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

While the last seven days haven’t been the most productive in terms of word count, I’ve been setting up a new work space and actually have the space to do checkpoints in a lot of detail. The white-boards are in full flight again, complete with project lists (longer than I want), deadlines (shorter than I want), and stuff that needs tracking front and centre.

For the first time in a while, it means I’m really looking forward to what’s achievable in the coming week, and I’m going in with a plan and some of the complications mapped out in an advance.

What am I working on this week?

I’m hoping to get through the first act of Project Heavy by Friday, in addition to getting Short Fiction Lab #4 out to my advance reader team.

If I finish the Act One chapters early, I can switch my attention to the draft for the September Short Fiction Lab release for a stretch. If not, I’ll largely be focused on doing some pre-writing for this one. 

What’s inspiring me this week?

Madeline Thein’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing is one of those books that I devour in small, occasional bites rather than trying to swallow it whole. It’s an intricate, beautifully-written book about the cultural revolution in China and the legacies there-of, with a focus on a family of musicians. 

I’ll generally sit down and read a few scenes every week, when I’ve got the free bandwidth, and there will invariably be a little paragraph that takes my breath away. This week, that paragraph looked something like this:

I’m only about halfway through, but it’s a glorious book. Highly recommended.

What action do I need to take?

The big challenge, now that everything is largely in place at the new desk location, is embedding work habits and getting to a point where I’m actively focusing on drafting. Right now it’s largely happening at the end of the day, after sorting and admin, and I need to try and move it forward.

One of the things I’m going to try and transforming my morning planning process into an evening thing–getting everything lined up at the tail end of the day when motivation starts to flag, then kicking off the new day with some in-depth thinking or writing instead.