Work
- What do novelists do between getting a promising idea for a story and starting to type out their first lines? Is there a planning phase of some sort? Do they sit at their desks and just think really hard? Do they draw diagrams? Meditate? Go on walks? Consult the oracle? I’ve spent a lot of time learning about the writing processes of a whole bunch of authors, but I still have no clue what happens during the pre-writing process.
- For my own novel, I’m spending my time researching, thinking, planning, and frantically scribbling notes to myself. Sometimes I starfish on the floor of my home office in despair. I’m not sure if this is valuable work or plain old procrastination. There is no way to tell.
- That said, I’ve made satisfactory progress this week. The broad strokes of my plot are now clear to me, though I still have to iron out the specifics. I vaguely understand the mysteries behind the fantastic elements of my story world. I have a deeper understanding of my themes, and with it my protagonist’s psyche.
- Next up, I need to figure out my main cast outside of the protagonist, outline some important climactic events, and finish reading the seventy three Wikipedia tabs I’ve opened in my browser. I’m hoping to draw up an outline for at least the first chapter by the end of the upcoming week. If I’m good and kind and brave, I might even be able to outline the first two or three chapters.
- I’ve finally found a home for all my long-form writing in Ulysses. I’d prefer to use Scrivener for this work, but I don’t want to deal with its archaic and unreliable cloud sync. I briefly considered iA Writer, which is my default Markdown editor on all my computers, but it doesn’t have the tools to manage projects that contain more than two or three of files.
- I will not be evaluating any other writing apps. I’m done with that life.
Not work
- I’m going back to therapy. I recently had an insight about an issue that had stumped me for years, and I need to work through it with a professional.
- I haven’t been able to make time for Hades 2. In general, games have taken a backset in my life this year. That’s fine, I suppose? Different seasons and all that. I don’t see myself putting significant time into a game again for a few months at least.
- I’m itching to write code again. I haven’t worked on a significant programming project since March. Ugh.
- I’ve started tracking my habits using Streaks. It’s silly, but watching that little star appear in the app motivates me to keep journaling and cleaning the litter boxes every day. Just goes to show I’m so easily manipulated, I can do it to myself.
- I’m grateful for all the new friends I’ve made this year at IndieWebClub Bangalore and other local events. I’m also grateful for all the old friends I’ve reconnected with. If you’re reading this, know that I love you!
Links of the week