Alright, well, after a one-week hiatus, here I am, back again.
If I’m goanna be honest, I haven’t made a ton of progress over the last few weeks. That’s part of the reason why I chose to skip last week’s update: I’d made a few thousand words of progress on Usi Book 1 at most, and hadn’t really done much else writing-wise. There wouldn’t have been much to talk about.
And yet, this week, I find myself in a similar position. April has not been a good month in terms of my writing progress: however, I do hope to change that soon. I’m back visiting family again for a few weeks, and with that in mind I decided to spend the first few days here just chilling, giving myself a short break from my schoolwork and my writing. The plan, though, is to get back at it starting tomorrow: hopefully this week will bring at least a good 14,000 words of progress, if not more.
That’s not to say there’s nothing at all to talk about, though, or that I’ve done absolutely nothing. I did, despite my determination not to worry myself over my responsibilities, start editing The Ravage a few days ago. I’m only about 22 pages in (the entire thing is 238 pages, double-spaced), but so far it’s going well. I’ve mostly focused on cleaning up language, making sure the sentences flow better, and that my descriptions are clearer. It’s quite possible that, when I show this thing to beta readers, they’ll point out some major plot and pacing problems I didn’t see before; heck, it’s even possible I might spot one or two as I make my way through the bulk of the book. 22 pages in, though, and my impressions from 2 weeks ago remain: I believe in this book, I think it’s engaging at its core, and I’m looking forward to making it even better.
My other two current projects, Usi and the Kosan rewrite, have, as I said before, been progressing slowly. This is especially true for the Kosan rewrite: I’ve done way more worldbuilding for the Kosan universe than I’ve done actual work on the rewrite itself. That could be a good thing in a way, though: maybe I needed more depth to the world, to make it even more believable, make it feel more lived-in. The worldbuilding I’ve done has mostly focused on the political history, though: I need to get some of the logistical stuff figured out, just to really clarify how things work in this universe. For example: one thing I’ve been agonizing over lately is how interstellar travel should actually work. Originally, I was just going to do the standard hyperdrive thing, but since getting my editor letter back last year, I’ve been rethinking that. I originally conceived of Kosan as a love letter to Star Wars in some ways, but after getting the editor letter, I’ve maybe changed my mind on just how much influence I want to draw from my favourite ever film franchise. With that in mind, I’ve been trying to think up some more original ways for interstellar travel to work…but so far I haven’t solved the puzzle. Oh well. I guess I have time to think about it.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll be diving back into Usi Book 1. I still think I can get it done by the end of June, although I do often overestimate the amount of work I can practically do. That could be particularly true this summer, when I’ll have a thesis project and a summer job taking up my time and energy. And that’s the rub, right there: energy. Technically, I’ll have the time to devote an hour or two each to my thesis and my writing this summer. But will I have the energy? It’s easier to say yes when I’m just sitting on my couch jotting down this quick writing update than it is in late June or early July, as I continue to slog through my projects, coming home from 6-8-hour workdays out in the hot summer sun.
But, as they say, we shall see. Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got for you this week. Until we meet again, have fun, stay safe and keep reading.
