Spring into Summer

“Instantly the brute saw him; its great yellow tusks gleamed in the shadows, but it made no sound.  Creatures of night and the silence, the gray apes of Vilayet were voiceless.  But in its dim, hideous features, which were a bestial travesty of a human face, showed ghastly exultation.  Conan stood poised, watching the oncoming monster without a quiver.  He knew he must stake his life on one thrust; there would be no chance for another; nor would there be time to strike and spring away.  The first blow must kill, and kill instantly, if he hoped to survive that awful grapple.  He swept his gaze over the short, squat throat, the hairy swagbelly, and the mighty breast, swelling in giant arches like twin shields.  It must be the heart; better to risk the blade being deflected by the heavy ribs than to strike in where a stroke was not instantly fatal.  With full realization of the odds, Conan matched his speed of eye and hand and his muscular power against the brute might and ferocity of the man-eater.  He must meet the brute breast to breast, strike a deathblow, and then thrust to the ruggedness of his frame to survive the instant of manhandling that was certain to be his.”
— (Excerpt from The Hour of the Dragon, by Robert E. Howard)


Spring into Summer
Wow, it’s hard to believe that Spring has already given way to Summer.  Every year, it seems like these seasons pass ever more swiftly.  Time for me to give my assessment of the “Spring Round” of ROW80 and to share my goals for the upcoming “Summer Round.”  For the past few months, my writing journey has been exciting, at times arduous, but always encouraging.  This being my first attempt at this 80-day challenge, I went into it with nothing more than an adventurous spirit, a disciplined mindset, and a passion for writing.  Nothing more.  Sure, I set some achievable, albeit ambitious, goals for myself, hoping to write to these arbitrary word-count numbers that I had designated for myself, but that wasn’t my standard for success or failure this time around.  For the “Spring Round”, I just wanted to serendipitously experience it, to see for myself what I was capable of achieving, and to establish a baseline for future rounds.  By going this route, I assured my success so long as I wrote consistently each day and publicly reported my progress each week.   Best to keep it simple, lest I get discouraged by the magnitude of the journey. 

Having said that, I do want the next round to be more disciplined and structured.  I haven’t yet finalized any goals for the “Summer Round” of ROW80, but I do know that I want to work to a weekly word-count goal, not a daily one, this time around.  I think this is a better approach.  If I miss one day due to life’s demands or if I fall behind, I can always make them up later in the week with a weekly word-count goal.  I also hope to do some serious story-crafting next round as well.  I will attempt, for the first time, to have a completed first-draft story, from beginning to end, hopefully ready for revisions by this autumn, even if it’s just a novella with a simple plot.  I haven’t decided yet what story I will be working on, but thanks to my Muse, I have over fifteen story-candidates with potential from which to choose (some more developed than others).  I’ve already narrowed it down to a few story-candidates and will make a decision soon.  During the next few weeks, I will organize all my story content and  prepare myself for the beginning of the next round.  I’ll report on that later once I know more.

I’m looking forward to doing some artwork during this two-week break between rounds.  I’ve been wanting to do some drawings all week, and have some ideas that I want to explore.  I like to get a visual feel for my characters and their surroundings, and I get my best ideas while I’m drawing.  There’s just something about being in that drawing-zone that really ignites my imagination.  My Muse loves it when I draw.  I can usually invoke her by picking up a pencil and a piece of paper, brainstorming and sketching-out my ideas so that I can visually “see” them and build upon them.  Nothing too detailed, just loose sketches and scribblings of the basic shapes for now.  Detail will come later.  I have a few characters that I want to draw and a few book cover ideas that I want to develop in between rounds as well.  Gotta keep those creative energies flowing!


That’s all for now.  Keep the Fire Burning!
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