Because the site was down last week, today is the day I join Ready, Set, Write!, a writing challenge by the ladies who created What’s Up Wednesday.

Better late than never, right?

What I’m Reading

I’m reading through TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, which deserves all its praise. A timeless classic, though difficult to read at times.

Speaking of difficult-to-read, I read the comic Maus — a Holocaust memoir in graphic novel format. I really love some of the decisions behind telling the story in this format.

What I’m Writing

When I got my site back up, I set some Ready, Set, Write! goals. They went a bit awry….

PAST GOALS:

Saturday, 15th June 2013

• Get outside for some excercise.
• Edit chapter 1 + Chapter 2 of Leviathan Rises/Crush
• ‘I’m Back!’ blog post.
• Draft this blog post.
• Work to improve security on my sites.
• Time off for Hannibal.
• Driving test theory practice.

RESULTS: Got two hours of walking around the woods in, got my site live and much improved (in the backend, no frontend changes), did everything apart from the editing.

Sunday, 16th June 2013

• Edit Chapter 3 of Leviathan Rises/Crush
• ‘What’s Left Of Me’ review crosspost
• Time off for video games/Hannibal.
• Work to improve security on my sites.

RESULTS: Again, got everything done apart from the editing. Very tired.

Monday, 17th June 2013

• Lochindorb blog
• Time off for video games/Hannibal.

RESULTS: By this time, I realised I’d overshot my goals. I was tired. I felt like I wasn’t achieving anything.

I ended up heading to bed early, doing some editing of the GIANT ROBOTS project, and watching Hannibal.

Tuesday, 18th June 2013

• Edit Chapter 4 of Leviathan Rises. Whatever you want, dude, slow down and take a break.

RESULTS: I finally settled down into a night of playing my DS, working on my site and plotting a DIVIDE THE SKY revision. (I’m thinking of giving these revisions code names, now: the CRY HAVOC revision. The SPIRAL revision. The WHAT AM I DOING revision okay maybe that one’s too unlucky.)

Today was pretty chilled, and I was happier.

Wednesday, 19th June 2013

• What’s Up Wednesday blog!
• Give up on bullet pointed lists.

RESULTS: Bullet-points successfully abandoned. They worked well for Jaime, who has training and structure behind her detailed lists, but bullet points tempt me into overloading myself with unattainable goals. So, they’re out!

Instead, let’s keep it simple.

FUTURE GOALS:

Wednesday, 19th June 2013 – Friday 21st

Write anything. More LEVIATHAN RISES, edits for GIANT ROBOTS, a DIVIDE THE SKY revision, that plot bunny about spiders… it doesn’t matter. Just spend some time getting the words down, and if I report in successfully next Wednesday I can treat myself when payday rolls around.

Bribery works, right? ‘Course it does!

Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd

Reading, gaming, and relaxing days, with some time out in the woods in the weather holds up. If writing gets done in the evenings, that’s great, but this weekend is about catching up on lost sleep.

Monday 24th – Wednesday 26th

More writing to be done. Blogging, editing, drafting, outlining, doesn’t matter.

But I’ll put a number on the progress I need to make: Three edited chapters, three redrafted chapters, or 3,000 new words.

Let’s do this.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails have a new single “Came Back Haunted” is out, and I’m in love with that familiar NIN beat. This sounds similar to the slightly more ‘dancey’ tracks from their album With Teeth.

 Also, it’s STRAWBERRY SEASON! Fruit is one of those things I didn’t get to have for a few years, because I was living on Tesco value noodles and sadness. Fruit was too expensive. Now that I’m at a better level of living, I just REALLY LIKE FRUIT. IT’S GOOD FOR YOU AND IT’S DELICIOUS.

AND IT GETS EVEN BETTER TASTING (AND CHEAPER!) WHEN IT’S SEASON. FRUIT. <3

I’m hoping to go on a trip to the local strawberry farm after pay day.

Lastly, if you’ve read this far in my blog post, you inspire me. Thank you for reading my ramblings, friend.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I’m moving into a new job as a Software Tester next month, and I’m really excited about that! I’m spending a lot of time trying to learn some of the new technologies I’ll be working with. It’s a big change from my current work, and it’s really interesting!