Introduction to the Accountability Post 2021 Week 47
For the second week in a row I ask: Did I finish the first draft of Evolution’s Hand Book 2: Epsilon Eridani? Have I made any progress on the short story lead magnet, All That Sparkles? Or the e-mail list in general? When I wrote last week’s post, I had high hopes! But let’s look at the week’s stats first. I bet you can guess the answers based on them!
Accountability Post 2021 Week 47 By the Numbers
From the perspective of word count, this was a brutal week.
This week hit me with not one but two Family Real Life Events (FRLE). In a sense, that cost me about 5,000 words of potential writing. In another (more important!) sense, I was there when my family needed me. So, I’m going to put that into the win column.
That said, it’s with a heavy heart that I confess Book 2: Epsilon Eridani is still not done. Over and above the FRLEs, I honestly thought I only had two more chapters to write. Instead, I realized I really needed five. That is, if I wanted to tie up the loose ends that I didn’t intentionally leave open as pointers to Book 3: Sirius.
I asked myself: Did I want to make a decision for the sake of expediency but risk disappointing my readers? Of course, I answered, “Let’s not be expedient.”
Last week, I finished three of the last five chapters. The first involved Melchizedek Conrad en route to South America. The second involved Conrad and Liam Martin. I’m really interested to see how readers react to that! That second chapter is a big one, both in terms of emotional impact (I hope!) and in terms of impact to the world. The third chapter wrapped things up for Jack Booth and his compatriot Lucas Knight.
The last two chapters are half laying down the foundation for Book 3 and half capping off Book 2. Helmine Stein stars in the next to last chapter. In the last, which I’m still thinking through, Conrad and Sachi Matsushita have to resolve the issues that have plagued them for the whole book. Since I think I’m going to elevate her to one of the Point of View characters for Book 3, I want to make sure I cover all the ground I need to.
Goals for the Week in Accountability Post 2021 Week 47
- Finish the denouement for Evolution’s Hand Book 2: Epsilon Eridani (Take 2!)
- Continue working on the short story that’ll act as a lead magnet (an ongoing effort)
- Continue researching e-mail lists (an ongoing effort)
I realize the second two goals are vague. As soon as I finish Book 2, I’ll refine them. I’ll also pull in the next steps for Book 1 so I have a master list.
What Do You Think?
How do you handle the disappointment of not hitting your targets? Or is it no big deal? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!