Victory lunch!
I’m doing this early since I don’t know what the weekend will bring. I’m grabbing a book I’ve been gradually reading and collapsing after this. So, what is the reason for the victory and collapse?
Legends of Windemere: The Spirit Well is done.
Now this book won’t be released until next December the earliest. This is Book 12 and only 8 are out right now. My hope is that Legends of Windemere: The Mercenary Prince will be out before 2016 hits, but we’ll see what happens. Half of November is over and I’m not very close. Though I might test out the blurbs next weekend to see how they work out. Anyway, the reason I went hardcore on the writing for the series is because I wanted to get ahead. With things getting chaotic, I wanted to use 2015 to create a cushion of work that I can depend on in case I have to redirect my energies. Basically, if things fall apart and I can’t be the prolific author that I am today. This leaves me with 3 books to write in 2 years. Though I’ll probably do them next year.
Now I’d post the final line or paragraph of this book, but that’s a big spoiler. The temples are done and it ends on a cliffhanger. Not even sure I can grab a lot of excerpts from it for Teaser Tuesdays. This is going to be a little frustrating since I love showing what I’ve done and I’m basically sitting on a bunch of things I can’t talk about in public. Going to drive me nuts.
Now, what am I going to do with no more 2015 projects beyond a possible release?
Rest until 2016. At least my version of it. I’m going to tinker with the outline for Book 13 and then work on other ideas. It’s going to be a month and a half of casual work that will set me up for next year. Probably get back into biking and catch up on sleep and reading too. This is going to be a long break, so we’ll see what happens when I return to the books. I’ll still be here though and I’ll have to figure out a few post topics for January, but that feels like maintenance more than deep work. I’m at that point where I feel lost and aimless. Maybe it’s better to say I feel like I have many paths in front of me and I can’t figure out which ones to follow. Also, I have no idea what to toss into the DVD player for viewing or background or whatever.
This feels like an end of the year post because I’ve been gorging myself from the author trough since January. I made the list in the last goal post, but I’ll say again that I finished 7 works. All 4 ‘series’ will be continued with Crossing Bedlam in February, Ichabod Brooks during the summer, and more October fun with Dawn Addison. Still, I’m not 100% certain how successful I was. Mostly because people have pointed out my falling ranks and dripping sales. I have all of these things that I’m putting out, but I seem to inching along. Not sure how to explain this, but I won’t really worry about it. I pushed myself really hard in the author arena while balancing some chaos at home. Everything has blurred together, which is why I need time to relax the brain. To some extent since I still have to write something or I’ll go mad.
So what are the paths?
- Prep outline for Book 13.
- Characters and outline for Ravens’ Game.
- Keep reading Ranger’s Apprentice: The Lost Tales (or is it Lost Stories? Been a while.)
- Work on the Sin notebook.
- Catch up on sleep since I pulled a bunch of late nights this week.
- Make time for biking.
- Choose DVD’s to watch. Not sure what.
- Keep making easy goals because I’m really going to be drifting into 2016. Just so tired and this year was rough.
- Set something up to get cover art for Crossing Bedlam.
Required video from what is on Pandora by the time I reach end of post:
Legends of Windemere 
There is nothing wrong with a decent break. I don’t support the idea that you have to write every day. I haven’t added words to a novel since May. I went on an outlining safari with Lisa and made a dent in future projects, wrote some short fiction, went to the coast. It was great. I wanted to push out three titles this year, but I’m not going to make it. The furnace deal isn’t my fault, and my new project can get a cover later. It’s a good time to kick back for a while.
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For me it isn’t really a rule, but something I end up doing anyway. Then again, I count outlining and all of my planning as writing. As long as pen/pencil/crayon/paintbrush with tomato sauce hits the page, it counts.
My goal was only the 3 Windemere releases and 4 first drafts. Ichabod, Bedlam, and Raven’s Hold kind of came out of nowhere. Sometimes we just have to roll with the punches. The big reason I want to do the 3 Windemere novels a year is to get stuff out there and move on. Not that I hate the series, but I’ve got so many other ideas and I feel like Luke & the gang deserve a rest after being in the forefront for so long.
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I’m sure you’ll pull it off just fine. Take a breather, it won’t hurt you.
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People should just be ready for strangeness or testiness on the blog if I go without writing for too long. There was a 3 day rule for me in college. If I went for 3 days without doing even a bit of creative writing then I got really irritable. It’s why the wife never stops me from bringing notebooks on trips. That and I’m the one who does the packing.
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Wow, maybe you need to participate in some of the writing prompts that circulate. A one page story here and there might be the medicine you need. They also provide blog fodder.
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Maybe. I’ll see where the wind takes me. Eyeing a notebook that’s been sitting on my dresser long enough for dust to be on the pencil sitting on top.
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Best of luck to you. You have a plan and the drive. You will get it done.
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Thanks. Though the drive now is to stay in bed for as long as possible. 😀
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That is fine, too. Batteries need to be recharged.
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Definitely. Winter seems like the best time too. End of the year, snow is probably coming, kid has 2 week vacation, etc.
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Enjoy your hibernation. Then, come back fresh and ready to go.
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Thanks. I’ll still be around here though.
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Good. Take care.
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You’re most deserving of a break. I’m way jealous of the pizza and pasta, though. Hardest thing I’ve had to give up. Still can’t let go of a couple of ounces of cheese at least twice a week. Argh!
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The pizza was good. 🙂 Sorry that you had to give it up, but congrats on staying with it. I’ve been told that a cheat from time to time isn’t a bad thing.
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I cheated with Key lime pie on vacation…so, I’m trying to be a good girl.
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Now I want pie. 🙂
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Everyone needs a vacation, and it sounds like you have a pretty relaxing one set up these coming months 🙂 Have fun not writing frantically all day!
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Thanks. Though nothing is really set up. At least nothing official. The kid has various holidays too.
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Congrats on finishing book 12. The pizza looks great and the rigatoni looks yummy. Have a restful weekend.
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Thanks. Though the rigatoni pizza was more filling than I expected. Weekend might not be as restful as I expected, but it’s for a good cause.
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Glad you finished it. Now take a well earned rest and let the well fill again.
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Thanks. Have to admit that I’m finding it hard to motivate myself to do anything after all that. Just want to veg when I can.
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I tip my hat to you, my friend. Your work is dully noted and appreciated. It’s always a great idea to build in a buffer in order to get some distance with the work and come back to it when it’s time for release. And it’s always a good thing to take time off to concentrate on other things (eg. family).
It’s been three years now that I’ve published a book a year in October, and I find November and December as a wonderful time to relax and enjoy the moments until the big rush starts again on Jan. 1. Gosh, I love this time of year!
Keep going strong, Charles. You’re an amazing example of perseverance for all authors out there.
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I should probably make some family time. I was just going to toss the kid onto the bus and go back to bed every weekday. 😀 Honestly, my weekends tend to be booked by family and the holidays are going to make that doubly so. Another reason I probably shouldn’t be doing any heavy author lifting until next year. Definitely agree that this is the perfect time to take a break.
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Oh, and your victory lunch is awesome!!!
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Thanks. Funny thing is I saw the post show up later that day in my FB feed, but didn’t realize it was mine. So I started saying how that meal looked delicious.
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Haha, funny!
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