***ONE JOB***
I’m pretty sure you all have seen those “You had one job”
memes floating around during your internet adventures. They normally end with,
“And you failed” or “And you nailed it”. What I’m getting ready to talk about
is something I believe will fit the criteria of the latter. Before writing this
journal, my day has been just another “lazy day”. No creative work has been
done, the plans to go to the Y have been cancelled, and the only productive
thing I did in this 24-hour span was wash and dry my laundry. I could have just
as easily spent some time under my oxygen mask and recovered whatever energy I
lost that day, but no. There’s something deeper going on here.
I was beginning to wonder if I had too many tasks on my
plate. Sure, I now have four major projects going on at the same time, but as
long as my focus is divided evenly among them, I feel overwhelmed rather than
in control. It’s the reason why I turned down an opportunity to review Andy
Peloquin’s upcoming book, which is the third installment of The Last Bucelarii
series. I felt bad about saying no to him, considering what an awesome writer
he is and all he’s done for me and my brand over the years. He assured me that
everything was still cool between us, so that makes me feel slightly better.
I’m starting to wonder if I should focus on these projects
one at a time instead of all at once. And when I say focus on them, I mean
finish them entirely before moving onto the next project. With this kind of
sharp attention, it means I’ll have to miss a few weeks at the WSS because I
won’t be working on Demon Axe those days. Everything else will have to take a
backseat to the current project, but that’s what it’s been like even before I
made this “One Job” decision. I kept worrying about what needs to take priority
and if I work on one thing at a time instead of jumping between projects, I can
finally get some shit done.
Earlier tonight, my always awesome and insanely beautiful
beta-reader Marie Krepps has finished critiquing the last of my Poison Tongue
Tales stories, which means it’s now my turn to make those suggested changes and
polish it into a publishable book. But at the same time, I also have three
other projects which need attention: writing Demon Axe, reading “What Hides in
the Darkness” by KL Cottrell, and beta-reading “Benevolent Slayers” by Marie
Krepps, which comes out in late May. I asked Marie if it was okay to put off
beta-reading for her until I got everything sorted out and she said yes. In her
infinite sweetness, she also told me not to push myself too hard when editing
the hell out of those Poison Tongue Tales stories. I want to hug her right now!
Editing Poison Tongue Tales is so easy, a caveman can do it.
It’s a matter of getting through all of those stories since I have so many of
them. As far as Demon Axe goes, my most recent chapter is fifteen and there are
usually twenty of them, give or take, in any novel I write. Finishing Demon Axe
is also going to be easy as pie, but Poison Tongue Tales comes first since it’s
closer to being a published book and Demon Axe is only a rough draft. That just
leaves me with Benevolent Slayers and What Hides in the Darkness. Marie has
always shown patience with me and I’m eternally grateful for that. As far as KL
goes, don’t worry, babe, because I haven’t forgotten about you. In fact, I
never forget about any of my creative commitments. It’ll be worth the wait!
It’s time to get into business mode, my friends. Four major
projects and it all starts with Poison Tongue Tales, the easiest, yet longest
assignment I have. Marie has a wonderful habit of making editing easy for all
of her clients. That reminds me, I should ask her about her cover-making
services since PTT is close to being published into a book. The question
becomes, what will I want my cover to look like? I don’t know the answer yet,
but it’ll probably involve a poisonous creature tongue. It is, after all,
called Poison Tongue Tales.
Tomorrow morning, it’s game time. If I have to go to the Y
to exercise that day and then take a nap afterwards, I’ll still have the energy
to push through. If I’m exhausted that day, I’ll spend some time with the
oxygen mask until I’m ready to go. I’ll heed Marie’s advice and be easy on
myself while at the same time following my own creed of being a hardworking
author. It’s been a whole year since I’ve published a book and that was my
second poetry book, which is called Necrograph. In just a few short days, we’ll
go from death writing to toximancy. Let’s get busy!
***LYRICS OF THE DAY***
“Well, I’m the king of
Boggle! There is none higher! I get eleven points off the word quagmire!”
-King Adrock from The
Beastie Boys rapping “Putting Shame in Your Game”-
***POST-SCRIPT***
Funny story about that.
It wasn’t Boggle, but while playing Scrabble, I once got 40 points from the
word bitch and 70 points from the word goddamn. I won both of those games fair
and square. I knew my English degree would be good for something one day.
