Hey everybody! How was your summer? Fall is here, the leaves are falling, I’m rushing to wrap up outdoor projects I’ve neglected all summer, and Halloween is imminent. It’s a good time of year. It’s also time to check up on where I am with my goals so far. Here we go. Also, this post is at least two weeks late.
Read 20 books in 2018:
I just wrapped up Abaddon’s Gate, #3 in the Expanse series. I don’t read a lot of series, but I’m digging this one. It feels like a D&D campaign in space with a non-typical plot thread. Good tight arcs, good big arcs, I’m hooked. Although I am taking a short break to read Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World. Charity:water does a lot of good work, and supporting this book helps support that initiative. But this post is about books read, so Abaddon’s Gate puts me at 13 books completed for this year, or so far, a solid 65, a “D”. Passing, but I can do better. I’m hoping to put a few more away through the holidays.
Write 7 posts in 2018:
This will be my 4th post for the year. You’d think I could hit this one. Frankly, I blame State of Decay, a zombie survival game I picked up for cheap when the sequel came out earlier this year. Since your characters suffer perma-death, there’s a stronger adrenalin rush than other games when you’ve invested time in certain folks. Yeah, big time sink, but fun. But I’m totally doing that as…uh…research! For Togahan #4, which in part deals with the feratus mortuis virus and the character’s efforts to stave off an epidemic. So yeah, research.
Get back on schedule for Togahan #4:
I’m not doing any math on this for this quarter. I’m like 120 days behind my schedule (again, I blame State of Decay), and trying to make up time when I can. But here’s the good news. I’ve outlined the entire rest of the book at this point, so it’s mostly execution, transforming that into some semblance of a story. Right now I’m choreographing like three different but simultaneous three-way fights, and I’m second guessing the timing too much. I need to just hammer it out, then vomit profanity later when I need to fix it. That’s about the best I can do. I’m trying to find a good, regular writing time, but our schedule has been anything but regular lately. I’ll need to innovate something somewhere.
But I remain committed. Delayed or not, sooner or later, you’ll have #4 in your hands, and hopefully it’s worth the wait. Thanks for sticking with me. Whoever checks my site a couple times a week—I see you, and I thank you.
-Pete