Yesterday ended up being a bit of an unexpectedly long day! I had a job interview and scheduled a few more, and then went on a job shadow in the evening and didn't get home until late and was quite exhausted, so I didn't end up getting to the day note I had planned to write up.
I'm also probably going to be returning to work in a week despite my arm still being touchy. So the next few months are going to be very interesting trying to juggle everything. It might mean my writing needs to take more of a backseat while I ensure I have job stuff sorted, but at the very least I'll be sticking to my usual hour of writing time in the early morning.
This is another reason I prefer to write to sprints and time instead of word count. My schedule is usually fairly busy and trying to write to word counts on top of everything would ensure I melt down quickly.
FOCUS: My focus for the foreseeable future is STORMFORKS. I need to get this draft in shape. The first draft is all over the place, and I'm considering rewriting a good chunk of it. So I'm currently trying to outline the changes I think I'll need (though I am running around in circles a bit here with this, and have been for awhile).
Considering a heavier rewrite has helped though. I think the characters and world here are good, but the narrative structure isn't quite right. This book is ambitious with the world and characters, so I'm definitely stretching my skills in a way that is intriguing but equally frustrating at times. I'm confident this book is going to be a banger once it's not a bunch of sand in my hands.
PROCESS & SUCH: I'm using a combination of Scrivener and Obsidian to create an outline of sorts of the big things I know I want in this next draft.
I'm not typically an outliner - more of a discovery writer. But I really think some sort of outline is going to help with this draft. I also want to make sure this world makes sense because a lot gets weird, fast.
WATCHING: Last night I watched The Nice Guys. It was pretty good, but I did end up falling asleep for about half of it because I was so tired, RIP. Considering rewatching it tonight.
LISTENING: I found the most STORMFORKS song ever this morning, thanks to Tidal. The song is Who Laughs Last by Lord Huron, featuring Kristen Stewart. Immediately added to my playlist. Also, if the book had a theme song it would be this.
READING: Coming off my book hangover from THE POET EMPRESS, I decided to pick up THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Bookshop, Kobo, Amazon, Waterstones) which has been on my to be read list for quite some time. I'm only about a chapter in but so far digging the SCP Foundation vibes.
LINK: This bsky post about Takashi Miike talking about creation. I feel like this is how I tend to approach stories as well...there's something I am trying to figure out, and I need a whole book to talk about it.
UP NEXT: My goal is to get this outline figured out by tomorrow. Or at least a good portion of it, so that I can start drafting the second draft in earnest. I don't want to get stuck spinning my wheels here.