My regular update on my novel writing progress, with insight into living and working as an indie author with a full-time job and Crohn’s disease.
my_writing_week
Today, like last week, I’m celebrating an anniversary: it’s eight years since publication of The Spike Volume 1.
I can only apologise for the long wait for Volume 2. There hasn’t been much progress with it this week either; I’ve been busy with other things…
On Sunday, I wrote some of my blog piece on consistency, “One year of writing* every day”, which was finished and posted on Monday. You can read it here.
I also did some work on a cover for The Spike 1.2 and wrote first drafts of new back-cover blurbs for 1.1 and 1.2.
On Tuesday, I polished the blurbs for 1.1 and 1.2, tweaked my website’s homepage, and added another chapter from The Spike Volume 1 to the series bible.
Wednesday and Thursday, I worked on a future blog post that I won’t share yet; I’ve decided to move it back in the schedule. That’s a little annoying, but the work isn’t wasted and I know it’s the right decision in the long run.
Also on Thursday, I began pulling this WWW together, and added another couple of chapters to The Spike series bible.
The three middle days of the week are when I have to go into the office for my day job. I do a bit of writing at lunch and stay after hours, so as much as I dislike not being able to work from home all the time, I turn it into a positive by making those three days my most productive, outside of the weekend.
Every working week feels long and tiring, so I often take it easier on Fridays knowing I have Saturday and Sunday to make up for it; I only added one chapter to The Spike series bible.
Saturday (today), I spent an hour working on a cover design for The Spike 1.2 and an idea I liked until I mocked it up. I scrapped that, spent half an hour trawling through books on Waterstones searching for inspiration, and returned to an earlier idea with a new twist (this happens way too frequently). I’ll probably do a mock-up of this in the next couple of days – fingers crossed this will be the one.
That brings us up to now, finishing this blog. Last week, I stated my aim to increase the number of writing sessions I did per week from my average of 11 up to 14.
I managed 20, which was more than I’d hoped. I don’t expect that to be the norm so I’ll keep my target at 14 for now, but if 14 begins to feel too low, I’ll increase the target again.
status_report
I’ve almost completed a new cover design for a second edition of The Spike Volume 1, but I waver back and forth over how much I like it.
I’m working on covers for the two individual parts, Application Infiltration and Laying Down The Law, which are going to be published separately for the first time. I want both to have a similar style and layout, and I have an idea I like for each; I’ll mock them up and see if the premises are worth sinking more time into.
Draft 2 of The Spike Volume 2 is complete! It contains three separate books from the perspectives of seven characters.
Revision will begin soon.
The aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026, although this is beginning to look ambitious.
Early brainstorming has been done for The Spike Volume 3. I know how it must begin; I have an ending that I think will be great; and I have a long list of ideas to get from one to the other that needs to be whittled down and put in an order. I’m not intending to do much more work on this until revision is complete on Volume 2.
There are a couple of other projects in the works that I’m not ready to share yet – they’ll be announced here first.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
When billion-dollar AIs break down over puzzles a child can do, it’s time to rethink the hype
‘They’re living in fantasy land’: Uber to trial self-driving taxis in London next spring
A neuroscientist explains why it’s impossible for AI to ‘understand’ language
9 myths about electric vehicles have taken hold. A new study shows how many people fall for them
Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed US-wide missile defense system
Immortality at a price: how the promise of delaying death has become a consumer marketing bonanza
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I have to mention Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 again. I finished the main story on Tuesday evening, and just sat there for an hour afterward trying to regather the fractures of my blown mind. It is utterly remarkable and a new high watermark for game design. If you like story-driven games, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Fortunately, you don’t need to take just my word for it. The developers, Sandfall Interactive, have released a new trailer showcasing some of the glowing industry reviews they’ve received.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 