So where has D.D Wolf been hiding? What happened to the site updates? Seriously, what’s the deal?
Hardware
Lately I’ve been working on the best writing process for me. I still use engineering graph paper quite a bit for first cuts, especially for drawings. This works for me at least partially for the classic reasons: it forces me to slow down and it involves more senses than typing on a keyboard. In the past it’s also been simpler for me to carry around pen & paper. The idea now, though, is to shift to using a tablet/laptop small enough to easily carry around and manipulate in tight corners. That’s a big change for me, and it’s taking a while to get comfortable with it. So it’s taking me longer to get the actual story for book #2 moving forward.
Software
I like the writing software that I use. It can track a myriad of story details and let me access them all in one place rather than dragging three-ring binders around. That same capability is also the biggest downside for me. As a research librarian at heart, It’s easy for me to get lost in background details, history, setting, and all the other “bones” of the story. Generally speaking, I find it easier to pull that material together than putting down the story. And I enjoy putting the backstory together, often more than I enjoy getting a full story completed. That’s a weakness I continue to struggle with.
Even with my CADD software experience with CADD, I still find it simpler to use the infamous green engineering paper to begin with. That likely won’t change until I start publishing more drawings on the website, but I am evaluating a couple of programs to see what works best for me. The output will mostly likely stay with PDF since I can use layers and views. It’s incredibly useful to be able to overlay fight choreography on a plan view and be able to change either and/or both without starting over from scratch.
Headware
There will always be family, friends, health, and all the distractions that come with living to derail my writing. To be fair, none of those have had nearly the impact as my mindset. In short, I’ve hit the “discouragement” phase of writing that hits when it seems no one is interested in the first book, much less a sequel. More than hardware or software, problems in the headware have kept me from putting down as many words as I should, both in the stories and here on E3ink. Putting the process in a groove will help, as will greater familiarity with the tools themselves.
As I take care of my hardware and software issues, I think the headware will course correct out of self-defense! The holiday season is full of distractions, so I’m going to take it easy on myself (which could just be laziness…) and target just after New Year’s to have my hardware, software and headware knocked into shape!
DDW
