An indie author’s regular spoiler-free update on his writing, editing, cover design, marketing, publishing, website maintenance, and blogging. Issue 79.
This week in one word: single-minded.
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Previously on WWW…
I’m going to change my priorities for the coming week as I want my next blogpost to go live around mid-June. They are: 1) write my next blogpost; 2) design the cover for The Spike Volume 1 second edition; 3) revise The Spike Volume 2.
Last week was all about variety and working on a different task each day. This week has been the opposite.
My number one priority was to write my next blogpost in time for it to go live mid-June, and now it’s most of the way there.
It’s a kind of guide, and whilst I’m happy it has some useful pointers, I’m considering making it a touch more amusing. I don’t want to pepper it with jokes, but a few more moments of mirth would make it a more entertaining read.
I certainly should be able to finish writing it next week, but I may not post it immediately…
Last night, I finished reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I’m persevering with my goal of writing a review for every novel I read this year, so I continued writing my book review.
I’m also close to finishing Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, so will need to write that as well.
I don’t want to post too many pieces too close together, then have a couple of weeks at least until the next post, so the Crime and Punishment review will go live in the next couple of days, then I’ll space out the Klara and the Sun review and my next blogpost to fill the gap until mid-July, when my next blogpost will go live.
The only other task I’ve actually spent time on this week is this WWW.
My creativity vs consumption records may remain paused, and I’m not putting in as many hours as I have in the past, but I’m still doing something every day. Monday 8th will be the second anniversary of the start of my writing streak, which is crazy to me considering how difficult I’d found it to be consistent before that.
When I celebrated one year, I wrote a blogpost about the benefits and how I reached that milestone, and it’s still relevant.
After what feels like a long wait, my holiday started today. I will still write every day (I can’t end the streak now!), and my priorities will be: 1) finish and post the Crime and Punishment review; 2) finish my next blogpost; 3) revise The Spike Volume 2.
I’m hoping a week of rest will reenergise me to get back to my previous writing pace.
Reading this week: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Watching this week: The Leftovers season 1
Playing this week: Red Dead Redemption 2
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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.
I’ve resumed work 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.
Draft 3 is under way for The Spike Volume 2!
Volume 2 is my biggest and most complex project to date, containing three separate books from the perspectives of seven characters.
The aim is to finish 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 (that keeps growing) 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.
I have other project ideas that are on the backburner:
Project Lawless is a non-fiction book.
Project Fang is a fiction book that I’m still trying to work out a way to incorporate into The Spike.
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.
OpenAI let ChatGPT aid and abet mass shooters, Florida lawsuit claims
Microsoft says new quantum chip 1,000 times more reliable than predecessor
Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
ChatGPT blindly trusts browser content, turning the page into a payload
Publishers in UK can opt out of Google AI search results
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Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I rewatched The Usual Suspects. The twist and the line-up scene get most of the attention, but it’s brilliant throughout.
The twist works so well because of how it’s revealed, and whilst it would be difficult to do it in quite the same way in a novel (intercutting between Fergal walking down the street and the detective putting the pieces together), there are lessons to be learned.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 