CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Knowing I had one major medical appointment for a family member, and an emotionally and psychologically difficult appointment, this week, I kept the goals down to trying to publish the next three titles. There were an additional two appointments after that, leading to a third, so the week was extremely disrupted, and involved a lot of recovery time. I got one title published, caught up on some back-ground work for books and videos, and did some rescheduling…and I notice I seem to freeze up if I know there is going to be a change to schedule ahead. It’s like I’m in a perpetual state of waiting. I also find it difficult to focus on anything, and if I set myself a task, it’s the one thing I guarantee I won’t do. Of course, now I know those things are going to happen, I can actively work to overcome, but I get the feeling it won’t be easy. Add to that, the fact that disruptions to my routine…such as it is…will always lead to a period of restlessness, and an inability to settle to a...

I got a lot done, and still found myself aiming too high, so some readjustments will be needed. To whit: Achieved: 1.   1.  All 7 poems completed; 2.   2.   All 7 pieces of flash completed; 3.   3.   Novel completed; 4.   4.   Writer Reads videos scheduled 5.   5.   All 7 gameplay videos scheduled 6.   6.   All 14 gameplay videos completed 7.   7.   All 16 gameplay videos scheduled 8.   8.   Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favor – edited Not achieved: 1.    1.   Did not complete the formatting and publishing of 4 titles 2.   2.   Did not complete the editing of the Mack ‘n’ Me: Arach videos 3.   3.   Did not achieve the stretch goals  Clearly, I still have work to do.                                                   ...

It looks crazy, but it’s called ‘taking the pressure down.’ The current goals take into account the need to publish at an accelerated schedule on both the writing and video fronts, in order to clear more writing time and prepare the way for a transition to a more sustainable and flexible work schedule in the, hopefully, not-too-distant future. In other words, I will not forever be trying to publish a month’s worth of work in a week. Having said that, I have a few more weeks to go before I can ease back. I might not, yet, be hitting all my goals, but I  am  getting closer. Without further ado, here are this week’s goals…and hopefully I’ve hit a little closer to the capability mark: Main Goals: 1.  Write 7 poems for Another 366 Days of Poetry (mixed genre, currently 33,172 words); 2.  Write 7 pieces of flash for Another 366 Days of Flash Fiction (mixed genre, currently 40,209); 3. Complete the novel, Dark God's Demise (2nd Ed.) (dark action fantasy, curre...

So, with last week's hurdles in mind, I set my aim lower this week, writing my goals down on the 22nd, but too busy trying to achieve them to post them, here. There's only a tiny bit of writing included in this week's goals as January's releases became a priority in both my writing and video sectors. Here is what they were: Main Goals: 1.  Write 7 poems for Another 366 Days of Poetry (mixed genre, currently 32,180 words) 2.  Write 7 pieces of flash for Another 366 Days of Flash Fiction (mixed genre, currently 40,209) 3. Record the next 31 videos on the schedule 4. Record the next 22 gameplay videos for the series set for completion 5. Edit the next 28 gameplay videos 6. Schedule the next 28 gameplay videos 7. Schedule the 10 Writer Reads videos required to complete the readings for the first December release 8. Schedule the 2 Writer Reads videos required for the second December release 9. Complete the formatting and publishing cycle for the three Jan...

 Last week in a nutshell: Working Hours:  104 hours 22 minutes Administration: 14 hours 9 minutes Research: 54 hours 12 minutes YouTube: 36 hours 57 minutes Formatting titles: 5 hours 54 minutes Achieved:  Creative Words:  3,064 (Novel: 403; Poetry: 384; Flash Fiction: 1,887; Short Stories: 390) Book Notes: 236 (Front and Back matter) Video Matter: 9,550 (overview, time stamps, tags, etc.)  Titles Formatted: 2 Videos Created:  13 Videos Edited: 25 Videos Formatted: 28 Videos Uploaded: 14 Videos Scheduled: 15 Titles Worked On:  

An overview of what was completed in April 2025 Work Routine: shifting task order established to allow for day-to-day priority shifts, pivot from video production focus to book production focus almost complete, Exercise Routine: Check (established 1 x 20 -minute intensive, working on establishing a second 20-minute session) Total at-desk hours: 992 hours 53 minutes (tasks were worked concurrently where possible to optimize time) Time spent in administrative tasks: 55 hours, 36 minutes Words (novels): 20,193 - 15,366 (YA), 4,827 (Novels) Words (poetry): 846 Words (short stories): 2,270 Words (flash fiction): 2,990 Words (book notes, front and back matter): 6,734 Words (gameplay video blurbs): 23,225 Words (reading video blurbs): 13,624 Time spent in video production: 198 hours 46 minues Gameplay & Readings videos created: 111 Gameplay & Readings videos edited: 135 Gameplay & Readings videos published: 77 Time spent editing books:   1 hour 35 minutes Time spent for...

Just dropping in to share the music I'm writing to, right now. I can't share the first words, today, as they're work for hire, but I am enjoying the tune and the beat to write to. Have a great day, today, wherever and whenever in the world you are - and thank you, Mono, for keeping me company as I work.

Just doing what a writer does: 

Regardless of whether you're independently or traditionally published, the work doesn't stop when you finish the book. Usually, there's a period of waiting...and then the editing starts. Here's what that looks like...at least for me.

Writers write - and if you ever wondered what that looks like, you can watch some of the writing that went into The Unwanted, the second Strays of Lunar One book, here: Werewolf mercs on the run...in space.

It took a while for this one to come together. This is one of the writing sessions that went into its creation.

This is a short excerpt from the editing process, showing part of the process I go through when editing one of my books. In this case, The Unwilling, the first book in the Strays of Lunar One series:

It's not all launch parties and champagne, or creating worlds and discovering the stories of the characters that live inside them. Sometimes being a writer is actually work - and not terribly exciting work at that. If you enjoyed watching the formatting process for 365 Days of Flash Fiction , then there's more. Today, I'm formatting 365 Days of Poetry and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WegmMlfw10c .   From dragons to starships to lost colonies and deadly mermaids, this collection of poetry wanders through genres and settings and poetic forms with happy abandon. It explores worlds and settings and reflects on the way things might have been or might become.   2ND EDITION NOTE: This edition is a renewed version of Edition 1, with the main changes being the new cover, new front and back matter, Americanization of spelling, and some minor word changes. Outside those changes, most of the content remains unchanged. You can find this book at: https://...