The Wonderful World of Was: May
As Australia moves towards an election, let's talk about democracy sausages and the battle to end all battles: Taika Waititi vs Natasha Lyonne! Oh, and a bit about my writing, too.
Howdy, howdy!
It’s that narcissistic time of month again, where I demand you stop whatever it is you’re doing and focus on me, me, me! But fear not, these newsletters have a habit of getting a little unwieldy, so I am making a concerted effort to spend less time boring you. If you get just as bored in half the time, I’ve done my job well.
If you hang on to my every word in these newsletters and your brain doesn’t make way for more important information in between these, you would recall that when I left you last month, I was gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo. Actually, by the time you would have read that newsletter, I was in the midst of it, still early on. Did I meet the target? Why yes, I did; I have a little more information about that for you below.
So kick back, relax, and enjoy this thrilling edition of The Wonderful World of Was.
April Writings
As I mentioned above, I took part in Camp NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month) throughout April. Unlike the “real” NaNoWriMo each November where all your focus goes into drafting a new novel, Camp NaNoWriMo lets you write 50,000 words anywhere. My major goal for this was redrafting the book I drafted last November, and I am pleased to say that (after starting this in March), I did indeed finish Luminary’s draft! Cue your applause; I’m bowing. You mightn’t be able to see it, but I am.
Including the parts I rewrote in March, this draft comes to 76,338 words. That’s an increase of 9,604 words from the initial one I hastily wrote largely through NaNoWriMo. It’s still shorter than I’d like, and there are some areas I’ll need to expand upon during the next draft. At this stage, I’m guessing the final version will come somewhere between 85 and 100K. And, thanks to Camp NaNoWriMo’s anything goes policy, I wrote an update about the drafting process. Why not click here and give it a read?
As far as the target goes (I’m writing this in April so it contributes to the final word count *rubs hands with glee*), I broke the goal. Substantially, too; with April being my biggest month for writing yet, at over eighty thousand words, at 83,488 in total. This eclipsed my previous record from NaNoWriMo of 55,871 words. As you can no doubt imagine, with so much time spent writing, I didn’t spend as much of the month editing, and only managed 5:15. It was a big month, and honestly, not an output I’m keen on matching any time in the near future.
Taika Waititi vs Natasha Lyonne
It’s the battle for the ages: Taika Waititi, the brains behind What We Do in the Shadows, the last Thor movie, the next Thor movie, that movie where he played Hitler. Natasha Lyonne, the fiery, beautifully sarcastic redhead from the American Pie movies, Orange is the New Black and about a hundred other movies and TV shows she pops her head into. One appears in a series the world is desperately waiting to hear if it will get a second season; the other features in a series that was given a second season after the first ended so perfectly.
Of course, I’m talking about Our Flags Mean Death and Russian Doll. Having recently finished the first season of the former and the second season of the latter, I came away from each one, loving what their respective creative teams brought to them.
Our Flag Means Death is a (presumably very loose) biography of Stede Bonnet, the “gentleman pirate” who abandoned his esteemed life to become a pirate. The series starts amusingly enough, telling the tale of a pirate who is grossly underqualified for the role. As it continues, the concept grows funnier and funnier, but the heart of the relationship is truly Stede’s burgeoning relationship with the dreaded Blackbeard. By the end, your heart wants these crazy kids to get their shit together while you laugh throughout their, and the wonderful supporting cast’s, antics.
Russian Doll should not have gotten a season two. The first season stands on its own so beautifully that returning to this world and its characters (well, specifically Nadia) feels like an exercise born purely from Netflix’s capitalistic tendencies. And yet, somehow, season two surpasses the first in just about every way. It has another mystery determined to twist your brain, one with a bigger scale than the first. It is also a far more personal story about Nadia, the person she is, and why. The supporting cast from the first season plays a larger part in this story, and while laughing at their antics and enjoying the mystery, this show will break your heart.
I know I paired these two against each other, but I’m not going to pick a winner; it’s too hard. I’m just glad Barry season three is only just starting, so I don’t need to throw Bill Hader into the mix. But watch these shows; there are far worse ways to spend your time.
Book Reviews
I mention book reviews in all my newsletters, but I’ve decided to feature my month’s book reviews here. The world is full of books, and I enjoy drawing attention to some of these indies without the marketing budgets the major publishers bring to the table. So why not click through and read the reviews I’m linking to below. If these books seem interesting, why not support an independent author and get yourself a copy? I reviewed nine of these in April, and there’s some truly interesting and unique works among them:
The Omegastar Connection by Kase Glidewell
The Sunderland, Volume 1: Schism by Jon Renzella with Eric Weiss
The Sunderland, Volume 2: Solitude by Jon Renzella
The Starving Vulture by Miguel Montaña
Civil War: Chronicles of Rondure: Book I by TC Marti
Golem by PD Alleva
The Angry Lion: How Love Can Change the Strongest of Hearts by K. Scott
Librarian by Brian Fence
Apprentice by Brian Fence
Democracy Sausages
If you follow me on Twitter, I apologise for the tweets regarding Australian politics. Please note that I’m not sorry enough to stop tweeting, however. Australia is in the cycle of an election campaign where, at the end of this six-week ordeal, the population casts our vote, thereby earning the opportunity to buy a democracy sausage. Or, for those non-Australians, a sausage sandwich to raise funds for whichever school we lodge our vote at.
By the time the June newsletter rolls around, Australia will either have a new government, or we’ll be stuck with the same government. If we have a new government, they’re promising an independent commission into corruption, which our current government is doing everything to avoid. I’m certain, though, that all their avoidance is only coincidental, and has nothing to do with the ongoing rorts. Regardless of who we get, we’ll be getting too little action on climate change, but if we change governments, we’ll get a little more than the nothing we’re getting now.
I’ll have more to say about this in the next newsletter, but if politics doesn’t excite you, June’s my birthday month, so that surely will.
So, What’s Next?
I haven’t brought myself to even consider editing Till Death Do Us Party yet, and when the time comes, Luminary will be the furthest thing from my mind. Both manuscripts will be gathering dust for the time being.
And in all honesty, at the time of writing, I don’t know. I’ll write a little bit, and no doubt, I’ll share a bit on the website, offering some content other than book reviews. But what that content will be, I have no fucking idea. Still, slowing my pace somewhat before jumping back into editing and getting the manuscript to a point where I’m happy to publish it probably isn’t the most terrible idea I’ve had…
That’s a Wrap
And that’s it for this month, folks. Be sure to join me next month, where I touch upon the results from Australia’s Federal Election, celebrate my birthday, and think of some other shit to fill this newsletter with.
TTFN,
Was