Author Journey (June 26, 2023)

I was expecting this week to be a wash with interruptions, however, I never expected it to go quite so badly. The week started well and then slowly descended into chaos. A clear indication of what I should expect this summer!

Author Journey (June 26, 2023)

The Summer Vacation began last Wednesday for my kids and as such we had the end-of-year show which obliterated Wednesday and then the kids at home Thursday and Friday. Needless to say, I didn’t get much done beyond that point. Luckily, it didn’t impact my routine of watching a couple of episodes of anime before bed, but that was about it.

The Weekly Recap!

The week before, I was focused on the first half of a series that I loved when I read the manga, so naturally, last week, I turned my attention to the second half and instead of sticking to two episodes a night, I couldn’t help myself and watched three a night for four nights. I haven’t told you what the series is, but I think I’ve given enough clues for those with sharp eyes. Anyhow, I loved it and can’t believe how wonderfully faithful it was to the manga. Goal achieved!

I was also continuing the progress from the prior week with my manga reading as I had picked up the final three books in a thirteen-book series. This is another series that I have absolutely loved so I needed to get to the end as quickly as possible. I read all three books on Monday and have put together my posts for them too. Now, that I’ve finished the books, I can turn my attention to the anime… as soon as it’s finished airing, that is! Second goal achieved!

I had planned on maintaining my advantage with my scheduled post by writing up seven. Unfortunately, I only managed five. Three of those were manga reviews and the other was a season review from the series I finished prior to the latest one, so now I’ve got a little bit of catching up to do again. No goal here!

I look at my tracker for the week and other than Monday, everything fell apart. So, as such I have no news on the editing of RIP Tide which is particularly frustrating. Hopefully, I can get through more this week and finally get myself into a position to get the second draft going. Second goal missed!

I found myself revisiting some style options with my sketches. The biggest problem is that there are so many styles that I like and while all are undoubtedly manga, they are all very distinct. I want my art to have a similar feel. I made some good progress and feel like I’m almost in a position where I know how I want my style to look. In all, I did eight different sketches with various styles of eyes and hair. Third goal achieved!

Tasks	Goal	Completed
Anime Watched	12 Episodes	12 Episodes
Manga Read	3 Book	3Books
Posts Scheduled	7 Post	5 Posts
Chapters Written	Editing RIP Tide	Meh again!
Artwork Completed	5 Sketches	8 Sketches

Aspirations for the Week!

So, completing three out of five goals wasn’t that bad in the end, but it does show that I could get through a lot more without all the real-life events. This week, the kids are doing activities for half the day so I should have a little more time in theory. We’ll see how that works out in practice.

Watching Anime

I’m going to try to keep pushing forward here and since the last season has mostly finished, it might be time for me to dive into some of the shows I’ve been waiting for. The first one I think I’ll tackle has eleven episodes. I’m also partway through a movie so I’ll finish that first. Let’s call it twelve episodes again.

Goal: 12 Episodes

Reading Manga

I currently have ten books that I borrowed from the library. Five are due back this week and only two have people waiting for them, so I should be able to renew three of them. That means I need to at least read those two books before returning them. I’ll aim to read at least one more to keep the buffer going.

Goal: 3 Books

Posts Scheduled

I have nine posts outstanding and if I complete my manga and anime targets, that number will increase. That said, with the way things have been going I really don’t want to put in too many stretch goals so let’s keep it easy with eight posts. I might try for more, but eight would be a good week.

Goal: 8 Posts

Writing

Same as last week thanks to everything that happened. I shall do a complete read-through of RIP Tide, making notes as I go. Prepare an outline for the second draft.

Goal: Read-through of RIP Tide and Prepare Outline

Artwork Completed

I think I’ve probably got another couple of sketches to attempt before feeling confident that I have the style I want. Then, I’ll want to drive it home. I’m going for five sketches again, but if I can nail the style, I’ll be able to churn them out. Practice makes perfect.

Goal: 5 Sketches

Final Thoughts

I know I’ve been teasing the new posts for some time now, but this is the last week before it all begins. I’m curious to see how it impacts views and interactions on the Otaku Author. Honestly, it could go either way as episode posts do get me a lot of views. Of course, all my old posts aren’t going anywhere so there’s always going to be that. This is also the final week of quarter two of 2023 and it’s been a rocky year for me so far. Hopefully, things will improve from here and not just because of my new schedule.

I’ve had a look at the new season’s lineup and there are lots of shows that I want to watch. Luckily, there were several last season that I can now binge. That should keep me pretty busy for the next thirteen weeks. That and some older shows that I am finally finding the time to watch. I just need to make sure I keep up with the posts else it could quickly get out of control. Anyhow, I’m excited for the last week of the current posting schedule to come to an end and can’t wait to start next week when I can get the second half of the year rolling. Thanks for reading!

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