Weekly Preview: Dec 28, 2020
Monday, December 28, 2020 at 2:10am
On the writing front, I was able to wrap up my first major editorial pass of Intersection Thirteen. I feel as though the novel is mostly there. I expanded the parts that needed expanding and cut out some chaff, too. It probably needs one more revision pass, but it is near enough to its final form to send out to beta readers.
I’ve also started on the final story that will be part of Chronicles of Ytria, which is titled Adaptive Response. It’s pushing me out of my comfort zone in a big way, which is good. I do not typically enjoy bio- or body horror. I have strayed into that realm only once so far (and only very lightly), for the story The Measure in The Shipwright and Other Stories. Adaptive Response is going to beat The Measure’s bio-horror factor by a pretty large margin. It’s significant enough that I need to pause and take breaks from writing it. Squeamish readers, you have been warned.
Everything else is going well for me, too. I hit a couple of major lifting milestones: I added 25lb to my deadlift one-rep max, squatted over 300lb for the first time, and achieved a two-plate (225lb) bench press, too. It was a very good two-week block of lifts for me. All the extra holiday calories have at least been good for something, I suppose.
I’ve got some fun stuff slated for the blog this week. Tomorrow is my scathing review of The Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman. The review’s first draft was incendiary, but I was able to pull it back to merely scathing. I’m also doing a post about how writers read and we should be more mindful of what we let ourselves enjoy. Sandwiched between those two pieces will be my retrospective on 2020 and my plans for 2021. Here is all that in list form:
- Tuesday: Libertarianism the Prime Mover, a review of The Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman
- Wednesday: 2020 Retrospective
- Thursday: 2021 Planning
- Friday: Like Button, an essay on how writers read, what we pay attention to, and how we decide ‘what we like’
