12:49pm

As of this writing, Torvalin is 39% complete, based on my target word count for novels.

That is a damn-good feeling.

I think I’ve rambled earlier this week about changing my focus from word count to creating the daily habit. After all, a consistent, daily habit will get me more words per year than a clump of high words counts interspersed across the calendar.

To that end, my “official” goal is now to maintain a minimum daily average of 2,750 words, and I need to achieve 3,400+ words per day for a week to get me to that level, given this month’s production so far. (Don’t worry; a screenshot will be at the bottom.)

In the past, I have said that I feel good about my various attempts to create this habit, but there’s something in the back of my mind communicating that this time is different.

Now, granted… there will always be things that jump up and bite me. After all, one of my favorite sayings is “Life’s what happens while we’re busy making plans.” I feel that I will be able to return to an already established habit much more easily than picking back up attempts to create said habit. Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch call these events life rolls, where Life does its best to roll over you.

One possibility for how this time might be different is that I’m working my way toward picking up a new hobby.

For a long time, I’ve been interested in woodworking. Specifically, furniture-building. I doubt I’ll ever be a “professional” woodworker, in that I make a full-time living from it, but it will be another avenue for letting out my creativity.

I’m sure this may come as surprise to some of you (not many, but a guy can hope  🤣) that I have a tendency to overengineer things. One of my closest friends stopped me from proceeding down the path of building a 30′ x 60′ shop for my beginner woodworking efforts.

I believe I’ve mentioned the idea of converting the carport at my grandparents’ house to a wood shop before, and I will be proceeding with that plan… shortly after I tear it down.

The lot where my grandparents’ house now stands needs a new well, but a drilling rig can’t get to where I want the well drilled without removing the carport. So, that’s Step One… or maybe the new new Step One.

Honestly not sure at this point.

Drilling a new well will cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000, but it will be coin well spent. No one should use the water from my grandparents’ original well unless they have an extremely acute iron deficiency, and even then, I’m sure medical professionals have a better way of bringing up someone’s iron level.

It was/is a hand-dug well cased in 4″ iron pipe, dating back to the early early 1900s (as in 1910 or before). I’m pretty sure the casing has truly rusted to nothing by now.

I had been pushing off pursuing the woodworking plan, in favor of exploring the country. Sadly, recent events have convinced me that making a travel a significant portion of my life simply isn’t feasible at the moment. The Writing Log screenshot below contains a hint to the explanation.

Trust me; I am not happy about circumstances changing my plans like this, but such is life.

I’m having a bit of difficulty deciding what project will follow Torvalin. The two top contenders are Tribunal (Sorcerous Pursuits #3) and Omnia (Primogenitor Saga #5). Assuming I maintain the daily average of 2,750 words, September will be more than sufficient to finish Tribunal.

I would have to maintain a daily average of 3,400 to get both Tribunal and Omnia out the door in the same month. Don’t get me wrong; there’s a part of me that wants to try for it. But I’m focusing on creating the habit right now… and probably through the end of the year.

As much as I like to take the long view of things, I think I’ll put a pin in this specific topic until the need to settle it is staring me in the face. Far better to focus on creating and maintaining the daily average, I think.

Okay. I’ve rambled as much as I care to at the moment. I don’t have any pressing topics to discuss (like continuing education the other day), so I think I’ll close here.

I hope the days treat you and yours well. Stay safe out there.