Storms, Side Hustles, and Gaming

Update 34 24-30 Jan. 2022

The title is kind of giving it away. I didn’t mention writing, though a little did get done.

I seem to be in a swing pattern. I do a light week with maybe 2-3k words and then I follow up with 3 sessions and 6+k as I feel guilty.

So, last week I did a lot of words, and now this week much less.

Let’s get to it.

Words

I finished chapter 33 with an extra 2950 words. I keep saying I’m going to aim for shorter and quicker chapters for the final third of the book, but I seem to generate lots of words. I’m averaging over 4k per chapter still through the whole of the book.

The manuscript sits at 148,741. If I continue with an average of 4k per chapter, the book is going to come in close to 220k total. I still feel like I’m rushing some things and that I have so many characters who barely get a chance to shine at that number. I’m rethinking some of the later books to cut some of the cast to much smaller groups. And the main group that moves through all of the novels in the series is going to get cut into two smaller groups as well.

My main cast is already seven characters and I was planning on adding two more to that group at the end of this novel. But I might make it three so that the party is ten members and then I will cut it into two smaller groups.

I’m just spit-balling here, I haven’t thought this through yet.

I’m writing this blog right after shoveling my driveway, so my hands are sore and shaking… I feel like crap and my back wants to lie down on a heating pad. Getting old sucks people, and I’m still fairly young.

Storms

One of our titles, we got hammered with snow and winds yesterday and I just bunkered down. And now you’re saying… “If you were stuck home all day, why didn’t you use that time to write a whole new chapter?”

And I will counter with, my work was closed, so that was a day of lost wages. As such, I used the day to work on my side hustle. I don’t make money as a writer yet (at least not enough to pay any bills with reliability). Yesterday was spent watching the snow coming down and feeling the wind slamming into the side of my house. I painted all day, filed my taxes, and cooked some amazing egg fried rice.

Could I have still squeezed some writing into there? Probably. But look… if you’re reading this, you’re either a friend of mine trying to get me views, or you’re a writer who enjoys watching my struggle, in either case, you understand that the life of a writer is often filled with procrastination. We feel bad when write, and when we don’t. It’s a constant fight.

I used the storm to start a new Korean Drama, paint, make some money, and relax. Today I dug out the driveway, wrote this blog, and I will try to get in a write session to get a jump on the week.

Gaming

So, my monthly Curse of Strahd game finally met up again after nearly three months. It was good to be with my friends (if only online) but I will admit that I’ve lost a little of who my character was originally meant to be.

On the flip side of things my Saturday night group has decided to go back to split gaming. Before the pandemic we used to rotate DMs, doing two weeks of one game, and then two weeks of a different game. We’re going back to that and it looks like I might be getting into a second Curse of Strahd game. But this DM is talking about combining elements from the previous editions of the adventures, all the back to the original Castle Ravenloft, and possibly working in elements from the other realms.

I haven’t taken the time to think of a character or anything, as this game is happening in another month or so. I did have an idea for a visual… playing a gravedigger with a shovel as a main weapon. Kind of a cross between Caretaker, a grave-robber, and Igor. (That’s comics and movies for references).

I have a feeling that one of the players will go full dark side in this game… probably playing a dhampir that is one of Strahd’s bastards as his character. As such, I need to play something equally crazy.

But I Digress…

I never know if gaming talk entertains.

I still need to get my desktop computer fixed so that I can get my query letters back on track and get back to work on that. Anyway… breakfast is on… Be well. Thanks for reading.