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?
Finished a story draft last week, so the bulk of this week is devoted to revision and trying to get it into a readable form
What’s inspiring me this week?
The History of the Devil by William Woods, which is not quite the book I expected it to be when I picked it up on a discount table at my local second-hand bookstore a few year backs. Much of it isn’t really looking at the Devil at all, but the shift from a hunter-gatherer society to agrarian society and how that’s reflected in the beliefs. Incredibly interesting book, and I keep making notes that will probably be short stories one day.
What part of my project an I avoiding?
Part of rewriting the story has involved layering in some new layers on the story, which in turn means that I need to start figuring out what the new ending. Still a couple of ways that it could go, but I need to pick one and build towards it.
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
12 Responses
Hi Peter, sounds like you’re on track with your work. I, on the other hand, am still stuck in holiday slackness mode. But seeing how you’ve barely skipped a beat is helping motivate me to get back on track, too. Here’s my Sunday Circle.
Good to hear you got in some proper holiday R&R, however!
Remember to be kind to yourself ramping things back up, Ree. Glad you really loved Black Mirror, and I’m amazed you were able to binge watch a show as bleak as that. Kudos!
I always want to see a diagram of how you edit, Peter!
That implies a much neater and more logical system than exists in reality. Mostly I just read things and go “is this right yet?” then list all the things that might be wrong if the answer is no.
What am I working on this week
– Getting the next 1/4-1/2 of the novella sorted out. I think I’m getting more comfortable with the slower speed of this sort of reconstructive writing.
– Turning a sub-section of the novella into a submittable short story.
– Editing and putting in page breaks for a picture book manuscript.
– Assorted art.
I’ve started the year by doing some more rigorous time-keeping and seeing what happens: setting goals for actual hours spent just typing/drawing, not including planning, admin, blog, etc. So far I’ve learned that if I’m pulling a long, single-activity day, it REALLY helps to have a long list of jobs to work on, because by the end of the day I won’t be capable of making useful decisions. And also the next day needs some serious downtime and should probably be reserved for errands/socialising.
What’s inspiring me this week
– My annual Twelfth Night party – the last of the Christmas candy and everyone brings a favourite passage (old or new) to read out – we had Australian history, poetry by local lawyers, David Unaipon award winners, YA novels, Austen, picture books, murder mysteries, cookbooks…
– I watched A United Kingdom last week, and just want to fast forward Amma Asante’s career so I can see where she’s taking her storytelling – taking what would be Worthy(TM), harrowing stories in other hands (if they were made) and making them so joyful and hopeful and good-looking.
– The Dirk Gently series, mostly because they make all the characters so ridiculous/interesting and then let them all keep crossing paths in different directions so you get to see different sides of them. It’s something of a Scooby-chase of a plot, and I’m loving it, although I’m glad it’s been so very long since I’ve read Dirk Gently that I cannot remember any resemblances.
What am I avoiding
– Starting early. I’ve been making a note at the end of each day about what has/hasn’t been working and why, and a lot of it boils down to leaving it too late in the day to start the main part of the day’s work and not leaving time for the peripherals.
What do you find is typically taking up the start of the day for you, on the other side of your note taking? Personally, I’ve found starting the day with a (time-boxed) pleasant activity has really helped me get of bet earlier. That being said, the heat over the last week has meant a few starts that’ve been later than normal…
Regarding your mental fatigue at the end of the day, it might be worth reading either Your Brain at Work or Thinking, Fast and Slow: both deal with the limited resources supporting decision-making in different ways, and might give you good tools to help structure workload.
The History of the Devil sounds fascinating and totally up my alley.
My Sunday Circle is here.
Kudos for the progress on writing! I’d love to read the militia woman piece when it’s done, if possible.
It sounds like you’re feeling really refreshed and ready to take on the year!
Regarding ferry travel – what would get in the way of you making this a regular routine?
Peter: How are your regular practices going now? It’s sounding like you’ve managed to hit a rhythm again, despite touchstones like the local cafe not being available. Nice work!
History of the Devil sounds keen. I wonder if The Witch might be a recent film that’s worth looking at as an adjunct to the book?
Not much in the way of regular practice at the moment – everything is going to change in about three weeks when I finish up at work, so I’m waiting to reach the new normal before I start looking to rebuild a routine.
Mostly, I’m just chasing the low-hanging fruit when it comes to goals at the moment. And the cafe re-opens on Saturday and I am gloriously happy about that 🙂
Checking in late this week thanks to friends coming from O/S yesterday.
What am I working on this week?
This week is starting the Dave Fennoy webinar, which I’m excited and a little nervous about, along with a deep dive on exertions/efforts in voice acting (following up some advice from last year to just spend a day on a serious weakness to get comfortable with it.
Also trying to move the commercial demo forward, along with Now Playing.
What’s inspiring me this week?
I’ve been watching The OA, which is a beautiful and emotionally engaging series I’ve found really affecting, but I’m a bit nervous that it’s not going to go anywhere plot wise, from what I’ve heard online. It might be the first series I’ve been willing to stick with despite a weak plot, purely because of great character and moments throughout (and thus far, what feels like a logical consistency) That itself makes it pretty exceptional.
What part of my project am I avoiding?
I’ve been pretty good at returning to the fundamentals, but I’m struggling at the moment to find time for the video side project I put on hold last year. I’ve been leaving my evenings to myself to just relax at the moment, and that might be part of the problem.