Writing Between the Holidays (Thanks Shovel Knight!)
December 27, 2015 by David T. Allen
The Christmas parties are over, New Year’s parties are coming, and it’s time to get back into the swing of writing. However, my mind keeps wandering … I’m worn out from all of our recent travels and need some time to recharge. I want nothing more than to sit on my couch and play Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows. Normally I’d just try to force myself to focus, but sometimes, you have to make a compromise.
Shovel Knight is a well polished NES style game. Playing it makes me want to have a well polished manuscript. Simple as that. So I made a little rule: after I hit a checkpoint or died twice, I would edit one page.
I continued to read from my Nook, since it makes me treat the manuscript as a more finished product. But when I wanted to note something, I made the change directly on my computer, because putting notes in an e-reader is a time consuming process.
I was able to edit three chapters today, but I don’t feel like I spent my Sunday just working or goofing off. My schedule should get back to normal after the New Year.