Writing Update: 07-03-25 (Patreon)

Change: +6,686

Year to Date: 51,288

Hey, fifty thousand words by the first week of March ain't bad, is it?

Still, it's been a bit of a rough week, to be honest. Felt pretty down for the first half of the week--tired, and a little despondant about the writing. For those who've been along for awhile, there's nothing new here: I go through regular dips in enthusiasm. Unlike previous down-cycles, this time there wasn't much struggle to keep writing. The word count for the week doesn't reflect the actual work put in, as several thousand words were also trimmed from my working document--fragments, notes, extracts that didn't make the cut. I'm still enjoying the writing, and the story itself. I've enjoyed exploring the relationship between these characters and letting them have a little fun themselves for a change. I've really enjoyed building out Michael Connor, and his daughter, Lily; and creating a happier space for David/Cindy before it all goes to shit.

Still, there's always somethng a little discouraging about putting your work out there and realizing it's barely being read: few comments, low read count, and it's hard not to think, what's the point?

This is just rehashing old complaints, so I won't waste further pixels on it. I know the point, I know why I'm writing this. Mostly, I was just tired--work's especially demanding right now--and once I got over the mid-week hump, my attitude improved. It did have me thinking about how the genre has shifted over time, though, and the websites that carry this stuff. There's a whole separate ramble to be written about how Fictionmania's changed over the years, and the sort of content now getting published, how readers' interests appear to have changed.

Meanwhile, the Christmas arc of chapters is done! Or pretty much done. It needs an edit and quite a bit of trimming. Also, the conclusion's waiting on me finishing the old chapter 6. The encounter with Darius informs this whole arc, and until that's done, these seasonal chapters can't be finalised. So, that's the next writing target: returning to where I left off chapter 6 at the end of December, finishing it off, and writing out the connective tissue linking it to these recent chapters.

Then, I'll be taking a little break to write something else, a story about a guy called Kieran and how he gets tricked into dresses. Even have some lovely artwork by Fraylim to go along with it.

Next Week: 

Monday: Christmas Story, part 2 for all members.

Wednesday: either the finale to the Christmas Story, or a sneak peek at it - depends how the editing goes.

Thursday: some fanart by Fraylim, a peek at this Kieran guy.

... I might take the week off of writing next week. This won't affect what gets published, but if I'm feeling worn down, it's probably a sign to take a short break. More to the point, work -really- sucks right now, it's a bit of a crunch period and I really need to focus on that, and catch up on the piles of accumulated work. Or, as it goes in the story:

***

            Later, we sit together in the kitchen. “It’s Monday tomorrow.”

            He winces. “I know.”

            “I’ve got work.”

            “It’s the 29th, you could—take a few days off—until the new year…”

            “You can,” I say. “I can’t, I don’t get paid if I’m not in the office.”

***

... I should probably put a bit more effort into the thing that actually pays the bills.