Category: Just Life

Updates October 31-November 04

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

There is not much to report for last week. The work/life balance has been a struggle again. My dad’s health has steadily improved. Which is great. Over the weekend, I felt kind of unmotivated. Then I realized this or something similar has been written before.  There are times when I push through and force myself to do things, but this time I didn’t. I slept, read some manhwas, and mangas, then watched a few Terminator movies, 2, 3, and 4.  It was just two days and very soon November will be here.  There are a lot of projects planned for this time. Taking some time off seemed like a better method than enduring.   It was a relief and unsettling to let myself do nothing.  This mini-reset will help me face the new challenges, I have set for myself.

The goals for this week are to write, and update on the National Novel Writing Month site, I want to get as many badges as I can.  I have not registered yet but plan to today.  The working title for the nano writing project is called Makers and Mages.  It is an alternate world set in the far future.  There is a political marriage between a mage princess and an elf prince.  My elves are going to be similar to Tolkien elves in name only because JRR Tolkien was good at naming things and characters. There are going to be characters with names ending in -el, -ir, -en, ien, -las, and wyn. I won’t use any name made popular by the legendarium.  I do remember writing that I would elaborate on it more, but life got in the way.  Something else was added to my task list. Yay.  Since I’ve been preparing for November.  I paused on writing Connection Lost.  I feel bad that I put it aside despite pushing through and writing that scene. In my head, I have been thinking about what to do next but haven’t found what I am looking for to extend the story.  I know what I want to happen, but I also want it to be seamless.  I understand that it can be fixed in revisions.  That will be my mantra for Makers.  With Connection Lost it is a little different, I can’t tell you why it just is. 

The manhwas-Korean comics and mangas- Japanese comics are interesting. Some were bootleg and NSFW, their titles are slipping out of my mind now. However, although they were labeled as R or X content, I found that most of the stories were plausible.  They were no different from what I have read in romance or erotica novels.  I tend to look for stories in the Josei category.  I read somewhere that Josei is in the Japanese adult woman category.  Many of these stories deal with the lives and loves of modern women. Some do have a fantasy or supernatural aspect, but I haven’t read a memorable story in a while.  This is something that may need more time before I elaborate on it. 

That is all for now. I hope these words find you all doing well. Remember to be open to new opportunities and to always be kind.

End.

Update October 10-14

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows. 

Last week there was no update, my dad was back in the hospital. The week before was a hit and a miss.  I got some things done but not enough to feel productive.  Fortunately, my dad only spent a few days in the hospital and was discharged before the end of the week.  He is feeling better.  The health problem is still an issue, but it is managed for now.   Some of you might be aware that updates generally post on Mondays, at 10am.  However, for the last 4 weeks, they posted later in the day, on Tuesday, or not at all.  This entry is a mashup of what was written last week and now.   The reasons vary, with my non-writing life taking precedence over my writing life.  It is important and there is no such thing as infinite energy.  I don’t think of these odd feelings as burnout. I just call it a type of fatigue.  There is no foolproof method to get over it just something that has to be coasted through.

I wrote a paragraph on Connection Lost and decided to rewrite the first part of Dark Science Manifesto.  There is another short story in development, not ready to be written up yet.  It doesn’t even have an outline that I like.

I started to read and listen to the Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope.  I think she is rebranding and using her first and middle name now. She is the author of the Earthsinger chronicles and Savage City.  Those books were published under the name L. Penelope.  Not much of a difference until you start looking for a book under the wrong name.   I enjoyed reading the book. I kept expecting wicked envy to enter my mind, but I liked the story and the world too much.  The narrator Shayna Small has a beautiful voice with a wide range of characters’ voices.  I will be looking her up in Audible as well.

The other book I am looking forward to listening to and reading is My Brother’s Forbidden Friend by Piper Rayne.  This might be the last full book of the Greene family.   Plans were made to write a review of the whole series.  The reasons I say this might be because there is another young Greene, and the authors have been hinting at the future romance between him and a young Bailey.  Throughout this series and the other, readers have watched these two characters grow up. Entanglements and feelings are hinted but nothing is concrete.  I don’t know what other fans are doing but I wouldn’t be surprised, if these adults have a romance, after college of course.

The book was good. It gave me a strange sense of accomplishment having them all in audiobook form.  As expected, the other couple will be the first of the third series of romances in Alaska.  It has me wondering if the author lives there. 

Preptober is not going as well as I would have liked in the previous week.  I have watched a few other Preptober videos.  Many of the suggestions are valid ones and I know that some or none are what I need for my story.  I’m still looking at them and thinking this may improve my stories. Then my lazy gene kicks in and the idea of creating a perfect copy with little or no revisions appears like a glittering dream in my head.  I know it is impossible but something I still want.   This week there was some improvement but that didn’t happen until my dad came home.  I heard from another author, I can’t recall his name, but he said that when writing in multiple POVs he uses different colors for his characters.   Sarra Cannon also does this as well, and I have decided to do this for the Nanowrimo project.  I also printed my preptober planner in an A5 format.  The font may be smaller, but I still like using it. 

Still watching Rings of Power, I rewatched episode 4 and got caught up to episode 6.  Waiting for episode 8 to watch 7 & 8 together.  Turned out that my irritation level had risen higher than I wanted, so using the distance method.  I thought I would look at YT commentators discussing the story, but that thrill has also gone.  So many of them just want to poke it with a stick.  Then there are the hate videos, claiming fans or the original creator are being disrespected.  It is like everyone forgot a golden rule, “you got to give respect, to get respect.”  I have only seen two commentators who were objectively discussing Rings of Power, for what it is, a fictional story.  I am sure there are more people but those are the ones I follow regularly.  They are not giving it gold stars nor lighting it on fire either or worse comparing it to House of Dragon.  I have no words about House of Dragon because I am not watching it.  I have watched videos about it and the book it is based on.  The story has never inspired me to watch it.  That doesn’t mean it is not good.  I will say this the best thing I liked about Game of Thrones was the opening title song.

I pay attention to Rings of Power and other content about it because I am working on a story that involves elves. Next week I will write about it because that will be the week before NaNoWriMo starts.  Maybe by then I will have watched episodes 7 &8 and have more to write about it. 

That is all for now.  I am wishing you all the best of health.  Remember to please be kind to one another. 

End.