Howdy folks, how are we all doing today?

I can’t remember my exact numbers from yesterday but I made good progress and got a good few hours of writing work done. I don’t think I’m going to have to do any full rewrites for the next chapter of Penal 2. Those first two chapters were quite weak and introduced unnecessary new characters and plot lines that allowed the story to a crawl more than anything else. I’m gonna save those element though as I think they could work as a standalone novella.

The short story is progressing, the next part of it is going to be a lot of fun to write!

I haven’t done any writing today. I’ve spent most of it hanging out with a friend and just relaxing. I think a problem I’ve had in the past is trying to put too much on a schedule and ending up overwhelmed and falling off altogether. By leaving space to give myself a breather I’m hoping it’ll mean I won’t get as drained, but we’ll see.

Last night I watched Smile, and what a good movie that is! I liked the concept, I thought it was well written and loved some of the choices the director and cinematographer made with how the film was shot. Production and writing was pretty solid too, but the acting was amazing. This is one of those films where the actors really nailed their roles, with Sosie Bacon and Kyle Gallner really standing out from a strong cast. Quite brutal in olac a but definitely worth the watch.

I’ve also just finished the audiobook of The Eternity Artefact by L.E. Modesit Jr. I read this book many years ago but wanted to revisit it as I’m much older and have lived more since then. It was as good as I remember and it was nice getting back to my sci-fi roots a bit. In my teens and through my twenties I was much more sci-fi than horror, which is why I like trying to merge the two. Coming back to this one was a real treat and as it’s been so long since I read it there was an element of it being a new story. It’s a damn fine book and I’d recommend it.

Right, I’m gonna wrap this here. Back to work for an early tomorrow.