Summary:

I didn’t actually do very much paid work this week, which was a great start to my plan to work less this year! But I did work on both novels and create an excellent plan for completing them earlier and also doing more reading.

 

Monday:

I played one new game over the course of our annual New Year gaming holiday, so I wrote a review of it.

I also found a new short story competition to enter and did some preliminary brainstorming and idea generation for it.

 

Tuesday:

I was supposed to start proper work again today, but none of my expected paid projects actually materialised – apart from a tiny newsletter I edited very quickly for a regular client.

So, I faffed around, procrastinating like a pro, and then eventually did some work on the new aspects of the Machine outline, hoping it would help me get the novel back in my head. I also emailed my editor to agree a deadline by which I would send her the first draft – external accountability!

Later, there was a Revision Club work-together call, so I did some revisions on Legacy.

Later still, Dave and I went on a (not very successful geocaching expedition) and the subconscious crew came up with a prologue and a whole new potential narrative thread for Machine, which would avoid a lot of telling and expand the story a lot. So, when we got home, I made some notes about it in my outline. I decided, though, to forge on with the current draft (which would still remain almost entirely unchanged, even in the new version), keep to the current schedule with my editor, get her feedback on the initial version, and then ask her advice about whether the new plan might work well.

 

Wednesday:

I prepped for the next podcast episode by watching the specified film and making my notes.

 

Thursday:

I wrote the next scene of Machine, edited an article for a regular client (still no sign of any of my main paid projects!), made more notes for the podcast, and did some more Legacy revisions.

 

Sunday:

I released myself from all obligations on Friday and over the weekend, so mostly just relaxed and chilled out – and it was awesome!

But I did finish a book today, so I wrote my review.

I also came up with a plan to add writing craft and self-help books to my work schedule, in an effort to actually get through some of the pile that’s been languishing on my reading shelf for a very long time!