January Recap

Okay, for some reason the wheels came off my writing this month. I cranked out the first book in the Queen of Cinders trilogy in less than 30 days. In that same amount of time, I've written one-third as much on book two. Lame! At this rate, I'll be wrapping this book up around April. No way. I've got to speed this puppy up!

If only there were a way to get two extra hours in a day...

I did three speed paintings this month, which isn't quite on schedule, but they're quick, so no worries there. The thing about painting fast in digital is that the medium's shortcomings and strengths become all the more apparent when working quickly. The program's quirks, too, loom larger when time is critical. For example, if something is a problem that can be fixed by fiddling with the tool settings, I'd normally stop working and do a quick "sharpen the saw" session, and adjust the tool. During a speed painting, though, I don't do that. I just let it go. Why? I'm not sure. It's not like I can't pause my timer. But I don't.

Strange.

I'm also looking into e-pubbing one of my novels, and have been reading other people's notes on how it's going for them, the pitfalls, and so on. It's a lot to take in, but the more I look at it, the more viable it sounds. For the first time ever, going the traditional route (agent, publisher, etc.) seems antiquated. I haven't made any decisions, yet, but there seems to be little to lose, really. Except two novels, of course, if the experiment goes terribly wrong.

And that's it, work-wise. No game news, no new publishing.

Funny, I'm looking forward to beginning the editing I've got slated for February. This will be the first time I've read through my first draft of Queen of Cinders, Book One. I'm not a big fan of editing, so that must say something about what a grind January was. And, the only way I'm going to start editing Book One is by finishing Book Two.