The heat definitely didn’t do me any favors this past week.  It paired up with a bunch of appointments too, so my free time was limited.  By free time, I mean for typing in edits and doing stuff with my son.  Hard to get much done when you’re reeling from heat exposure and exhaustion by the end of the day.  Still, I managed to make some progress in a few places.

I managed to make progress last weekend with Darwin & the Avenging Elf.  I went from being near the beginning to maybe reaching the middle.  I’ve got 9 more chapters worth of edits to type in, which might be doable before I go on my trip.  Outside of weekends, I can really only do a chapter on Wednesdays if nothing else is going on, which is rarely the case.  It’s not what I hoped the summer would be since I expected to have more freedom than when school was going on.  Instead, I’m more drained than ever and it’s not looking like that’s going to change any decade soon.  Starting to see why so many authors don’t get going until retirement.  Then again, I don’t think I’m going to get to that point considering where society is going.  Just hope that whatever cube of soylent green I’m turned into gets choked on.

I did a little work on the ‘Phi Beta Files’ outline, but that was only one morning.  The ensuing mornings ended up being busier prior to the actual start than this one.  I’m having a little trouble with the story structure of 10 short stories that are more sections of an over-arching tale.  This is the heroes freshman year, so it’s a lot of failed training, parties, crazy antics, and introducing the pretty hefty supporting group.  Another challenging aspect is that I have notes scattered about the character bios in regards to subplots, which won’t be touched on until I make stronger outlines.  So, I’m being general while my mind clicks on specific stuff.  Maybe I’m just rusty or no longer as creative/skilled as I once was due to stress, anxiety, brain fog, and lack of support around here.

Beyond all of that, I’ve just been trying to remain hydrated and rested.  Work had some crazy days, including one that had me out in the sun a bit too long.  Thankfully, that was later in the week, so I can recover this weekend.  Well, there are Pokemon Go events that require walking this weekend, but we’ll see what we can do.  Going down to the shore or the mall helps with keeping it cool.  Definitely packing water on every outing like this morning and evening.  If you haven’t guessed, I tried to take at least 30-40 minutes a day to do some Pokemon Go.  Not for the game so much as to be active and get some time to either think or get time with my son.

Aside from typing in some edits, I managed to finish this and its display case last weekend:

Lego Batman Gotham City

There are a bunch of hidden compartments with characters hidden in them.  I posted more pictures of it on Instagram.  That was fun and now I’m working on Sauron’s Tower when I have a little time, but not enough to edit.

Can’t really remember much else that happened, but the heat could be a major reason.  It’s going to be slightly better this coming week.  At least, it’ll be in the 70’s when we have our field trip to the zoo.  So, I won’t enter next weekend feeling like I’m a slab of overcooked bacon.  Getting into more cooking too because I’m left on my own a bunch.  Sweet and sour meatball subs will be godsend because of the amount of leftovers, which gives me a few lunches.  Same with the penne in homemade vodka sauce that I’ll make next weekend and try not to finish over the course of a day.  Hopefully, I can slip at least one more chapter edit into my schedule.  Be nice to finish it all next weekend, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I’ve never felt so busy and yet made so little progress during a summer.  Wish I knew what was causing the issue.  I mean, I worked last summer and was still able to write an entire book on nights and weekends.  There do seem to be a lot more appointments this time around.  Not for me either.  Guess the heatwave and this summer work being more exhausting than last year don’t help.  Honestly, it’s just wearing me down and I don’t think a short trip is going to help much.  It’s 4 days, but two of them are driving days, which means only 2 for relaxing and notebook work.  Not even giving myself any time to relax between getting home and going back to work.  Just continuing on at full-throttle with only blips of downtime.

Goals of the week:

1. Rest and stay cool.
2. Time with son.
3. Get some chapter edits typed in.
4. Cook dinners.
5. Extra sleep when needed.
6. Tinker with ‘Phi Beta Files’ if possible.
7. Work, which is a given.
8. Maybe get some quiet time at the end of each day to work on Lego set or at least stare at ceiling fan before passing out.