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?
Incredibly busy week, with some family medical stuff on top, so I’m looking to lock down as much planning as I can until the schedule opens up a bit. I’ll be laying out a couple of short story ideas to noodle with, and working through the next sequence for the WIP.
What’s inspiring me this week?
I did not mean to watch The Sapphires, but my partner has been laid up with a pinched nerve and it was her sick-day viewing of choice. This is a film that’s working through a well-trod formula a band-trying-to-make-it in a sixties setting, but it’s very aware of the new elements it brings to the table and uses them to its best advantage. Incredibly well-written film that’s layering all sorts of stories and issues up against one another in the narrative to really good effect.
What action do I need to take?
I’m working on a short story at the moment, 8 Minutes of Usable Daylight, and the bulk of my weekly writing time has been spent circling around the final scene which never feels quite right. This is usually a sign that something’s not working earlier in the story and I need some better set-up, so I should take some time to go through the draft and start looking for better endings.
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
2 Responses
What am I working on this week?
The majority of my time this week is going to preparation for moving house, as we got notice last week we have to move from current property. The challenge I’m working through is to keep up regular routines and triage the crucial things that need to happen, rather than just dropping everything. So this week is going to packing, selling some things we no longer need online, and narrative skills building to try and keep some momentum there.
What’s inspiring me this week?
Digging listening to Janelle Monae and loving the range of styles she can create in. Been listening through the audiobook of Starvation Heights, and hit a point yesterday where I realised what I thought was resistance to the slightly flowering style of storytelling thus far was discomfort at some aspects of the story hitting a little close to home. It’s an utterly brutal story.
What action do I need to take?
Keeping momentum on side projects and using evening time productively again. Not sure if it’s the disruption of moving house, but I’d fallen back into using evenings for things like playing games, and I need to be more accountable with my time, especially with losing so much to moving house.
Peter: good luck nailing the ending! Loved The Sapphires too – the whole cast is incredible, and there need to be more stories like that getting out internationally.