Your mom's card is cute! I hope she has a great birthday!

I completely understand about the revising thing. Getting prepared for it is a good first step even if you're not ready to jump in right away.

How are you doing now? Would it help to have an art sprint? I'm pretty open over the next few days if you want to draw together for half an hour or so.

Apr 26, 2024 11:21:11 GMT -5 Kandybar said:

How are you doing now? Would it help to have an art sprint? I'm pretty open over the next few days if you want to draw together for half an hour or so.

That's so kind ❤️ I only just saw this and scheduling across different time zones can be a pain (at least I think we live in different time zones?). I really, really appreciate the intent. I can feel your support and I am so grateful. I think I need to work out the barriers in my own head somehow but I am touched at you making this offer. Truly, it means a lot.

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Goal: Get a minimum of 20 points from Tier 1 and 30 from Tier 2

Yeeeeeeah this goal didn't work out how I hoped. I thought it would motivate me to do more and it just hasn't. I need to go back to the drawing board for May and think of something else. BUT that's not a bad thing. I have learned at least that this didn't work as I wanted, and learning things is still a form of progress.

Points:
T1 = 4 (14/20)
T2 = 4 (16/30)

Project: Path of Fire (Books 1 - 3)

Ok so Monday I did in fact do the 'prep' and it was a good job I did because it took ages. Some of that was technical issues but also just printing and punching took time - way more time than I would have thought. It took at least 3 hours all told before I had the novel printed and in the ring binder ready. Thursday I started looking at it and it didn't go as expected. I am used to reading and confirming what I already expect (that it sucks) and then tearing it to pieces. This was surprisingly not terrible. Like "I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop" surprisingly not terrible. It's basically in edits territory rather than revision, which actually I suppose if I think about it makes sense.

I've been treating this like a first draft (and it is, in terms of being a complete rewrite) but well <---- rewrite. So all that 'reboot' work I did in January, was basically revision analysis, seeing what was broken and working out how to fix it. So it would seem I did a good job with that and the fundamental structure (thus far) is pretty solid. It's weird and I don't really trust it.

Anyway, as it would seem that the draft is approaching the stage when I can show it to someone else, I contacted my old beta. With their availability it looks like I might be booking them for July, which is plenty of time to finish the editing pass. That's a huge step. I haven't let anyone else read my original work since I hired them to beta the old version of this book back in late 2017. It's scary but necessary. I don't trust my own opinion (because how can it not be terrible?) and so getting neutral eyes on it, will prove it one way or the other.

Project: Sketchbook

Nothing yet /sigh.

Well I say nothing, that's not entirely true. This month I did the Librarians art, and mum's birthday card. I put the concept sketches, and refined rough draft, into a sketchbook. It was a glue bound one as the wired book I was going to use just felt too nice so I switched. Though the glue one is now wired as I got mum to wire it for me. I did a cover for it "Sketchbook 1-A" and put the date started on the front. However, I'm still saying nothing because this isn't what I meant when I said 'project: sketchbook'.

I want to do sketching exercises. Work on the loomis method, on the 100 head challenge, on line of action and poses etc. That was the sketchbook I had in mind to finally, finally start and there is nothing on that. There has just always been something else to do. I had to get the librarians art and mums card done for deadline, I've now started revising etc. It's like I use all my willpower on the first task of the day, and then when I stop that I just stop altogether. It sucks and I hate it. I have managed to restart reading again (I fell off on that in March) so that's something I've done of an afternoon, but I could and should do so much more. Once I work out how to make it a habit then I'll be fine, but right now I'm just not mentally committing I guess. There's a lot of resistance and I hate it. I need to do better.

Project: Guild Website

Yeah I know this wasn't really on this month, as I crossed it off last month. I'd done the bulk of the work and was waiting on feedback from the other officers. Well, just wanted to do an update. I've had to poke at it a few times throughout this month as the feedback came in and there were changes to make. Then finally it got to where the other officers were happy with it and to cut a long story short we launched this past Wednesday. So the project truly is done now, aside from any ongoing maintenance obviously.

84,584 / 75,000 words

So to close the month out…

Goal: Get a minimum of 20 points from Tier 1 and 30 from Tier 2

There’s only two days to add. I have a thing about not liking books to carry over between months which is why I’m not reading today.

Points:
T1 = 2 (16/20)
T2 = 1 (17/30)

This system (as I said on Sunday) didn’t work out how I hoped :/

Project: Path of Fire (Books 1 - 3)

This has gone well. Surprisingly, scarily well actually. I might not have added any words to the above total yet ^^ (and honestly I’m not sure how to add revision words anyway?) but progress has been made. I’ve logged getting on for 20 hours on ‘edits’ and they are actually edits. I assumed it would be hardcode revision but (again as I said on Sunday) it would seem my reboot/revision work in January did the business. I’m over a third into what I’m calling my “first edit pass” as I’ve decided I’ll do three of them.

First is going through as I am on paper, marking up everything on the draft that doesn’t read right and noting corrections where possible. Then I’ll make the necessary corrections on the digital draft. So after this I’ll be working mostly on screen.

Second I have flagged a few areas to essentially double check from the craft books. There are so many things to be sure of it’s hard to hold all of them in my head at once. So I’m not worrying about catching everything on the first pass - this is the pass to make sure things weren’t missed.

Finally I have a checklist to essentially search the draft for, like passive voice, those pesky adjectives, the tendency for characters to sigh and nod etc. Some of these things aren’t bad but too much is too much.

Once this is done it’ll be ready for me to get eyes on it. Again as I said on Sunday I have contacted my old beta. It’s been six years but they are still in business and have actually moved into editing. Now I don’t know if they are as competent at editing as I felt they were at beta reading (I am waiting on seeing a sample). But at the very least I will book them for a beta read. Their next availability is July at the moment (and hopefully I won’t miss that window waiting for the sample but ehhh it’s possible). I don’t expect my three edit passes will take more than a month. I will be very surprised if I’m not done before the end of May.

I guess then it’ll be Book Two time…

Project: Mum's Birthday Card

Done with markers and coloured pencils. It's not perfect but it's cute and mum loved it.

Project: The Librarians Exchange (Art)

Best I can say about this was an attempt was made. It's not great but I've done worse. I've made notes of particular points that I need to focus on improving in future. Each project is a learning opportunity after all.

Project: Sketchbook

This just didn’t happen at all. But then neither did piano practice or working on my Lego MOC’s. I did manage to read more consistently but that was the only ‘Tier 2’ item I did ok with. I need to make better choices I guess. I struggle with ‘task activation’. Getting started is my nemesis. If I could only start and incorporate these things into my life, then I’d be fine. As it stands I’m doing semi-ok with my “main task” everyday (but I only get one - art OR writing). However, once I stop that, I just stop. I have managed to make myself read but that’s it. I have got to quit calling the day early like that. There’s still a lot of hours I could be doing things - like sketching.

Project: Guild Website

As I said on Sunday, while not technically a project this month (the lions share of the work was last month) I did work on it to finish it off. It launched this month (last Wednesday), is active and functional. Ongoing maintenance will of course be required but hopefully nothing too major.

84,584 / 75,000 words

Goal: To Institute ONE new habit of a frequency of at least 3x a week

So I'm circling back to my January thinking which was build up small. See what happened is in January I just demanded ONE thing from myself - the 4 hours of butt in chair time for the writing. That went well so I then tried to add things, had migraines, March happened, and boom it's suddenly May. (The years always do this somehow). Anyway, I fell off reading in March along with most things so I really tried to do that again in April and that was successful. It all goes back to commitment. I'm not making the time for the things I want to do - there's a resistance there.

It's time to commit, to make the time. Now with these goals I'm trying not to make the project based because it's not about how much I get done on any single project. In the past I've made goals like 'finish X'. I'm trying to build a life rather than just finish one project, sort of a marathon not a sprint type deal. However, that does make phrasing the goals and thinking how to implement them tricky. They need to be measurable. Now I haven't specified WHAT habit I am targeting this month and that's because I haven't decided yet. I haven't filled out my planner as mum hasn't printed the pages for me yet (and also it's my birthday today so today is non-designated, although it would have been anyway as a Wednesday chore day). But I need to sort of brainstorm and think about what truly will move the needle the most - basically I'm procrastinating on deciding.

We'll see how this goes.

Project: Path of Fire (Books 1 - 3)

The aim this month is to finish edits on Book One. I laid out in my April month 'wrap-up' post how I'm approaching that so I won't repeat myself.

I remembered last night about the 'Pubin5' thread and I should update that. 2023 didn't happen at all, and so naturally my entire post is jossed. Still just because Year One didn't work out, and everything else has changed, doesn't mean the whole 'five year' thing is out the window. I don't want to jinx myself but the way things are going I should be able to publish next year which is still well within the 23-27 bracket.

Project: Sketchbook

Given this is still on here as a project perhaps that is the answer to what habit I should try and implement. I do have a resistance to this because it feels like 'major project' vibes and I've only been managing one of those per day (art OR writing) and obviously I'm doing the writing thing every designated day. Something like piano practice is more akin to reading, in that it can be a half hour a day job and it's not so serious or important.

Anyway no matter what I'm committing to starting this, this month. Please future!self don't embarrass me and fail.

I don't have any fandom events or gifts to make for mum this month, so my excuses are less. Cross fingers!

Good luck! I hope this approach works better! And let me know if you want to do sketching sit-ins or what have you.

84,584 / 75,000 words

Kandybar You are so sweet and I appreciate it so much. I'm wary of making that kind of commitment as I don't trust myself. I get that it's supposed to be external accountability but unfortunately my brain is not so easily turned. If I'm not in "doing" mode then it's not going to go well. I would never ghost you if we agreed to a time, but I would quite possibly lie about whether I sketched or not. So yeah :/

Goal: To Institute ONE new habit of a frequency of at least 3x a week

Ok thus far - no progress BUT it's only been like half a week so maybe it's ok... (we'll go with that).

Wednesday was my birthday and so obviously I did nothing goal-wise. Thursday I did edits and should have done something in the afternoon but didn't because "ehhh it's day one" (I know, I roll my eyes at myself too). Friday I did edits and then I helped mum out in the afternoon so arguably maybe I didn't have time? (I probably did). Yesterday I was tired and to be honest I still am today and I don't really know why. I didn't manage any edits and I actually napped a little because I was hoping to restore some function (it didn't).

Tomorrow is the start of the full week, so no more excuses.

Project: Path of Fire (Books 1 - 3)

Should have done 3 days but did 2, so spent another 8 hours on edits. I'm over halfway through the first pass. I half-joked in chat that it seemed like the edits were going to take as long as the drafting, but maybe that means I'm doing them properly? I don't know.

I think what I'll do with adding these words to WriYe (as I was wondering how I would do that) is simply add the difference between the first draft, and the edited draft, as that's pretty much guaranteed to be longer. It won't be very many words for the amount of time and effort but then the actual total on WriYe isn't really the point is it? I mean big numbers feel good, but having a finished book feels better. It's only May, so even if Book One winds up taking me half the year, I still have the second half to draft another book, so the number will go up and I've met my minimum goal already (as I set that for one draft).

Project: Sketchbook

No Progress.

BUT I did have a thought about a theme that might help me if I can summon the spoons to begin. Pick a character I love for each letter of the alphabet and do a spread on them. Although the alphabet thing could be a bit limiting as it's not the characters fault if they start with the same letter. So I could just pick a bunch of characters. I did watch a really good video on the Loomis Method (although I should just read the book I bought...) but still yay YouTube.

I got some new paints for my birthday (because obviously what I needed more of in this house is art supplies /sarcasm). I swatch all of my supplies but I haven't managed to summon the spoons to do even that. Although I think I want to swatch some of these a bit differently, make sure I do gradients and perhaps swatch some mixes, rather than just pure 'this is the colour' squares. When I did my Librarians piece I really struggled with getting a good mix for the skin and I think this could help.

No worries! I'm around if it starts sounding like a good idea at some point.