CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

It took ALL day to beat the blues, yesterday. (Well... it took THREE days to beat the blues, but only one, once I'd nailed what had caused them.) I finally got some words done yesterday, and here are a few of them. Words from Day 13 (Chapter 23): Mikalesket’s voice sounded clunky coming to me through my ears. “Your people aren’t familiar with lizardine culture,” he noted. “We will rectify this on reaching Aquapearl. Let us suffice it to say that parenting is done differently—and is a sensitive subject for some.” He glanced at his warrior, and was greeted by a soft hiss of defiance. I will not ask you to apologize, Mikalesket assured the warrior, dropping the translation into my implant even as he spoke , but you will mend what you have broken. I was not broken. It can be arranged , Eshvet informed me, broadcasting his promise for all to hear. Mack quirked an eyebrow, but Mikalesket gave a small lizardine smile. “I do not retain Eshvet for his natural charm and g...

Okay, so I've had an emotionally rough three days and writing has been difficult. Some words got done, but I'm going to miss the 31st. Hopefully, I won't miss it by much, but you can't write a lot when you're upset, worried AND depressed. You just have to work your way through it, either by writing slowly or by doing other tasks you can focus on, until you can write. I've tried both techniques over the last three days, and switched between fighting for words and doing administrative tasks. Now, I'm almost back up to speed. On the upside, the admin I've done in advance can be replaced by words at the time I had scheduled for it, so it's not a complete loss. Not my idea task order, but similar timeframe in a different order. The trick is not to stop unless you absolutely have to, and I managed to avoid that. Words for Day 11: 74. Revision happened. Not much else. Words from Day 12 (Chapter 22): “Check for those centers, and a second broadcast capabi...

So, yesterday, Mack 6 reached 48,000 words. Now, this should be over the half-way mark, and I think it is, but we'll see. The journey continues. Here's an excerpt from yesterday's words: Words from Day 10 (Chapter 21): “We weren’t going to stop.” Mikalesket had joined us, again. “Well, we are, now,” Mack told him. “We took a hit.” “I know. We scanned your system.” “And?” If Mack was surprised the lizardine were monitoring the ship that closely, he didn’t show it. “The repairs are important.” “And the engines?” “They will need a little longer to recalibrate. The repair stop will not interrupt the process.” Mack nodded and looked back to his boards. Mikalesket returned to his position at the back of the command center, and I realized he looked like he was alone. I narrowed my eyes, wondering exactly how many of his security team had accompanied him, and were now scattered around the command center. Mack glanced at me, and then glanced around, fixing the liz...