Author Journey (October 17, 2022)
Clearly, there was some sort of dark celestial alignment this week! The week started out with a public holiday and then I got to watch my time scamper away without me. I really hate losing time!
October 17, 2022
Hot Topic
Ironically, Canadian Thanks Giving was the only day last week that I managed to fit in any writing. I didn’t manage to watch a single episode of anime and only read six manga volumes. So, where did all my time go? Well, on Tuesday, I had my latest vaccine booster. Bear in mind that I had COVID back before the vaccines were available and this was my fourth shot so I’m hopefully prepared for most things. Of course, my body seems to want to test this theory every time I get a booster. This time, it wiped me out for twenty-four hours, however, unlike the last one where I slept for twenty-four hours, this one did not let me sleep.
I started to feel normal late on Wednesday and then my youngest had to stay home from school Thursday and Friday. Of course, it’s also smack-bang in the middle of my busy period at work so everything just piled on top of one another, with me squashed at the bottom trying to tap on a keyboard every now and then. Hopefully, it’s all done now and I can focus on getting back to normal this week. I may have bought some more manga to make me feel better too… On top of the shelf full of books, I have from the library right now!
What have I been watching/reading?
So, yeah. No anime this week. Not even a random Ghibli movie with the kids to fall back on. I definitely need to correct that as I have some I need to get to and then there’s Chainsaw Man that I will be hitting as soon as the end of the season is in sight. To that end, I even moved an entire series of posts so that I can fit it in.
I continue to prepare my great wave of manga posts for 2023. I have reviewed the first volume from twenty-seven different series so far. I have another twenty on my bookshelf and several more on hold at the library. It’s been a lot of fun dipping into all these different series. I’ve been keen to vary the genres as much as possible, which has only made it more enjoyable.
So, here’s what I posted last week.
This is the fight that made Record of Ragnarok. It’s incredible and I can’t wait to talk about the last episode which will be out tomorrow.
Mieruko-chan is fantastically creepy. I can’t get enough of it.
There’s a lot of scheming going on in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Well, there always has been, but now we’re getting to see it too.
In order to squeeze Chainsaw Man into my near future plans, I pulled my Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen posts forward by twelve weeks. Hopefully, that’s a nice surprise.
I’m not missing a step with My Wife is the Student Council President! as I dive straight into the second season.
And Masters of the Universe: Revelation is done. Although, they did announce a new season so I will have to come back to it at some point, but it’s over for now.
It was a double post week for Sankarea: Undying Love with an episode review and a post all about Chihiro Furuya and his love of zombie girls.
Work in Progress
I just managed to write one chapter towards The Beach and I really enjoyed it. The next couple of scenes are going to be quite intense and with my head being all messed up from the lack of sleep thanks to my latest booster, I couldn’t find a good time slot to attack it from. That’s fine. At least, I got it all out of the way now and should be able to focus.
My goal is still to finish the first draft in November as a part of NaNoWriMo. Then, I’ll need to work some editing into my schedule so that I can get RIP Tide and The Beach ready for the next stage. All being well, I’d like to release them both early in the New Year. Hopefully in January, but I’ll keep you updated either way.
The Plan
I’m really enjoying reading more manga again and it’s interesting seeing how some of it gets translated into the anime shows that people are probably more familiar with. Take Sankarea: Undying Love for example. My reviews of the manga start this week so that’s exciting. However, the entire anime covered only the first two books. There is eleven total. So much story was left out. Then, there are other shows that one volume might be two or three episodes. I feel like I’m getting a much better appreciation of the broader picture too.
So, here you’ll see where I moved twelve posts from 2023, Quarter One, pulling them back to 2022, Quarter Two. At one point, I did consider covering Chainsaw Man as it aired, but I’d rather not be trying to finish the season over Christmas when I’ll likely have limited time. So, once Christmas is over, I am diving straight in. That’s something to look forward to.
Posts
- 2022
- Author Journey – 42/52 (+1)
- Review Posts – 247/247 (+12)
- Review Pages – 131/131
- Inktober – 5/5
- Specials – 0/2
- 2023
- Quarter One
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 53/78 (-12)
- 14:00 Posts – 29/52 (+6)
- 20:00 Posts – 39/39
- Quarter Two
- Author Journey – 0/13
- 08:00 Posts – 15/78
- 14:00 Posts – 1/52
- 20:00 Posts – 3/39
- Quarter One
Having a number of full seasons reviewed ahead of time allows me to be incredibly flexible. It’s really nice to see it working like that. Feels almost professional!
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 – 4 (+1)
- Words – 4,564 (+1,093)
Just one chapter last week and I’ve explained why. This week, I’m sure I’ll do better.
Final Thoughts
Does it suck losing a full twenty-four hours because of the booster vaccine? Absolutely, but I’ll do it again if needed. It’s far less intrusive than catching the actual virus. Anyhow, I’m excited to get back to work on all fronts and also looking forward to picking up my new manga this week. I may have gone a little overboard, but I think I deserve it… lol!
Anyhow, thanks for reading.
Hey there. It’s been awhile. It’s good to see your writing dreams are on track whilst mine has come to a halt though that depends on my ability to write a series that must be a cautionary tale but not be exploitative at the same time. Yeah, you could say I’m on to a military dystopian story set in a near future where I’m trying to figure out how to write my series and not be compared to another one that had its anime adaptation back in spring 2021 though that series was the reason why this new premise came into my head back then. I just need loads of courage to get my puzzle pieces be placed together and not make it an exploitative one like those true crime dramas.
Nonetheless, I give my sincere wishes that one of your stories will be published soon, and/or you win a category at NaNoWriMo. Till then, take care and stay warm this winter.
Oh! Before I forget, may I suggest one of the most family friendly anime I’ve encountered called Spy X Family Part I; since one anime movie seems to be too long and that you don’t wanna lose track when something important comes up. I definitely would rewatch this series with my future adopted kids (when I’m able to).
Hey, good to hear that you’re still working on something, even if it’s just the preliminary phase. I wouldn’t worry too much about it being compared to something else. That’ll happen whether you want it to or not and often not the thing you thought it would be compared to.
Getting back into writing has been slower than I’d like, but it is coming. I just need to get something finished and get it out there. I think that’ll help push me forward.
I have Spy X Family on my to-watch list, however, that list seems to grow and grow. I do plan on getting to it sooner rather than later, especially as the second part is out now.
Keep me posted on how your writing goes. It’s always nice to hear from you.
Wow, sounds like you had a rough week! Sorry to hear about the nasty re-action to the booster shot, they’re kind of hit or miss aren’t they? Sometimes it’s like nothing and other times the shot can really wallop you! I completely agree, when your week isn’t going well it’s totally a legitimate reason to go on a manga shopping spree!
I feel like there’s never a good reason not to go on a manga shopping spree…
And yeah, I never react to Flu shots, but the COVID ones have been no fun. At least it usually wears off after 24 hours.
Sorry to hear your week didn’t leave you with time to write! I got my fourth COVID shot this week, too, along with my seasonal flu shot. For whatever reason, this one affected me less than the previous three. But I was still tired the next day.
Glad you’re reviewing and enjoying Mieruko-chan! I loved that show. I thought it did a particularly great job showing the supernatural elements.
Hope this week is betterfor you!
Thanks. It was somewhat of a perfect storm, all hitting me at once. Hopefully, this week will be better and I can continue to push on. Desperate to finish a project for the first time in ages.
Yeah, I loved Mieruko-chan. I watched the first episode when it aired and knew that I would want to review it but had a full schedule at that point so put it on hold. So glad I could binge it.