Deadlines and Video Games
Book three was supposed to be turned in a month from today, but I am behind. It turns out, 2021 broke me a little bit. I turned in book two a week early, but it took a ridiculous sprint to the finish that saw me working long days for over a month straight.
In an ongoing pandemic that was already very stressful.
Looking back at the second half of last year, I was flirting with burnout, though I was loath to admit it. I kept pushing, trying to write book three, and it kept not working, and so I pushed harder, and it worked less, and everything was miserable.
Now, here we are, a month from the deadline, and I’m just under a third through the book. That is Not Great(tm)!! But my lovely agent has already been in contact with my editor for an extension, and it’s the biggest one I’ve ever asked for—two months. Luckily, the schedule had some wiggle room in it, so my new deadline is June. I will remain mostly absent as I work to hit the new date, but I’ll be on Twitter more than the blog.
And I’ve had two good writing days this week, so I think I’m finally getting into the swing of the book after nearly a month of banging my head against a wall. So yay! 🎉
In an attempt to be kinder to myself, I’ve been taking a little bit of time in the evening to play some new games, and I’ve found a couple of gems.
The first new game is Wylde Flowers and it’s an iOS game in Apple Arcade. It’s sort of a simpler version of a Stardew Valley-type game, but with ✨magic✨. It’s beautiful, inclusive, and has truly excellent voice acting. I’ve spent a lot of hours fixing up my farm and getting to know my neighbors. And now I have a chicken! She’s named Pluckers and she’s the best. 💕
The second game is Core Keeper, an early-access game on Steam. It’s co-op, so Mr. M and I are playing together, and if you like Terraria-type games, you should check it out because the gameplay is very similar. It’s been pretty stable so far, even though it’s technically in alpha, and we’ve played over ten hours. Mr. M has a little farm, and I’ve set up a crafting room, so if you’ve ever wondered if video games mirror real life, the answer is yes.
What about you? Have you played any good games lately?
