It’s day 99 of lock-down, and while some parts of the world are attempting to get back to usual, and with more openings planned over the month of July, I’ll be staying in, punching the keys, getting Projects X and XII finished.
I’ve decided to increase my work-rate to 4x1000 word writing blocks six days a week, with Thursday afternoon devoted to editing operations. Currently, I’m working on Project XII in blocks A and C, with work on Project X happening in B and D. Alternating not only keeps me from getting bored, but most importantly, I’m allowed a little mental detox between blocks of the same material. I’m sure how long I’ll keep this going for, but I’m enjoying the work-rate at the moment, and with a walk, dip in the pool, or a meal in between the blocks, it should be sustainable for the next few months, or at least until these two projects are complete.
With these two projects streaming ahead at a good pace, and Project XI still in the editing phase, we’re still on track for a release of all three books later this year, and going forward, I’m hoping to maintain a minimal work output of two books per year, possibly more.
(Currently Project X: 68197/Project XII: 65009)
On the entertainment front, I’ve watched two very good documentaries lately, Athlete A, which was just shocking, and quite frankly, depressing. The second was The Show Must Go On, Queen + Adam Lambert. This was really good, and I even enjoyed it more than Bohemian Rhapsody. Staying in the musical field, I also watched the Netflix film EuroVision Song Contest, the Story of Fire Saga. Fun, but it could have been better.
On the music front, some new tracks from GunShip, who have to be one of the best synth groups out there, added to the collection. I’m sticking with synth as my music for work, and until that fails me, I’ll be adding to the 2429 tracks already on my playlist.
With July approaching rapidly, it’s time to start thinking about what is going to come after Projects X and XII are complete. The obvious choice is to plow right into the 8th book in the Earth Saga series and a stand-alone book. This sounds like the most logical choice, as the 9-book Earth Saga series that started in 2013 needs to come to a conclusion, and I also want to increase the number of one-off stories that are available for readers.
Either way, productivity is up, and hopefully along with it, the quality. With any luck, Covid will be gone by the end of the year, and life will have returned to normal. Time will tell, but until then, I’ll continue to punch the keys and deliver sci-fi that I love, and hopefully the reader finds equally enjoyable.