Hello Hellions! It's that time again, y'all; time for the spooks, the scares, the tricks and the treats! It's Stingy Jack's time!
Not only that, but it's officially Q4. Now, I haven't wanted to push myself too hard all year, and I still don't, because I believe that everything I'm working on deserves careful attention, not some rushed, half assed attempt just to get as much done as possible. If at the end of the year, I've only finished outlining 4 stories, than I'm still counting that as a massive win. That's 4 stories that are ready to be drafted! Four times, places, and characters that I've lived with, thought of, and fell in love with. I spent the time with them that I needed to learn their stories and set the stage for myself to tell those same stories later on. Even if I'd only outlined one story this year, that would be a massive success.
That being said, I do have a few more ambitious plans for this last quarter. My first goal, of course, is to finish outlining The Lonely Santa Claus. I'm almost to the end, I know how it's going to go, but getting it all set up is taking a tiny bit longer than expected, and that's okay. It's going to spill into the first week-ish of October, and then it will be done and I can move on to my next goal. Ideally, TLSC will have 32 chapters outlined, and an Epilogue (to properly set up Jack's book). This should put it perfectly in line with Krampus' 35 chapters and an Epilogue.
Once that's done, I'll focus myself on the fun. I want to write a novella (about 20k) for my Patreon subscribers; something creepy, spicy, and emotional, without dragging out to the lengths of everything else I do. Since even my outlines have been longer than this, I consider this a great challenge to keep myself concise, but to also give myself enough time to edit the work after I write it so that it can go to my patreon subs to be read on (or around) Halloween. Here's the problem… I have no idea what I'm going to write. I'm thinking a good old monster magic thing, but we'll have to see where the howling winds of Samhain spirit take me.
As for November, because that's all just October, I have plans to get back into the universe Krampus and The Lonely Santa Claus are set in. Yup, that's right! November will be the month to outline Stingy Jack's book. We're gonna bring back the oldest of the Holiday Deities, despite the fact that he looks only 22. His book is gonna be a wild ride of confusing feelings of showing his age, and of mending broken things. I am so ready to make this sassy Frenchman cry, scream, and get on his knees to beg.
Of course, this means that November, which is usually the quietest of Q4 is going to be filled with so much witchy stuff and horror that it's gonna be a second October. Jacques (Stingy Jack) is very well versed in magic, specifically witchcraft, and uses it a lot outside of his powers. Plus, as is his namesake, he is very much into horror and deals it out on an almost daily basis. He's the Holiday Deity of Halloween, after all, and there aren't really any limits to how far his tricks can go because he can't be killed. Those vibes can get pretty dark, so don't be surprised if my dark humor gets worse while I'm outlining this book. Now, I don't expect to finish outlining Jacques book before the end of November, so I am expecting it to continue into December, bringing forth the proper Nightmare Before Christmas vibes. As a fan of the film, I was already going to watch it a few times between now and Christmas, but this just means I'll be adding a few more watches to the list.
What am I doing in December besides outlining Stingy Jack's book, you ask? Well, I'll be reading through season 1 of To Kill Me Kindly. (This should also put me in a dark mood for Stingy Jack, so yay for that.) I took a year away from To Kill Me Kindly thinking that I uploaded the last few episodes of season 1. However, it has come to my attention that I did not, in fact, finish uploading season 1 last year. Soooo… those final 3 episodes will be edited and uploaded by the time this blog is posted. I'm so sorry for anyone who's been waiting for those!
And that's what I'll be doing for Q4! I know this isn't the longest blog, and it's a bit ramble-y here and there, but I'm not exactly doing the most of the most this quarter. Other than that, this time will be spent with my family and friends, celebrating the holiday season. Whether it's spooky, like Stingy Jack, cozy like Mrs. Claus, joyous like Santa Claus, or all of the above; I hope your Q4 is exactly what you need it to be!
