Okay, not really frantic, but I am stressed.  We had a snow day on Monday due to Sunday’s blizzard.  Lots of shoveling and resultant aching of the body.  Nothing says fun like clearing the driveway and then a plow comes through to plug it.  At this time, we have huge piles of snow everywhere and the temps aren’t rising enough for much of it to evaporate.  Whatever melts gets on the road and sidewalks to become ice overnight.  I hate driving to work and having my car try out for the Olympic ice-skating team.  Guess there is some franticness.

The snow day through everyone off, especially those who don’t handle sudden schedule changes well.  So, there were increased tensions in various areas.  Didn’t help that I ended up in several locations where the heating system was barely functional.  Also places that were practically saunas.  Surprised I didn’t get a cold, but it did add to my irritability when I dealt with certain eldritch horrors.  My apologies to any eldritch horrors for comparing them to certain individuals.  I’m sure they would agree and understand though.

Writing-wise, I made a few characters for ‘Phi Beta Files’ while I hung around the library to warm up.  Managed to finish chapter 14 of Darwin & the Joy Path too.  It was looking iffy on that project because of the shoveling demands and me having a lot of doubts about things.  I keep second-guessing myself on these things.  Part of it might be that I’m coming up with these complicated puzzles and challenges, but then I shift to Darwin’s mindset.  His way of looking at things is fairly blunt and out of left field, so he finds quick answers.  That or his instincts cause the situations to fall into chaos, which results in eventual success.  He’s not like any of my previous protagonists who use clear logic, monstrous strength, vast experience, or other more common traits to win.  Darwin is purely ‘chaotic’ instinct and impulses in the face of an orderly challenge.  This means the problems either end swiftly or take a wild turn, which requires a day of figuring things out.  I’m noticing the general plots are going more pantser than plotter too, which isn’t my comfort zone.

I got thrown off earlier this week when my son asked me why I still write books or even plan them when I never sell anything.  Won’t deny that the question hurt.  I didn’t have a good answer either.  I said I keep writing in case there’s a day where I have money for cover art and advertising.  Then, I hope to get back to selling some books.  Having trouble believing that though because I haven’t sold a book in months.  I know everyone is having this issue, but it still stings.  Makes me wonder if the days of having books outside of the big names is coming to an end.  At least with certain genres.

The coming week isn’t going to be that different from the previous one, but only because it’s going to be cold.  Looking at negatives and single digit temps tomorrow, which means going out will only be to the mall.  If I can maintain my energy throughout the day then I might be able to get some extra writing done leading into the weekend.  The Super Bowl is next Sunday, which means cleaning and guests will take over that day.  Getting time during the week can mean I’ll finish chapter 15 of Darwin & the Joy Path.  Overall, I have 11 sections left before I’m done, which means I can feasibly finish by the end of February.  This week will be the real test, especially since I’ll be writing in the evening when temps and energy are low.

I’m starting to wonder about what I should tackle after I finish this book too.  I can outline the next one and dive into it, but I might take a few weeks to get ahead in blogging prep and other projects.  March is always a slog due to no holidays, so I might not have the mindset to start Darwin & the Hejinn Queen.  Maybe it’ll be a good idea to start the actual writing during Spring Break?  Better weather, the school year slog is over, and I’ll be wanting to rest up for a father/son trip.  Yeah, that sounds like the best plan, which also means I can finish up ‘Phi Beta Files’.

So, what are the goals of the week?

1. STAY WARM!
2. Help son pack for school trip.
3. Write more Darwin & the Joy Path.
4. Tinker with ‘Phi Beta Files’.
5. Make silly faces at niece when she visits.
6. Bike to get exercise in since I can’t walk around the park.
7. Contend with my usual self-proclaimed adversary.  (The person claims to be my enemy and now I’m just giving them what they want.)
8. Work on the April blog posts.  Still not sure if I want to use the old ones for that month or another.  Anybody know of some good writing topics?
9. Finish watching ‘Fallout’.