Four weeks off of writing was a welcome break. Yes, indeed. I did have what I wanted to write in the queue. Instead of rolling right along into 2022, the effort was like wading through sludge to type. I had a steady buildup of excitement to resume over those weeks. Truth be told, I did edit a teensy bit earlier this month; just didn’t report on it. So, I thought last week, “It’s time to get back to it.”
I am back in gear for 2022. Spittin’ all those words on the screen. Pretty much how it goes every time.
Ironically, I don’t like driving stick and I don’t know how to.
During those weeks of reading, playing videogames, watching movies, and hanging out with people that aren’t made-up, I came up with a flexible plan of priorities and a timeline for the coming months. Sort of in order.
Priorities for 2022 right now:
- Revise game writing samples so I can apply to studio jobs.
- Write some more articles, then take a break from those.
- The major one: finish the book!
- Edit the short story.
My front-facing writing – the portfolio – needs fine-tuning in formatting and rewriting one script sample. Been working on that since last week. I want to have that finished by next week. After that, it’s pretty much all steam ahead to write the book. I plan on writing a couple more articles that have been gestating here and there. But the writing with the most focus is gonna be Just as Human. Speaking of, I am renaming the draft. There is so much new prose with this that Second Draft does not qualify. Henceforth, it is renamed the Real First Draft.
Corny, yeah I know. Its meant to be fun, as the story is!
Realistically, I plan to finish the Real First Draft by the end of June. Ideally, in three and a half months – from the end of portfolio editing onward – writing 500 or more words, five days a week. If I can do more, I’ll do more, but I don’t need to burn myself out on an arbitrary timeline as a non-professional. But, getting it out of my head after four and a half years of thinking about it, is happening. Since it is an early draft, I will also be sharing the sentences I end each writing session with. As for the short story being a low priority, I want to edit that later on.
That is it! Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter (Matthew Birdzell@HDSimplicityy), see these updates on my Facebook page (Matthew Birdzell), or on Discord servers if you see me post there.
Matthew Birdzell 