We’re pretty far into the year now and I find myself wondering if this novel will ever be finished. The more I look at it, the more new ideas I get. I added a lord in this book mainly because I want him to become relevant later on and now I’m considering adding more races to the world as well. In volume 3 we meet some of them, but I want to start with that sort of worldbuilding much earlier. Hence why I want the Wolsar to make an appearance early in volume 1. They’re a small furry species of druids based on a homebrew I made for a friend’s D&D character. They live all over the continent and the tribe we’ll meet lives on the edge of the Liriath forest. It’s easy to write a story but it’s much more difficult to make it feel like a living world. Hats off to more talented authors.
I’ve also started reading a little bit more. I’m currently reading Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria books. I sent my writing to him many years ago and he told me that it’s really bad. Well, he gave some solid arguments for it of course but it still stung. Now obviously he was completely right in his assessment, and it was pretty bad and uninteresting, but I didn’t want to admit that. My pride was hurt but I didn’t stop writing then. I did however put away his books out of bitterness. Only recently did I come back to them because I’m a grown man and I definitely didn’t hope they were mediocre. Unfortunately (or fortunately) they are pretty good so far. I’m only partway into the first book but I’m enjoying them quite a bit. So Michael, if you’re reading this – which you definitely aren’t – you’re not too shabby.
On top of going full force on writing, I’ve also started work. I’m teaching 12 hours a week again and also doing remedial teaching once a week. This is completely new to me and I really hope I’m doing it right. I am getting paid for it after all. It’s a different skill altogether since you need to focus on a very specific skill instead of just going through general grammar rules. It’s difficult to make the switch, but I think it’s going alright. I just hope I’m being efficient with the time that we have.
Lastly, let’s talk about my private life a little bit. And more specifically, that of my family. I’m living with my dad and my brother, and the latter has been working for a Danish company for quite a while now. He’s really growing within the company and they want him to move there to work in the office next year. That’s going to be quite the change for us. He cooks our food after all. I always thought I would move out first among the two of us, even if I am already quite late due to being a total mess of a human being. I think it might be a sign that I should find my own place too although in this economy that might be a bit of a challenge. Not to mention that it’s comfortable living with my dad, we share the housework and it’s less lonely. I don’t know, part of me just wants to say screw societal norms, but I also don’t want to feel like a deadbeat. I’m not, but it’s the feeling that’s also important.
I have been wasting too much of your time already. You can expect a new One Piece volume review on Wednesday and a proper afterword for the Hesitant Hero on Friday. I’m sure it will be one of several as I have a ton of thoughts about how volume 3 went. I’m excited to share those thoughts with you as I mentally prepare for writing volume 4. I should really slow down, but I do look forward to November tremendously as I can let myself ignore all other writing projects and just focus on writing a story start to finish. I’ll keep you updated and as always; thanks for reading!
Opal Kaharis 