The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them).

After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all.

Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here).

MY CHECK-IN

What am I working on this week?

The current project has been dubbed “Project Rad,” and it’s been progressing at a steady clip since I kicked it off back on Tuesday. The past week has involved weapons deals in comic book stores and desperate fights in stairwells, and I’m currently heading into the chapters where mentor figures appear and significant events teach the hero what will happen if things go wrong. 

What’s inspiring me this week?

I’ve started reading MMA biographies ahead of the Cerberus Station Rumble redraft, and it’s been interesting to see the default narratives at work in the genre. For example, both Forrest Griffin and Ronda Rousey set out to establish themselves as underdog outsiders in the early stages of the narrative (and Griffin, under the conceit of talking technique, points out that presenting yourself as an underdog is a strategic choice in MMA). 

My notebook is filled with small details to take back to the redrafting process, and at least one minor problem that I’ll need to account for in terms of fight procedures, but this is why we do research in the first place 🙂

What action do I need to take?

There’s a good chance I’ll need to adjust my expectations for the coming week, as the CPAP machine I used to breathe while sleeping has started to make weird noises and deliver far-less-effective pressure over the last few days. It’ll be going to a repair place after the public holiday is over, but it means going without a machine for a stretch. Since I’m already slipping back into the fall-asleep-while-typing, slow-to-get-up, and constantly angry territory associated with apnea, this is not going to be my best week at the keyboard.

I’m not quite ready to give up on my daily word-count quotas just yet, but I need to be mindful of the point where they stop being a goal to keep me moving forward and start being a tool for anxiety-driven self-flagellation.