Progress Post 2022 Week 05

Introduction to Progress Post 2022 Week 05

If you noticed that I’ve changed the title from “Accountability Post,” thanks for reading often enough to see that! Much appreciated! “Accountability” just sounded so dry. With apologies to anyone for whom accountability or accounting are important. It just didn’t capture my intent for these posts. We’ll see how this wears!

Did I finish the first draft of the plot braiding worksheet for Evolution’s Hand Book 3: Primary Target? Is the audiobook closer to being real? And what about Code Blue, the short story lead magnet for Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action? Let’s look at the progress infographic first!

Progress Post 2022 Week 05 By the Numbers

Yes, you read that right. The third book is underway!

Despite one Real Life Family Events (RLFE), I figured out the last pieces of Ira Malhotra’s arc. She’s the Supervisor of the TransStell Exploratory Forces ship Indiana. She and her crew, along with the crew onboard the United Nations cutter Golovnin… Well, if I tell you, I’d give away some of the ending of Evolution’s Hand Book 2: Dying Breath. So, let’s just say their condition is sub-optimal.

I had this very cool scene in mind. It has to do with a class of ship I designed in 2004 for this book series (yes, I’ve been trying to write this since then — longer, in fact!). So for me, that scene was almost like coming home. I had this vision of it happening around Malhotra’s Plot Turn 1.

But, damn it, it didn’t work! I had stupidly designed the Worm-Hole Project System drive with certain characteristics, because limits and details drive creativity. But the drive’s top speed of ten light hours per jump made the scene I’d envisioned impossible!

But it does work for Plot Turn 2. And it helps setup the fourth book. Oh, well. At least I got to keep the scene in some form!

Now, I just have to write the third book.

How Do You Avoid Unknown Unknowns?

There’s stuff I know I don’t know, like the physics behind the Worm-Hole Projection System. I know I don’t know that, so I take precautions. For example, I won’t talk about too many details. I won’t attempt to explain the physics, lest my readers find their suspension of disbelief completely wrecked.

What’s a totally botched hotel in North Korea have to do with my third book? Quite a lot — and some of it’s thematic! Graphic borrowed from the Wikipedia page.

But how do I catch the unknown unknowns? I almost had one get through this weekend. I wanted to mention what floor held the office of the Terran Consolidated Products’ CEO. My Scrivener entry for the building noted it looks like the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. It sits on top of what used to be the Financial District in Manhattan. My notes had it at 2000 meters high. But that’s too high. Way too high. The Burj Khalifa, the current highest building on the planet, is “only” 828 meters.

I had to change it to 1,000 meters, which gave me about 3,281 feet. That means at an average of 16.98 feet per floor, the building has about 193 stories. That means the CEO’s office complex sits on the 192nd and 193rd floors.

I guess I have to be careful what throw-away facts I use. I really don’t want to wreck any of my readers’ experiences!

What about the Lead Magnet?

I finished my second draft of the lead magnet, the short story Code Blue. It’s now in the hands of a proof reader! If she gets time this week, then, I’m terrified to say that I’ll be ready to kick off the advertising campaign to build an e-mail list.

In case you didn’t see this before, here’s the cover for the short story:

You can read about how I settled on this cover back in 2022’s week 3 progress post.

I’d love to know what you think of the cover. Just drop me a note in the comments!

Goals for the Week in Progress Post 2022 Week 05

You might have noticed I didn’t mention anything about the audiobook. If you think that means I made no progress, you’re right!

Sigh.

I’m looking at the weather forecast, and as of right now, my area in Ohio looks like it might get four tenths of an inch of ice before we get six inches of snow. The storm is supposed to hit Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Last time that kind of storm passed through, my house was without power for five days.

That’s gonna suck.

But, in the hopes the outage is shorter than last time or that a miracle occurs and I keep power, here’re my goals for the week:

1. Continue writing Primary Target: Write Matsushita Sachi’s Hook, Atticus Porter’s Hook, and Jack Booth’s Hook
2. Research standards for audio recording to better inform my decision about narrating my own audio book
3. Review the proof edit for Code Blue; decide on an e-mail service (with MailChimp being the one I have the most familiarity with) for the campaign

What Do You Think?

Have you ever recorded an audio book? What do you think of the cover for code Blue? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!