On Schedule Changes

So I suppose it would be good for me to admit something at this point. Iron Angels won't be coming out in May.

That might be kind of obvious, given that we are on the last day of the month. Hope springs eternal, I guess. :) Unfortunately due to delays caused by our move to Pennsylvania, other projects, and the unavoidable craziness my life seems to attract, the possibility of getting the book out this month wasn't very high.

Which, of course, means I now have a decision to make. I can either continue to work on Iron Angels until it is in publishable condition and get it out during the month of June. That would mean putting off the revisions on Badger until Iron Angels is completely done, possibly delaying that book as well, which is something that might get me mobbed. :) Alternatively, I can shift my focus to work on Badger and finish up the work on Iron Angels at a later point. One way will minimize the delay before Iron Angels hits the market, while the other preserves the rest of my schedule for Badger and the other books.

As I've been thinking about it, though, the best option seems to be the second one. Iron Angels is in the final stages; that means it will only need a short, final revision to touch things up before it is ready to go. I think that if I get Badger ready during June, send it to the copy editor by the end of the month, and turn my attention to Iron Angels after that, I can have Iron Angels ready before I get Badger back at the end of July. Then I can pour my efforts into getting Badger ready, which I will hope to get out by the middle of August. That way, instead of stressing myself to my limits and possibly rushing the development of these two stories, I can take each at its own pace, and probably have both of them ready by mid-August. They'll be released at the same time so that they can support each other, which might be a benefit that I won't complain too much about.

There are benefits to doing things the other way as well, but I think they are more than outweighed by the costs in time, effort, and most importantly, sanity. Putting too much pressure on myself to get everything done at a preset time, without consideration for the usual chaos that infects my life, will do more harm than good in the long run. By taking a more measured approach, I can have both books out before the end of the year, and hopefully arrive at my next project with my wits intact.

So yeah, if you are waiting for Iron Angels to come out right now, I apologize for the let down. It has taken me a while to admit it, but it turns out I am human too, and can fail. Blergh. Rest assured, however, that my schedule for Badger remains unchanged. My rewrites on that are starting as we speak, and the alpha readers have pretty much all gotten back to me. That project has me both excited, scared half to death and ready to start. Let's hope no more crazy hops in the way this time.

In any case, I'll see you around!

On Re-finding the Balance

So I have to confess that recently I've felt the temptation to get into a new hobby. Writing was once my main hobby, but now that it has morphed into a career, I've kind of been left hobby-less. It wasn't quite so apparent in Texas, since between my job and my writing I didn't have enough time to contemplate it. Now that I have a bit more breathing room in my day, I find myself returning to the concern.

This post might sound like it contradicts my previous posts (read: whining) about not having a whole lot of time. It's not quite that, though. The problem I'm having is more that I don't seem to focus very well anymore. I might have time, but it certainly isn't productive time, and when I finally get around to being productive, I'm either exhausted or distracted or both. Part of that has to do with the fact that I have been left with only a few main hobbies, namely videogames and reading. I can be rather obsessive about both, and both tend to lead to me wasting time on the computer, so I find myself needing to branch out.

So, solution one has been to restart my habit of running. The weather here has been cooperating nicely, and I'd have to say the exercise has certainly helped me feel a lot more at home here in Pennsylvania.

Solution number two is a lot nerdier. A whole lot nerdier. Which is why I will post about it on Thursday. Both because I am a terrible person, and because this post is way too long already. See ya. (Mwahahahaha...)

On Balance

So, I’ve come to the end of my first week of full time employment, and I think I need to readjust my expectations. Perhaps writing 10k words while also working 40 hours in an emergency room is a bit much. (Yes, I really did try to do that. No it didn’t end well.)

As I make the goals for next week, I will have to be a bit more conservative in what I attempt to accomplish. I focused a bit too much on trying to keep up with all of the house chores that I had been doing during my lack of employment, with the result that I planned on cooking a meal nearly every single night along with cleaning nearly the entire apartment by myself. The only reason why I didn’t go nuts sooner, I suppose, is because my wonderful wife kind of sensed I was driving myself over the edge and helped out a little.

Still no word from med schools or the like, though we now are nearing the end of May. Grrr. Oh well, such is life. I suppose I should be happy that I have a wonderful opportunity to work, and that my main worries involve finding constructive ways to relax rather than where my next meal is coming from or how to make ends meet. Far too many people have those kinds of concerns these days, and I am fortunate indeed not to be among them.

So, yeah. Maybe if I feel extremely motivated, I might post up the second part of the Game stuff later on tomorrow. I just know all of you are looking forward for more of that. Hahaha. See you around, guys, and have a great weekend.

On Employment

So as of today, I am once again among the employed. Huzzah!

Having a job is kind of different. It’s more a mindset thing than anything else. Writing is now no longer a priority so much as a hobby, and that is strange. I’ve grown so used to having to struggle so hard to focus on my stories that it is hard to break out of it. Fortunately, the pace of my job can be pretty intense, so that should help me to keep my eye on the ball rather than wandering in the corridors of my imagination.

Adjusting the expectations I have of myself is another issue I’m facing. I won’t be writing 20k words a week any more, and I probably won’t be able to divide my attention between various projects like I have been. At the same time, lowering my goals has left me feeling like I’m slacking off, which I’m not. I just have a different reality to get used to. Rather than having to fill up empty time with lots of work, I’m going to need to plan relaxation so I don’t wear myself out. That is new, but probably better for me mentally.

The job itself should be interesting and fun. I likely won’t discuss the specifics of it much, given how easily stuff can be taken out of context online, and I wouldn’t want to screw up my chances at such a beautiful opportunity to work just because I waxed whiney on my blog of all things. Suffice it to say that I was able to get a position where I was once volunteering, the people I am working with are fantastic and patient with me, and I feel like if I need to I could stay here for a while. That, and the emergency room is a pretty crazy place, but that’s kind of a given. :)

So yeah, no other news yet on my applications to med schools. I am thinking of beginning the application process to grad schools at this point, but an awful lot of my future career still depends on what answers I get back in the next few months. I’ll let everyone know when they finally come in, whatever they may be. See you around!

Jakeson