My regular update on my novel writing progress, including insight into living and working as an indie author with a full-time job and Crohn’s disease.
my_writing_week
This week felt notable for the entertainment and artworks I’ve enjoyed more than anything else. Still, progress has been steady…
I had a restful Sunday, but there was no way I was going to let my writing streak end the day after reaching 400 consecutive days, so I spent some time working on the blurbs and loglines for the two parts of The Spike Volume 1.
In the evening, I finished reading “Leviathan Wakes” (The Expanse #1) by James S A Corey. I don’t think I’ll write a full-length review — I’m not sure I have anything new to add to the overwhelmingly positive reviews I’ve seen — but if you want to know my thoughts, see the weekly_inspiration below, or wait for my next quarterly reading_report at the beginning of October.
On Monday, I worked on a blog post that I’d begun previously, the first in a series analysing films/TV shows/books/games/albums that have influenced my writing. I won’t spoil the subject of it yet, but it’s turning out longer than I’d anticipated; there’s much to learn from this particular artwork.
Also, I continued with my progress on The Spike series bible and added a chapter.
Tuesday, I added two more chapters to the series bible; then on Wednesday, I added one more, the final chapter of part 1. I’ve heard a lot of writers say they find it embarrassing to read their previous work. I haven’t found that all; I’ve enjoyed it! Part of the reason for writing The Spike was because it’s the sort of thing I wanted to read, but hadn’t found.
Additionally on Wednesday, I wrote a little more for the blog post I shall not spoil.
On Thursday, I began this WWW, and added the first chapter of The Spike part 2 to the series bible.
When I got home, I finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. It’s arguably even more relevant today than it was when it was first published, in 1945, and as it’s so short, it’s one of those important books no-one has an excuse not to read. Highly recommended.
I sneaked in a bit more work on this WWW before I began the day job on Friday and, feeling drained, allowed myself an evening off. I finished watching Bosch: Legacy season 3, the finale of the series. I enjoyed it, but the spin-off wasn’t as good as the early seasons of the original show.
And we end this wrapup with today. I added another chapter to the series bible, and whilst doing so, had an idea I’m excited about for The Spike Volume 3. I hadn’t yet worked out what to do with one of the recurring side characters, but I just laid the tracks that bridge the gap to their already-planned eventual demise…
Things like this are part of the reason I decided to complete the series bible before continuing with Volume 2. I love arcs that begin so early it’s not obvious where we’re headed, but feel inevitable by the time we get there.
I end the week having got joy from two books I didn’t write, one book I did, and one I’ve yet to write. Not bad.
This week was less productive writing-wise than last week. I’m hankering for a quieter period at the day job so I can destress, get my Crohn’s to settle down, and have more energy to tackle my lengthy writing to-do list – currently 78 items long!
Reading this week: Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh
Watching this week: New Amsterdam season 5
Playing this week: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139
status_report
I’m still wavering on a new cover design for a second edition of The Spike Volume 1, and have begun work on a different idea.
I’m also working on covers for the two individual parts, 1.1_Application Infiltration and 1.2_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. The drafts I’ve created feel a little too minimalist, so I’m investigating what I can add that will make it more visually interesting without distracting from the main image.
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.
Oxford’s AI Chair: LLMs are a HACK
EU-sponsored report says GenAI’s ‘fair use’ defense does not compute
Hungary opposition figures urge Democrats to organize against autocratic takeover by Trump
Tech to protect images against AI scrapers can be beaten, researchers show
Grok’s “MechaHitler” meltdown didn’t stop xAI from winning $200M military deal
Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I wanted to include something different from the original soundtrack for “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” that I picked the past two weeks. I’m still listening to it, but I’m sharing something else…
As mentioned earlier, I finished reading “Leviathan Wakes” (The Expanse #1) by James S A Corey this week. It’s always a joy to read something so well constructed and well written, and with a finale I couldn’t predict. My author-brain tends to be hyper-critical — particularly around character development, plotting, and sentence structure — but it didn’t have much to complain about here.
When there’s more books to be read in a series, and I’m committed to reading them, I don’t want to know anything else about them, so avoid anywhere I might pick up something even accidentally. I’m looking forward to continuing and seeing what details that seemed irrelevant in book 1 turn out to be important later on.
Foreshadowing that rewards rereads is one of the things I like most about reading and writing.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 