I’m still not back to 100% on my regimens. The gym gets skipped or skimped on from time to time, finances continue to present challenges, I’m behind on getting Magic decks together, and oh yeah, I need to make more time to write.

At least my brain has been active. The very nature of Godslayer has changed. As eager as I am to move forward with it, I know that Cold Streets needs to be completed first. It’s been almost a year since I started writing it, and it should be done by now. In the weeks to come I will be redoubling my efforts to get a draft finished and out to test readers.

There really isn’t much else I should be devoting much time to, after all. I don’t participate in MMOs as of now, play by post games are not urgent, single player games can always wait, and Hangouts are more sources of relaxation and support than they are distractions. It may take some conscious effort to reassert my focus at home, but I know I can do it if I just take the time to stop and breathe before making a decision.

And of course, there will be more flash fiction, reviews, after-action reports, pontifications on writing and support for good causes here, so stay tuned.

I’ve been dropping words here and there into Cold Streets this week. I have the feeling that I’m reaching the top of the hill, and that in a couple hundred words, things are just going to take off. Moreso than the first novella, this one is taking its time getting to really juicy peril, and I hope people like the time it takes building on relationships and exploring new perspectives.

Both Godslayer and the sci-fi noir project have been getting some attention from me, as well. I’ve spent some time wondering what other media could be used to convey these stories. Do I hit up an artist to put one of them out in webcomic form? Should I teach myself a game engine and put my programming chops to use in something other than the dayjob? At this point, I’m still operating under the ‘novel’ assumption, but things can always change.

Basically, my goal is to have two major tales done by the end of this year, Cold Streets and perhaps one of the others. To do that I have targets to meet on a daily and weekly basis, much like I will for the renewed attempts I’ll be making at fitness (more to come on that). The more I examine how I spend my days and nights, the more I see that there’s plenty of time for me to get everything done, as long as I actually take the time to plan things in advance. Life will happen, of course, but the more I prepare beforehand, the more I’ll be able to roll with the punches.

That’s what makes sense to me, at least.