Author Journey (November 21, 2022)

I think my NaNoWriMo attempt may be over. The gap is just too large, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing. I’m just going to plod along at my own speed, doing my thing, writing this damn book!

November 21, 2022

Hot Topic

Once again, some real-life family events sprung up and threw spanners at me. As much as I can try to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge, there was no escaping their malicious intent. Anyhow, one thing I thought I would mention this week was that I started a new audiobook. I’ve been hanging out with Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman for the past couple of weeks. First I listened to Good Omens which was great and then Dodger which was also great. How would a normal person follow up a couple of smartly written stories set in England?

I can’t say that I would know as I have started listening to Fifty Shades of Grey… Why did no one tell me just how funny this book is? I’m out walking the streets of my neighbourhood in the cold, dark nights with Gus and I am guffawing, snorting, and chuckling to myself. Now, I know it’s not meant to be funny and frankly, it’s an easy target. Still, the reason I’m listening to it, besides the fact that it was available when my last book ended, is that it’s a book that started out as fan fiction and went on to become a worldwide phenomenon. That alone means it’s got to be worth my time. Plus, I’m certain I heard the narrator holding back laughter as she read some of those lines.

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What have I been watching/reading?

This week, I watched two anime episodes and read ten manga volumes. There was room for improvement, but I’ll take that, especially as several of the books I borrowed from the library needed to be returned as others were waiting for them. It’s actually kind of motivating to see that someone wants a particular book and I have three days to fit it in. I’d be in trouble if lots suddenly went that way, but so far it’s not happened.

Anyhow, here’s what I posted last week.

I love The Executioner and Her Way of Life. That is all!

And, I’m also loving Mieruko-chan. Another wonderfully creepy episode with some nice comedic moments.

Are we starting to get a view of the big picture in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood? Possibly!

Why do I enjoy the demons so much Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen? I have no idea, but I do. They are fantastic.

Ui lets her friend take Hayato on a date in My Wife is the Student Council President! Nothing can possibly go wrong!

Sankarea: Undying Love had a filler anime episode that actually wasn’t filler and the manga continues to get better and better the further it gets from the story covered in the anime.

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Work in Progress

Last week wasn’t a complete bust. Even with a couple of real-life family events, I was still pretty productive. The main issue is that I’ve fallen behind in my latest NaNoWriMo attempt. I did manage to fit in three writing sessions and came away with three and a half thousand words, but that’s not enough. The week before I added four and a half thousand words, so the gap between my word count for November and the NaNoWriMo target grew. I think I could catch up, but it would be at the expense of everything else. I’d sooner keep going at this rate and finish my first draft of The Beach later.

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The Plan

I’ve not put any more holds on books at my library… All right, I put a couple on, but it’s less than I read so my overall pile of books is decreasing… All right, I might have bought some too. What is this, the Spanish Inquisition? Anyhow, I have a number of books to read and I’d like to get them done before the holidays. Then, in the New Year, I’ll put on a bunch of holds for the subsequent volumes in the series and start all over again. It’ll be nice to have a small break though, which is why I want to clear the backlog.

Posts

• 2022 (Full Year)
  • Author Journey – 47/52 (+1)
  • Review Posts – 247/247
  • Review Pages – 131/131
  • Inktober – 5/5
  • Specials – 0/2
• 2023 (Quarter One)
  • Author Journey – 0/13
  • 08:00 Posts – 68/78 (+2)
  • 14:00 Posts – 45/52 (+4)
  • 20:00 Posts – 39/39
• 2023 (Quarter Two)
  • Author Journey – 0/13
  • 08:00 Posts – 16/78
  • 14:00 Posts – 14/52 (+6)
  • 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

I’m happy with that level of progress. If I can complete quarter one before the holidays that’ll be a big win.

Writing

• MSR (Paranormal Harem Rom-com)
  • Chapters – 0
  • Words – 0
• Valiant Lineage (Epic Dark Fantasy)
  • Chapters – 0
  • Words – 0
• Black Death (Post-Apocalyptic Shoujo AI)
  • Chapters – 0
  • Words – 0
• Asteroidea (Horror Science-fiction)
  • Chapters – 0
  • Words – 0
• 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 (+3)
  • Words – 40,861 (+3,560)

Still moving forward.

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Final Thoughts

To prove the point, this post is going out seven hours later than I had originally planned due to yet more real-life family events. Anyhow, I’ve almost got quarter one ready for 2023 and I think going forward, that’ll be my goal – keep a quarter’s worth of posts banked. That way I can be more reactive to the newer shows which I feel like I’m missing or not getting to until long after they’ve aired. I also want to get back to writing every day, but that’s entirely dependent on things staying calm.

Not the start to the week I was hoping for, especially as I have a three-day work event coming up. Anyhow, thanks for reading.

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