My regular spoiler-free 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
Previously on WWW…
What next for the week ahead?
My new blogpost should go live midweek, so keep an eye out for that.
I’ll continue the first draft of my other blogpost, with the intention of it going live the following week.
I’ll carry on with the cover for The Spike Volume 1 second edition.
And I definitely want to resume revisions on The Spike Volume 2.
Those were my four tasks for this week. I have worked on all of them, to varying degrees of success…
I allowed myself a lazy Sunday, but spent an hour completing the blogpost that went live on Tuesday: You’re missing out if you only read your favourite genre(s). I refer to it as a “hybrid short story/blogpost” because it switches between fiction and non-fiction, each feeding off and into the other. I like how it turned out, and will use a similar format for other posts if it makes sense for the subject matter and I can make it work.
That was my first task of the week ticked off.
On Monday and Tuesday, I continued work on my next hybrid short story/blogpost that I began last week. It’s a similar format, but a bit more tongue-in-cheek. It should go live the middle of next week.
That was task two ticked off. A decent start to the week.
I returned to draft 3 of The Spike Volume 2 on Wednesday, beginning with revising what I’d recently written for new chapter 0.2.1.11, then continuing where I’d left off. On Thursday, I hit a bit of a block as 0.2.1.11 links to a later chapter; when I wrote that, I had a picture in my mind of a road in London I’d seen on TV, but as I want to include road names to give a better sense of place, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find an actual place that will fit with what I’d previously envisioned and described. I haven’t decided yet whether to keep searching for a place to fit what I’ve written, or to find a place and rewrite the chapters to fit.
That’s task three – not as much progress as I’d hoped.
Task four was the cover design for the second edition of The Spike Volume 1, which I spent time on during the evenings of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; it’s something I can do whilst listening to music which isn’t too mentally taxing, at least compared to writing.
I’ve got an idea of what I want to create, and have found reference images for the parts I need to cobble together, but I’m still planning exactly how I’m going to make it work before I put stylus to tablet.
I finished watching Wolf Like Me season 2 on Thursday and… it was ok. Not terrible, but not great either; it’s “big” moments didn’t land with me because they were so predictable.
As I knew I was going to be out most of Saturday at a family event, I began this WWW on Friday; and finished it Saturday evening, just before posting it.
I wasn’t quite as productive this week as I’d liked to have been, partly due to chores cutting into my free time, but also because my Creativity vs Consumption figure dropped from 53% to 46% – not terrible, but not good either.
For the week ahead, I want to spend most of my writing time on revising The Spike Volume 2. And, when my brain pleads for mercy from wording words, I plan to continue with the cover for the second edition of The Spike Volume 1.
I also have another hybrid short story/blogpost to go live, so keep an eye out for that.
Reading this week: Alchemised by SenLinYu
Watching this week: The Wire season 3 (rewatch) and Atlanta season 1
Playing this week: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 and Red Dead Redemption 2
status_report
In addition to the three short stories available to read for free here, there are three more yet to be published that make up The Spike Volume 0. The new three are in the final stages, and will be available some time before Volume 2 is published.
Work continues on a new cover design for a second edition of The Spike Volume 1.
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 3 is under way for The Spike Volume 2! I’d tentatively like to finish revisions by the end of 2025.
Volume 2 is my biggest, most complex project to date, containing three separate books from the perspectives of seven characters.
The aim is to publish Volume 2 in 2026.
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.
Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you, says Google’s Sundar Pichai
Nanorobots based on reconfigurable DNA origami arrays can work autonomously
Google boss says trillion-dollar AI investment boom has ‘elements of irrationality’
Could This Humanoid Robot Become the Army’s Ultimate Warrior?
Millionaires say ‘we want to pay more tax’
Microsoft tries to head off the “novel security risks” of Windows 11 AI agents
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I felt the need to share another track from the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack, partly because of the ludicrous decision not to include it on the shortlist for the Grammys.
I pay little attention to awards shows because the vast majority are clearly corrupt, and this snub did nothing to alter my opinion.
Later in the week, the absurdity of the Grammys exclusion was made even clearer as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Soundtrack at the Golden Joysticks in a public vote, along with six other awards including Ultimate Game of the Year, equalling the record for most wins.
In the end, whether it’s won awards or not is irrelevant. The OST is an amazing collection of music with something for almost every taste, and I’m going to be listening to it for many years to come.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 