First off, let me preface this by stating that this is still in its genesis. I have zero planning done for this.
I also would have to specify a few terms here. This might be a long post, so allow me to state that this new-story, new-character-cast, perhaps-new-universe thing as the legitimate "Third Novel". The crossover thing, which includes characters and elements from both Fool Me Twice and the tentatively-named Blue Days as "Mixed Nuts". And yes, this is the name in prototype thing.
What I have referred to at the start as having done "zero planning" is the Third Novel. As I wrap up work on the second novel, I recently had time to sit down and flesh out my plans for 2017, writing-wise, not release-wise.
I have school. And if you live where I live, or you know me in real life, you will know how much school stinks here. It's a big doo-doo. Writing a novel, I can tell you, is intensive. You don't know how many times I wanted to quit even when I almost hit my goal. Still, I bit my bullet and went on anyway. And this takes a huge toll on me academically.
Now, I did manage to come through and see my grades go up, but that came at a terrible cost-- My health, and my time. I don't have enough of both.
In complete candidness, I have completely lost direction on what I plan to do. Sure, easy targets would be to accomplish a few shorts, and one can be pumped out within a lunch break of mine if I work in the pace I usually work. But longer works, like novel-writing, is all dead on me. Not the passion, the planning.
Until spring/summer season of 2018 basically school is firing on all cylinders. Which is expected. Now, personally, I do have high goals for myself and I would like to accomplish them to the best of my ability. While it is reassuring to say I've met these goals, I need to keep myself in play competitively. If you live where I live, again, you know the drill.
So likely, a huge chunk of my waking hours are going to school-related things. And if I don't get enough sleep, which is what I'm using now to complete my projects, everything suffers.
I do want to leave you guys with someone that you can read instantly. So, here's the titular change I wasted so much time to get to.
Refocus on Shorts - This applies to both long-forms and legit shorts that are 500 to several-k long. I'll continue to refine the Short Pieces section in order to try and re-package it a bit, but my main attention will be on short works now, at least after the completion of Blue Days
Change in Third Slot - That doesn't mean I'm giving up entirely on my novel-writing endeavors. I still love writing novels, but until April 2018 (the time of salvation and ultimate rapture as I call it) rolls around, it will be in low gear. And because I already have stuff planned from start-to-finish on Mixed Nuts, priority is on Mixed Nuts itself. I will be working on the third thing for planning, but I'm holding my horses in revealing anything on my mind currently, because, ya know, yeah.
The times ahead will be tough for me. A fifteen-month grind. In that time I could have written another novel, and no doubt I will. First draft for Fool Me Twice took me five months. But which five months should I pick to complete my third novel?
But then again, I might die of overworking and pressure any minute now, so hey, I'll leave this at the back of my head for now.