Absence interrupted

Where have I been? I'm at a point with writing where it seems like I can't finish a damn thing. To push my writing to the next level, I had to concede to writing by outline. There's been a learning curve with this, especially with OpenOffice, which doesn't have the most user-friendly outline feature. In fact, it's been close to completely useless. Yes, write an outline, but don't move anything around, like you're supposed to do in a word processor. The best information I got on it was how to turn it off as an automatic feature. Now at least I don't have to deal with it. I'll learn it, ultimately, but I have to finish something.  

Never did I think I could write with an outline. Now I need to give my imagination some discipline.

I have a blog on a political topic which is involved, and that's blocking up my political blog. The novel is at an impasse after removing the Ginger Snaps characters, it has had several false starts. The short story is at an impasse due to struggling with the outline, but it won't be much longer. 

It's still true that whenever I start a writing project, I'm blind. I'm hoping outlining is the cure. However, so far, I still can't tell how long it's going to be in pages or words. I can't even make a ballpark estimate, and I can't say how much time it's going to take. Usually it's somewhere beyond the horizon.

Except for that little thing, I'm in business.

My father's dementia has worsened. It looks like I'm going to spend weekend nights with him. That's when my sister has to work. Burying your parents is hard. Having to do it over several years is harder.