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Slug Friday

Early November had a 50 day writing streak and a feeling that I was on my way to changing the hard-wiring of my brain to become one of those pod people who gets things done in the morning.  Some late work shifts and the holidays undid all of that and here I am, welcoming the morning as a miserable, curmudgeonly bastard.

But, as Janaki said, I know that I can do it and its easier to get back to it rather than start from scratch.

Reading:  Still trudging through Anathem and also picked up from the nightstand This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybriarians can save us all.

Planning: This will be my first normal weekend at home in three weeks, so its going to be about cleaning, resumes and getting my sleep schedule set.  Sexy!

It looks like Apocalypse World will be a go on Saturday, which is nice.

Writing: Started to put red ink on the ole wizard story and seeing places where it needs to be tightened up but I sacrificed the time I’d usually be writing for re-writing, which was a dreadful error.  I need to get on both and when in doubt, just keep writing and re-write later.

And you?

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Crisp, clear, winter Friday

Reading: I got a few fantasy novels out of the library and can’t seem to get into any of them.  I think its time to grab a book off of the shelf that I have been neglecting, maybe Mary Gentle.

Planning: Going to make up a Wednesday work-out tonight and watch the fights on Saturday.  Clean my car, get some resumes out, re-charge my batteries and hit November running.

Writing:  I’ve hit the end of my first outline and need to hash out a second one, get the second third of this thing on paper.

And you?

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Friday, also day 17 of the 5 in the morning writing

Reading: I just finished Choke Hold and will probably pick up Richard K. Morgan’s new one, Cold Commands this weekend some time from the friendly neighborhood book store.

Planning: This weekend is about the things I couldn’t do when I was without a car: food shopping at Wegman’s, cleaning out said car and not related to the car but…more resumes and cover letters out.  I helped my roommate get a cover letter together and it gave me a much needed shot in the arm.

A touch football game is brewing on Sunday and I might just do that too.

Writing: 17 days into writing somewhere between 750 to a thousand words a day and it feels pretty damned good.  This morning I could really feel the pull of the Sleep Devil on my shoulder, telling me to go back to sleep, to write when I got home from work and not worry about it but I got up, brushed my teeth and got to it.

I’ve printed out what I have written so far and started to make notes for the re-write and arranging other unfinished projects for when this one is done.

And you?

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When’s Friday? Wait, what? What day is it?

Reading: I’m still half-heartedly reading Unclean by Robert Lee Byers, which is a Forgotten Realms novel set in Thay but then Christa Faust’s new novel arrived, Choke Hold and its difficult to read anything other than that right now.

Planning: Looking at a packed weekend in NYC.

Writing: Still writing my thing.  This morning I got out of bed, did my old thing of re-setting the alarm and lying to myself, saying that I’d wake up later and do it or write after work and got back into bed, where I sat there for a few minutes, got motivated, got up and did the writing.  Go me.

The most important thing I can do most nights is have some kind of outline so when I wake up I have an attack plan.

It is getting towards time to print this thing out and start putting a first round of red ink on it.  Characters’ names have changed and other tidbits are all a big mess but its a mess that is down in a word doc, rather than notes or another world rattling around in my head.

And you?

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The sun’s not up but the calendar says its Friday

Reading: I’m going back and forth between King’s Gold by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Unclean by Richard Lee Buyers and Untold Adventures, an anthology of D&D short stories.

King’s Gold is fun but I have this tendency to put the book down and not pick it up again for a while and its happening again.  Its odd because I really love the Captain Alatriste novels.  I wish I had some time on a beach somewhere so that I could just read them all in one delicious, swashbuckling sitting.

Unclean is a Forgotten Realms novel set in Thay and so far its not bad but there is no gnoll character yet and that makes me sad.

Untold Adventures is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore while I waited for Janaki to arrive in town.  I told myself that I’d read two stories of my own choosing and if they were good, I’d buy the book.  The first two were good, especially Jay Lake’s story, The Decaying Mansions of Memory, which concerned my favorite D&D artifact.  That artifact is a blog-post-a-comin’, I think.

Planning: Edgar vs. Maynard III this Saturday.  Hell yes.  Edgar/Maynard II is probably the best sporting event I’ve ever witnessed.  I can’t wait to see them fight for the belt again.

Writing: Here’s what I’ve been doing.  I wake up at five in the morning and write until I have a thousand words.  Its non-negotiable.  I can’t snooze until six in the morning.  I can’t make up the words later.  I wake up at five, dammit.  First thing in the morning I become a whining baby, looking for a plea bargain, looking to cut any deal that will get my back under the covers.  It feels great to write but I don’t want to talk about what it is specifically just yet.

Alexander has been meeting me via G+ Hangouts so we both log in, grunt a good-morning, wish each other luck and silently write.  Its really cool to know that if I punk out, Alexander will be tut-tutting me in NYC.

I’m inspired by Storn A. Cook and Aaron Kuder.  They draw every damned day.  Ask them when the last time they can remember when they didn’t do their thing.  They probably won’t be able to remember a day when they didn’t get some art done.  Also, Janaki told me about something she read by Octavia Butler about writing, about how she’d wake up every morning before work and write; that was a big inspiration.  I remember kvetching to Bret about not writing and he’d say, “So go write…”

The Ballad of Hal Whitewyrm is really hitting its stride.  This third chapter was really cool and had some of my favorite GMing and favorite writing moments so far.  Check it out.  And you can leave a comment over here if you care to.

And you?

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And by Friday, the mess made that week was almost tidied up.

Reading: I finished the second book of the Black Company trilogy and I’m on to the next Captain Alatriste novel, The King’s Gold.  At some point, maybe on a vacation of some sort, I’m going to have to go back and re-read all of the Alatriste novels again.

Planning: A nice weekend with the lady-friend.  Janelle Monae this Sunday!

Writing: Getting into a writing groove on a 3 chapter submission for somethin’.

And you?

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Not-a-student Friday

I had this moment of palpable horror when I saw how many weeks the students were into the semester and I realized I had not done any work for my classes, only to come to fully realize that I am not in school anymore.

*sigh of relief*

Reading: I’m on to the second book of the Black Company and its good fun.  Its really a funky noir novel in sword drag but I can live with that.

Planning: AW tonight and seeing my lady-friend this weekend.

Writing/Creating: Hammering on my resume and cover letter after a trusted advisor gave me some solid feedback.

And you?

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Cool, crisp, mug of Friday

Reading: I just finished the second book in the Hunger Games series and want a break before I head into the third.  Picked up R.A. Salvatore’s Orc King on a whim at a friend’s house and I’m giving it a go but I’m not sold on it.  I’ll give it another fifty pages to grab me or shove me away.

Planning: Looks like I’ll get to move into my new room this weekend, which is nice and we’re playing some Apocalypse World for the first time in a while.  I have to write up their letters to jumpstart the Five Years Later timeline jump.

Writing: Cover letters and play-by-post stuff with Daniel but nothing else this week but I can feel the writing finger muscles limbering up from the regular writing routine, which is nice.

And you?

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Friday on 8 hours of sleep

Last night was the first night this week I got a solid 8 hours of sleep.  Feels great.

Reading: I’m reading a few books on neanderthals and getting through Burning Wheel Gold.  Should neanderthal be capitalized?  I have a story idea and want to see if reading up on them will help flesh it all out.

Planning:  I’m off to visit family in the Green Mountains.  Looking forward to it.

Writing: Resumes and cover letters, still not finding the discipline, time nor energy for anything else at the moment.

And you?