It’s May! That means we’re already one third of the way through this year and I can’t remember the last time I was so positive about life, where I currently am and what’s next for Bren and me. Her shop is starting to get noticed and it’s so awesome to see it slowly becoming the success it deserves to be. My role as her biggest supporter and handling the more technical side of things is right where I want to be right now. And on a personal level, I’ve refound both my motivation and drive to do what I desire most, to write awesome stories and blogs about stuff that I love. So, yeah, it’s a good time for us right now!

On Writing

Last week I mentioned that I was in a bit of a rut with the direction of my writing. Last weekend I spoke with Bren about this and she asked me where my heart was really at, because I simply have too much ideas to write about and I was just wondering whether or not writing a new scifi saga was worth my time, when I feel that there’s so much cool non-fiction stuff I want to write about. But seeing as we’ve only just started our new blog and we really need to flesh that out, I’ll focus on writing non-fiction for The Green Dream Blog and focus on writing these brand new Kevar novels. The thing is that although I know what kind of story I want to tell, I feel that I haven’t really fleshed out most of the ideas and this is something I’ll be solely focussing on in the coming month. I started by writing short biographies for the main characters and I want to draw a map to help myself figure out the movements of the characters and eventually to enhance the reading experience. Since this is a story that focusses on a pre-spacefaring race, with technology slightly ahead of our own, it’ll probably feel a bit more like a fantasy story, but that’s okay, because I’ve always aimed at combining aspects of both genres in the Ley Lines universe.

On Reading

After I finished the wonderful ‘How To Think Like A Roman Emperor’ I really wanted to dive back into Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and had a look in our book case in the bedroom, where I keep all of my ancient philosophy books, but alas, I couldn’t find my copy. I was so happy when Bren handed me a copy a few days later! I really feel that I just need to re-read it and perhaps even carry this copy of the book with me at all times, just so I can pick it up wherever I am and just read a few passages from it.

I’ve also started reading a book that’s been on my TBR pile for a while now called “Fox & I” or “Vos & ik”, since I’m reading the Dutch translation. Another book that came recommended after my previous Stoic listen was The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. So far, it seems to offer bite-sized bits of help if you’re struggling to get off your lazy arse and actually do something. I have to admit that anything after How To Think Like A Roman Emperor bleaks in comparison and I think I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms and looking to find a new “fix” for my Stoic studies. It doesn’t really help that Ryan Holiday seems to have narrated the book while suffering from a cold, or maybe he has a very nasal voice, but I’m not entirely convinced just yet.

On Gaming

I’m nearly done with the second Adventure Map of Hyrule Warriors and when I am, I’ll park the game for a bit again, having had my fix of mindless slaughter. The game is still a lot of fun and can be challenging, but it also get repetitive after a while.

This week I’m thinking of going on with my playthrough of Axiom Verge. Although the game has had a lot of high praise, I am not down with some of the gameplay elements, mainly the grappling hook mechanics, which have caused me more frustration than I care to admit. Still, I want to finish the game and I hope it won’t be the longest journey from where I am now, but to be fair, the mechanics of a single item has really taken away a lot of gameplay joy for me.

Upcoming blogs

I’ll be writing more Modern Day Stoic content and I’m thinking of doing a new in-depth videogame soundtrack deepdive. And, since I’m working on my new novels, I’m going to be shedding some light on the process as well in an upcoming blog!

Happy Monday!

Jeffrey