Maybe I spent too much time in Florida, but I always get drowsy when it gets hot. That might be why I’ve been having so much trouble writing the last week or two. It hits early afternoon and I feel drained. The scenes aren’t that emotional until recently, so it’s not like that. The slowness of June doesn’t help any because it brings the usually doubts and fears out of my psyche.
I’m 3 chapters away from finishing Book 8’s first draft. Then I will either dive into Book 5 editing or reading/outlining for a week. It depends on other factors and what condition my brain meats are in. The problem is that this is going to come down to the wire and it wasn’t long ago that I would have finished by Wednesday. Now it’s Friday unless I get hit by a distraction. So, I’m a little anxious and worried, which I’m trying to keep out of my writing. My hope is that I can edit Books 5-8 through summer, release Book 5 during that time, and get to Book 9 by late summer/early fall. With the completion of Book 9, it means the books for 2015 are all in first draft stage at least. What can I say? I like being ahead on this.
Truthfully, part of me has been wanting to go anti-social on WordPress. Stick to my own blog and ignore everyone else, but I haven’t hit a point where that side wins. I think this is stemming from not getting a break from people, so I want to curl up in a ball for a few days. The stupid part of this is that I know I’d feel lonely if I do this. Not sure if there’s a name for this or how to truly explain it. Maybe coming closer and closer to the self-appointed deadline is making me edgy, especially with distractions aplenty rearing up over the last month or two.
In blogging news, I’m going to ask a question of anyone who has read the ‘Legends of Windemere’ books. Even if it was only the first one. Explanation first: The last week in July will be the one where I do ‘action scene’ excerpts, which leads to the revelation of ‘Bob’. This may also be the lead in to Book 5’s debut, so a cover reveal might throw this off. That doesn’t change the question. Here it is:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTION SCENE FROM ANY OF THE LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE BOOKS?
I’m hoping to have 5 excerpts and the ‘Bob’ one for that week. Again, this might change depending on the Book 5 cover art status. So, I’m happy to see which scenes stick out in people’s minds.
Goals of the Week:
- Finish writing Book 8.
- Defensive Driving Course next Saturday. It was rescheduled.
- Read more of Ranger’s Apprentice: Halt’s Peril. Have been reading in the afternoon due to toddler not letting me write in peace.
- Outline and character design if I finish book writing early.
- Continue biking unless I mucked up my ankle worse than I thought.
- Give up trying to move toddler from ‘Frozen’ to ‘Tangled’. The little guy is happy, I enjoy his dancing during the credits, and he’s having fun.
- Ignore Amazon rankings and people who report my rankings to me. I was doing good on that first part until I received a few messages asking if I was okay with my books tanking. Seriously, people, I don’t need that kind of a stress and aggravation. If I’m not screaming that my world is over then you can assume things are NOT as dire as you presume.
Legends of Windemere 
I find the harder I work on my editing the further from WP I get. And stress plays a big part as well – looking forward to the summer is hell with the kids home is hell for me. Right now I have Alex screaming at the tv on the couch beside me and my mother standing in the middle of the room reading a magazine and absolutely dying to speak to me but she won’t because she doesn’t want to interrupt me. Does that sound helpful to you? Ha.
Hang in there, m’dear. Make a list or something. Do whatever works. Just hang in there.
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Thankfully, the toddler will be in a summer program. Although, it’s fairly easy to edit while he’s around because I do it on a print-out. Writing new stuff is a bigger issue (not just because of the toddler) and it’s been really bad while I’ve been working on Book 8. I’m terrified that the entire thing sucks, but since it’s so far into the series, I won’t have anyone to beta read it for a long time.
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The best thing for something like that is letting it rest, in my experience. Finish it, come back to it in a month or even a couple of weeks with fresh eyes. But you probably know that already. 😛
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Yeah. The trick is finishing it though. If I can work a bit today then I’ll be done this week without fail.
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Get to it then! 🙂
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Hope all goes well this week, Charles! I’ve had a very hard time getting to wordpress lately because they changed our internet usage ability (as in we don’t have it anymore thanks to credit card security compliance issues).
As for favorite action scene, I’m not sure if you’ve posted this one before, but I love the scene when Luke and Co. are sent into the woods (Ch 9) and trigger the trap in the cave.
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Hope you get the Internet fixed. That is a fun scene. Not sure if I posted it before, but I will next month if I haven’t.
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Don’t stress the rankings. I think summer weather has more to do with that than anything. People are out and about. I have to say I really loved your prologue in book one. This is highly unusual for me. Loved it in book two as well (I haven’t finished that one.) Not necessarily action scenes, well sort of. But certainly drew me in to read more. Intriguing. I remember those.I don’t remember details on books I read. My husband can. I just recall my general satisfaction with it. Which is why I don’t mind you posting spoilers. I can never recall details anyway.
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An opening action scene would be fun. I’ll have to look at book 4 and book 5 to see if any are there. Good point about the weather too.
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So that is the reason I can’t get anything done – I live in Florida! LOL! Anyway, I did take a break from WordPress and just posted for the first time in six weeks! Also stayed away from other social media for a while. It was refreshing, but now its time to get up and started again. I am way to far behind. Summer is always hard for me. At least you have an agenda! 🙂
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I don’t know what I would do on a social media break at this point. I’m cutting back, but a long break scares me. At least away from the promo stuff.
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Don’t give up on WP – well, don’t get depressed about it anyway. Sometimes its better just to have some time off, you can get too caught up in how you’re doing. Personally, just when I’m about to give up entirely, somebody writes me something nice. Good luck with the book.
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Thanks. It might come down to me staying in my own corner for a bit inside of venturing out.
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oh well, I’ll come and visit!
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WP is a big time burner no doubt. I have noticed some of our previously close cohorts seem to have pretty much given up widespread interaction. I don’t know if you want to try that for a while (not sure you can stand it). Anyway, my favorite scene was when Luke and the students were battling the Scorpion bad guys in Beginning of a Hero. I thought the action and graphic depictions were terrific. i also like when NYX cast the forbidden spell in Tower.
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That Nyx part is one of my favorites. The large scale battles are fun too. Think I’ve only used that level if action twice so far.
I noticed a lot of people I started blogging with kind of vanished. Others stick to their own blog. I agree that I don’t think I could stand it. I’ve toned it down and not tried to comment on everything. Still I figure if I want comments on my blog I should try to do the same. Gets harder and harder though.
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I know what you mean and I don’t know how you keep going.
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It helps that I’m writing at the computer, so I check during lunch or when I need to think something out. Though I still dream of a day where I have an assistant to pretend to be me on the Internet. Or at least get me a drink when I ask for it. Maybe a shoulder massage on Fridays too.
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Easy Boy! There are workplace rules about that stuff.
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Good point. I’ll settle for the drink then.
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Sorry against the rules as well. Assistants now a days are too professional to fetch a drink. Maybe you can get your assistant an assistant who then can get an assistant to get a drink.
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Hmmmm. I have no choice, but to go supervillain and hire minions instead of assistants. Minions have terrible unions and they never ask for health plans.
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This is the time of year when rankings take a dive. I think people are outside a lot more instead of reading. Things dip way down (for me anyway) in the fall and don’t come back up until January. After watching this since 2010, it’s a cycle I’ve noticed. A new book, a sale promotion, a free book in the series can bump things up a bit, but nothing beats the January through March sales. Try not to get discouraged. My philosophy is to ignore rankings and just keep on writing. Hang in there. This whole thing is a roller coaster ride.
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I’m noticing that. Thought I had the timings figured out after my first year, but it differs a bit. Good to hear that these cycles have bed. Going on for years.
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As a marketing matter, I’d encourage you not to drop WordPress all together, but perhaps cut back until you feel you can breathe again?
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That’s what I’m thinking. Dropping to a few times a week instead of daily. I’d wait for after the next release though.
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Difficult choice – considering the marketing aspect. Hopefully you’ll find a balance that works for you. I like to take several days off – each month – from everything about the internet.
Ellespeth
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I’ve occasionally done a day off, but I tend to prep stuff beforehand. Twitter is rather easy to keep up with using Hootsuite. The real challenge is blogging because a day off means I come home to a couple 100 emails that are all blog posts from those I follow. Sifting through those can be a real pain.
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Ohh. I’ve turned off receiving emails for posts or comments. I may not find every comment in my archives or every post in my reader (of those I follow) but I do the best I can. That option may not work for you but have you considered it?
Hope the day goes well for you, Charles.
Ellespeth
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I don’t get comments, but I use it for posts. The reader became too much of a mess for me to get to everything and I missed a lot.
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