September 2020 Update · 3:17pm Sep 30th, 2020
It's the last day of September as I write this, so let's announce the state of the author once more.
Writing-wise, there has been much more to report on the writing front than back with August. Their Darker Purpose has been fully self-revised and is currently in the pre-reading stage. Now that it's temporarily out of the way though, what does it mean?
Put the blame on me for trying out a few more short stories in the meantime.
Following the footsteps of Intel and Apple, I've fully bought into the codename thing and applied it to my work-in-progress stories (like how Langit at Lupa was codenamed Boondocks Next and Their Darker Purpose as Ozymandias Two). These two should be short enough though I'm not sure if I'll post them before or after Their Darker Purpose gets published. Not to mention how these would mesh with the revising schedule of the Crystal War story I have yet to get back to... which I've now codenamed Monte Isonzo.
Maybe I should get a list of codenames for future stories and put it up so that there's a clear schedule/list of what to anticipate. A nice twist on the usual stories-in-the-future thing.
Reading-wise, I've read a lot. I'll just list the highlights and then some:
The Line by Sooks: a war story that's both grueling with its depiction of war and its effects on ponies and uplifting with its faithfulness to the tone and flavor of the show.
- David Baldacci's True Blue, a crime thriller about an ex-police officer getting out of jail and trying to outwit whoever's after her and getting entangled into something greater than personal conflict/beef.
- Peter Sander's What Would Steve Jobs Do? How the Steve Jobs Way Can Inspire Anyone to Think Differently and Win. Non-fiction business book and eye-opening, especially when it comes to talking about vision and inspiring not just customers but employees and co-workers to hop on into the why of the company/product.
The first four books of Hiver's Blank Page saga: New Beginnings, Normal Life, Consequences, and Secret of Flying. A nifty and comfortable slice-of-life human-in-Equestria affair: doesn't overdo any of the tropes while keeping true to the expected flavor of HiE.
Hiver · 57k words · 3,831 69 · 57k viewsHiver · 49k words · 3,242 56 · 34k viewsHiver · 56k words · 2,776 47 · 27k viewsHiver · 41k words · 2,522 55 · 25k views- Ian Fleming's Casino Royale which kickstarts the James Bond series. More cynical than I expected, it was still a grand ride to the end.
- Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust: it's like watching paint mold over and die and then seeing the walls crumble too—all in both slow-motion and fast-motion. A quirky simile, but it's pretty much a gritty, pessimistic display of Hollywood life at the time and it's like walking down a hollow hallway: brooding, introspective, meaningful...
Last month was also the month I set up my online tip jar: a Buy Me A Coffee page. Some people put it up on their bios, but I'm not sure how to word it without sounding too far ahead of my steps (not to mention the desecrating whiplash it'd send to my bio considering what I say there). Thus I've opted to put the tip page in my Afterthoughts blog posts after the end of a story. I thought of doing it in monthly updates too like this one, but considering my release schedule, I'd sound more like a typical Kickstarter flop than a fan fic writer promoting a channel for tips his way.
So just this once.
And that'd be all for now. I hope you have a good day ahead!
