First of all, progress on Handyman book 2: I’m about 3/4th of the way through the second draft. I’m still having a little difficulty fitting in some story elements that I think need to be in it for a better side-story. That being said, this has been a slow writing season. With the weather turning bad, however, I may be getting back into writing more soon. Maybe I’ll finish by the end of the year and have it up at the beginning of next year? We’ll see how life plays out. One can hope.
I’m researching and tentatively planning to start a nonprofit, so that’s taking up some of my time that would otherwise go into writing. And work sometimes leaves me brain-dead, so I don’t want to write. And sometimes, maybe too often, I just want to play a videogame and not think. Seeing that I make virtually no money on my writing, and actually spend more money keeping my website up and such, I don’t have financial motivations to force me to write. I have to enjoy it. Most of the time, that means I need to be in the right head space.
I’m also working on creating a map for another friend’s book, which she hopes to release next year. That’s actually been very enjoyable. I’m using a set of assets for Affinity Photo (Photoshop competitor that I use instead of paying a frickin’ subscription) called Map Effects. It’s a pretty snazzy tool to make nice looking maps. I’m okay at creating illustrations on the computer, but my skills in that area are limited. Using Map Effects puts it right into my skill range. I hope to also record an audiobook for that same book. Oh, and I already have a cover made for her, that she will most likely use, but we’ll see.
Now let’s see if I can get a few hours of writing in tonight!
