Strict Focus on Writing; Plans Shifting
...moving forward but veering off the typical path I've followed, thus far
I’m sick of talking about all the roadblocks that I’ve had to deal with the past year or so. As far as the living situation chaos of the past 10ish months, I should be moved into my new place this upcoming weekend. And if everything goes the way I think it will, I’ll be much more at ease, have peace of mind, and be able to actually relax enough in my home. No more contending with my housemate’s big ass dogs barking all the time and her kids having screaming matches over the last lead-laced Lunchable. But again, I’m sick of talking about this shit and I am nearly free of it.
Anyway, the main reason for this update is to talk about my current progress and my path to the next book’s conclusion. I know that I mentioned the possibility of this shifting path on Discord, but I don’t think I have talked about it on Substack or Twitter.
So, I think that I have to write multiple books side-by-side. The next one to be released will be the 2nd Fenrik Side Quest. However, I am going to have to write some parts of the next anthology alongside it. The reason for this is to keep the narrative tighter and I think that doing it this way will actually help me craft much better, more cohesive books. I think that I may also have to work on the next book’s short story because of how it ties to everything else. Additionally, I may even begin the plotting of the next “saga” book’s opening chapters.
This arc in the saga is pretty intense and there is a lot of new things, ideas, and concepts going on. I also have to fill in the gaps of time between Fenrik’s departure from his home world and his return to it after it has been conquered by this arc’s “big bad”.
The anthology that will be released after the next Fenrik solo book will focus on the different core characters/groups and what happened to them following An Axe to Eat the Gods up to the eventual Book V. How do they escape absolute doom (or do they), and where do they escape to (assuming some survive)?
I don’t think that the next book’s release will be extremely far away, but it’s going to take longer than what Barbarians of the Storm readers have grown accustomed to. It’s actually way behind schedule now because I needed a hiatus and the real life shit has been a total bastard to deal with for quite some time now.
The possible good news, though, is that the next two books could come out relatively close together. While I cannot guarantee that yet, getting the bulk of the stories mapped out and significantly written alongside one another should make that pretty likely.
Now this article’s title first mentions “focus” and the reason for that is because I need to buckle down on the writing and find that groove I once had. This means that I am putting less time into things outside of writing the books themselves. I’ll still be on Twitter and Discord but I can’t really say how active I’ll be. I’ve already pulled back on both quite a bit. However, I’m also going to have to pull back on Substack. I’m not going to push myself to give weekly updates here. At least for the time being. I’m not leaving Substack, but I need to prioritize it less. I will still give semi-daily writing updates on Discord for those who are connected with me on the Talking Pulp Press server.
I also need to focus on getting my fire back and feeling motivated again. It comes and goes in spurts, which is much better than it’s been since the publication of the last book, but I need it to be consistent. To do this, I have to minimize distractions. I hope the move to an RV in the woods helps with this. We shall see.
To those who have been in my corner this entire time, thanks for your patience.
Also, if you have read but not yet reviewed the newer books on Amazon, please do. They need help in that regard, and good reviews always help with a writer’s motivation to keep pushing ahead.