Applying fighting game strategies to novel drafting – Chip damage

June was a fairly successful month of drafting, but not because I got large blocks of time to write. Like most people, summer is a busy time and that often means the time set aside for writing gets eaten into. This happened to me, but instead of cutting losses and not writing at all, I tried to apply a strategy from one of my favorite fighting games, Street Fighter 2. When against an overly defensive opponent, pressing your attack would have them get “chip damage,” small bits of damage that accumulated over a match. It was often what decided close fights. When used as a writing tactic, it meant that I used whatever time I had to write, even if that got me only 100 words. With the approach my “combo,” the number of days in a row that I wrote, kept going up despite the word count not being great. The end result for June was that I had only five missed days and finished with 15k words for the month. The total word count for the draft is 42k words, so about 40% complete.

In writing adjacent news, I was able to secure a spot in a round-table discussion scheduled for August. When more details about recording and a release date on YouTube are finalized, I’ll share them here. It will be my first multi-author discussion, so I’m a bit nervous about how it will go. I’m pretty comfortable with one-on-one interviews because I have the luxury of being able to focus on my own answers and perspectives. In round-table talks I’ll need to pay attention and play off of the other authors’ responses, so the dynamic will feel a bit strange to me. The two other authors who will be on the program with me are at about at the same stage in their writing careers, so that’s a good thing. We’ve already agreed that the topic of discussion will be creating compelling side-characters in your stories. I’m looking forward to breaking down what makes mine tick and plan on highlighting Amos and Metauk from The Magic of Deceit.

Burying the lead, the biggest news of this month is that I was contacted by previous publisher about a second chance to review my third novel. When I got the initial rejection in February, there was a note at the very end about the possibility of a new review in the summer or fall with a different editorial team. I got that offer this month and my manuscript is back with them for a second look. There is still no guarantee, but I’m grateful for another chance and encouraged they offered it. I’ll have more to report in the next month or two.

Media consumption dropped off sharply this month as things got busy while still trying to get some words on the page. One thing I did watch was the new Masters of the Universe movie.  I’m not a regular theater goer, but I made an exception for He-Man. I’m an 80’s kid through and through, so I really wanted to see it. It struck the right balance of jokes, action, and nostalgia. I really liked it and I left the theater with a smile on my face.

Thanks for stopping by.