Wallitner Weekly 26

Hello everyone!

A lot of productive things happened this past week.

This week I did something I have done since high school. I made a schedule. And its really really detailed. Like it goes in 15 minute increments starting at 7 am and going until 11 pm. The last time I did this was when I was taking online classes my senior year of high school. And with all the plates I am spinning now I thought it was time to do it again.

We taught our first lesson of the school year yesterday. It seems like I will also be tutoring in some music history from now on so I am excited to do that. Although I found out the class I took in college is now on the 10th edition of their textbook… when I took the class we used the fourth edition. So I feel old now haha.

I’ve got lots of plans for next week too!

I bought a capture card for the WallitPlays business so I can record myself playing a lot of different games now (just in time for spooktober!) I will continue to teach lessons. Since I have this new schedule I’ve gotten way more consistent at writing for the theory textbook and my fiction book series. So I am excited to continue down that path. AND I finally figured out what Im going to do next with the song of hope, so HOPEfully I will have made some more progress on that by the end of next week.

I Have a Problem AND I have a solution… I think.

Okay so I have mentioned a few times that I am writing a fiction book series. Turns out that’s a much bigger project than I originally thought. I don’t mean that in a “wow who knew that writing a book would be such a big project” kind of way. I mean, my original idea was just the tip of the iceberg and now what was going to be a nice little 300 page book and be done has now turned into a very developed world that will be explored over the course of like ten books…

I didn’t sign up for that when I set out to do this.

The issue of course, and I’ve mentioned this before, is that I am terrible at editing my own work. I can find mistakes and things like that sure, but I really struggle to change what I have already written. And that’s a huge problem because over the course of 25-30 chapters I am bound to make many mistakes that I will want to change, but not know how to.

So my finacee had a brilliant idea, as she often does. The idea is to write a bunch of short stories surrounding the main story. Since I already have the macro plot of the series, I can already start to see some blank spaces that could be filled by a little 30-50 page story. This will help me in a bunch of different ways. Firstly, I get to write some self contained shorter stories AND EDIT THEM. Secondly, I get to practice writing in general. And thirdly, I get to further develop the world in which these characters live in. What kind of monsters lurk in the shadows? How deep is the ocean? Do the people get along? Do they pray? These are important questions and I look forward to exploring them!

In my original plot for the first book, there isn’t a lot of room for backstory. Especially the backstories of the side characters. I feel like too many flashbacks will dilute the focus of the book. So instead of including them in the main plot, I will write them as little stand alone stories. I take inspiration for this idea from the Silmarillian, which explains so much about the lord of the rings.

To give an idea of the scale of even just the first book. It starts in the era of the immortal king, who has ruled for some 2000 years. The king himself is 3000 years old, and that alone has the potential for so many stories. Most of which wouldn’t be able to be included in the actual book.

This idea of writing shorter stories surrounding the main book series reminded me of when I talked about needing to draw a monster to help make a website. Sometimes doing a little extra work can help quite a bit.

I know it sounds obvious, but sometimes we overlook the obvious when we set out to do these projects. Like of course it makes sense for me, someone who has never written a book before, to start with shorter stories. But I don’t have small ideas, or at least most of my ideas don’’t fit in small boxes.

When my fiancée started crocheting she didn’t start out making complicated designs and big blankets. She made coasters for drinks. Little squares. And then those squares got bigger and more complicated. This story I am writing should be no different.

Honestly most projects should be no different. I think the act of breaking something down into its simplest and smallest parts is a great way to tackle any endeavor. Thats why my new schedule is in 15 minute increments and even includes time for me to snooze my alarm (several times).