So, how's that sequel coming along?

Well... I'm halfway through the first draft. First two chapters have a first version, third one has outlines.

Yes, I did remember projecting my fic to be published soon-ish, but the reasons for the delay are basically the same as the ones for the previous fic: lack of information at the time of the projection. I had an ending in mind, and sort of a beginning (Sweetie Belle at the opera, basically), but not a middle. And that's cost me, severely. Besides that, it requires getting into a headspace that's less than agreeable for me. Just gotta suck that up and keep going, suppose. I haven't settled on cover art yet, but I haven't changed my mind on the title: "The Long Drop and Sudden Stop".

That is all. That's all the story-relevant stuff. Everything that's about to follow is a mix of personal and non-story project stuff.

Still there? Okay, then.

So, kinda ran into a snag this Friday. Writing in LibreOffice, planning to practise my drawing skills - recently got the Loomis books printed in my local print shop, very satisfied so far - and I notice the wireless icon is missing.

Long story short: I can no longer access the Internet via Ubuntu. Which is what I work in. So basically, I have the choice of either working offline, with zero distractions, or going into Windows for Internet references and such, but also being decidedly slower on the graphics front. I've compared Synfig and Blender, it's horrid. I am officially a software snob, just not a very smart one, apparently. What this means for fic-writing and novel-editing, as well as drawing, is that from now on when I'm working, I'm only working. No checking YouTube, which is okay-ish, but no ability to look for reference art and no reading e-mails, either. Who knows, maybe this is the Universe's way of curing me of my procrastination addiction, cold turkey. The scheduling helped slightly, this might work better.

Speaking of working, I also remember promising a Synfig/Inkscape tutorial. And for those who were keeping track of that (yes, I'm looking at you... both of you), you'll be pleased to know I've at least found a decent workaround for the issues plaguing the current suggested workflow. So I can indeed promise that when it's done, it'll be useful for pony animation and it will not be like the current crop of tutorials. So why isn't it done yet? Two reasons: one is that the weather has been changing, and my neighbour has been cutting his hedge at unpredictable hours. I can't quite tell when I'll have zero background noise, or at least when it'll be down to acceptable levels.

But more importantly, I can't draw that well yet. I have a basic sketch, I have a script I can read and follow, but I can't say if the end result will look decent. The goal is to make a young reindeer buck ready for animation. I don't know what animation, exactly, but it's on my New Year's resolutions so dammit, I'm making an animation of something this year. I can do the first part, the sketching, okay for now, but I'm going to have to finish it first before I try showing people how to do it, just in case I'm making a monster.

As for the novels, been going over last year's, got some remarks, nothing concrete yet. I know where the issues are, but I'll have to go over the whole thing to really wrap it up, so... publishing on Amazon is still feasible, if I keep a good rhythm going next two months. And mustn't forget the other novel, either.

And the job thing? Well... applied again, no response yet. Oh, and I almost forgot: my mother retired recently. So no more being home alone. I am officially two years away from being a thirty-something geek still living with his mother. I am not proud, but terrified.

So now y'all know. Take care.

Cracker out.

(I'll catch up with pony once this fic is done.)