Where to begin? Where to begin? Seriously, I’m not really sure what happened this week beyond heat, incoming storm, and . . . stuff. I mean, something had to have happened since my plan to start writing Path of the Traitors was about as successful as eating soup with a strainer. I got the first section of the Prologue done and I can’t even tell you when that happened. I do know that I tried to write more and was undone by exhaustion or distractions at every turn.
Things should improve this week. The kid goes back to school on Tuesday and the wife starts a job that might become permanent that day too. That means there’s less noise and chaos around here, so I can try to get 3 chapter sections done every day. (I write this as the kid has a tantrum that would undo that goal. Gee, I wonder why I never finish writing books by the time I plan to.) Honestly, I shouldn’t get my hopes up here. Nothing has worked out as I’ve planned this year and it’s too late to expect improvements at this stage of the game. Especially since there are a lot of days off for school before December 31st. Not much after that. So, why is that important?
Keep in mind that I’m supposed to ‘make a decision’ after December, which is translated to ‘stop writing’ by those who demand such things. So, my big goal is to get Books 14 and 15 of Legends of Windemere done before the end of the year. I also need to publish Charms of the Feykin and The Spirit Well. Editing Chasing Bedlam for a February release might be tough to add into that mess, so that might come prior to writing Book 15. Losing nearly 2 weeks at the end of the year doesn’t help. That means I have 15.5 weeks to write 2 books, publish 2 books, and edit 1 book. Anybody hear laughter in the distance?
Yeah, I’m not having much faith in the future at this point. I guess I should be happy if I can get one book done and then decide on if I’ll tackle the editing or the final book. That last book is going to be tough and need thought instead of getting rushed, but I don’t know how easy that will be. A toss up between writing it in ‘record time’ or trying to write it when exhausted from a day job that could force me onto medication. (Aren’t I a happy little snowflake when it comes to that option?)
Anyway, one of the challenges I’m having with the last book is the endings for the characters. None of the champions are getting out of the Baron fight without permanent damage, but I keep jumping from 1 to 3 fatalities among the group. All I have right now is a list of ‘injuries’ for the heroes, but I keep wondering how far I should go. Maybe I don’t have the sizable fan-base to worry about killing off a favorite and getting backlash, so this might be for nothing. There are ripple effects for future series that I have to take into account as a well. For example, what if I kill a character that was supposed to have a child in a future book? Do I cut the kid or find a way that the child was conceived before or even magically after the death? Would people even be annoyed if I do only 1 fatality in such a big battle?
I have some special posts going up on Tuesday and Thursday. The first is a big announcement from author John W. Howell, which I’ll keep a surprise. The second is the return of Monster Maker Fun for October. I already have Raven’s Game set to post in 31 sections throughout that month, so I’ll be doing this and the goal posts for the month. I will admit that this might not help Charms of the Feykin if that’s out, so I might do spontaneous posts for that one. Everything is up in the air and crunched together at this point.
Since I don’t remember much of this week and I’m starting to become a downer again, I’ll push the goals:
- Get back into kid’s school schedule.
- Write the first 1-3 chapters of Path of the Traitors. More would be nice, especially if I can negotiate writing time in the next 2 days to finish the friggin’ prologue.
- Biking and try to eat healthier.
- Get a better idea of the Charms of the Feykin release schedule. Holidays and summer vacation have thrown a monkey wrench into everything.
- Consider getting trusted beta readers for Chasing Bedlam. That might help with the editing thing.
- Think more about that other thing that would probably never happen because I lack the knowledge, ability, and/or contacts.
- Give up the dream of having a lower back that functions normally. My writing poses are either sitting on a bed while hunched over the laptop or kneeling next to the wheeled bed while writing. The wheels are an important factor here. Brings new meaning to a story getting away from you.
