Author Journey (December 12, 2022)
I did it! I finished reading the last of my library books for 2022. That’s a grand total of 134 for the year. Now, I can take a break until New Year… well, not a complete break, I have other projects to get on with!
December 12, 2022
Hot Topic
So, yeah. One hundred and thirty-four manga volumes in a year. In truth, I got through one hundred and two of them in the second half of the year, so the total could have been much higher. Most of the books that I’ve read have been volumes ones, so I’ve started a lot of new series this year and I don’t think there’s been one that I’m ready to drop yet. It’s obviously great that I am enjoying them all, but it also means I’ve got a lot of volume twos to get through…
Since dropping Fifty Shades of Grey and putting The Living Dead on hold, I picked up a novella by Stephen King – Elevation. It was four hours worth of audiobook and was ready by Stephen King. I’ve had a weird time with a lot of his books, some I love and others I can’t even finish. Well, this was fantastic and has really got me thinking about writing some shorter stories. One thing I’ve noticed with all the manga I’ve been reading is that it’s nice to come across a story that is complete in one or two books. I also love the epic thirty-plus volume series, but variety is a good thing. So, I’m looking at a way to incorporate that into next year’s goals.
What have I been watching/reading?
So, I read the ten books I had sitting around from my library and I did it by Friday. That left me with a little time to get back to catching up on some anime. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that I was going to start Chainsaw Man in the New Year once it had finished. Yeah, I couldn’t wait and now find myself in the annoying position of having to wait a week until the next one. Oh, well. At least it’ll be ready for 2023.
Work in Progress
No writing last week, but now that the books are done and I’m waiting for Chainsaw Man to drop, I’m going to get back to writing. I’m currently forty thousand words into a novel and while I had originally planned on finishing it before the end of the year, that seems unlikely. Hopefully, I can get back into it and get it a bit closer, especially as I have my next project chomping at the bit to get its chance. Since finished Elevation by Stephen King, one of my old short stories has pushed its way to the front of my mind.
I quite like the idea of writing a longer book and then a shorter one, and then alternating back and forth between the two lengths. The shorter ones are quicker to finish and that always feels good. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of the novella format. I think it fits fairly nicely with the light novel side of things too, so I can do a handful of sketches to go in there too, it should work on that level too.
The Plan
So, I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up before taking a bit of a break over Christmas, but I have the time to do that now which is nice (real-life family events permitting). I’m going to take a good look at my days and see if I can break them up more consistently. At the moment, I bounce around between projects which is nice, but it does mean that they can go some time without any advancements, especially if I accidentally borrowed too many books from the library at once. I need to find a way to make time for reading, writing, editing, drawing, and watching anime. Obviously, I don’t need to be too rigid or do everything every day, but coming up with a plan would be beneficial.
Posts
- 2022 (Full Year)
- Author Journey – 50/52 (+1)
- Review Posts – 247/247
- Review Pages – 131/131
- Inktober – 5/5
- Specials – 2/2 (+1)
- 2023 (Quarter One)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 74/78 (+5)
- 14:00 Posts – 47/52 (+1)
- 20:00 Posts – 39/39
- 2023 (Quarter Two)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 16/78
- 14:00 Posts – 34/52 (+10)
- 20:00 Posts – 3/39
- 2023 (Quarter Three)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 0/78
- 14:00 Posts – 2/52 (+1)
- 20:00 Posts – 0/39
I only have two more Author Journey posts left to do for 2022, but otherwise, it’s done and that feels amazing.
Writing
- Out of Time (Time-travel Murder Mystery)
- Chapters – 7
- Words – 7,423
- RIP Tide (Zombie Novella)
- Chapters – 17
- Words – 18,261
- Swap Isekai (Isekai)
- Chapters – 9
- Words – 10,146
- The Beach (Ecchi)
- Chapters – 35
- Words – 40,861
No updates, but I’ve now made myself some time and got myself amped up and ready to go.
Final Thoughts
It ended up being a very productive week, and during the busy period with the day job too. I’ve had several weeks where I’ve read nine or more books a week, which has really helped me to build up a post buffer. Now, that I have that buffer, I’ll be aiming for four or five a week which will maintain the buffer and allow me more time for writing. This year started slowly but I feel like things are moving in the right direction. I’m going to see what I can manage over the next two weeks and then I’ll be taking some time off for the holidays. I’ll still be online, I just won’t be adding to the buffer for a while.
Anyhow, stay safe and thanks for reading.
Last Week’s Posts
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Wow, congrats! That is a whole lot of library books! Are you going to post about your favorite manga series of the year?
Thanks. I’ve got plans for the New Year with regards to the manga. I only actually read a handful of complete series. Most of them have more for me to get through, which I’ll pick up in the New Year too.
Holy smokes! That’s definitely an achievement! I need to get into audio books. Think I will try Elevation for my drives to work.
Thanks. I’ll be interested to see what you think of Elevation. Audiobooks are great. I tend to have one on the go at all times.
Oh, and I didn’t even include the audiobooks in my total…