Weekend Wrap Three

Well, it’s time to pause and survey my works again. Although this is only the third time I’ve done so this mark the fourth week this blog’s been in existence. And, well, I’m pretty pleased with how things are going. Things could be better, sure, but until I’m sitting on a huge pile of money surrounded by admirers and potential sexual partners, I’m probably going to keep feeling that way. Taking a break from things the past day or so was the right move for me. I was pushing in more than a few areas and I needed to recharge. I’m stressing about so many things that the last thing I needed to do was turn this little hobby of mine into yet another reason to panic. So I’m pretty much done with checking my stats and counters and everything else. When I started out I resolved that I was going to write for the audience I knew how to please – myself. And if anyone wants to listen in while I work things out on the page then they’re welcome, of course, but for the moment, anyways, I’m done obsessing over whether or not anyone’s tuning in.

I know there’s nothing here to show it but I haven’t been sleeping during my downtime – I’ve been working away. My ghost file, for example’s exploded past 50k (and as soon as I get done here I’m going in for more). I’ve now got more words sitting in there waiting to get polished up for publishing than I do in my NaNo novel. Some of them are crap, sure, but some of them might be good. I’m just hoping to hit more than I miss. And maybe score a bullseye every now and then. But I’ve been slowly but surely building up posts that are just ready to go. They’re not tied to anything in particular so whenever I’m in a jam I can bust one out and feel like the day’s not a total loss blog-wise.

And, yeah, I have to make the weekly mea culpa that I haven’t bothered to update the links or everything else. At this point I’m realizing that if I have the motivation to do all that I also have the motivation to rip through a post so I wouldn’t hold your breath if you’re waiting on such things.

But, let’s see, what did I like that I’ve done this week?

• I’ve begun work on my next novel – which who knew I even had one in me let alone another – and that, too, can be found under the NaNoWriMo tag. For now, anyway. This excerpt I think is particularly well done and, if I have the time, is just going to be the start of a short story detailing the first raid these characters ever embarked on together (And, knowing me " short story" means at least 50k worth of prose. So, it’s more of a novella but, hey, whatever it takes to tell the story). It’s just backstory to the novel – which, of course, is insanely ambitious – but a raid has a definite plot structure and not only can I use it to explore these character I’ll be able to experiment with just how I want to write some of the things that are bothering me about this novel series I’m spontaneously creating. And the greater world behind it. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of stuff about that coming, I’m just going to take my time about it. I’m figuring that if I can get 2k a day written either on the short story or the outline then I’ll be doing okay. And, well, I’m blowing past that goal already.
• My work on Untitled Card Game (Yes, I do suck at names, thank you so much for noticing) continues apace. Again, I’ve got a few things sitting in the loading dock waiting for the finishing touches to go live but I’m holding back for now. At this point I’m into the playtesting stage as I mine date and gather research on just how games like this work. It’s slow and plodding but I’m learning some interesting things. Just not much that I’ve digested enough to extrude into a post just yet. Anyhow, I also want to work out a better way of organizing the many projects I’m embarking on and I’d like to get that settled before posting more I’ll have to organize.
• I know I don’t post many pretty pictures around here, it’s not that I don’t want to or that I’m not capable I’m just focusing on getting the whole text-blogging thing around before I let my inner-artiste out into the world. But this post about this year’s Turner Prize features some really cool paintings and links to many more. As well as my thoughts on the artist (first female winner of the prize, you know, which is both a shame and a smile) and her technique. I’d like to get more reviews and stuff done in the coming week (And, you know, when I say things like that I already have and I’m just being modest – I’ve learned that the surest way not to write a post is to promise that I will. So, the only way I’m going to make a bet like that is if it’s severely hedged. Doesn’t mean they’ll actually see the light of day but, well, there are many shades roaming around my ghost file waiting for me to make them right.)
• And here’s something that came as an unexpected surprise. My essay entitled My Father’s Greatest Lesson. I had no idea I was going to write it, I just whipped it out in the midst of working on another post and I happen to think I did a good job of it. Just quick, dirty, and not a lot of prep-time which is not my usual way of working. And I like it a lot better than the post I was slaving over. Go figure.
• Really, though, my best work this week’s come in this RP thread on the NaNo boards. You’ll recognize my posts by their excessive length and my rampant godmoding. Oh well, sometimes I need to let my geek flag fly. But I used to do a lot more of this sort of stuff and I got out of the habit a while ago so if nothing else it’s good to see I still have the knack.

The holidays are fast approaching, though, and I’m heavily involved in making sure my family’s annual festivities go off as planned – the part of the family that normally handles this is going to be traveling to Beijing and that means it’s my branch of the family tree that’s picking up the slack. Cleaning, cooking, shopping, and the combustion that happens when any of my relatives are left alone in the same room for more than five minutes are sure to happen. So, not sure just how much I’ll get done but thanks to my new, relaxed attitude, I don’t really care. I’m pointed forward to the future, one step at a time.

That's the nice thing about traveling in the fourth dimension. It doesn't matter which way you go you'll get where you're headed anyway.

Outlook: Chilled out, mellowed, and feeling incredibly productive.