Progress Report: Week 3 July, 2017

This last week, I found myself still a long way behind my release schedule, with August’s first release in dire need of final touches and uploading, and the next two August releases pressing. Those are collections; they are horrible to format and take more time. So, my walking got cut, Babes got trimmed, Ingress and Pokego were minimised, with work on Operation Portal Recon almost nil.

I also realised I was falling behind in the work for six other collections – the type of work that shouldn’t be done in a block – so I got that back on track.

The other thing is that this is the week before classes start back at university so that admin required attention. As if that wasn’t enough, my better half hurt his back and required a lot of assistance for the basics, and school returned.

I know life happens, but, boy, did it happen this week, so, a lot re-prioritisation occurred. For those of you who noticed the last Babes post was on Friday – don’t fret, I’m not done with it yet, and more is coming – slower than I wanted, but still there.

Also, speaking of life, this is my last university semester. I won’t be able to continue on to gain a PhD, as I just can’t find a supervisor interested in any of the nine questions I’ve proposed. Apparently, they don’t fall in anyone’s area of expertise. That’s annoying, but I’ve also come to realise that I don’t want to sign the IP for any of those questions – and any derivatives in the future – to the university, so maybe it’s a good thing. I’ll be publishing my own research in the future.

Anyway, this is my last semester, and life changes next year. I’m looking at going full-time as a writer, and working towards a liveable wage. This means I will need to keep up with my publishing and writing commitments, while I finish my degree. The next fourteen weeks are going to be one hell of a ride.

Week 3 Progress

• New words produced: 25,281
• Outlines and Notes: 1,153
• Works completed: 31 (14 poems, 16 flash fiction, 1 short story)
• Works completely edited: 1 (Freeman’s Choice)
• Covers created: 0
• Works published: 1 (Freeman's Choice)
• Works submitted: 0
• Competitions Entered: 0
• Bloggery: 899
• University Prep and Assignments: 0

Writing News

Last week saw me finally complete the CreateSpace edit and format of Freeman’s Choice, four or five weeks after I’d scheduled it. It also saw me continue work on Babes (see below), and get back into the writing required for three flash fiction collections and three poetry collections. I was also ambushed by an 8,000-word short story, which took out a day, and started work on a new novel, which arrived early in the week. All in all, a pretty good week’s writing, but still nowhere near enough publishing for what’s on the schedule.

I completed all of last week’s priorities, and dug in on a few things I had to get back on-line. The priorities included preparing the Print-on-Demand publication of Freeman’s Choice for CreateSpace; preparation and delivery of Freeman’s Choice to all ebook platforms for pre-order; and beginning the final edit and format for C.M. Simpson: Short Works from 2014, Volume 3 (Fantasy & Urban Fantasy).

In addition, I began the catch-up required if I am to release Another 365 Days of Poetry, and the very overdue 366 Days of Flash Fiction in December, and Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction in January 2018. As if that wasn’t enough, I also worked towards completing Wheelchair Mermaid for a November delivery. The word count on that little beastie says it should be done, but the story has other ideas, and wants another one or two thousand words.

June-July Challenge: Babes in London

Last week saw me get back into writing on this project, as well as rescheduling the remaining portions of what is already complete to cover the next few weeks. This does not mean I will stop writing it on a more regular basis. There will be another slice of Babes every Friday until it’s done – and that is now feasible with the revamping of the schedule.

I’m sorry it’s not done as planned – I thought I could do more, but there are other projects that have priority. Even so, I’m refusing to cut this project completely in the hopes I’ll get back to it, because that just won’t happen, so I’m compromising. Babes will have a section completed on it every week, and it will be up first thing on a Friday morning - the next section is already scheduled for this Friday, and I'll have another section completed by the end of the week.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.

Ingress Updates

This week’s Ingress consisted of hacking what portals I passed during school drop-off and pick-up – and those to and from the shopping on Saturday. No driving involved for me, so don’t panic; no lives were endangered. But, that was it. I’d have liked to do more, but time got tight – and I’ve noticed a that my back is starting to grumble due to the lack of walking and increased amount of sitting, so I’ll have to amend that. My progress on Operation Portal Recon also deteriorated due to me shifting time to continue editing, when I would normally be assessing portals in a break.

PokemonGo Updates

This week’s PokemonGo consisted of catching what was available during school drop-off and pick up, and spinning the pokestops to and from. I’m lucky I have a gym on that route, but there wasn’t a lot of time for battling, so not a lot happened there. There was a day where it was all yellow, though, so I stuffed every pokemon full of the berries I had, and somehow managed to earn the silver in the Berry Master medal, which was nice. However, I’ve noticed a bit of a health downgrade, and getting to sleep is not as easy as it should be, so I will be getting back into the walking routine.

Other News

In addition to everything else, my husband hurt his back quite badly, and needed a fair amount of assistance, but was recovering well by the end of the week, which was good. University also started back with the pre-class reading and prep required, and classes starting this week, so changes, changes, changes…

Priorities for Week 1, July 2017

This week’s priorities are as follows:

• Keep up with Class preparation for three subjects.
• Finalise the CreateSpace format and upload for C.M. Simpson: Short Works from 2014, Volume 3 (Fantasy & Urban Fantasy).
• Complete another 21 pieces of flash fiction
• Complete another 21 poems
• Complete Wheelchair Mermaids
• Manage 1 hour of walking each day, as assessed by the health program on my phone.
• Bring my language study on-line