What Have I Been Doing? - Writing Update by Greg Luti

Greg Luti
Jul 13
5 min read

A writing update that offers a candid look behind the scenes of the creative process. In “What Have I Been Doing?,” Greg Luti shares his established blogging routine, his tendency to start new projects, and how he navigates both creative impulses and everyday life.

What Have I Been Doing?

There is always a question each week that I ask myself: “What have I been doing?” Now, most times, the answer is obvious, in that I can tell the reader whatever it is that has been on my mind. But there are some times when I look and think, “Wait, have I been doing anything at all?” I spend all this time thinking about writing, and yet no words are coming out of me. Talk about needing your muse, (or not needing your muse, if you don’t like that sort of stuff)

Luckily for me, and I guess, also the reader, I have been doing something this past week.

The first thing is that the blog is in good hands, mostly because it is in my hands. I have settled in with the writing schedule and the routine. I am very happy with where the blog is. For some reason, I have been lazy this past week with social media, and every time I have to put up some stuff, I decide against it. Yeah, so I have to get into doing that.

Family Concerns and Hospital Questions

Oh, and one of my family members asked if I was okay after reading the lines of one of my poems. It was one of those dark poems. For the record, I am actually alright and only ever lean into that stuff for the sake of the stories. I know that for my first novel, the narrator was a jerk, but I leaned into it and made him a little bit more of a jerk than originally intended. So when I write up a poem that is sad, I lean into the sadness. Which, I am not going to brag, but I like the recent things I posted here, the one with the Founding Fathers and the two guys talking about being dead. They were really fun to write. Remind me down the road to go back to the Founding Fathers discussing stuff, or having the personification of something talk to a human who feels that way also. That is good stuff.

I actually remember being in the hospital, and they asked me, “Are you suicidal?” I think that is just what they ask people after asking about weight and taking a blood test. Which, the more I think about it, is kind of all over the place. Step on the scale, let me take your pressure. Have you thought of offing yourself anytime recently? They might as well ask what my favorite lottery numbers to play are, and if I like to wear certain clothes in the summertime. Those make as much sense. Oh, and by the way, I was not in the hospital for weight-related issues or depression. I guess they feel the need to get a profile of me before actually helping me with my current issue. Not cool, doc. Not cool. Anyway, I laughed and told the nurse I was not suicidal. I cut out the part that I enjoy singing the lines from that pop song where the guy says the words in the lyrics. That seems a bit frivolous to me.

Letting the Story Lead the Way

I guess I always let the story lead the way, as though there is a map I am trying to navigate through. If the story says that inspiration is the way, then I am going that way. If it says that sadness is the choice, then I guess I am getting out the tears. What is actually funny about that is that I really don’t like to use GPS. They annoy me, since they always have me going on a highway where I have to cross four lanes to get to an exit.

It is also always funny to me when people are worried when they read sad things I write, as though I am going off the cliff. You know they never mention how happy I am when I write the funny stories. As you can tell, I have a fairly sensible mindset about this. I write so many freaking stories and words that I don’t even worry about everything readers do with them. I do the best I can with the story I have, and then move on.

Always Starting New Projects

Talking about stories, I actually have not gotten to look over my current books that I am working on. But in typical author fashion, I have an entire outline for a new book that I have not even started yet. I want to say I am surprised, but I am not really. If there is one thing a writer is better at than finishing their story, it is creating a whole new one that they may never finish.

Changing the Newsletter Day?

Regarding the newsletter, I am thinking about changing one of the days it goes out. I like sending out the newsletter on Sundays. I just do. But I know that no one really reads emails on Sundays. There is data to show this. I am then forced to change around my writing schedule for that. For now, I am keeping Sunday, but don’t be surprised if I experiment with another day.

Figuring Out Newsletter Content

I am not sure what exactly the readers want from the newsletter in terms of content. I thought that they liked having multiple pieces, and then I dropped a free poem with two guys talking about death, and that did better than most of the other newsletters. I know that I want to give the readers a lot to read in the newsletter, but I just don’t know where that happy medium is right now. I am working on it.

Working on Better Subject Lines

Just like how I am working on the subject line for the newsletters. Look, I won’t lie to you about them. I don’t care to think much about them, and most times I write something like “a poem about (something), a book update about (something).” I am not sure if that is what the readers want, though. That can be my signature, I guess. I am going to play around with this in the coming weeks.

Life Moves Fast

As usual, I will leave you with something to take with you. Life goes too fast for most of us to comprehend. I mean, I know that I look back on the posts I wrote and think, “Damn, I wrote that three months ago. That felt like last week.” Don’t stress so much because it goes by so fast; try to enjoy it as much as you can. One day, you will be like, “Damn, that went fast.” And then before you know it, you will be pulled right back into life, as though that moment didn’t even happen. We all think we are going to be here forever, and that is just not the case.