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?
This week is all GenreCon, all the time. Pretty much everything else takes a backseat to getting the whole thing launched on Friday and running over the weekend, which means my checkins will be pretty sparse this week and next.
What’s inspiring me this week?
I’m about halfway through Caliban’s War, the second book of The Expanse, which I picked up after going through the first book at a pretty steady clip. I love the TV version adapted from James S. A. Corey’s books, but it’s definitely one of those series where the books are the better format. Reading this and the Game of Thrones books in relatively close succession has been really useful, as I can start seeing how they both do the big, sprawling conflict with multiple stakeholders.
What action do I need to take?
Schedule breaks that are meaningful, rather than just collapsing in a heap. This week is kinda constant and it takes conscious effort to keep myself from checking email and checking hashtags for potential problems with the con, and it’s hard to set aside that impulse and get away from the conference.
I’ve ended up taking a short, unscheduled break from writing newsletters over the last fourteen days. Regular GenrePunk Ninja transmissions will resume
Like many of you, I have good weeks and bad weeks on the writing front. This week has been rocky, and if
Welcome to GenrePunk Ninja supplemental, where I occasionally post foundational essays written before I launched the GenrePunk Ninja newsletter, especially if they’re
7 Responses
Good luck with GenreCon! Hope it goes amazing. 🙂
My Sunday Circle is here.
If you’re looking at time/project management in detail, try Dan Charnas’ [i]Work Clean[/i] – it’s a fantastically entertaining look at the lives of chefs in and of itself, but it also draws time and project management systems from the philosophy of mis-en-place. It was really useful when my schedule started getting a bit random, with different blocks of time eery day.
And I’ve never found one system that fits perfectly, but did cobble together a system that worked for me out of a half-dozen other systems. Mostly it’s just focusing on the bits that are working for you from each and figuring out how they fit together.
Peter: glad to hear that the Expanse books hold up. I’m looking at diving into them over the year break along with Accelerando, so it’s great to hear that they hold up.
Regarding breaks from the con – can you limit the number of devices you’re able to check email/Twitter on to enforce some sort of break? Or is it always your phone you end up using for that sort of thing?
The solution is basically being offline. I’ve been trying to get better at putting my phone away in the evenings, and focusing on tasks that don’t come with internet access.
What am I working on this week?
I’m back above water after MIGW, which was fantastic, but very draining. A good prep for doing GDC next year, and understanding what I need to do better to manage energy. This week I’m working on an application for GDC travel funding, as well as getting tax sorted (finally!) and a quarterly review. I’d started the quarterly review as soon as I had headspace, but tax and the travel funding are taking up too much attention to be able to plan more strategically. So I’ll be looking at that once those two big impact items are done.
What’s inspiring me this week?
Last week was a bit of a blur, so I haven’t had a chance to sit down and engage with too much media. I’ve been working slowly through Stranger Things S2, which is interesting, but I’m still enjoying less than S1. Been playing through Wolfenstein: New Order purely as downtime, but was reminded of this moment by a Facebook conversation, which is just an exquisite example of everything coming together just right for a perfect moment. (it’s a short video, well worth the watch)
What action do I really need to take?
Start closing open loops to free up space for longer term planning. Post-MIGW is the line in the sand for the cycle of the year for me, and I’ve started on some exciting paths in terms of self-development/improvement, but I need to close out as much ballast as I can to move forward at full velocity.
Wolfenstein has changed from the game I remember 🙂
Very much so. I’m hearing a lot of buzz about the writing in the new Wolfenstein, too. It’s an absolute standout in terms of how well-crafted the narrative is.