As of yesterday, the 25-26 school year is done. I survived, which isn’t as much of a joke as it would normally be. The health scare in November/December wasn’t school-related, but it falls in the time period. So does the flu, nasty ear infection, retirement of my car, and the current custody situation. I don’t think I had a single month without something wild going on. Still, I’m vertical and functional. Well, I probably functional when this post goes live, but I might still be lying in bed.
With the summer starting, I’m getting my mind ready to write Darwin & the Deadland Queen. I was going to start this weekend, but I’m both drained and I have my son. I want to get him set up with his summer art lesson program and do various life skills activities that I was saving for Monday. That doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore Darwin’s adventures since I should look over the finale of Darwin & the Joy Path before diving into the next book. I want to read the outline again as well. A weekend of prep might not be a bad thing and I’ll start writing on Monday. My hope is to get the prologue and chapter 1 done before summer school starts in a week. The art lessons for my son will probably keep him busy while I write, so I might even get into chapter 2.
Another issue I have to consider before I write the next book is if I’m going to keep the current final book. To explain, this was originally a trilogy taking place 10 years after the original finale. I turned it into a single book, but now I feel like the whole concept of a war between slumberlords is anticlimactic. It also takes a little of Darwin’s uniqueness away, so I’m leaning towards ditching. This means I have a cast of characters with no home, so I might have to rewrite Darwin & the Nightmare Lord to include them. There are many options, but I’m still questioning if eliminating the final book to stick with the original finale is a good idea. I have a weekend to think about it.
Coven of the Gray is going to get a little attention, but I might utilize it more as something to work on while I’m waiting for students to arrive. With summer school, there aren’t as many people, so it’s easier to find a place to sit and design a character in peace. I do want to get the outline done to reach that point. This could result in me getting this project planned out before the end of summer school. Part of me is already wondering if I should pick the next idea that needs fleshing out. Deciding between the thief story or the sport one, but both of us those are giving me headaches. I have a weird one called ‘Lions of Trune’ and the ‘Wraith Slayers’. The notebook has all of my ‘organization stories’ where a group of people are working towards a goal, but they aren’t adventurers.
This week isn’t going to be all relaxation. I do have a few appointments. A big one is Wednesday, which is the next court date. That has me nervous and I know I still have to prep some things. Doubt I’m going to do any book writing that day. I’ll be too stressed to think like Darwin. Unsure if my son will be with me on that day too, so all of that is up in the air. Maybe I should play it all by ear because the stress might make it hard for me to do any writing . . . Huh.
Honestly, I think I might be okay. Looking back, I finished Darwin & the Joy Path in February. That was after the Disney Trip debacle, so I was working on it while stressing about that situation. It means I was writing it while I was recovering from the hospital stay, which involved painkillers and needing an entire day to write a single section. I should have faith that my mind will fall back into place once I have a weekend of rest. The situations that are stressing me aren’t out of my control, but I’ve done all I can at this point.
Let’s get to the goals:
- Start on Darwin & the Deadland Queen.
- Set up son’s art lesson package.
- Pokemon as usual.
- Work on Coven of the Gray outline.
- Appointments.
- Grocery shopping and budgeting training.
- Bathroom cleaning training.
- Puzzle time when needing to relax.
Legends of Windemere 