CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

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...

The Poem  Urban Rebellion  It started, this war of attrition, when the dark fae came back with a mission, To return the children of man To slavery's van And mankind refused the position   Where Did It Come From?  I got to thinking of form poetry; that's not hard since I have a form poetry title in progress, but this time I wanted to think about it from the perspective of writing in specific genres...and no sooner had I set my mind on this track, than the following ditty started to form...in the shower...where I had no pen or paper...half way through soaping up...of course. So, I wrote it in my head, revised it a couple of times, and somehow managed to hold onto it until I could back to my desk. Here you go, a limerick, written by an inhabitant of an urban fantasy setting who has lived through the return of magic and the fae, and who is living through what came next.

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...

So - Goals for December Week 2 showed I was still aiming too high...and not accounting for the possibility of losing 28 hours in the week, when I made them. Yes, to unexpected changes, new external requirements, and family health issues...but also to the fallout of mental and emotional exhaustion that followed. Go figure. I have to improve, and get better. Enough excuses. Here are the results: Main Goals:  1. Poems:   5/7 written; 2. Flash Fiction: 0/7 written; 3.  Work Submitted: 1/1 (result: reject); 4. Finish novel: novel finished (3.6k/4-10k written) ; 5. Publish  Mack 'n' Me: Blaedergil's Host:   novel published 6. Publish  Nurse:  short story published; 7. World Shift : 276/1k 8.  Confessions : 0/1k 9. Gameplay videos recorded: 20/16 10.  Gameplay videos-edited: 15/23 (9/0 video readings edited);  13/23 formatted; 15/23 scheduled; Stretch Goals:    1. Arach - not formatted; 2. The Transporter's Favor - edit com...

And speaking of getting back on the horse, I'm returning to posting work samples from different projects. This is one of last week's poems - an experimental form with an iambic pentameter base.         We Remain    We are the lost The untransitioned The ones they left behind   We are those who lived When all else died   Or were transformed Removed from human Made monsters of the mind   We are those who made it through We wish to turn back time   To turn back time To what things once were An imperfected norm   Not safe but still a sanctuary Compared to where we now have gone   In this plague world Where the dead walk Still alive and not at rest   We strive to send them back to sleep And rebuild what they have left.  

It's been a long while since I could set a goal and then not be guaranteed that it would be the one thing I would...for whatever number of reasons, fail to achieve. It's been almost as long that setting any kind of deadline would cripple me, instead of energize me like it used to do. It's been an equally long time since I wasn't sure I would fail no matter how much effort I put into something, no matter how 'right' I got it, no matter how well it worked for anyone else...and then tried to do it, anyway. Years. At least two. Twenty-four months. Or 730 days. And probably a couple of years before that. We won't get into hours or minutes, but, whichever way you slice it, it's a very long time to live with the hope that the storm will pass, and to keep trying to move forward in spite of what Life throws, in spite of the doubts others have in you, and in spite of the absolute surety you feel that you *will* fail, that it will not matter how precisely right you...

Yes, all true. There are only two days left before The Expanding Universe 11  disappears from ebook (and KU) form. While it will remain available in paperback, this 600+ page collection of science fiction will shed its much cheaper and more portable form for good, so if digital is your preferred way of reading, you'll need to pick it up before it goes. You can find a copy at the links below, on Amazon only, and only until December 14, 2025 (US time):  Links: US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0DZ1398ZM UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ B0DZ1398ZM CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/ B0DZ1398ZM AU - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/ B0DZ1398ZM What's it About? The universe waits for no one…these are a few of its stories. Aliens, explorers, adventurers, warriors, and more, together in one dynamic collection. War doesn’t care about human or alien. The soldiers fight, and they fight hard, as if their lives depend on it. Because they do. What Stories are in It? The Librarian and the ...