October was a (largely) good month.
The Inktober drawings kept me drawing on a daily basis. And by splitting my writing goals into daily ‘1000 + words’ and ‘single world building box’ instead of larger ‘get 6,000 words over the month’, I was able to focus on getting something done, even on days when I didn’t have much time to be creative. Short, creative bursts.
I look forward to carrying that into November, especially as several friends and I will be taking a stab ad NaNoWriMo and a 50,000 word writing project.
And, let me take a moment to say good bye to Walter Koenig and Sir Patrick Stewart. Both are actors I’ve enjoyed for as long as I can remember watching anything. Sir Patrick was particularly devastating, as Captain Picard was my first Star Trek captain. But I had seen such an out pouring of love and respect through social media that I’ve had to appreciate how much good one man can put into the world.
Projects
I am working on The Colonel Lieutenant daily, from several angles. I’m revising the beginning to see if I can tighten the story even as I’m working through the climactic scenes. I want to get this project done, and within 150K words if at all possible. Or, if not, maybe break it into two books. We’ll see. But I’m working on it.
My new pass at Orcfyre is going well. This new iteration makes a lot more sense than the previous one. The world feels more fantastical, and the character development more personal. I really hope to get this project done soon.
Other projects advance, some better than others. There are a few projects that have good starts but I don’t know where they are going. Other projects I’ve had bursts of creativity and might have risen recently. I can’t say how or when they’ll be published, but I’m working on them, either writing scenes or building the supporting documents. Either way, I’m having fun.
November Creative Goals
- NaNoWriMo – 50,000 words
- 1,000 words day in other projects
- 1 word building box a day
- Two Blog Posts
Books
- War and Peace (Fiction; Audiobook)
- Seven Basic Plots (Research)
- Mr Lincoln’s Army (Non-Fiction)
- The Measure of Magic (Fiction)
- The Frist Volunteers (Research)
- Second to None (Research)
I read many chapters over October, but I did not finish any books. This continues to frustrate me, and even my ‘try to finish a chapter before bed’ habit doesn’t stick more than a few days before I lapse back into YouTube or just straight to bed. I will keep trying, as I have too many books to give up on reading.
November Readings Goals
- Finish one fiction book
- Finish one non-fiction book
- Finish one research book
Shows and Movies
- Ted Lasso Season 4
- VisionQuest
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Beetlejuice
I watched a fair amount this month so buckle in.
Shows
Early in October, I finished the 4th season of Ted Lasso. Overall, this was a frustratingly disappointing season. So much about it I liked – from new characters to the development of old characters – but nothing that was built up in the first half paid off in the second, and some (not all, but some) of the successes of the end weren’t properly earned or established. For a show about women’s football, the season built up a lot of stress and strain about how hard the athletes have to work for half the recognition, and then promptly forgot about them.
I started the Marvel show, VisionQuest, following a reincarnation of Vision as he handles his existence in the MCU. This is one of those shows that Marvel does that may or may not have any influence on the main MCU storyline, but allows to enjoy the characters we love and see minor characters of the Marvel comics that we might not get to see. I’ve enjoyed the episodes I’ve seen so far, though I’m not sure yet where this show is going. We’ll see.
I’m slowly working through Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 4. I wish it excited me more than it has been. But…it just isn’t. Maybe I will finish season 4 in time for season 5?
Movies
First, I watched the third Avatar movie, Ash and Fire. This was a very surprising movie in several ways. It didn’t follow the story arc I expected it to, and it introduced several tribes, both of which were not what I anticipated. This series continues to develop a fun mythology for its world that I’ve come to enjoy. It’s kind of a shame there will be another three years before the next one. Oh, well.
The second movie of the month was the latest Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. I had to get this one on screen before anything else got spoiled for me. As it was, I was still pleasantly surprised by a number of things about the film. For example, I thought it did a good job of showing the strain and stress of trying to be a superhero without any (or much) of a support system. And I’m excited to see how it fits into the MCU, especially with Doomsday coming up soon.
Movie number three was Beetlejuice, the 1980’s comedic horror movie with Michael Keaton as the titular demonic spirit. This movie was not what I expected. I thought it was about a recently deceased couple heading into the afterlife, with Beetlejuice either being their guide or their tormentor. The real-world haunting storyline was a surprise, but one that took the movie in very unexpected directions. I had fun watching it, but it was a movie I don’t know I’d ever need to watch again.
November Viewing Goals
- Finish three seasons of television
- Finish three movies
Games
- Anno 1800
- Terra Invicta
- Horizon: Forbidden West
I finished a run of Anno 1800. It wasn’t a pretty run, but it was very informative. I learned a lot about how the game flow works, and I have some ideas about how I can run it better in the future. If and when I ever get about to trying it again, or any other Anno game, I should play it better. But now that I’m done with that for now, I can move on to figuring out Terra Invicta or the American Civil War Grand Tactician game.
Continue to play into Horizon Forbidden West. I enjoy this game, but there are so many distractions, both keeping me from playing and, when I do play, keeping me from advancing the story line. It’s fun, but I thought I’d be done by now. I have other stories I want to play.
November Gaming Goals
- Figure out Terra Invicta, or at least be less confused by it.
- Keep having fun.
What’s Next
Nothing set in stone for now. Writing, planning and processing. And as always, wishing I had more hours in the day for everything.
Cheers!
Michael