Daynote - Tue 21 Jul

This picture is actually from a few days ago, but I forgot to take one this morning, so you get this sunlit deer instead.

It's a head-down-do-the-work kind of week. So not much to update on here, except to say that I'm getting the work done. As it should be. A little haar this morning, so not too hot. But kind of humid.

ON DECK: A solid 1,044 words on DRIFT this morning, starting to pick up speed and focus a little. However, I'm on a ticking clock, as I've got two sets of edits still inbound that will arrive at an unspecified point, so I'm trying to get as much done as I can in that unknown length of time.

LISTENING: Loved this interview with fellow Bloody Scotland Debut Prize shortlister from last year, Foday Mannah, over on the Balancing The Books podcast, which continues to be an excellent look at all the stuff around writing and how people make it work. Although I love hearing about the specifics of writing routines, figuring out how to make those routines work with the rest of your life is just as much (often more!) of a challenge, which is where Cailean's podcast shines.

WATCHING: No TV last night, we were reading instead. But I did enjoy this great TedX talk from Stark Holborn, whose Factus books I absolutely adore (and which got me out of a major reading and writing slump in 2020/2021). Stark is also a games writer and this talk is a very nuanced and insightful perspective on the use of 'AI' in games (and I say this as someone who is deeply, deeply sick of hearing about 'AI' from every angle):

READING: More of THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones (Bookshop, Waterstones, Amazon) last night and I'm in the last fifty or so pages. It has escalated significantly, but man, the prose never ceases to be a joy. And the dual perspectives and layered narrative are absolutely chef's kiss.

LINK: This piece on how to read way, way more was a link off another excellent article that I finally got around to reading, and I'm glad I did, because it chimed significantly with my own gradual realisation that rigid TBRs and 'should reads' is really no longer working for me (blog post brewing on that topic).

UP NEXT: Off to see THE ODYSSEY tonight and looking forward to it - reviews, critical reception and the opinions of people I trust are all pointing in the same direction. We'll see.

As for the rest of the week, I'll be ploughing ahead as fast as I can on DRIFT, unless and until my edits land on Project VAULT.

Onward!