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Wed, Dec 17, 2025

5:52pm EST

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Seven Degrees Left of Center

by Dale Ricky

Rated: 13+ · Book · Personal · #2276168

Each day feels new, and my memory of the one before is faint. I’m learning to adapt.

In September 2019, a seizure revealed a lime-sized meningioma pressed against my hippocampus—the part of the brain that governs memory and language. The doctors said it was benign, but benign didn’t mean harmless.

Surgery removed the tumor, and three days later I opened my eyes to a new reality. I could walk, I could talk, but when I looked at my wife, her name was gone. I called her Precious—the only word I could find. A failure of memory, yet perhaps the truest name of all.

Recovery has been less cure than re-calibration. Memory gaps are frequent. Conversations vanish. I had to relearn how to write, letter by halting letter. My days are scaffold by alarms, notes, and calendars.

When people ask how I am, I don’t list symptoms or struggles. I simply say, “Seven Degrees Left of Center.” It’s not an answer—it’s who I’ve become.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

JACE

a day ago
In response to "6 a.m., Second Half"

A win is A WIN! No matter how small it seems, it buoys you up. Savor it as it happens.

JACE

Dec 5, 2025 at 8:27am
In response to "What Was I Thinking?"

It's funny you should mention this very topic. I've always lived by an adage I read in a Tom Clancy book (Debt of Honor): "If you don't write it down, then it never happened." I live by those words and keep a small notebook on me at all times.

Lately, I've noticed every so often that I jot down a short point, and when I look at it some days later, I find I didn't add enough 'meat' to the thought to remember exactly where I was going with it. There's a phrase that Sec of Defense Pete Hegseth has used (incorrectly) recently: "It's the fog of war." Maybe my issue is the fog of memory. Yikes!

I hope you're right and our future selves will sort it out.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 2, 2025 at 12:20pm
In response to "What It Means When Your Novel Has Legs"

I've experienced this in the past. These days? My Muse is snoozing. But, yes, I remember times when my muse took over and time flowed around me.

JACE

Nov 21, 2025 at 10:00am
In response to "Reading My Own Writing Like a Stranger"

What a unique perspective, Dale Ricky. It's one I've never really thought about regarding my own writing.

However, Schnujo did remind me that I've done reviews of someone's work that I didn't remember giving. Once in a great while an item will come across my page that I find interesting enough to read and review. Then I scroll to the Review Tool, only to find I already reviewed it some years back. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I wrote that review.

Sumojo

Nov 21, 2025 at 9:12am
In response to "Reading My Own Writing Like a Stranger"

This happens to me all the time! It’s that Read and Review! Nothing ever goes away her on WdC does it? Suddenly I’m presented with a review from something written so long ago when I was someone else as a writer. I cringe, make excuses for my bad writing, for glaring errors and beg forgiveness.😂

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 18, 2025 at 11:25am
In response to "What to Write About When You Have Nothing?"

Well said. The mundane inspires when nothing else does.

JACE

Nov 14, 2025 at 9:17am
In response to "In Between Writing Projects"

Interesting observation. My creative writing period is first thing after rising in the morning. Whether I finish my story or not, the longest timeframe I can write is about an hour. It's as if my brain kicks off. An idea may occur to me during the day, which I'll jot down. But it seldom comes with an urge to write.

1 Like

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 14, 2025 at 8:43am
In response to "In Between Writing Projects"

I get that way between travels. If I'm not careful I wait too long.

1 Like

Amethyst Snow Angel

Nov 14, 2025 at 7:05am
In response to "In Between Writing Projects"

I usually feel the same way in between projects, especially since mine are often under a deadline. When I'm done, I spend the spare time in between catching up on my music. Do you like music? How does it affect your brain?

Love and blessings

1 Like

TeeGateM

Nov 7, 2025 at 9:11am
In response to "Too Many Projects, Too Little Brain Space"

The creative mind - yep me too!

1 Like

December 2, 2025 at 8:58am

#1102804

What It Means When Your Novel Has Legs

Writers talk about a novel having legs, and I finally understand what that means. It is the moment when the story stops dragging itself across the floor and starts walking on its own. Characters move without being pushed. Scenes unfold without being forced. The world feels alive enough to nudge me forward.

When a novel has legs, I stop pulling it. It starts pulling me. I sit down to write, take a sip of coffee, and suddenly two hours pass. The ideas connect. The chapters grow. I even catch myself smiling at something a character said that I never planned.

Of course, this stage does not appear out of nowhere. It takes a lot of early mornings and many cups of coffee. I think half my progress comes from caffeine and the other half from stubbornness. Some days the coffee keeps me awake long enough for the story to find its stride. Other days it simply keeps me from falling face-first into the keyboard.

But when the novel finally stands up and walks, it feels worth every cup. It is a small victory. It tells me the story wants to be told.

And once it has legs, all I have to do is keep up.

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