Friday Update: The Updates of Friday

And another week has passed (phew!). The weather is starting to warm, and the sun-! Oh, it feels so good.

Not a lot of words to point to this week, but that’s largely because it was a thinking and retyping week. Goldbug’s naps have (mostly) returned, at least enough for me to get a little work done everyday, and my AWC course–Novel Writing Essentials–has wrapped up, but there’s a little lull until Write Your Novel kicks in, which is kind of nice. I’ve been going all-out for the past couple months. While it’d be really nice to just kick back and write some new stuff or play without trying to get anything specific accomplished, I–of course–have probably been too ambitious about my goals for this two week chunk.

Accomplished This Week:

Lots of thinking. I went through the second half of the novel-in-progress and at least pinned down some of what needs to happen (though by no means, all.) At some point, I really am going to have to sit down and tack everything down so I can leapfrog a bit during the writing, but at least I’ve got the general synopsis written up for class. The first reviews are of the synopsis, I believe, so that may change some things, too.

I also hoped to get a story submitted by today (HAHAHAHAHA!), which didn’t happen with last week’s disruptions and–let’s be honest–it was a bit ambitious as a goal anyway. But I am moving along on the story, retyping it from scratch while cutting everything I can. It’ll need time to cool off, though, before I edit more, and I think I’ll solicit some solid opinions from some writer pals to give me a fresh eye on it before continuing.

Inspiring Me This Week:

The weather! Oh, it’s been lovely the last couple days. I know it won’t last (it’s March in New England, so hahahaha, yeah, winter doesn’t end with the “start of spring” up here), but it’s been a treat to go outside without a coat and just putz in the sunlight.

I’ve also started playing Return of the Obra Dinn, which is kind of a first-person mystery game for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a bit gruesome at times, so finding a way to play it without B-Bug being around has been a bit challenging. Luckily it’s all black and white and usually there’s a bit of warning before something gross pops up, so he knows to look away if he’s passing through while I’m playing.

And just finished Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth about cave-diving, which was fascinating. Really enjoyed it. It’s funny, but caving and cave-diving is such a small community in some ways, that it’s not rare to read books that follow different people who reappear in each other’s memoirs. Kind of fun! I wonder if one could write a sci-fi series that way, as a collection of memoirs and biographies of “the people who were there”… Kind of a cool idea. Hmmm…

For Next Week:

One more week before my next course starts, which really isn’t a lot of time. I think, primarily, I’m going to try to hammer out this third draft of “Earthbound,” and maybe send it to a couple friends to read at their leisure. Then I’m torn.

I’d really like to have the book plotted out before class starts, but then if I change things based on the synopsis review, will that be wasted time? Maybe.

On the other hand, I know I won’t get anything submittable by the end of the week. I could write a new flash story that’s been tugging in my head. I could plunge ahead on a rewrite of a story I’d like to polish up and submit this year, but I may not finish it in time. Or I might. HRMRMRMRMRMRmmmmmmm….

Well, finish Draft 3 of the short story, for sure. After that, I may bang out the flash fiction just to have it done and resting. The other rewrite I might be able to “cheat” on my novel with, when I need a mental break from long-form. One thing’s for sure, I need to make sure I work on short fiction on a somewhat steady basis, even when the novel is taking front-and-center, otherwise I’ll lose my mind.

So there’s that.

^ ^ ^

How’s your week been? Get anything crossed off your to-do list or was mere survival paramount this week? Some weeks are like that. All we can do is hang on and get through it and see what can be salvaged the next week or next month. Hang in there! And I’m always open to book recommendations, so let me know about the coolest book you’ve read recently!