(This is a rough draft of notes I'm making towards more formal essays on writing/motivation/etc. See my BSky feed for more on the hashtag #HacksawDraft) Tracking goals is one of the fundamentals of the creative life. Here’s a suggestion for exploring a way to track goals in a way that’s better for you. There are… Continue reading Chunk Your Goal Tracking (Checkboxes)
Author: foozzzball
Malcolm Cross, otherwise known as 'foozzzball', lives in London and enjoys the personal space and privacy that the city is known for. When not misdirecting tourists to nonexistant landmarks and lurking at bus stops, Malcolm enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy with a furry twist.
October Lanterns
Lanterns are both a light at the end of the tunnel, and, y’know. A thing that burns.And I think I’ve pushed myself into burnout, albeit, not quite so severely as I might have if I wasn’t paying attention to myself.I think I’ve caught it early, and I already show signs of recovery – lots of… Continue reading October Lanterns
Driving in September
As my quirky three-seasons-a-year writing season kicks off, Quicker than Blood is back in motion.I am managing to stick to drafting more days than not, though it is an uphill struggle at the moment. I will admit, though, it looks like I’m doing great if we count the material I’m recycling back in from previous… Continue reading Driving in September
Catch-up SPSFC Reviews – Three Grams of Elsewhere, Wixon’s Day & Kenai
These are sort of rushed catch-up reviews for the novels I was reading/judging during SPSFC #3By rights, these books deserve deeper contemplation and commentary than this - but my time management failures has left these sitting on the to-do list for so long that, if I don't just bang these out rapidly, I'm not going… Continue reading Catch-up SPSFC Reviews – Three Grams of Elsewhere, Wixon’s Day & Kenai
An August Vehicle (Maybe)
So this is going to be a relatively short Patreon update.Last month, to continue last month’s metaphor about ‘driving the car’ being like writing, and ‘wrenching under the hood’ being getting things ready for writing, was all wrenches, no drive.But that does mean this month could, should, might, be driving again after a very long… Continue reading An August Vehicle (Maybe)
Juliability and writing Euphoria.
I would like to quote, in full, a message left by the musician and artist T-Pain in response to a query on reddit, linked to here, https://www.reddit.com/r/musicians/comments/1dcvyu4/comment/l86v3xd/ ‘I’ve seen multiple people mention the life as an artist as miserable/draining, whereas it is the dream for many people. What is it really like?’ T-Pain responds: ‘It’s like getting your… Continue reading Juliability and writing Euphoria.
June so Jejune
So, my pre-writing process looks roughly like the following.Step 1: I gather up a bunch of loose notes about small stuff – ‘Character falls alseep on a bus’, say.Step 2: I turn those loose gathered notes into a rough outline, which will generally have a ton of notes attached, formatted as if I was trying… Continue reading June so Jejune
It May be time to slow down.
I have needed to spend a ridiculous amount of time on mental health stuff this past month, although – let me make this clear – not in a, like... bad, I am suffering, sort of way.Circumstances have meant I’ve needed to dig into some personally tricky stuff, but as I disassemble the puzzle pieces of… Continue reading It May be time to slow down.
Reengineering April
As mentioned last month, I’ve been looking into ways of re-organizing the novel in progress, Quicker than Blood. That has borne some frit, but I am still noodling around with it in the midst of a mix of occasional setbacks and successes.Right now, the most successful looking version of what I want to do involves… Continue reading Reengineering April
It’s actually March. (April Fool’s!)
Yes, yes, I know, to clear up the confusion caused by jests and japes, March came to its conclusion over the weekend, April is now in session.So, last month I mentioned mental conditioning and pacing yourself for big creative tasks.Right now I’m implementing those thoughts, somewhat successfully, by reminding myself that focus is a little… Continue reading It’s actually March. (April Fool’s!)
February of Focus
Hmm. That February we just got past felt fractionally longer than most Februaries. How mysterious.Japes aside, this past month I’ve definitely been running into a few tricky little things around keeping myself working at a reasonable pace.See, in my head, I think I can crank out 3000 words or so a day – this is… Continue reading February of Focus
January Jetlag
No actual jetlag, but my January has certainly felt jetlagged – like my year only actually got started last week, or something. But it has, indeed, gotten started.Quicker than Blood’s momentum has slowed down, but is still in motion – we are now looking like it’ll be completed between April and May, and wordcount should… Continue reading January Jetlag
AI, the Algorithm, and the Attention Economy.
Ignore the way generative AI is created, the ecological and social impact, the abuse of copyright. Pretend it’s a fantastic machine, a cornucopia of content that responds to simple inputs with many outcomes, some of which a user will find artistically pleasing or match what they hoped for. A little like pulling the lever on… Continue reading AI, the Algorithm, and the Attention Economy.
Essay preview: AI, the Algorithm, and the Old-School.
Unlock with PatreonDelayed December
There is just a thing around me and coughs. I managed to develop one just after getting back home after family holiday gatherings. I’m keeping an eye on it and will seek out extra medical assistance if it continues to be tricky, but I think I’m on the mend – even if I’ve been flat… Continue reading Delayed December
SPSFC 3 Review: Wistful Ascending
Wistful Ascending is a book that’s much like it’s protagonist – muscular, straightforward, and given to pull its punches and spend a lot of time withholding secrets in an attempt to keep things quiet. Accessible, but what it has to say is stretched across episodic and disconnected subplots. Rohan has retired – from what, he… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: Wistful Ascending
SPSFC 3 Review: The Complete Guide To Exploring Your New Planet
I didn’t get along with The Complete Guide To Exploring Your New Planet, but I can tell the author had a blast writing it. The trouble is, the author spent more time having fun and enjoying their love of works like Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than they did considering how to make the… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: The Complete Guide To Exploring Your New Planet
November Natterings
Hello, and welcome to that time of the year when weather patterns (in the northern hemisphere) turn colder, society (more or less everywhere) becomes holiday focussed, and I get very tempted to go to places with an actual fire in the vicinity.On a personal level, I am thankfully a little less disrupted than I’ve been,… Continue reading November Natterings
Comparison between the first chapter of Mickey Spillane’s ‘I, the Jury’ and P. C. Hatter’s ‘I, the Tribunal’
Introduction. Section 1 – Opening: Mike Hammer arrives at the murder scene: Section 2 – Mike expresses his bloodlust. Section 3 – Mike and Pat talk motives. Parody, tracing, and what I would have done. Introduction This morning I woke up and ran across something that made me absolutely furiously angry, and for my own… Continue reading Comparison between the first chapter of Mickey Spillane’s ‘I, the Jury’ and P. C. Hatter’s ‘I, the Tribunal’
This is not a review, it’s a recommendation.
Last night I had the absolute pleasure of attending the launch signing for brand new creator-owned comic Petrol Head #1, by Pye Parr (blow-you-away art/nigh-perfect design/fantastic everything) and Rob Williams (smooth as hell dialogue/wild story-wrangling/perfect melding of multiple-timelines-writing), and was privileged enough to spend a little time afterwards toasting Pye in company of some of… Continue reading This is not a review, it’s a recommendation.