I am kind of blatantly stealing the periodic update articles I’ve seen which have seen effectively done by
and . Writing output has been low for a while, and updates like these feel like an effective way to help remind me what my priorities are and to tell you what I’ve been working on invisibly behind the scenes here.State of Gibberish
Things are good, all in all! I’m going through a trying time and there’s a lot “IRL” that is taking up my time and attention and energy. That’s why I haven’t had any flash fiction to post or really anything other than my regular weekly exercises. The IRL stuff will be ongoing for some time so I’m trying to balance work with life with writing, and I’ve been feeling the itch to write more so that’s a good sign that I’m getting to be in a good place.
What I’m Reading
On Substack I’ve been doing a lot of reading!
- has an ongoing serial called Goldgreen that I have been enjoying thoroughly! Check out her work at .
- has an ongoing serial over at called Remembrance and that’s been fun to read as well!
- has been writing Moves of the Civil War over at and I’ve enjoyed every episode!
- wrote a two-parter called Chattel over at and that is not normally my genre but it was a lot of fun to read!
- has been keeping his adventures at going and it’s getting serious!
I’ve read a lot of great things, but these are a few that come to mind as I write this!
The Books I’m reading are few, and I honestly haven’t resumed casual reading since I moved.
Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
recommended this to me and I was really enjoying it, need to pick this back up again.I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings, so when Hambone recommended Three Body Problem, I was marching my way through The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkein. It’s taken a back seat while I work on 3BP!
If I had them in front of me I would report the % complete, this just serves as a note to self next month when I write another update.
What I’m Working On
Weekly Exercises - I’ve been cranking out my weekly exercises pretty reliably, so you can expect those on time, every Tuesday, for all of October!
Serial - If you’ve been paying attention on Notes I’ve been sprinkling hints about a serial inspired by the short story I wrote at the beginning of August called Nameless. This serial is called Duel, and it’s tentatively planned to be a nine episode serial. I’ve got Episodes 1 and 2 drafted but I’ve just decided to rework them. My goal is to get the first episode published before the end of October!
Drafts - I’ve got a LOT sitting in my drafts folder. I can’t promise any of these will see the light of day, but it gives you a sense of what I’m working on.
Writing About Writing - I used to write about writing more and I haven’t in some time. I have a draft called “Writing With Strategy” for which I’ve been jotting down ideas. I have two other ideas for Writing About Writing posts in another draft which I use to collect ideas before I separate them into posts.
I have a draft titled “[faust]” because I love the faustian bargain as a trope and would like to write something using it. I actually wrote a LOT of words in this “flash fiction” story, but I’m worried it’s rather unsubtle. Of all months, October would be a good one to revisit this. (Authors Note: Minutes after I finished writing this,
announced the Lunar Awards season 4 started—if I get my act together, this story will be my submission!)There’s a draft titled “another muaddib”. You may recall a longer story I wrote called Blood or Flood, whose name in my drafts was ‘reverse muaddib’ before I came up with the title. This draft amounts to some notes on how to tackle the idea, it’s very loosely developed. When I say ‘muaddib’ as a trope, I am referring to Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides, from the Dune books by Frank Herbert. Muad’dib is a short-hand reference
and I use to talk about powerful prophecies. In Dune, Paul sees a holy war that bathes the world in blood in his name—he loses control of the cult that forms around him. In Blood or Flood, the leader of Atlantis declines the offer (you’ll understand how when you read it). This ‘another muaddib’ idea is just another twist on the idea that Hambone and I talked about a while back and which I haven’t yet developed further.
Thank you for sticking with me through some lean times, fiction wise! I hope this update gives you a good sense of what’s coming down the pipeline. I’m excited for this month and I’m really excited to get the serial out for you—keep your eyes on this space!
Happy writing, and God bless!
- Scoot
Thanks for the shoutout and glad to hear you're enjoying the Civil War :)
I've had the Three Body Problem on my to read list for years but have yet to get round to it. I have at least 5 books to read before I can freely choose a book though so maybe next year.
Blood or Flood was brilliant and the 'reverse muaddib' idea has more to give. Looking forward to the Nameless serial!
Scoot! Do you follow Breanne Rogers' Many Meetings stack? She's doing a self-paced read-through of LOTR this year that you might be interested in!