Author Journey (March 6, 2023)

2023 03 06 The Otaku Author Journey

It’s been a frustrating week largely because of my fractured kneecap… I haven’t left the house and am in pain most of the time. So, with that in mind, how do you think I did against my goal?

Author Journey (March 6, 2023)

I’ve had to wait until this week to see the specialist and get some more information about my kneecap, so I’ve been stuck at home with the splint strapped to my leg. It hurts continuously. Even when I’m not moving it, it still throbs. Fun times indeed. The day job is in a strange place right now too as other situations may make my work impossible this week. I’ve still got to see if I can bypass everything else… I think I can, it’s just whether I have the time to do it or not. Either way, it’s going to be another tough week.

The Weekly Recap!

I started the week by finishing off the series I started last week. There were two more episodes to watch and then the final five episodes of the season are being delayed so that’s that for now. Over the following couple of days, I watched another four episodes of various shows. I’ve got a number on the go at once so I tend to bounce around, watching them in batches. Then, on Friday, I decided to stick a random show on in the background while I was working and got completely absorbed. Over the weekend, I watch two more episodes of that show and then got sucked into another and watched the first four episodes of that series.

Admittedly, I was kind of all over the place, but I did end up watching thirteen episodes, which is a weekly high for the year. On top of that, I decided that this week would be a good time to clear out the library books so that I can maybe drop them off on the way to see the orthopaedics. I read three volumes and started a fourth. Not bad considering I had set my goals to zero due to my current situation.

As a result of my zero goals, I had set the scheduled posts goal to one which would be this post. Of course, with all the anime I watched and manga I read, I smashed that goal too. Annoyingly, I didn’t have time to review everything I watched so I’ll try to catch those up today. Anyhow, I expected nothing and exceeded all my expectations.

TasksGoalCompleted
Anime Watched0 Episodes13 Episodes
Manga Read0 Books3 Books
Posts Scheduled1 Post14 Posts
Chapters Written1 Book Outline1 Book Outline
Artwork CompletedSome Doodles12 Sketches

The one area I really wanted to ensure I completed was the outlining of my series and I’m pleased to say I did that too. This was the fourth book in the series which will include my old drafts of volumes thirteen to sixteen. I’ve not read nor thought about these volumes in a long time so it was exciting to see what I had done all those years ago. There’s a lot of work to do to pull it together, but I’m already seeing themes that will do it.

Last but not least was my artwork. I planned on having a sketch pad by my side at all times and it worked surprisingly well. I picked it up several times each day and knocked out some sketches. I did a lot of faces, focusing on hairstyles and expressions. I did a couple of busts, some full figures, and even a couple of nudes. That’s right, I’m embracing my inner classical artist. If nudes are good enough for the Italians and the Greeks, then they are good enough for me. Here’s a sample of what I got up to.

RIP Tide character sketches nude

Oh yeah, I have about five different sketchbooks on the go at any time so I bounce between them.

Aspirations for the Week!

I was hoping to have more information on my injury last week, but that didn’t end up happening. Of course, there’s still lots of pain so I can’t imagine I’ll be back to normal anytime soon. So, I think I’m going to keep everything the same as last week. Now, I know that I surpassed everything by a good margin, but I think the lack of pressure helped in this instance. That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on the goals altogether. I’m just going to take it easy again and see what happens, at least until I have a better idea of my situation.

I also have no idea how the day job will pan out this week. I have a lot of work to bypass the missing co-workers and there’s still no guarantee that it will even be possible. Should keep things interesting.

Watching Anime

Now, I have five series that I am currently watching, although the two I started at the end of last week are the ones calling to me the most. I really want to watch more so I’ll see how that goes. Keeping the goal at zero for my sanity though.

Goal: 0 Episodes

Reading Manga

I have one more library book to finish and then there’s my vast personal library that I’ve been building up that I really should get around to reading. Many of the books are still in their clear wrap… I know, I’m a monster! That said, the goal is still zero.

Goal: 0 Books

Posts Scheduled

I have three episodes of anime that I watched last week and haven’t reviewed yet so I’m actually going to include them here. If I let this go on too long then I will have to watch them again. So, I’m going for four posts total.

Goal: 4 Post

Chapters Written

I want to keep the momentum going on this one so will be looking to outline book five in the series. That will cover volumes seventeen to twenty of my original drafts. I originally drafted twenty-six volumes so we’re getting close to the new frontier!

Goal: 1 Book Outline

Artwork Completed

Last week’s plan worked so well, I’m going to stick with it again here. I want to try to finally nail down the hair and facial expression for the cover of RIP Tide so that I can focus on putting the finished cover together. The more I draw the better.

Goal: Some Doodles

Chivalry of a Failed Knight Episode 9 Touka Toudou fighting golems electric
Chivalry of a Failed Knight (Episode 9) – Princess’ Vacation

Final Thoughts

Last week was an unexpected success as far as getting some work done. It probably helps that I don’t have to do the school run in the morning and the afternoon. I’m also not walking Gus so I am seeing more time become available. However, it’s not like I sit down and don’t move for the rest of the day. According to my phone, I’m still getting in three-thousand steps a day. I was averaging over thirteen thousand a day so it’s been a big step back.

In all honesty, I would sooner have everything back to normal as soon as possible than continue like this, and not just because of the pain. As much as I like my home and have a pretty cosy little office in the basement, staying there by choice is not the same as not being able to leave the house because I physically can’t. Freedom is all about having a choice after all.

My post buffer is holding strong so I don’t have anything to worry about there. I just need to get my head down and see what happens this week. Hopefully, I’ll get some news about my knee and a plan to sort it out. Anyhow, thanks for reading.


Lynn Sheridan The Otaku Author Header

6 Comments

    • Yeah. I should find out later this week if that’ll be the case. Hopefully not, but I’m preparing for the worst.

    • Yeah. It’s a fairly constant sort of pain which isn’t much fun.

  1. I hope the specialist can give you some relief. Constant pain sucks!

    “If nudes are good enough for the Italians and the Greeks, then they are good enough for me. ”

    I applaud your respect of the classical forms!

    I’m amazed you can get the face to look like the same character each time. That might sound odd, but back when I tried to illustrate my work, I could never get the faces to match. So I stuck to planets and starships.

    “Freedom is all about having a choice after all.”

    Absolutely!

    • Relief would be nice, but I’d settle for knowing what the issue is and having a plan to fix it. I just want to walk normally again…

      I’m a big fan of classical art. They could have painted or sculpted anything, but they knew what their priorities were.

      I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite me when I try to draw a different character…

What did you think?