Full-time Work, Virtual NECON, and no Sleep

Writer’s Journal Update 12-18 July 2021

The title says it all… my co-worker went on vacation and this would have been the week I was away on my own vacation as well. But this year NECON was a wholly virtual event, which was lovely, as I wouldn’t have been able to attend.

What does that all mean with my writing and this journal/blog?

Well, believe it or not, I still have a great word count and managed to get some work done. I just didn’t get it done in the last half of the week. Despite going to work an hour early each day… I just never managed to write anything after Tuesday.

The Word Count

With only two writing sessions under my belt this week I finished my new chapter 8, revised chap 9, and started chap 10. In total it was only 5189 words, whereas I normally aim for at least 6000 a week. But that 6000 is usually over 3 sessions. So, I feel like I did good.

And how we feel while we write is part of what it is all about. The only way to get past imposter syndrome, or to feel like a “real writer” is to write. And feel like you’re working, writing, making progress. IF your word count is never growing, if your notes are scattered, etc. it can feel like you’re doing nothing. Even if you’re thinking of scenes, writing in your head., thinking about the story. These are all “writing” but they leave no evidence. You have nothing to show for all these thinking sessions. Unless you have a word count, or new note.

What’s Happening and Where am I going?

I haven’t talked much about this novel, other than in some of the very first posts at the beginning of this year in the Thesis Diary tab. I might as well refresh some of that information here. This book is told through 6 PoVs, but for the most part it’s in 4 groups/storylines.

Basically, you have 2 povs in group A, 2 povs in group B, and then I have two povs from the “villainous side,” but are they villains? The novel is currently patterned as POV1A, Pov3B, POV5, POV2A, POV4B, POV6 and I just keep cycling through a pattern like that.

At this point in the narrative, all of the characters have been introduced and started on their journeys. All but one of the povs are heading to the same location, via different paths. The first half of the novel is plotted to end with 5 of the povs all in the same room and everything going off in different directions after that.

The action is starting to ramp up in the book as well. I’m super excited to get back into it. Just as soon as my co-worker returns and Necon ends.

Virtual NECON

Necon is my number one conference/convention… I don’t know what to call it because really it just feels like a family reunion every year. Seeing my friends, even just on discord and zoom and other virtual platforms has been the loveliest of experiences. It is bittersweet and makes me look forward to next year’s con.

If you don’t know about NECON, it is a convention for New England Horror Writers, and it has a very long history. It is a small affair, 200 “campers” that all gather and mingle. I’ll place a link HERE and you can go check it out.

PODCAST

Episode 4 went live. We talk about how we got into gaming in the first place. It’s a good episode. Links are in the side bar to spotify and Itunes. I’m really excited with how things are going with the podcast and we’ve started to get some good feedback. We also have twitter and instagrams for the podcast if you want to stay informed with what is happening.

Gaming, Comics, and other Fun!

So, I haven’t painted for pleasure in a while.

I haven’t worked on the Call of Cthulhu game for months, so that is kind of dying on the vine. But I hope to get back to it.

My twice a week D&D games are going great. Both are new games, one on game 8 and one on game 2, the characters are coming to together and the foundations of stories are being laid out. I’m still planning on doing a series of posts here on the site telling the stories of these characters. I just haven’t worked out the details, and also, I want to make sure I have enough material banked before I start.

Don’t want a repeat of the Curse of Strahd problem. Where the monthly game is too slow to allow me to constantly update that story.

On a side note, I got to play Mork Borg on discord with some of my writer friends. That was exceptional fun.

Outro

Ok… I’m still tired from too much work, and staying up late on discord with my friends. I will end here and we’ll talk next week about Strahd, Gaming, Writing, and other such.