Howdy folks, I’m still creeping along with Penal Earth book 2. I am nearing the end of where I’d gotten with it though. I’ve got a lot to add in, in addition to writing the ending.
Book one is out now. I’m still in the infancy of my publishing career, and still at that point where I’m checking the sales every few hours. One weird thing is knowing someones reading it like now. I checked a few hours ago and the Kindle Unlimited numbers have gone up in that time. I’m not really bothered about how much I’m going to get in regards to cash. I know I’m a long way off earning a decent amount from my writing, the early books I publish aren’t likely to break even and I’m very cool with that. For me it’s not about the money, I write because I need to. I have stories to tell and I really want to get them out into the world.
I’ve talked occasionally about my mental health. As a rule it’s pretty steady, but it’s my biggest hindrance. It can stop me from doing a lot and that includes getting my work out there. It took me a long time to get my arse into gear and publish that first novella last year. It’s one thing having a story in an anthology, there’s a stack of other writers to hide amongst, but when it’s just your name on the book. That’s when it’s on you. Yes beta readers look it over, editors do their thing, but at the end of the day it’s still your story. Good, bad, or just meh; the buck stops with you. I know I should be ‘I don’t care what people think’ but I do. I’ve bled into these tales and they have a sliver of my soul in them. I’ve been lucky, no bad reviews yet but they will come, but so will the good ones. All I can do is strengthen my skin, take constructive criticism, and write the next one.
Right folks, I’m gonna stop rambling now and have some cheesecake!
Howdy folks, how are we all? I’ve got a random Youtube playlist going which is loaded up with Lesbian Bed Death Tracks that I love writing too. Music I love and that often fits into what I’m writing tonally.
I’ve slept well and need to get some words wrangled. My household has a busy couple of days coming up. In addition to taking Max the doggo to the vets for a checkup we’ve got a lot of work to do in the garden. So writing time will be limited but I’m aiming to get up and get some words worked before we start the physical part of the two days.
My mental health hasn’t been great recently. I’ve felt like I’m very much in autopilot for most of it and have had a real lack of energy to do anything productive during my free time. Today though, I’ve woken up and I’m feeling pretty darn good. Yesterdays write-in has helped and I think the anxiety of a new release has seeped away a little. There’s the odd element in my personal life which maybe has settled somewhat as well.
So, lets see if this is a one off or a start to getting fully back on track.
I will pimp out my new book, Penal Earth. Please check it out. This book is one I’ve got a lot of affection for. I learnt from the first word to when I hit publish. It’s been a fun, challenging, sometimes stressful journey with this one.
Good evening, folks! 4955 words edited today. All at this evening’s write-in. I got there early and had a bit of a stuttering start and it never really felt like the smoothest of processes tonight but I managed to get a decent shift in.
I was worried beforehand about how I’d be in that environment. I really wasn’t sure who or how many people would be there but it was most of what used to be our monthly Wednesday night crew. I was feeling a little anxious. I’ve not been great in anything close to social settings for a while and I was worried it’ll start hitting me, and it did a little. I didn’t stay till it was meant to end. I was a little mentally wiped from editing as well, but it was also eating away at my anxiety being in A open coffee shop in a shopping centre. Thankfully it was quiet and not that noisy but it was still bubbling under a little.
I enjoyed it a lot though. It was great being back with writers again and just getting some words wrangled. Even though I ddi have that touch of anxiety I think it’ll be something that’s going to be a positive.
Right, I’m going to watch Nightmare on Elm Street and then get to bed. I’ve got a busy few days coming up and want a good start in the morning. Have a good one, folks!
Howdy folks, am I ready for the day? Hell no! In mind, heart, and spirit I’m still at home, in bed, with the dog laying alongside my bed. Sleeping soundly, not sitting in my car at work waiting to go in to start the day. That’s just my body who’s somewhat ready for that.
(Expect typos!)
Anyway……
The paperback for Penal Earth will be live any time now. I got the proof yesterday and am super happy with it. I’m super happy with the whole thing to be honest.
This book has been one of the challenges of my writing life. It started off as a NaNo novel years ago and has evolved over different drafts to what it is now.
The handful of people who read it before it was published have raved about it and I feel for a first novel it’s a strong one to begin with. Obviously I’m biased, but I think it is also that pride at knowing how much work has gone into it.
Peter at RedCape Publishing did a great job with the editing and formatting. And Dave Davies knocked it into orbit with the cover art.
Book two is well underway but still a long way off completion. This is somewhat of a trilogy (at the moment) but in an open ended universe.
I’m excited to be playing in this world, it’s got limitless possibilities and I’m looking forward to sharing with you all what a nightmare in paradise these first few books will be.
When Duncan Chambers executes the murderer of his partner, the wealthy son of one of the richest men in the solar system, there is only one place for him to go: Earth.
With three other criminals all sentenced to the solar systems largest penal colony Duncan is challenged in more ways than he could have ever envisaged and this new world isn’t like what humanity had been told.
Penal Earth is a story I’ve been working on for many years. It’s had a few different directions but I settled on the story that is now there for all to read. Get it here: https://amzn.eu/d/bIubrx5
*These are my thoughts and feelings and not that of anyone or organisation outside of myself*
Earlier this year I informed my fellow Municipal Liasions(ML) for my region that I was standing down as an ML.
I stepped down mainly because I felt I had never stepped up into the role like I’d always wanted. In the five years I was ML there was always an outside factor that derailed my attempts at building the region back up to what it was. Covid was a key factor, but then was personal matters, last November for example I had got dumped and that all but ended NaNoWriMo for me for the month. It was like that every year, something would come along and derail me. Aside from this last year I felt I wasn’t getting any traction. I organised four or five write-ins, including one that I had to travel about an hour to get to, and only one of them had anyone attend. Then all the allegations about minors being at risk in the forums came out and it changed the entire tone of the month. People shut down their profiles en masse and it became almost a feeling of trying to support those who were still writing while the NaNo board began their investigation.
Now, I was also dealing with the mental health fallout of having that relationship end so I lost track of a lot of the details of what was going on. And between then and a few weeks ago I’d fallen out of the loop fully. It’s only been the conversations that my regional MLs have been having that made me aware of what a nightmare it appears to have become. From poor communication to a liability contract that would include ML’s, who are volunteers, to give over numerous personal details for checks to a company that has a questionable history. That contract also appeared to put any responsibility onto MLs regardless of what happened in forums and other online spaces.
NaNoWriMo also seems to require any non-nanowrimo spaces to have any connection to the organisation removed. So Facebook Groups or Discord servers for example. Considering how unfit for purpose the NaNo forums are (and how dead some of them are), and how essential Discord had been for my region for example during lockdown, this was going to limit engagement even more than I’d noticed was going on.
This is really quite heartbreaking for me in a lot of ways. I’d been doing NaNoWriMo for a couple of years but had never really engaged in the community. But after a breakup in 2013 I think it was I went to an event and met some of the other writers in the area and that became a regular thing. Over the years I made some amazing friendships and connections that spread into other ares of the business. One of those connections lead to the Sparks anthology that had my first published story in. So I’ve got a lot to thank NaNo for, and seeing it falling apart like this is horrible. I’d been having doubts about being an ML for the last couple of years. It’s one of those things that once I was inside it a little and saw some of the moving parts of it I lost a little passion for it.
As I said earlier, I never stepped up in the way I wanted to as an ML. It’s the same as why I don’t want to step into a managerial position at work. I don’t think I’d be able to step up in the way that I’d want to. When I was at school it was always mentioned by teachers that I was a leader. Looking back, I’m not sure, but I also take into consideration how much was knocked out of me in the years in the car trade. That time for me has passed.
I look at NaNoWriMo now and hope to dear god it its sorted out in a way that there will be MLs come November. They are the lifeblood of NaNoWriMo. Without them it will not work even close to how it should do. Right now it feels like they’re being sidelined for raising concerns, which to me means the ones that’ll be left are the ones who are desperately trying to save NaNo, or the ones who will abuse the power they think they have.
What I’ve written here is all opinion. I haven’t looked into it in the depth I should have done, and I’m screaming into the void. But if someone from NaNoWriMo HQ sees this, please change the direction the organisation is heading. It’s on life-support right now, but time is running out to save it from becoming a shadow of its former self.
I’m trying to improve myself each day. Trying to find positives even in bad days. But something I need to keep telling myself is that not every part of my life has to improve at the same pace.
We can be doing well in one area of life and not in another. It’s impossible to balance out all elements of our lives equally. I think the trick is not hyper focusing on one or two areas for too long and neglect other sides of life.
What I’m trying to say in this ramble is, mainly to myself, balance life out a bit more, and it’s okay to not focus on everything all at once.
Okay I’m rambling and gonna try and sleep. Night y’all!
Random pic from a country park with my daughter from yesterday 🙂
Howdy folks, my day has already got off to a bad start as I massively overlaid and am only just getting cracking with my day. But I’ve had some crappy sleep this last week so I needed the extra hours. I’m off today as well so it’s not like I was late for work.
What I was planning to do this morning was a couple of hours writing then tidying, so I’ll do less writing now and then later after I’ve done the non-writing bits that need doing I might do a little more.
Despite loosing the moment I’ve had since the start of the year I am still trying to rebuild it and have been making slow progress. I’ve just passed the 60k mark on Penal Earth 2, with two characters in particular getting a lot of growth this last week.
Right, I’m going to go and do half an hours writing and then get on with the other tasks of the day. Have a great weekend, folks!
I’m at the end of a week off from work that started off really well writing wise but petered off in the middle fo the week and finally today it has picked up again. Even though I had a couple of days where I haven’t done any writing work I still feel like I’ve got a lot of work done. I received editors notes back on Penal Earth and have got those done and sent off to be formatted. That one is getting close, folks.
Work on Penal Earth: Book Two is progressing, I cannibalised a few sections of an earlier draft of book one at the start of the week and added maybe twelve thousand words to the draft. This has led to me doing an edit pass. I’m going through making adjustments to how story elements have changed as I’ve being writing. Finding continuity problems. One example of that is one of the new characters for this second book had two different back stories. I’ve decided to use the one that came to life more recently as I think it gives a new element to this world and the surrounding universe. I also need to integrate the words I’ve pulled from the earlier draft to not only bring it into this story, but to also bring it to the level of writing where I am at now. I’ve grown a lot since I originally wrote what I’ve pulled, but the core of it, I really like. What I’ve pulled fits into this book better than they would have done if I’d tried to force them into book one. They would have been out of place there and in book two they’re not only (I hope) fun and entertaining but also build the story along with the universe. It’s just going to take a bit of work to bring it up to where it needs to be with continuity and quality.
Another new notebook and a couple of new albums from favourite bands that have come out recently 🙂
I’ve done a little work on Black Blood this last week too. Not much, I took to a note pad and wrote down a dialogue sequence that has been working it’s way around my head the last few weeks, and last night I just had to get it out. I know where it’s going to go when I get back to working on Black Blood, and I’m kinda itching to get back to it. But I’ve got Penal Earth book two first draft to finish before that, and War Child is holding its hand up as well.
Callie has barely left my side all day 🙂
I need to learn how to organise myself a little. I’ve got a lot of stories that I’m balancing at the moment and I need to find a way to maximise my writing time to get each one of these projects moving in an order to get them completed.
This coming week I’m back to work, which I’m looking forward to, and I’m hoping I can get back to where I was where I’m getting writing work done each day regardless of what’s going on.
I’m up before my alarm, a consequence of doing early mornings for work is sometimes on my days off I’m up near about when I would be for work. This is something i’m going to try and make more of a habit of, I always find I have a better day when I’ve got words written first thing.
The last two days I haven’t done anything related to writing. I rolled my ankle on Monday and that kind of knocked me off my pace a bit. It’s all okay, still a little swollen but I can move on it like if nothing had happened. So I kind of decided to have a couple of days off from writing. I’d written, or edited, every day this year so far and would have liked to keep that going but I think two days out of what fifty or so isn’t too bad.
Today, I’ve got a little running around to do in a bit but I’m going to knock out some words now before I do that and while I’m having a cuppa tea. I’m off next week so I’m going to try and get some structure for the week. I’ve said before how getting up about 8am and writing by 9am seems to work quite well for me so I’m going to try and do that and see how I get along.
Peter Germany's World 