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?
My check-in will be a little short this week, on account of a horrible cold that is making staring at a screen less fun than usual. But once I’m up and about again, this week will be about the thesis prospectus and a small pile of post-its full of instructions after talking to my supervisor on Friday.
What’s inspiring me this week?
The penultimate episode of Riverdale hit Netflix on Friday and I officially give up trying to predict what’s going on in that show. Their ability to ratchet up tension in slightly unexpected ways is fantastic, even as the show itself revels in the fact that it’s cheese. Easily the most interesting TV show I’ve seen in years.
What part of my project an I avoiding?
Going by my habit of going “I’ll cancel the next thing on my schedule, but maybe I’ll make the one a few hours later,” admitting that I’m sick and probably not going to get a lot done 🙂
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
13 Responses
Peter: hope you get better soon, dude. Sounds like you do need to admit that you’re sick and drop things for a little bit in the interest of rest and recuperation.
Also, love that Riverdale is managing to surprise you so consistently, too!
What am I working on this week?
Continuing work on preparing for the commercial demo. Home stretch on recording for the film project. Sniffing around government funding options for the voice acting consultancy business. Also going to put one of the exercises from Art of Possibility into practice of giving myself an A. There’s a great video online where Benjamin Zander explains this. Doing this to tamp down on some pressure that’s coming from inside my own head, and to calibrate a little more closely the course to my north star.
What’s inspiring me this week?
Finished up watching Stranger Things, and found the final episode emotionally brutal. Especially the Dadpain parts. But found it overall a beautiful story with authentic voice across three generations of characters, structured around one inciting incident. I could gush more, but I’d lapse into spoilers. Reading Danse Macabre at the same time is a beautiful companion. Really digging that book, and I realised on the weekend I’ve never lived in a world without Stephen King’s tangible presence. Gotta write that man a thank you letter for all he’s done before he’s taken from us.
I’ve managed to get a bit of progress on the flatlined video project in the meantime, which is making me feel more positive. Really enjoying planning around the textual edges of The Witcher, and I’ve found what should be a good primer on Romanticism.
What part of my project am I avoiding?
The count on auditions sent out has been a little low at the moment, along with lead generation through cold calls. Need to bump that up to get more clients through the door.
Good luck with cold calling Kevin. Do you find it an easy thing to do or is it something you really need to summon courage for?
Re Stranger Things: I just couldn’t get into it. I watched the first 3 or 4 episodes but abandoned it for Black Mirror, which was much more my style (well, the earlier UK series, anyway). And Stephen King, yep, love his work but every time I pick up my thesaurus to look for a word I find my self silently cursing him along the lines of, ‘screw you, Stephen King, I’ll use a thesaurus if I want to!’ 🙂
Weren’t the generations so well managed? And such a great way to deal with characters not sharing information, because it was so obvious that it would never even occur to the three groups to do so.
Having a cold sucks 🙁 Get better soon, Peter.
Here’s my Sunday Circle.
Good to hear the time limits are working, and huzzah for getting into the groove!
Get well soon!
Here’s my… Wednesday circle, which should give an indication of progress.
What I’m working on
– Many art deadlines, but the two Giant Sets of Thumbnail Sketches are currently sitting with their respective art directors.
– Finishing the edits on a short story.
– Applying for a grant.
What’s inspiring me
– A memoir of a doctor’s life, and all the strange little bits of moralising that don’t go where expected, and odd details of Victorian family life and WWII blood supplies and the changes of VD awareness from the late Victorian era to the years of teenagers and nightclubs. And good names.
– Georgette Heyer.
– The Hunger Games. I like a practical, focused, reactions-on-hold-until-the-crisis-is-dealt-with protagonists, and it usually is a man (unless she’s in Austen, although some of Heyer’s not-quite-pov heroines (Sprig Muslin, The Foundling) have this), so I’m enjoying reading Katniss a lot.
What I’m avoiding
– The State of the House.
– A too-close examination of what needs to be done before my June travels.
Ooh, June travels! Are you going anywhere exciting?
America for Illustration Master Class and Readercon, but I’ve just realised how long I’m going to be gone, and I’m going to miss everyone in Brisbane horribly. I just want all my favourite people to travel around with me in a grand progress.
Or at least not do anything *too* interesting while I’m away:)
It is Brisbane, so you can probably count on that 🙂