It has been said that the hardest moment of any journey is the very first step, overcoming the inertia of doing absolutely nothing.
I agree with this idea.
You see, I’ve really been struggling with this as of late, I have a mountain of stuff to do both with my Patreon site and straight-up writing in my new trilogy.
There are many reasons for this, along with a few stupid excuses. We all know that the kill radius of an excuse is zero meters, right? So I won’t do excuses.
Here is what needs to happen.
I need to schedule the narratives in my Patreon site, the first book of the Promised Land Trilogy is created.
Here is an obstacle.
Around the drama and horror of what happened in Afghanistan I’ve been dwelling on what I want to capture in the opening moments of Book Two of the trilogy. Believe it or not this has slowed me down for two months. My protagonist needs to act a certain way, and I need to capture his emotion, his sense of wonder and fear. However, I worry that my efforts will be inadequate.
It’s time to kick self-doubt in the dick, to paraphrase the words of advice from John Birmingham in his amazing how-to re: being an author.
This is ridiculous. The last thing I wrote was on the 25th of June. The 25th of June. Seriously?
Yeah. Seriously.
Alright, I know this has been a totally distracting summer. Vacations. Road trips of discovery. The fkn debacle in Afghanistan. All of it added up has definitely screwed up my side gig, this writing thing. I am sure that you guys have noticed on this website, because I neglected this place as well. If it were a building there would be a broken window, weeds on the sidewalk and a wet basement.
So let’s get cracking, shall we?
It is time to drop in on my protagonist, Joe. I need to do some reading (and I have. My verdict? Probably not the crap I had feared). After the reading, to re-establish the mood, it will be time to write.
Chapter One of Book Two.
Everyone knows that the second work of a trilogy is the toughest one, the traditional bridge novel.
Well, this is my third trilogy, so it’s old hat. In theory.
BTW, after consulting with my friend, I have decided to release my unpublished trilogy on Patreon as well.
There is a lot to be excited about! I am looking forward to this fall; hopefully I can pull some of you along on the journey as well.
J
The Interstellar Valley 
My two cents (as if two cents is worth anything these days). I reckon this is your best work so far. I am loving it. Take the time to craft the story. I would rather wait a little longer for a better product.
But…
Get moving. As you sometimes say, any decision is better than no decision.
LikeLike
You will be pleased to know that as of yesterday I started seriously writing in Book Two of the STORY trilogy. I want Book Two wrapped up NLT December. V. glad you are enjoying this. J
LikeLike
In another ordinary Melbourne lockdown there are few pleasures. Spending a bit of time in outer space is one of the few escapes we have. Look forward to book two.
LikeLike
Step 2 is beer in my mind. Not helpful for you but I never promise help.
On another thing I’ve seen Daesh attack Taliban on a news report. Is this an orchestrated, theatrical lead up to the Taliban requesting Chinese intervention to ‘suppress illegal terrorists’ to legitimise Chinese access through Afghanistan? Highways of Peace to get to other places with military convoys? Just a thought.
LikeLike
One trillion dollars of mineral wealth. The problem is unlocking it. Good luck, China, if that’s the game.
LikeLike