No Excuses.
I’m not going to bother dredging everything that went well or went wrong over the last week, because that’d waste time I’d rather spend pushing forward with the read-through. I think I learned my lesson working on the post I’d tried to schedule for last Monday when I hadn’t reached any new milestone. I’m not sure how long I spent on that, but it wasn’t on topic and the idea of keeping this blog is partly to develop a web-presence, partly so the novel I’m working on will have a story behind it, but perhaps more importantly for personal accountability.
Accountability.
There have been a large number of projects that I’ve started at one time or another, then found myself getting derailed by the notion that there’s something more important that needs to be done right now and then ending up never getting back to it.
There’s nothing in the world that can stop things that are more important from cropping up. Right now, I’m the backstop at the house because the wife’s department just lost two people within the last two weeks – one to a resignation, one to a dismissal – so I’m on my own at the cutting edge here, which means if I don’t do something, it’s probably not going to get done.
That having been said, it’s been useful to keep myself to writing a post every Sunday with the goal of having something meaningful to write about. Even if it means I’m writing a post about how there’s not much been achieved yet.
At time of writing (13:40 on Sunday, August 4th) I’ve reached Chapter 7.
Obviously I still have a way to go, so here’s something else I’m thinking about.
What’s in a Name?
One of the issues that was raised in the Alpha Feedback for The Old Man was perhaps a change of title.
It’s not like I haven’t changed it before:
- Dizzy – Just a label to stick on the idea of writing the story before it even became clear what the story was going to be.
- Blackwater Manor – the name of the estate where almost the entire story is set.
- The Old Man – a reference to the Butler, whose steadfast commitment to his worldview gets broken by the chain of events.
I’m keenly aware that the title is going to need to change, but I’m not sure what to.
There is a particular play on words I’m considering using, so here’s the first nominee for the replacement title for The Old Man…
Up Next…
Really?
Yes, I’m going to close out with my mandatory restatement of the goals I have now missed for a second week straight.
This upcoming week is back to school week, which means I’ll get the house to myself and not have to worry about feeding anyone lunch. I’ll still have projects that need attention, but it’ll be easier to concentrate on the read through.
Next week I hope to announce I’ve completed this read through and started the (hopefully) last redraft before seeking out Beta Readers. At that point I’ll be looking forward to having two more things to write about, namely transitioning into Scrivener, which I still haven’t really used, and finding Beta Readers which, if life experience is any guide, will be much more easily said than done.
In the meantime, have a safe week everyone, and if you’re interested in being a Beta Reader, drop me a line.
Categories: Accountability, Administrative, The Old Man, Title Changes, Work Update
Andrew Wellington 
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