I’m enjoying a brief moment of downtime while I wait for the edits to come back for A Shift in Fate. I’ve already started writing Book Three, but my goal is to release that in December/January so I still have plenty of time. I have a tendency to overwork and not give myself breaks so I’m trying to be better about that. Especially since I know April is going to be brutal because I need to get through the edits for A Shift in Fate quickly so I can hand it off to the beta readers. I have several hobbies that help me decompress. I read a lot, probably 1-3 books a week. I’m also the type of person who will re-read a book series over and over again. I’ve probably read the Kate Daniels series at least a dozen times. If you haven’t read it…you should do that. Aside from reading, my other way of enjoying downtime is playing video games.
For those who don’t game, the Playstation 5 came out…last year? Two years ago? The last two years has been weird from a time perspective. At any rate, it’s been out for a while and is still really hard to get. I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get a PS5 release week. Unfortunately, there haven’t been that many games released for it. I played a couple games in the first month and then my PS5 just sat there, collecting dust and being all sad. Not anymore though! I lucked out in that my downtime from writing/editing coincided with the release of Horizon Forbidden West. I loved the first game and I’m really enjoying the sequel so far. The story is really engaging and the game has robot dinosaurs. What else could you ask for?
At this point, I have a week or less before I have to switch into editing mode for A Shift in Fate, and then I’ll have to put the PS5 controller down. But it’ll serve as excellent motivation for me to get through the edits. I also try to give myself small breaks throughout the week so that my brain doesn’t melt. My brain works kind of weirdly when it comes to writing though. I’ll often be playing the game and then an idea for a scene or dialogue will pop into my head, completely unrelated from whatever I’m doing in the game. I’ll hit pause button and grab my laptop to do some writing, then dive back into the game. I think it’s mostly related to me having a hard time being creative and writing when I’m stressed, so when I’m relaxed and playing the game, it helps the creative juices get flowing. Also I kind of hate that phrase, “creative juices”.
Anyway that’s enough random thoughts from me for the day. Next post will be another snippet on Friday!