Author Journey (December 19, 2022)
I spent this week getting everything in order for the holidays. That meant lots of cleaning up blog posts and scheduling them for the New Year. It wasn’t easy, but I got a lot done and it feels good.
December 19, 2022
Hot Topic
I don’t have any burning topics this week, however, there was something that caught me by surprise. I was looking through the next season’s anime lineup and there was one title that I was not expecting to see. I am talking about the second season of The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made. Now, I enjoyed the first season, but never in a million years did I think it would get a second season. That said, I will definitely be watching it, but I can’t help but think about all the other shows that are far more deserving of a second season.
The only other thing of note is that I’ve started listening to The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume 1, 1929-1964 audiobook and so far I’m really enjoying it. The first few stories were all from the 1930s and it’s hilarious to see how they thought life on Mars and other planets might have been. There are also a lot of terms and phrases that are not acceptable in modern times. It’s fascinating getting a glimpse into how people used to think back then. I’ve listened to four hours so far and there are another twenty-seven to go.
What have I been watching/reading?
My main focus has been on getting my blog ready for the holidays and that’s taken up a lot of my time. I’ve also had the day job taking some of my attention and then there was a snow day on Friday which meant virtual school. I did, however, take a break to watch the latest episode of Chainsaw Man. Now, I have to wait until tomorrow for the next one and I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to the last episode of season one as it’s going to be in prime holiday time! I should have waited and started it in the New Year.
Work in Progress
I did no writing again this week, but like I said, I completely focused on the blog posts. My goal has been to get everything ready for the next couple of weeks so that I can properly enjoy the holidays and not worry about anything else. I haven’t had any time off since May, so I’m probably long overdue for a bit of rest and relaxation. If nothing else, it’ll mean I can come back in the New Year, raring to go!
Listening to even more short fiction has cemented the idea I had last week about alternating my writing projects. Having a shorter one to work on will be a nice way to keep my motivation up. I pretty much wrote the first draft of RIP Tide in three weeks while keeping up with my anime and manga commitments. The more I can complete the better I’ll feel about the process and the more I’ll be able to write.
The Plan
I had a few things to work out this week with the plan. Firstly, I have read and reviewed the first three volumes of Chainsaw Man and watched and reviewed ten episodes. Originally, I had the manga reviews scheduled to go out quarterly, but I decided to align them with the anime reviews which are scheduled for quarter one. So, I had to move around sixty other scheduled posts to get everything in order. Sounds like a lot, but it wasn’t too bad.
Then, I was going through some of my old posts from Ecchi Hunter. Some of them were scheduled posts from before the crash and never got to see the light of day. I had some free slots in my schedule for quarter one, so I decided to schedule them. Of course, I had to rebuild them from text files, upload the images, edit the posts, and schedule them. I now have a very full quarter one. Exciting times!
Posts
- 2022 (Full Year)
- Author Journey – 51/52 (+1)
- Review Posts – 247/247
- Review Pages – 131/131
- Inktober – 5/5
- Specials – 2/2
- 2023 (Quarter One)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 75/78 (+1)
- 14:00 Posts – 50/52 (+3)
- 20:00 Posts – 91/91 (+52)
- 2023 (Quarter Two)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 17/78 (+1)
- 14:00 Posts – 32/52
- 20:00 Posts – 3/39
- 2023 (Quarter Three)
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 0/78
- 14:00 Posts – 1/52
- 20:00 Posts – 0/39
So, that plus 52 is not a typo. That’s four twelve-episode seasons with four season reviews. That’s where most of my time went and I don’t regret a thing!
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
I had wanted to write, but by focusing on my blog posts, I have cleared quarter one, except for five Chainsaw Man posts (three anime, two manga).
Final Thoughts
There were times this week when I felt like a machine. I was copying and pasting, reading and editing, inserting images and organising them. And I did that over and over and over again. Fifty-two times to be exact. This year, I pushed on as far as I could and that was great, however, it made it harder for me to keep up with the current shows. I still don’t plan on reviewing them as they release, but I want to be able to look at a show within a season of it airing, especially as there are a lot of shows I really want to see. So, I’m going to fill up each quarter before moving on. I’ll be working ahead, just not as far.
Oh yeah, this site also celebrated its three-year anniversary on Saturday. I even wrote a post all about it. Check the link below. Anyhow, stay safe and thanks for reading.
Last Week’s Posts
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Speaking of older science fiction, have you ever read the Lensmen series? It had some of those phrases that held up less well, and of course, the tech went in different directions. But that helped me focus on the plots, and I was surprised at how well they held up.
Glad to see you salvaging something from the wreck of Ecchi Hunter. That was a fun site, and it’s good to know at least some of the post will be available again (aside from what I hope is its perpetual home at the Internet Archive).
I’ve not read it but I have heard of it. The plots have all been very strong and the “science” fascinating even if wildly off out current understandings.
Yeah. I had a number of scheduled posts that I was able to salvage through the Reader app by copying them to emails block by block. Of course, they’ve all been reformatted, edited, and spruced up. Should be interesting.