A theme emerged from the shambles that was July. The universe hit me with notes about “showing up” and “the first five minutes.” A zen monk might have contributed.

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
At long last, I’m within a few words of the end of this initial draft. I’ve written more this month than I have in the previous year and it feels great.

Everything Else
Back seat on all of it. I know there are things that need doing to clear up old issues but getting the Cat off my desk has my sole focus.

What Am I Reading?

Looking back at my content library, I apparently read a lot of less than engaging samples. The book(s) I can recommend this month are the continuation of Sarah J. Hoodlet’s Way of the Wielder series. I recommended book 1 in last September’s post. Books 2 and 3 have come out since then and I just caught up with the story and it’s just as good, possibly better, than I remember.

It’s fantasy with a unique magic system and some extensive universe building. Each member of the cast of characters each brings their own contribution to the tale. It’s a story I loved spending time with and enjoyed every moment.

Some notes: The series gets a little racier (what the kids call “spicy” these days) as it goes on. Very tastefully done. There’s a hint that there might be a new series in the final chapter. It’s not exactly a cliff-hanger but very much a story thread that could grow into something in the future.

I really liked this series, but – as always – don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample and see what you think.

About the Newsletter
I publish a newsletter every month on the 15th. You don’t need to subscribe to get the mid-month update. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

Something about August seemed to snap everything into focus in the middle of the first week. The “better place” I mentioned in last month’s post bore some fruit.

First, I decided to give up the idea of walking every day. I was failing at it regularly so I re-calibrated my expectations to be a 40 mile month. That’s just two out of three days. Surely, I could do that. The month became a series of 1, 2, and 3 days. Take the date, divide by 3. If the result is zero, no walking. Otherwise, walk.

Seems silly but it worked. I walked 42 miles last month.

Second, along with the walking came the mental and physical health boosts of getting up and moving first thing in the morning. This fed directly into my writing time and yielded major dividends. With almost 50k new words, the story got through the mushy middle and pushed through to what I think is going to be a satisfying ending for book 2 (wink, wink).

It’s still going to be weeks before I get this through the editing and publishing process. I’ve learned not to predict this stuff. Still, this first complete manuscript is the key milestone toward releasing the Wizard’s Cat into the wild.

I thought a lot about “showing up” and the importance of applying it. Early in the month I was reminded of the importance of sticking through the first five minutes. Those first five minutes always suck. For months, getting through them had been problematic. Sure, a few days I could get some words down. Some days it felt like I turned a corner only to run into a brick wall by the end of the week.

The walking helped all that. So did playing games. So did the Bradbury advice: Don’t Think.

So I showed up, threw away all my word sprints and gamification and planned interruptions, and just wrote for an hour at a time. Yes, I timed it so I would take a break and walk around a little between sessions.

And thanks to the Paul Loomans book, I’ve Got Time, I discovered that relying on intuition actually helped. By doing less scheduling, simpler planning, and working on kairos rather than chronos¹ time my ADHD became much less of an obstacle.

Will this new found energy stick around as the weather turns cooler? I hope so. Racing the sunrise to walk before the day heated up gave me a non-negotiable starting point for the day. Throwing out the “streak” mentality by enforcing a regular reset helped a great deal. Having the 40 mile goal gave me an achievable milestone to shoot for without having to be “perfect” to get there.

Most of all, the satisfaction of finally seeing this story come together, however flawed it is at the moment, has put new wind in my ancient sails.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Until next month, safe voyage.

1. Ancient Greeks Had Two Words For Time

July started so well but summer beat me down.

Status

The Wizards Cat
It’s still open on my desktop. I look at it but I’ve not managed to move the needle much. I blame the summer doldrums. It’s as good an excuse as any.

Everything Else
No change. I’ll eventually get back to SF. Someday we’ll get the Tanyth audiobooks squared away. I have zero idea when

What Am I Reading?

I’m still ruminating on the Looman’s book. There are seven lessons and I’ve yet to manage all seven. In spite of that I’ve been reading up a storm, mostly grinding through fantasy and litRPG series.

My recommendation for the month is BR Kingsolver’s Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar series. I’m kind of a sucker for underdog-makes-good stories and Kingsolver’s Erin McLane filled the bill for me. Great, very flawed main character trying to make up for the damage she’s done while healing from the damage done to her. Terrific supporting cast including the bar owner, Sam O’Grady, and a host of others. I even liked the vampires a little.

Quite violent. Lots of fights and people getting swords stuck in them various ways. Most of them deserved it. I still enjoyed it.

But, as always, don’t take my word for it. Maybe grab a sample of book 1, Shadow Hunter, and see what you think.

About the Newsletter
I publish a newsletter every month on the 15th. You don’t need to subscribe to get the mid-month update. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

The household got turned upside-down mid-month when one of the kids got an apartment and moved out. It’s a great place. Perfect starter in a nice neighborhood. Small and a “walk-down” but in this climate, that means buffered from the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It left a hole in our well-ordered household and we’re all catching up from the change.

I expect the hot weather will continue putting a damper on my morning walk, which makes my mental health – not to mention my physical health – suffer. I’ll get it back together. Eventually.

I’m still planning on finishing this book. Eventually. Certainly before I try to write anything else.

For what it’s worth, I feel like I’m in a better place now. I just need that place to include a recalcitrant cat.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N

I’m getting the mojo back. It’s a slow process but it is a process and it’s working.

Status

The Wizards Cat
The story grows a little bit almost every day. I’m still looking for the spark that turns my little candle into a bonfire but the fact that I’ve kept it growing most of the month keeps me coming back to it.

Everything Else
All the long form fiction stuff – more science fiction, more fantasy, different formats (notably the audiobooks for Tanyth), are all on hiatus. Virtually frozen in storage against the time when I can think about them again. Not my wish, but a simple recognition that I’ve gotten very limited in my ability to process multiple projects with any kind of reliability.

What Am I Reading?

I ripped through Eric Ugland’s “The Good Guys” series. Fifteen volumes in a couple of weeks. LitRPG and highly recommended but that niche is an acquired taste that many of you don’t share.

More pertinent, I also read the first three volumes of J J Green’s Space Colony One series. I picked them up as a virtual boxed set and plowed through them in about 4 days. The story concerns what happens when a generational starship finally makes landfall on a habitable planet after six generations in space, the successes and failures. Balancing on a genetic knife edge as they struggle to maintain a viable gene pool.

It starts very slow. Some of the characters get little more than a sketch. A couple are as cardboard as Leon Rosset. It’s slow enough I was tempted to DNF, but I’m glad I went through to the end of volume 3, and not just because I’m cheap and already owned it.

I felt like Green’s storytelling picked up as the series continued. The plot’s careful weaving in the first book became more engaging the deeper I got into the story. Ethan and Cariad, the two main characters, took on more depth. I became more invested in the story as I went along and will be going back to pick up volumes 4-6 when I get a chance.

But don’t take my word for it. I’d suggest you grab a sample but the box set is free as of this writing. Maybe check it out for yourself.

About the Newsletter
I’m still publishing it on the 15th of the month. You don’t need to subscribe to get a mid-month update from me. You can find them archived on my newsletter’s public page at Kit.

Looking Forward

I know I say this every month but the story really is coming along. I’m closing in on the halfway mark, finally. I’m not sure how the story ends, but I have a feel for where it’s going and how it might get there. I just need the energy to get it done.

Perhaps more important, I’m feeling better than I have in, well, years. I’m still not 100%. Maybe this is my new 100%, I don’t know. I’m more optimistic about this story than I have been in a while. All I can do is keep plugging away.

Eventually, it’ll get there and we can all move on to something else.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N