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…
For the week ahead, I don’t expect to spend quite as many hours writing, but perhaps a higher proportion of my free time seeing as I’ll be back at my day job from Monday (sad face).
I’ll try out the new idea for a social media profile image; will give more consideration what to do with the Volume 1 2nd ed cover; but mostly I want to continue revising The Spike Volume 2.
At this point, the main reason for setting targets for the week ahead is to have something to put as the “previously on…” quote, because they keep getting derailed.
It went off the tracks almost as soon as I posted last week’s WWW. I finished reading Alchemised by SenLinYu, and it provoked thoughts that kept me awake Saturday evening. I knew I needed to write about it.
So, on Sunday, I started writing a blogpost about the 1,028-page dark fantasy; it should go live in the coming week.
Also on Sunday, I did two shifts working on the new idea for my social media profile image, the first whilst listening to the F1 season finale (congratulations Lando). I haven’t finished it because I don’t think I’ll use it, but it has convinced me I can do better than what I have. I await further inspiration.
I was back to the day job on Monday (dammit), and in my lunch hour, I began revising the next chapter of The Spike Volume 2. I needed to rewrite the opening and include detail that I decided would slow me down too much when I was drafting it, and I left a difficult hole to dig myself out of. Thanks, past me.
In the evening, I continued with the Alchemised blogpost.
From Tuesday to Thursday, I had to go into the office for my day job (double dammit). Considering some of the topics and controversy of Alchemised, and therefore my blogpost, I didn’t feel comfortable writing that in the office, so I put it aside for a few days whilst I concentrated on revising The Spike Volume 2. It took a while, but I worked out the detail I needed for rewriting the troublesome chapter, and revised three others, until I hit another blockage…
Chapter 0.2.1.27 involves locations in London again. As I’ve written in a previous WWW, since the initial drafting, I’ve decided to use real place and road names where possible. That’s problematic when I’ve written a whole chapter around an imagined journey.
I need to find somewhere that will work for what I need, then fit it into the steps of the plot that need to happen. A bit of artistic licence will be required, but hopefully not too much.
PURPLE ALERT! PURPLE ALERT! Rant incoming…
I have been watching Atlanta season 1 on Amazon Prime, and was enjoying it.
Episode 7 is a satirical, fake TV show within the world of the show, even down to having satirical, fake ad breaks. It was smart and amusing, and this was the kind of creativity and commentary I expected from Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino.
However, it was ruined completely by Amazon putting their own ad breaks within the fake ad breaks, so it often took a moment to distinguish what was part of the show and what wasn’t. In a 21 minute show, there were 3 ad breaks. It was almost like watching YouTube, except the ads couldn’t be skipped.
TV companies originally sold the idea of online subscriptions partly on the idea there wouldn’t be ad breaks, because we’re paying a subscription. But they couldn’t keep their grubby mitts out of our pockets, and added tiers so they could charge even more.
I don’t think I’m going to continue watching Atlanta, at least not on Amazon, because of Amazon.
Rant over. I’m quite proud of myself for not swearing there.
I worked from home on Friday, so wrote some more for the Alchemised blogpost. Later, I spent a while looking at different ideas for other future blogposts.
One old piece that’s been increasing in reads (despite me not posting about it anywhere since publication) is my analysis of the opening scene of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This might be partly because it’s been picking up awards left and right and breaking records along the way, and my piece appears on page 1 of Bing when searching for “Clair Obscur” or “Expedition 33” and “opening” (although curiously not on at least the first 5 pages of Google, curse them). I’m sure that has more to do with the success of the game than the format of my piece, but I’m not going to keep writing endlessly about it, no matter how incredible it was.
I am, however, looking for other scenes to analyse from films, TV shows, books, or games, so if you have a scene you want to see broken down, line-by-line, shot-by-shot, please let me know in the comments.
On Saturday, I (nearly) finished the Alchemised post, and wrote this ‘ere WWW.
During the week, my brain has occasionally drifted back to thoughts of the Volume 1 second edition cover, and I know what technique I want to try next. Once I’ve finalised the mental picture of what I want, I’ll try again.
The return to my day job, and the need to catch up on chores I should have done during my week off, meant I was often drained in the evenings, so I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked. And yet the amount of time I’ve spent, and my creativity vs consumption score of 43%, isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
It is, however, the worst for seven weeks. The next week will be even busier at the day job, so I’m not going to put any pressure on to do more, but I would like to. I certainly don’t want to do less.
Let’s state my targets for the week ahead, if only so I can write how I’ve missed them next week…
I intend to publish the Alchemised blogpost midweek; continue revising The Spike Volume 2; and when my brain’s too mushy for words, work on either a new social media profile image or the Volume 1 2nd ed cover.
I may also begin my next blogpost – that may depend on whether another massive tech company (not Amazon) continues annoying me over the coming days…
Reading this week: Slow Horses (Slough House #1) by Mick Herron
Watching this week: The Wire season 4, and Atlanta season 1
Playing this week: 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 February 2026.
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.
Australia’s social media ban for children has left big tech scrambling
EU investigates Google over AI-generated summaries in search results
Publishers say no to AI scrapers, block bots at server level
Zero-Click Agentic Browser Attack Can Delete Entire Google Drive Using Crafted Emails
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I’ve been listening to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
I didn’t discover this band until 2001, by which time they’d already been going 18 years and released 10 albums. I began with their Best Of and liked every song, so went on to get every album.
There were a couple of Christmases in a row where I got two or three of their albums as gifts, and listening to them at Christmas became a subversive sort of tradition. Their songs of love or murder, or sometimes both together like on the aptly named Murder Ballads, fit in perfectly with my mood for the season. (Don’t hate me for hating Christmas).
Every December, I have my own tradition of listening back through their discography. The track below is from the bonus disc of the Best Of, a live recording from the Royal Albert Hall. I’ve always preferred this version of I Let Love In over the original on the album.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 