Everchanging Dilemma Edit Plan

 So for those newbies who weren't around the last time we did this (four score and seven years ago), our pathway goes something like:

1.  Prep Reading:  Read through relevant character passages from old works I think I might need to remind myself of.  This time I'm actually really nervous about this, since I've been away from the work for so long it's not as inside my mind as it usually is and I'm only slowly getting everything back in its proper place and training my brain to make all those connections again.  So if I do fuck up some continuity stuff...oops!  But usually this is my superpower so here's hoping, right?

Another big reason I want to do a full reread of the series before I start FM7 (finally)(I know)(no, really, I know!)

For "Everchanging Dilemma" we are looking at "Shadow Running" and Eva's POV/Isabel scenes from "Assault on Dread Fortress Paine", should be starting this today and typing down more notes.  Fuck you Halloween, there's writing to do!  Not you, Football Manager, daddy loves you!

2.  Second Draft (Addition Edit):  Basically where I just let the work engulf me a second time.  Early career me would be adding inner monologue and fleshing out scenes so the characters would be active in them, not just standing in a boundless, bodiless space talking.  More experienced me has started to really manipulate and rework scenes on a fundamental level, far more fearlessly than ever before.  We get better!  Future me...might even plan ahead more to begin with?  Now that's scary!

3.  Third Draft (Character Edit):  Another pass looking specifically on making sure secondary characters sound like themselves and that King Henry isn't overriding everything, making sure dialogue and mannerisms are right, stuff like that.  No KH this time, Evelyn Strange instead, so she shouldn't bleed over as much, I imagine.  It is at this point when the work is it's most bloated and unwieldy.

4.  Fourth Draft (Subtraction Edit):  We start cutting off bits and killing our children!  Cut!  Cut!  Cut!  It was at this point in editing "Assault on Dread Fortress Paine" where I caught the worst flu of my life and really half-assed it, leading to why the stream of consciousness of that novella was so TURN IT UP TO 11.  This might be the most important draft and starting with "Glassbreaker Goes Home" I promised myself to be extra ruthless going forward and will show no mercy this time around either.  No, Raley, you can't have a cock joke on EVERY page.

5.  Fifth Draft (Formatting/Kindle Edit):  At this stage I finally reformat the files for digital use and add in all the bells and whistles.  I then read through the book on my Kindle which kind of works to reset your brain and let's you notice errors and typos easier.  I also keep making cuts, the novel slimming down and getting sexy.  This is also when the annual Ellipsis Genocide usually takes place.

6.  Copyedit:  We hate typos!  At this point I also hate myself and hate what I've written and never want to read it ever again.  You also start obsessing over words and shit gets very weird.  Fuck you 'that', fuck you!  You're so unneeded!  You're ugly!  I hate you!

7.  Beta Read:  the lucky few friends, family, and hanger-ons get advanced copies and also kill typos since their brains don't know what "should" be there.

8:  Release!!!

9.  I make money?!?!?!

10.  You laugh and cry and feel things.

11.  The reviews make me want to commit suicide no matter how good they are.

12.  I work on the next novel because I am a masochist!

FM22: Newcastle Season 1

!!!VIRGINITY REJUVINATION WARNING:  SUPER NERDING OUT INCOMING!!!

How can you pass up $275 million to spend (yes, I use evil American freedom bucks) for your first Football Manager save of the year?

(I'm not addicted, you're addicted!)

RESULTS:

FUCKING RONALDO!!!  He ruined everything!  And...AND...guess who signed Mbappe on a free?  Not fair at all.  Even $275 million can't compete with that shit.

Granted I am happy to manage Top 4 in the first year, especially since Saint-Maximin had a really badly timed 2 month injury during Dec-Jan.  Callum Wilson was insane, even given where he played in the system I use being a goal fiesta spot for just about anyone.

TACTICS:

Started prepping for next year before I thought to share (read: brag) and too lazy to slot players back into their usual spots.  So...basically...two F9s should make zero fucking sense, but in video game world it works wonders.   A couple years ago attack mids were just horrible across the entire game and I abandoned them completely and haven't looked back and by the same token didn't like wingers last year either.

So I settled on my Not False 9s that work between those two positions as basically VERY aggressive attacking mids that players that can play either winger or attack mid or striker can be trained for, opening up a wide player pool.  In lower leagues where F9 capable players aren't as available I settle for Pressing Forwards and usually Target Men for the Complete Forward as well.

The most important players on the pitch with this tactic are the wingbacks, followed by the Complete Forward, and then the Mezzala.  You're basically creating three layers of crossing for your wingbacks, CF up front that is tall and can lead the line (he won't likely have the majority of the goals, but taking up space and pulling in defenders is his entire purpose, there will also be games were he has an average rating and that's just fine, he's still often doing his job), the two Not-F9s who might find space if the defenders over commit to the CF or if they don't can dart towards the goal for their own shot, and the Mezzala sits at the edge of the box and sprays in long shots (13+ long shot preferable, Right Foot required).

There's actually a MORE aggressive version of this with a Regista over a BWM at DM and that's a fourth layer where they shoot from like 30 yards plus.

Secondary tactic for this is that the right sided Not-F9 should be right footed and have good dribbling and crossing so when you do break they can cross across the field to the other Not-F9, hence many of Callum Wilson's goals.

TRANSFERS:

Best to Worst:

1.  Grimaldo: amazing, player of the year for me and a steal at that price and the wage he he's on.  13 assists, 7.41 average rating.  

2.  Isak: kicked ass leading the line and just what I was looking for, did demand a 90mil release clause and I'm probably going to lose him :(

3.  Milenkovic:  a rock for the defense all year and probably the next five years.

4.  Lacroix:  Steal at that price.  Wants a low release clause but did accept new contract with a higher number.  Played both beside Milenkovic and at BWM since Kondogbia collects yellows like they're Pokemon cards.

5.  Almada:  Long time wonderkid is still good and what a price!  Does take half a season to train his stats up before he's ready to start games, but he's earned his spot and has more development room probably too.

6.  Edwards:  English player down in Portugal that I mostly picked up because of the 8 english player requirement, but he played a ton and ended the season starting next to Almada, knocking Joe Willock (already at Newcastle) to the bench

7.  Dest:  Pretty disappointed in my countryman.  He had great games but he also had HORRIBLE games.  Like...6.0 games 3 or 4 in a row at some points, just made me want to scream.  Has development room, but we'll see might sell him in a year or two.  Do like that he can play on either side!

8.  Ceballos:  cheap!  Starts on the transfer list and if you wait a month or two he'll drop down a lot.  Still don't know if I recommend.  Had a few good games, but was middling most of the time, eventually replaced by Almada.  Planning to sell him for easy profit this off season.

9.  Kondogbia:   Disappointingly average.  Was hoping for much more.  Also starts transfer listed and cheap-ish, but looking at other people's saves do not recommend going for him.  Zakaria is available, plus Kessie is on the last year of his contract and was placed on the transfer list late in the summer which would have been SO much better for about the same price.  Also as pointed out before, loves yellows and was suspended for a lot of games late in the year.  Already sold him on to Barca for a small profit.

10.  Mings:  also signed for English quota and...WTF.  Totally capable of a 7.5 masterclass against weak competition but expect him to get destroyed by the big boys with those dreaded red ratings sub 6.0.  Do not recommend at all.

Rest:  Too young or subs that we'll see in the years to come.

As for what Newcastle starts with...so bad, SO BAD.  Sell them!  Be merciless!  Keep Wilson, ASM, and Willock...the rest are average at best.  Like most of this team is rated "good for sky bet championship" and the contracts some of them on are awful.

Jacob Murphy is signed until 2027, what the fuck?  Is someone laundering money through this guy?

Joelinton...listen, if the very first day of the game you can transfer list him and sell him for $0 dollars do it!  I would even consider $0 and some of his wages to be a HUGE success.  I was lucky to loan him out with a team paying 20% of his wages, that's how bad his contract.  It's soul crushing!  Please, please let me be able to sell him soon FM gods!

First Draft Done

 "The Everchanging Dilemma" is officially in edit hell.  2.0 edition up next!

Probably going to let it sit for a week  or so and work on King Henry's last school story for a bit, then I'll get to it.  Still looks like a decent shot to be published before the end of the year.

47k words.  172 manuscript pages.

Some laughs.  Some tears.  Lots of crazy shit from Miss I'm-Not-Crazy!

Almost There

One scene left to write!

Back is better than it was.  Still iffy by the end of the day, but I do have a chunk of hours to get some writing in when the caffeine, tylenol, and biofreeze hit the spot.  Still waiting on MRI news and next steps.  Other than that...editing might be a little rough since I can't pull 12-20 hour days to get it all done quick-like in my current state, but we'll see what happens.

Other than that...

Still got Vicky and KH to get back to!

Also:  WORMS!!!

If they don't give us Dune Part 2 we riot!!!

Tease: Guess the Speaker Edition #3

"Farmer boy from Nebraska. People look down on that sort now, but before pornography they had a firm head start on the mechanics of the act that left city boys at a severe disadvantage.”

Great News, Horrible News

 We'll start with the great news:

Surprise!!!  So I called an audible and have been working on this for not quite 2 months now.  I'm a couple scenes from having the first draft done.  It is an Evelyn Strange POV chunky novella or novel-lite that will probably be about 45k or 160 pages-ish by the time its all nice and edited.

It takes place the same day that "Glassbreaker Goes Home" does and hopefully as you guessed from the title is about the Asylum dealing with Isabel now that she's been captured.  So in that way its a direct sequel to "Assault on Dread Fortress Paine" but is also really a spiritual sequel to "Shadow Running" which was Strange and Eva's story in "King Henry and the Three Little Trips".

Why did I do this?  Well...the Vicky novel and "War to End All Wars" both had a lot of work to be done and I wanted to get something out sooner and I made that joke post a while back about Isabel not being Anima Mad and all of you took it so seriously that I thought maybe I should answer it sooner than I planned.  Plus...I just got the urge and since I've written 40k so quickly I'd say it was a good one!  It's really helping to get the ring rust off for sure!

Now that we're shedding the two timeline structure going forward there's likely to be prologues and epilogues in the books from other characters (especially "villains") and this was on the slate for that as well, but here we go now!  Plus its a lot longer and fuller this way...

No King Henry, obviously, since he's in Visalia with Val and his family, (which I'm sure there will be whining reviews about but hopefully not too many) and it's not earthshattering or anything, but I do think it is very meaningful and some of you world-building nerds will be VERY HAPPY with a few events that take place.

...

SO....

Horrible news...

I've had shoulder pain for a month or two and then last week it became back pain so bad I couldn't even sit in a chair.  It's better than that now, still painful and sore and limited, but obviously I'm typing this blog post so...better!  But...it's not good.  It's going to slow me down.  Plan was to get this out next month and now I'm thinking more before the end of the year with the realization that at any point if the back gets worse who knows where we'll end up?

I finally got into the doctor yesterday and an x-ray showed enough that an MRI is getting ordered, with the expectation of thoracic disc herniation as the most likely diagnostic.  If that is what they find, then more surgery might be in my future.  On one hand, completely shitty adding on top of what has been a shitty number of years in a row.  On the other, at least all the nerve pain I've been having over the last five years has a probable cause now, so I don't feel like a crazy person.  Obviously, very early, could be something else, x-rays don't have the accuracy required and I'm not a doctor, but...I don't think spines are supposed to poke out that much.

So...I'm pretty bummed today...

And the flu shot they stuck me with also isn't helping...

And Hearthstone's Mercenaries Mode is boring as hell...

But...we endure, we write, we edit, we make shitty covers!

AND DUNE COMES OUT THIS WEEK!!!!!!

SQUEEEEEE!!!!

RAIN!!!!!!!!

 GLORIOUS RAIN!!!!!!