Author Journey (June 27, 2022)
Another productive week despite the universe’s attempts to derail me. I mean, who needs sleep? That said, I am looking forward to the summer holidays and a bit of help. Who knows, I may even get to sleep!
June 27, 2022
Hot Topic
The kids went back to school last Monday and then stayed home the rest of the week… I don’t even know what a normal work week looks like anymore. The pandemic really doesn’t want to go away. Luckily, I won’t have to worry too much about that as of Friday. The summer holidays will begin and with that comes grandparents. Two whole months of help!
I often talk about my less-than-ideal sleep patterns and how I don’t like to sleep as it feels like a waste of time. I still feel that way and if someone told me I could go without sleep without any of the side effects, I would do it in a heartbeat. Until that day happens, I have to sleep and I’ve been on a shorter cycle of late as I juggle family life and work life. I’ll admit that I’m tired, but I still have so much to do. Hopefully, with the help coming, I’ll be able to slow down a little and work less at night.
What have I been watching/reading?
Last week, I focused what little time I had on finishing my rewatch of Sankarea: Undying Love. I’m pleased to say that I have finished it and enjoyed it more than the first time I watched it. I also read volume two of the manga. I was planning on reading more, but I stopped as the first two volumes covered most of the anime and I want to explore the rest of the story without distraction.
Desperate measures seemed to be the theme of last week’s posts. Everyone went that extra mile to ensure they survived. Exciting stuff!
In Peach Boy Riverside, Millia, the hair ogre had lost her memory after seeing Sally destroy the tree ogre with ease. She bumped into Makoto who agreed to escort her to the next town. Then, when another ogre came to recover Millia, she makes a decision that will change everything and ensure her survival!
Seriously, the lengths people will go to in order to survive is stunning and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is no exception. Lan Fan is determined to protect her boss, she’d do just about anything, but I wasn’t expecting that!
It looks like they lost in Magical Girl Apocalypse but then someone comes back to help. They have a plan but it’s one of those crazy plans that no one wants to talk about until there are no other options.
Yesterday, I started a new series of posts. This is going to be the first of my sets of posts that crossover between pages and posts. I have so much to say about My Dress-Up Darling.
Work in Progress
It was a quieter week at the day job which was lucky as the kids being home didn’t make as much of an impact. I did end up staying up later than I’d planned, but that’s the way of things of late. I do what I have to do to keep all things moving forward. At present, my goal is still to get through the remaining posts for 2022 as quickly as possible. The sooner I’ve done that, the sooner I can focus on my writing again. I didn’t clear off as many posts as I had planned, but I did make good progress which you’ll see in a moment.
The Plan
I’ve started working on a new tracker for my writing, similar to what I use for blogging. I’m going to break all of my stories down by chapter and turn them into a series of posts. This is just to trick my mind into channelling the same energy that I’ve been using for blogging. I may end up posting one or two as web novels so it won’t be a complete lie.
The real work begins once I’ve scheduled the remaining posts for 2022 and I am getting close to that point. It’s still amazing to think that I have almost completed the year in half a year. That said, I don’t think I’ll finish everything this week, but I’m going to get as close as possible. So, here’s how things are standing right now.
Posts
- Quarter One
- Author Journey – 13/13
- Historic Anime – 39/39
- Seasonal Anime – 36/36
- Ecchi Anime – 14/14
- Bonus Posts – 18/18
- Quarter Two
- Author Journey – 13/13 (+1)
- Historic Anime – 39/39
- Ecchi Anime – 39/39
- Seasonal Anime – 3/3
- Bonus Posts – 1/1
- Quarter Three
- Author Journey – 0/13
- Historic Anime – 39/39
- Fire Force S2 – 5/12 (+1)
- Ecchi Anime – 39/39
- Bonus Posts – 4/4
- Quarter Four
- Author Journey – 0/13
- Historic Anime – 14/39 (+1)
- Ecchi Anime – 38/39 (+9)
- Bonus Posts – 4/6 (+2)
The biggest obstacle to completing will be the Sankarea manga which I still have nine to get through. Reading them in a week wouldn’t be a problem, writing up my thoughts will make it harder. Not to mention Fire Force which is going to take longer for sure.
Writing
- MSR (Paranormal Harem Rom-com)
- Plotting – 49/58
- Writing – 43/58
- Editing – 42/58
- Artwork – 0/9
- Valiant Lineage (Epic Dark Fantasy)
- Plotting – 41/41
- Writing – 0/?
- Editing – 0/?
- Artwork – 0/?
- Black Death (Post Apocalyptic Shoujo AI)
- Plotting – 0/?
- Writing – 0/?
- Editing – 0/?
- Artwork – 0/?
- Asteroidea (Horror Science-fiction)
- Plotting – 0/?
- Writing – 0/?
- Editing – 0/?
- Artwork – 0/?
- Out of Time (Time-travel Murder Mystery)
- First Draft – 0/?
- Plotting – 0/?
- Writing – 0/?
- Editing – 0/?
- Artwork – 0/?
I’m excited about this next step. It’s been a long time since I’ve really been focused on writing fiction and I’d like to make it a part of my regular routine again. Hopefully, I’ll find that elusive balance I’ve been searching for.
Final Thoughts
So far this year, I’ve written four-hundred and ten posts/pages for Otaku Author. That’s an average of 2.7 per day. I hadn’t planned on going so hard, but it was a case of going with the momentum. My goal once I’ve finished the remaining posts will be to build some momentum so that I can find a way to do both rather than splitting my time like this. Admittedly, I’ve been trying for a while now, but I think breaking down the projects will trick my mind into continuing to work as if I’m blogging. Seems crazy, that I have to trick myself, but it makes sense in the terms of adjusting a habit. I’m effectively using the same triggers and rewards but changing the procedure.
Anyhow, thanks for reading.
Breaking projects up into smaller pieces so you can bring more energy to the project is a good idea! Yeah, I think a lot of people are struggling to get enough sleep recently. With the sun staying up later this time of year, homes being a little too warm for sleeping, and neighbors being out and noisy later into the evening, it’s pretty hard to catch some Zz’s. Like in my neighborhood, everyone is excited for the 4th of July and so they are setting off fireworks every night, All night even though it’s not even July yet! Me and my kitty do not get much sleep.
Yeah, my goal is to make it as much like blogging as possible as my habits seem to be wired that way at the moment and I have no problem writing two or three posts a day. If I can get my creative writing back to that level I’ll be very happy.
Light nights are definitely a problem and the fireworks started yesterday here so that upsets Gus. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been doing a lot of my day job in the night so even less sleep. Hoping with the help coming, I’ll be able to go to bed at a normal time again.
I’ll be rooting for you! Sleep is our goal!
Yeah, we’re going to come out the other end of summer well rested.
Just a suggestion because you probably have this under control, but be careful about shorting your sleep. I just became aware that it can contribute to premature organ failure and impaired brain function. Don’t ask how I know.
That last part was just for dramatic effect.
Not sure if it’ll help, but I’ve noticed that I’m writing 2 or sometimes 3 chapters per plot point. I block 2 hours (or as close to it as I can manage) and generally write 1 chapter. For me, that’s about 2,000 words. The focus helps.
It’s a little longer than my blog post blocks, but then, they are sometimes scattered in 10 minute chunks across multiple days. I can’t sustain a novel’s complexity in anything less than 2 hour blocks. Also, I find if I don’t keep the 2 hour blocks going, I start to lose the plot threads.
Thanks for the advice. I’m sure I’ve put a little weight on and struggled with a short temper as a result. It was always meant to be a temporary thing, but this situation seems to keep coming back. Hopefully, having six months worth of posts in the bag will allow me to slow down.
My chapters tend to be around two thousand words too. Back when I did NaNoWriMo in 2020, I would write one or two chapters a day. That’s going to be my goal as of quarter 3. I think I should settle into it pretty quickly once I get started… that’s been the hardest part the last couple of years, especially when I know I can just write another post without any struggles.
To be honest, I couldn’t go without sleep even if I had the chance to 😂 It’s vital to rebuild the energies, otherwise I’d go mad at the world, lol.
Having the year completed in half of it is immensely impressive! I could never 😂.
Since I enjoyed My Dress Up Darling a lot, I’m curious about what you have to say about it so I’m totally checking your reviews.
It’s been a case of doing what I needed to. I don’t like sleep, but I know I need it. Luckily, I can function on less after decades of training… lol!
I started the year a quarter ahead so it’s been quite the effort to get the rest done in that time.
And thanks. I loved My Dress-Up Darling so it’s going to be fun reliving it again with my posts.