CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

April started out fine… and then got downright busy. I cut back a lot of activity to focus on completing a few. Finishing the book I was working on fitted in just fine with Camp NaNoWriMo. This is the running record of how the novel progressed that month: Writer’s Biography: I live in Canberra, Australia's capital, where I am currently writing and publishing full-time. The main project is a 90k novel I need to finish around mid-April - and, yes, I've started it already, because the task for camp is to finish the last 54k... and to do that I need to get to 36k by the end of March. I'm also working other projects. Blaedergil's Host is the second novel in the Mack 'n' Me 'n' Odyssey series. Book 1 will release during camp. Dear Tiger: Let's Go A-Hunting is a YA chapter book and the fifth in a six-story series, where each story, apart from the first, is 9-12k long. I'll also be writing Bk6 in this chapter book series, Bk6 in anothe...

Just a quick post to update the progress. I have discovered music – yes, all over again. I find that, if I listen to the right pieces, with minimal lyrics and a good, strong beat. I struggled to get the words down for the first couple days of the month, but these last two, they have come more easily, because I’ve been able to focus where I couldn’t, before. So, without further ado: Day 4, April 4, 2018: I added 5,119 words to Blaedergil’s Host , as well as writing 1,627 words of flash fiction (spread over 4 pieces), and 402 words of poetry, split over 2 pieces. Day 5, April 5, 2018: I added, 5,169 words to Blaedergil’s Host , and am just about to embark on the daily flash fiction and poetry journeys for the day. I stayed off Mack's radar for a good three months, or so I'd thought. Maybe he was just letting me run. He found me, kicked my ass and hauled me right back on board. He'd been doing that on and off for the past two years. Problem was, Od...

So, this month I have a number of challenges going – and I’m trying to build a few new habits, because a couple of challenges and a novel just aren’t enough. Starting Points: At this point, I had hoped to be at 36,000 words in my novel, Blaedergil’s Host . That did not happen. My back happened, Easter happened, family happened, and the rest was scramble. Now, I have to try to catch up without killing myself, because this sucker will probably take a fortnight to edit properly and format, I’d like a week’s break between writing it and editing it (and ideally four), and I have one project to complete for publication the week before. I have work to do. The current starting point is 16,265 words. Day 1 Progress: By the end of April 1, Australian EST, I had reached 16,383 words, which was pathetic, even if it was Easter Sunday. For April 2, I changed my approach. That day is not yet over, so I’ll report on it, tomorrow.