want to bookmark my website www.josephapauwrites.com, you can find everything you need there on The Writer’s Cat homepage. I will post full chapters at the end of every week.

But the exciting way to follow along is via The Writer’s Cat Substack newsletter. I am publishing Dot’s story in little pieces on a daily basis, Monday through Saturday, as I build up to a full chapter at the end of each week. (You can also subscribe to the weekly Chapter Digest if you want the full chapters sent to your inbox instead.) The full story of The Writer’s Cat will run for about six months! I have no idea how this experiment will turn out, but it should be interesting.

Until next time, reader.

The value of a good walk

The third blog post. This is where it really gets good. Otherwise, you’ll probably just leave and never come back. (I’m joking. I’m sure you would never do that, reader.) I was thinking about what to bend your ear about this week on a walk I took one day. And how did it go?

I thought and I walked. I walked and I thought.

And really, I didn’t feel super inspired since I had such a busy week. The walk was nice, though.

On a busy week, have you ever just needed a nice break that got you moving? Maybe you wanted to feel like the world wasn’t so focused on one thing and you needed to stop and smell whatever was out there on the sidewalk—hopefully roses or something nice. I myself get to see a stoplight, a corporate-owned coffee shop, and some houses. On a bad day, and in one particular stretch of a neighborhood across the way, I’ll be dodging a maze of evidence that dogs do in fact live nearby.

I usually take a walk on my lunch break since otherwise I would be shirking my work. And really, these walks are great! I can think about my blog and get some vitamin D. Since I’m working from home most days, I can enjoy the outside world for a solid forty minutes without any of the crowds downtown. If I’m feeling like a pick-me-up, I can grab something from the grocery store at the end, because everyone knows that a treat at the end of the walk makes it that much better. 

I’m getting off track, I guess. Where was I?

Right.

I was walking and taking in the sights. I was thinking about what to write for you all, and happy to see a little sun. I was sure I’d figure something out by the end of it.

Wait, hey! Look at that.

Walks are pretty great.

What’s in a name?

I had no idea that the line “What’s in a name?” was from Shakespeare, but there you are. I wanted to dive into why I picked the moniker “Joseph Apau Writes” today, and it popped into my head. Now I get to feel all fancy and literary.

So, you might be wondering why I picked the title of “Joseph Apau Writes” for all of my branding—website, socials, etc. It might also be pretty obvious. I’m going to explain it anyway.

The first part (and second part):

First of all, my first name is Joseph. Then, you know, the Apau is from the other part of my name. Two-thirds of the question, answered right there.

You may think that’s all a no-brainer. But my writing would be my writing even if you didn’t know I was the one who wrote it. In this case though, I want credit for it (I guess) and so instead of some cool pseudonym like the Phantom or something like that, I went with both my first and last name. It’s deliberate, a tad boring, and probably more effective.

The third part: 

Now, the last word: “Writes”

Why do I explain that Joseph Apau writes in the URL for my website? Why make a title that’s three words instead of just a nice straightforward two! I guess the answer to this is that it just feels write right.

Even if people only read the title, I’ve delivered the main idea. In this context, I want to interact with the wider world as a creator, specifically a fiction writer. Previously, I’ve worked a lot as an editor and writer, as someone behind the scenes. This whole thing (pretend you can see me waving my hand around in the air to demonstrate) is more about my creative writing.

It feels nice to be able to create an identity rooted in all this—and it has a bit more of my personality tied into it as well. At the very least, I’ll get to have a bit of fun. You too, of course. Totally didn’t forget about you, reader.

P.S. Let me know if you think I should have gone with “The Phantom Writes” instead. Or just “The Phantom.” Or a little more dressed up: “The Literary Phantom.” Anything like that.

Hello from the void

No one’s here yet, but that’s on me. I’m writing and publishing this before the site is even live. But when people do show up, it will be nice for them to have something to read.

That’s my thought process, and since I’m the only one here, that makes it okay.

Hellloooooo… [echoing “hello” ricochets through the ether]

Anyone there?

No??

For latecomers, my name is Joseph Apau. An occasional writer by day. An occasional writer by night. This blog captures some of the thoughts I’ll have as I launch my stories here on the internet and eventually out into the real wide physical world. And it will continue to be a place for me to share updates with you, dear reader, as life continues on from the void and into the great beyond.

The scene:

Nothing fancy.

I am writing now from a coffee shop, following in the great tradition of many writers. A latte on one side, a zealously guarded favorite spot to call home, and the words just happening right here, right now, on a digitally rendered word processing document. Just like the storytellers of old.

I’m kidding. They probably didn’t have coffee and latte art yet.

The character(s):

Just me.

Writer. Gamer. TV Watcher. I also like foosball.

The goal:

Make it out of the writerly void!

It’s comfortable and safe, but I should really venture out into the real world with some creative writing. Except I’ve been out in the real world and it’s really quite scary.

On the other, other hand, I’ve also been alone with my thoughts and that can be overwhelming too.

We’ll just have to wing it.