Although I am still getting up and writing my 1,000 words every day (and fulfilling the goal of my challenge) I am being less strict about the planning and editing aspect of things and accepting that there are some days when I can’t do those.
That’s working out pretty well for me. Today I sat down and worked on planning The List (that title is going to change really soon) for a lot longer than 20 minutes. I got a lot done and now think I’ll probably be ready to start work on it when I finish the first draft of The Storm (which will probably also have a title change).
It’s not working out so well on the editing side because I don’t love doing that so it’s easier to put off. I might need to figure out a daily goal for that again, just so I can keep publishing stories.
Giving myself more flexibility around this stuff is really helping in a lot of ways. Most importantly though is I’m feeling less stressed out about it all. That’s important because there are a lot of other things going on in life at the moment and although I am still trying to follow my five lessons and the sixth I have to accept that writing is an entirely voluntary thing right now so it can’t be the number one priority every day.
Another thing that’s probably contributing to my sense of calm is that I have decided to do a digital detox. Basically that means that I am avoiding all non-essential online activity. So no reading the news, no scrolling Reddit or any other social media, no YouTube, nothing. I’m only a couple of days into that, but it is already making a big difference to the amount of time I have for things like reading and writing.
I think a relaxed approach is generally better. A bit like driving 5mph under the speed limit. Over the course of a whole journey, it doesn’t make that much difference to the time you arrive, but it’s way less stressful and more enjoyable.
In retrospect, it was stupid to think it was over. The kidney stone is still inside me. Yesterday was a bad day, I ended up going to the GP and then working from home. I felt rough all day but I managed to get some things done.
I feel better today, and I appreciate that, but I don’t know what tomorrow will be like.
I guess I have to take each day as it comes until this thing is finally out of me. It’s frustrating, to say the least, but it could be worse. At least the pain isn’t as bad as it was when I ended up in hospital. At least I am able to focus for more than a few minutes at a time.
—
Latest release: [The Last Outpost][1]
Currently Writing:
The Storm: a cozy apocalypse novella. Today’s progress: 1,127 / 11,342
The List: a dark fantasy novella. PLANNING
Son of Mars: a science-fiction short story about the construction of a colony on Mars. EDITING
My latest release, The Last Outpost, is available to buy now on Kindle.
Alex is the navigation officer aboard The Calico, a colonial supply ship. He’s far from home and can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t belong. After dropping out of university on Mars, Alex joined the ESDC, hoping to find purpose among the stars. Instead he found himself on The Calico, in love with Eden, the XO, and desperate for a place to call his own.
Life in deep space isn’t what he imagined.
When The Calico arrives at a remote colony on Enceladus for what should be a routine supply drop, the crew discovers something far more troubling: there’s no one there.
Alex, Eden and a pilot called Jack descend to the icy colony and the mystery deepens. Where did the colonists go? What strange secrets lie beneath the surface of the moon?
Caught between his sense of longing, and a growing sense of danger, Alex must confront his most deeply held beliefs. Can he find his place in the vastness of the solar system, or is he doomed to wander, forever searching for something he can never reach?
A few days ago I wrote about the five lessons that I have started using. Today I am starting a sixth that I learned about in a YouTube video by Alexis Kingsley which is well worth watching if you have three minutes to spare.
The lesson is to create an environment where success is inevitable. She describes it like planting a seed and providing all the water, soil, and sunlight it needs in order to bloom. That’s what I am trying to do for writing. As yet, I don’t have any practical idea for what that means, but it’s such an interesting idea that I want to keep coming back to it and seeing if it is something that I can put in place.
—
On the writing side of things, I am making good progress with The Storm, and I have really turned a corner with my planning for The List. I have come up with some changes that are going to have a big impact on that story. The Last Outpost has now been submitted to Amazon, and I’m just waiting for it to be approved. Hopefully it will be available from tomorrow.
An very early start today. I woke up before 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep so at 0430 I got up and started writing. I managed to get a decent amount done, altough it remains to be see whether those 1,000 words are worth anything.
I am making good progress with planning The List, although it is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I like the core idea, but I need to get under the surface of the characters and the world before I can actually put it all together. Still thinking it is a novella and potentially the start of a series.
Almost done with publishing The Last Outpost. That should be available to buy from Monday.
I went back to work today for the first time in almost two weeks. It was good to be back in that environment and to have a block of time in the day that is spoken for. I like all the people I work with as well, which really helps.
Without really meaning to, I have found myself spending a lot less attention on the news and things. It is probably doing my mental health a lot of good. I’m not giving myself any official rules or restrictions around it, but I am enjoying some time away from all the terrible things in the world that I can’t do anything about.
Obviously, I recognise that I am extremely lucky to be able to take that break because the people that are impacted don’t have that option. On the other hand, me being depressed and anxious all the time isn’t going to do them any good either.
