October Burnination Week #2

Predictably, my left side is just finally starting to heal and feel better as I need to get the right side burnt out on Wednesday.  I swear, I never type Wednesday right.  Wed-there's an n somewhere-day.  Anyway, I've managed to finish the main rewrite/edit/whatever-the-**** on the last chapter, the one bit of work I accomplished this month, looks like.

Means the TO DO list is something like:

1. Type Session 92 changes into laptop.
2. Finish Readthrough Notepalooza on FM6 + 3 MancyVerse Moments novels.
3. Upload 2024 Editions to Kindle
4. Second Draft of Seismic Semester (sans Session 81 which is locked, you're a good chapter, yes, you are!)
5. Post Session 81 Preview and Cover Reveal
6. Subtraction Edit of Seismic Semester
7. Formatting
8. Kindle/Copywriting Edit
9. Beta Read
10. Release (reminder that I do not release during the Holidays, so even if all goes smoothly [it hasn't been] the soonest would be mid Feb-there's an r somewhere-ary)

But in the near future, back in rest and heal mode for a couple weeks looks like.  Season 2 of Arcane and the Diplomat coming out in that time, two of my favorite shows of the last few years, so I will be entertained at least.  HIGHLY recommend both.  Arcane is a must for anyone.  Diplomat is the most West Wing feeling show I've watched, except if not limited by tv network censoring laws.  Same producers and Alison Janney has been cast as the VP, the West Wing bloodline is very present.

10/30 Update:  Done with the RFA.  Came home, iced up, napped for 4 hours (is it a nap if it's 4 hours?) and now I'm feeling about what I expected the pain level to be at last time instead of the intense misery I was greeting with.  So that's good news that we might not need 2-3 weeks recuperation this go around.  Let's hope we can get back on track with the edit and the pain keeps dropping to a point where I don't have to write the next novel on a phone.  Though I've gotten quite speedy at it after 140k words... 

A Fitting Seismic Semester Tease

Apologizing to patients being a grave sin as far as Evelyn Strange was concerned. Only slightly less problematic than rooting for the Yankees.

Another Week Off?

Spine is, if not screaming, then still vigorously complaining.  I suppose this is a good sign from a certain point of view that this really is the area that's the main perpetrator and it's taking a bit longer to heal up.  But yeah, still bruised and swollen where they burnt the nerves out.  Pain and aching all down my left shoulder and around my neck too.  Woke up to a thirty minute intense cramp in my left foot today, that was fun.

So...no work getting done really.  Few days back I managed to hand edit a whole 8 pages of the last chapter (which is the only chapter still left in first draft state), but I've been paying the price ever since.  Just very gun-shy to push myself with more and think another week of FM and reading in bed is probably the smarted thing to do.  No matter how frustrated it makes me.

Read through the four Thursday Murder Club books, good fun if weak on the mystery aspect.  Septuagenarians solving murders from their retirement community if you haven't heard of it.  Turning it into a movie with Helen Mirren as the lead, should be fun.  Highly recommend Penguin if you haven't started it as well.  Don't even really need to be a comic book fan to enjoy it, I'd say.  It's once again made me realize how little time I have for even "good" television these days when we have so much "great" media swirling around.  Been struggling through quite a few shows the last month maybe forcing myself to ingest an episode a day and then devoured all four episodes of Penguin yesterday, and I can't wait for the next one.

Anyway, 3 paragraphs is about what I want to push myself to type at the moment, so here's hoping I have more productive news to report in a week or two.

10/19 Update:  Back to doing some light editing of the last chapter.  Still sore/swollen/bruised, but not as bad.

Week Off

Burnination C4 to C7 left side tomorrow morning.  Be out of action for a week at least.  Got tried of note taking and worked on editing the first chapter of Seismic Semester the last couple days.  I think it's like...done.  Just don't see anything more I can do with it.  Nothing to add, did my subtraction edit.  It feels pretty tight.  Might be some typos I catch on the kindle or the beta readers notice, but...feels locked.  So one down and eleven to go.  Granted the first chapter is the shortest and simplest by a mile, because of course it is!

Regardless, it being done, I'll post it as a sample chapter later this month or early November along with the cover reveal.

Hope any of you in Florida are staying very safe.  Had some of my family dodge the worst of Helene in NC.  Not fun, not fun at all.

October Preview: FM6 Noteapalooza and Burnination

4 doctor appointments, including the left/right C4-C7 RFAs this month.  So far I'm usually in extra amounts of pain for about a week after every RFA, I imagine it will continue this time.  Two weeks after I start feeling better with pain levels dropping.  Since the vast majority of my pain is radiating from this spot, no idea how much extra pain or how much it will drop once they're through burning those nerves out.

My hope is that I'll be able to sit in chair and type for 8 hours a day afterwards.  Being able to go for a morning walk and use a video game controller and not having to wear wrists braces 24/7 would be nice added bonuses, but I really just want my typing to be painless again.  Or at least a lot better than it is now. So, that's the hope.

I have started the FM6 readthrough.  Got through 5 sessions in 2 days and I already want to die (22 left to go).  104 notations already.  Pfft.  Already noticed a couple things I'll need to add to Seismic Semester, imagine there will be more.

So that's me for the next month.

Totally recommend playing Tactical Breach Wizards if you like puzzle/tactical games btw.  It's not like XCom where you have percentages and every encounter is long and grindy.  Is much more like a puzzle game since every skill hits and you're expected to clear rooms in two turns max (very few go longer if you're doing things right).  Good characters and fun urban fantasy story too.

10/5 Update:  Well, they timed the RFA just right, because the one they did last November is starting to wear off and I'm struggling.  Can't work but ever other day, even editing instead of straight up writing.  Have managed to get 11 chapters down, with 16 left to go.  196 notations.  Eek!  That's where most of the pain comes from, handwriting everything down.  Here's hoping handwriting detection AI gets better over the next 5 years so I can more easily digitize everything in the future.

Was reading the Learning Council powwow chapter today, where Moira Welf gets her first real introduction.  Funny to think she wasn't really around for so many books, since she's so important later in the novel and especially going forward.  As I've said before, Vicky is the POV character of her novel, but Moira is the driving force.