December 2024 News

Happy December. Quick update for ya.

Writing

I mentioned last month I’d finished draft 0 of V&V2 at about 100k words. Once that was smashed I further ironed out the master plot (without which I’d be lost). With master plot in hand, I began draft P (for Penultimate) on November 19th.

I’m not daft enough to think I’ve perfected my writing method but by Imala it’s going really well. I’m writing at a faster pace than I ever have. Since the 19th I’ve written 20,000 words, or about 1/10th of the estimated final book. This rate should have draft P finished early 2025, after which the final draft will happen. The only problem with averaging over 3k words a day (all in about 4 hours) is that it was destroying my wrist. I had to modify the desk and make some wrist/arm space. What I’ve come up with is more like the desk I used while writing V&V. 

Like most things I build, aesthetics weren’t a factor. This is made of spare trim, piano keys, and random screws.

Now I have arm-space for days.

Between me and you, I’m a bit nervous about the final draft. That’s the one where each character’s voice emerges and every bland, lifeless, sentence is meticulated into something more. But what if I’ve lost it? I wrote some clever shit in V&V. If you don’t believe me, go look. What if I can’t turn a phrase any more?

Luckily these are not today’s concerns. Today I write Tivali’s scenes.

I’ll tell you this for free: I’d forgotten the emotional toll of drafting. I knew I get ill if I’m not progressing a story. I’d forgotten that immersing myself in an emotional scene can leave me drained. I’d also forgotten that writing this much can result in me having a hard time pulling my mind out of that world. It probably makes me weirder than I already am. Oh well. Tis the price I suppose.

Podcast

Changes are afoot in the beard territory. New channel. Slight changes to the hosts (- Matt, + Charlie). The benefit is a considerably more regular schedule. We had a D&D sesh on Friday with a guest - HL Tinsley - who was an absolute natural and had possibly the best character right out of the gate. She’s an author as well, and a gamer. Here’s a pic and here’s a link to YouTube if you want some post-apocalyptic role-playing.

Next month

Next month is 2025. I hope your holiday season is great or at least tolerable. I’ll see you next year.

dtl