We’ve moved into summer, officially. The period where we celebrate days when the temp only reaches 90F. Yet there’s some encouraging news this month.

Status

The Wizards Cat
The sprints didn’t last long, but something else happened. I just started writing spontaneously. Keeping the file open on the desktop. Yesterday I wrote for about an hour before I realized what I was doing. Felt good. Natural. Like maybe … no. I won’t jinx it.

Everything Else
Still on hold. I’ve had glimmers of Ishmael and Zoya stories peeking out around the edges. It will be good to get back together with them eventually.

What Am I Reading?

The most significant reading has been Paul Loomans’s I’ve Got Time. It’s not a book I’d recommend for entertainment but it has really helped me rebuilding my practice. It’s working (as evidenced by the recent writing) but it will take some (pardon the expression) time.

Book of the month? I spent a lot of time with Cássio Ferreira’s Hidden Class: Handyman series. It hit all the right buttons for me with a doofus turning his life around by playing in virtual reality. Fun, occasionally funny. A bit silly at times but I enjoyed the first three volumes.

It might not be your cup of joe, but maybe grab a sample and give it a try. You might like it.

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

Reading the Loomans book has helped me re-organize my daily routine by making it less about “getting things done” and more about “letting things happen.” Like the writing. Letting it happen instead of making a production of it.

I might have been over-thinking it. Trying to hard to make it happen. Loomans has me rethinking the way I organize everything. I’ve shuffled my morning around to minimize the distractions. Making the first couple of hours of the day flow comfortably instead of rushing, pushing to get things done as soon as possible so I can do whatever. The things I want to get done, get done. I still have my checklist but it’s a safety belt against ADHD instead of a rigid set of commands.

I feel like I can breathe again after much too long.

Will it work for awhile? Probably. I’m still working through the 7 lessons.

Will it last? Time will tell.

Until next month, crew, safe voyage.

– N

May didn’t go well, in spite of a reasonably good start. Too much going on beyond my control.

Status

The Wizards Cat
I’ve started word sprints again. They’re one of the best tools I have for getting things flowing. Mostly in fits and starts but it’s more start than fit. Fingers crossed for the rest of the month

Everything Else
Still virtually frozen in storage. I have no idea what project I’ll take on after this Cat starts prowling, but everything will be on the table again.

What Am I Reading?

I stumbled on some early Michael Chatfield a couple of weeks ago. His Emerilia series whet my appetite for litRPG after getting started with Matt Dinniman’s Dominion of Blades. I’ve been through a couple of his other litRPG series but finding an early space opera made my month.

The Recruitment Rise of the Free Fleet, book 1 of the Free Fleet series, starts when Earth gets invaded by alien slavers, capturing our hero, James Cook and his merry band of top tier video gamers on the cusp of their championship game. The story and universe unfolds, step by step, as Cook and his fellow slaves become trained up as cannon fodder for their captors, a group calling themselves the Planetary Defense Force.

This series is straight up Big Guns and Bigger Ships military/space opera in a sprawling universe. Much war. Many set backs. Ships cracked, broken, boarded, and exploded.

If you can handle the warfare, you might like this series as much as I do.

Maybe grab a sample and see what you think.

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

Slow progress is still progress. I keep looking for that spark that has me fighting to get back to the keyboard and push the story ahead. So far, each spark has fizzled. I’m still writing something every day. Sometimes not much more than a few hundred words but they count. The word sprints show improvement, albeit irregular, but I’ll take it.

I’m my own biggest obstacle these days, but with some help from my friends and the support of people like you, I think there might still be a chance I can finish this book before I kick the bucket.

Fingers crossed.

Until next month, safe voyage.

-N

The new year begins with Big New Year Energy. It’ll probably fizzle by tomorrow before I hurt myself.

Status

The Wizard’s Cat
Still not where I want it to be. December showed me the way forward. It’s on me to follow that path. I’m cautiously optimistic.

Everything Else
Solar Clipper and Tanyth Fairport remain as they were. Look for the Solar Clipper Diary to disappear by month end as I pull the content I want to keep into here as pages. That site has just been a spam magnet and hacker target for far too long.

What Am I Reading?

I’m between books, working through my sample pile, but I just finished Jamie McFarlane’s The Oldest Starfighter and really liked it.

Fair warning: It’s straight up pew-pew, underdog military, beat-the-evil-invader while losing friends and lovers along the way with a healthy helping of “Are You Trying To Lose This War?!” thrown in. Honestly, it’s the curmudgeonly old MC who’s given a new lease on life (and some questionable choices) that drew me in.

I’ve read McFarlane’s work before (his Junkyard Pirate series) and liked the writing but didn’t like getting novellas when I expected novels. I’m hoping he doesn’t do that with this series.

Feel like taking a chance on a new series? Maybe grab a sample and see if you like it.

About the Newsletter
I’m still publishing it on the 15th of the month. They’re not all getting delivered but 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.

Looking Forward

I’m adopting a new word of the year – Practice. I want to develop a mindful practice where I have the head space to continue what has been, in hindsight, a year of recovery. I like the layered meanings that “practice” brings. I want to develop a structure that allows me to practice writing and publishing again. One that allows for experimentation and flexibility. Yes, for failure as well.

I’ve just finished my second year of writing a haiku a day and that practice has taught me a lot about how “doing the thing” with intent while accepting that every day isn’t going to be a great one. Sometimes it’s not even a good one. The point is the doing. It’s putting in the practice. It’s seeing what develops over time.

Thanks for being with me on the path of discovery that started so long ago and yet continues.

Until next month, safe voyage

-N