This was a whirlwind week. I didn’t have a single day of normalcy, which can be fairly taxing by the end. There were altered schedules, various drills, and a really fun field trip at school. One of my favorite parts of the third thing was watching one of the students get very excited about what we were going to do. Unbridled joy is something that one doesn’t see often in this world, so you can’t stop yourself from smiling when it appears. Honestly, that was the best way to end the week.
Outside of school, I had my hands full as well. I’m glad I finished that outline last weekend or I’d be screwed on this 3-day one. Leaving the more boring events out, I still had a lot to juggle:
- Wednesday was Yom Kippur, which is the Jewish Day of Atonement. That means I couldn’t eat from sundown on Tuesday until sundown on Wednesday. I played video games when I could, but also entertained my son when he wasn’t at a birthday party. I got woken up at 3:30 AM for an eyelash emergency too, so the day was rough. I had to walk for Chinese food since I broke the fast alone and ate a lot more than I should have, which mucked up my system for a day or two. At least I made it to the end, but I’ll admit that breaking it alone was a downer.
- Thursday night was the beginning of coparenting therapy, which is more of a class with my ex-wife and I as the only students. I’m not going to talk about what goes on in this thing, but it’s interesting. Not to mention emotionally draining, which spending a lot of time with her tends to be. You do what you have to do for your kids though. I’m bummed that this removes the only consistent weeknight that I get time with my son and it’s going to last for maybe 11 weeks. I’ll jump off the numbers here.
This is probably what has been hitting me most of all. I’m running around so much that I don’t get a lot of time with my son outside of homework. If he’s with his mom for the weekend then it’s like I don’t really see him for two weeks. This scares me in regards to how it affects him too. All I can do is be there for him as much as I can and hope that’s enough to get us to when our schedules get easier. Outside of breaks, this could take a while and I’m always scared that I’ll lose out since I’m typically in the ‘responsible’ parent seat due to timing. It’s hard to explain without going too far, which I hope people realize before they comment on this section.
Let’s get to the writing side of my life . . . Anybody got a microscope to help me find this side? I will be starting to write War of Nytefall: Ravenous this weekend even though I can’t do more with War of Nytefall: Eradication. An added wrinkle with that latter is I’m probably going to need to edit it again. The ex-wife was my main reader and my mom isn’t a big fan of vampires. I keep thinking about trying to recruit beta readers, but I haven’t had a good track reader. It’s difficult here because it’s the fourth of a series and most haven’t read the first 3, which causes an issue when advice is given in regards to plot points. My writing style is unique as well, so I’ve had readers in the past who try to rewrite the whole thing in past tense. This makes me a little gun shy, especially since I typically don’t hand my manuscripts out until I’ve gone over it a few times. So, any major rewrites have already been done and I’ve noticed a lot of beta readers take on the ‘shred it to pieces’ approach. It puts me in a bad spot these days.
Speaking of bad spots, the War of Nytefall 99 cents sale is still going and I’ve seen a big rise in KDP page reads. Don’t laugh just yet. It’s Ichabod Brooks that is getting all the attention. I’m not even promoting him and he abruptly jumped this week for some bizarre reason. Not only his short story collection, but his initial short story as well. Better than nothing, but it’s weird. His book barely twitched when I did promos, but now it’s bouncing around. War of Nytefall is still in its coffin, but I’m going to continue since it’s a major core of my overall world. The Dawn Fangs need to be shown before I move on to Darwin Slepsnor, who I assume will get a similar reaction. Nobody cares beyond Legends of Windemere right now, which is a shame. I’m not the type to beat a dead horse in terms of pushing a story beyond its lifespan.
As usual, this has been more complaining than anything else. Next week is going to be rather dull because of all the busy nights. I get my son next weekend, so I’m trying to figure out some fun outings. Won’t be able to do a lot because he starts some weekend activities, but we’ll see what happens. Depends on the weather because it’s been getting cold as well. I will have a little time at night, but I’ll be preparing posts for December and the remaining Tuesdays of 2019. I should probably start setting up Immortal Wars for that day as well. (I haven’t touched those books since 2003 and I just realized the format is atrocious.) Got a lot on my table now that I look at it.
Goals for the week:
- Begin writing War of Nytefall: Ravenous. Hoping to do 2 chapters.
- Work and time with son once weekend is over.
- Finish reading ‘Assassination Classroom’.
- Get a little extra sleep.
- Co-parenting therapy . . . Homework for that too.
- Schedule more posts for Tuesdays and December.
- Start making a topic list for January . . . As usual, suggestions are welcomed, but I have done a lot over the last 6 years . . . It’ll be 7 in December. (Should I do a 2019 Revisit for every Friday of January 2020? That could help me out a lot since it’ll work like Top 5.)
- Get my butt on that damn stationary bike. The 40 minute window between getting home and my son getting back isn’t much. One lengthy conversation or a traffic issue destroys the opportunity.
- Buy a pumpkin.
Legends of Windemere 
Sorry you ended up breaking the fast on your own, but well done on making it.
That sometimes happens when you have a few books out. You try to promote one, and either nothing happens, or an older one gets all the attention. It’s better than nothing, right?
Good luck with co-parenting class. Just try to take what opportunities you can for doing fun stuff with your son, and try not to feel too guilty about the other stuff. I’m sure it’s hard – especially on him – but you just have to make the best of the situation you’re in, and enjoy what time with him you can, when you can.
Good luck with your other goals for the week too. Oh, and I think the idea with the five Fridays being a top five thing is a good one.
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I guess it’s a good thing. Though free page reads isn’t much in terms of money or ranking. Seems that’s all that matters to most. I’m hoping the co-parenting class helps out and I’m trying my best. Yet, it does seem like I’m continually shafted when it comes to time with him. I get homework and most appointments during the father/son time.
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Page reads are better than nothing. Also, at least you get to see your son regularly. Sucks that you seem to get all the appointments to deal with, but it’s better than not seeing him at all. Plus, it makes the times you get to do non-appointment related stuff with him even more special. Just trying to put a positive spin on it… It can sometimes help to look for that silver lining, even if it’s hard to find.
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As much as that is a positive spin, I can see that he’s still hurting and confused. He gets upset about our time being mostly homework, appointments, and errands. I can’t do anything about the first two and try to minimize the third, but things have to get done. So, that special time tends to come when we’re both very tired. It’s just a rough situation that is routinely made worse by outside forces.
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I seem to get more pages read than anything else these days. At least someone is reading. You’re so busy it makes me nervous. I don’t have much going on for a month other than promo. It is nice when the kids grow up and I don’t have to attend events any longer. Great while it lasted, but the next phase is good, too.
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I had to double-check my post. The busy stuff isn’t really ‘kid events’. Some are his martial arts classes, but those are an hour at night where I can read in the waiting room. The rest are special appointments that are connected either to his situation or the divorce. I wish it was nothing more than kid events for me to attend. Nervous?
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Yeah. I’m a homebody these days. I don’t like having that many commitments, personally. I really am the poster boy for introverts.
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I do miss my homebody days when I realize how long it’s been since I wrote. Need to find a good middle ground. Losing my weeknights doesn’t help.
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I’m sorry that things are so hard time wise and emotionally. Hope you can meet your goals.
Are you also watching Assassination Classroom as you read the manga?
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I don’t have Hulu, so I can’t watch the anime. I figure I’ll get to it at some point. Finished reading it an hour ago, so now I have to find a new one. The local library system has a habit of getting all, but the last 1-2 volumes of a series.
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My library is the same way.
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I saw the last one, “Buy a Pumpkin.” That would be a great kid event. Anyway hope your week goes well.
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Thanks. I actually found these bright red pumpkins, so I might get one of those to wow the kid.
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That would be cool for sure.
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It’s funny how the readers will really bond with a certain character, like Icabod. You can never predict that happening.
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True. He’s fairly popular.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger.
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Thanks for sharing.
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Anytime, Charles!
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I remember how rough it was to be a single parent of two kids, both with their own problems as well as problems of my own. I was a mess. They were a mess. Somehow, we survived it together. Hugs and keep going with the writing! Trust yourself, Charles. You’ll figure things out. It might take some time but it’ll be worth it.
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Thanks. I’m hoping to figure things out. Always seems to be a new obstacle.
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I hear you! My kids are older now but still, things to get through.
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