Summer Break Blogging Plans

It's already been over two months since my last post here... wow. I haven't gone that long without posting on here since spring of 2013. But I can't say I feel bad. In the past few months, I've had plenty of writing projects to keep me busy.

My column at Beneath the Tangles keeps me accountable to think more critically about anime and faith, and I enjoy it. I have a lot of freedom with where I take each post, but I usually end up going deep. On several occasions, my Saturday morning journal and prayer sessions have related to the next Monday's blog post. 

In other news, I turned in Draft 0.9 of my screenplay last week. I can't quite consider it the first draft, since several scenes are still just outlines. But I will finish it in the next few weeks! Then I'll set it aside for a couple weeks to let it cool off before I start revisions. This project started as homework, but now that the semester's over, I can take it as far as I want. I think it might work better as a book, so I'll probably rework it into novel form, starting later this summer. I might start a prequel, too. Thanks to the prewriting homework, I know the main characters' parents' generation pretty well. They intrigue me. After all, they're the ones who let the kingdom fall into so much evil.

So, that's part of my plan for the summer. But I have other plans, too, and I think I'll use this blog to keep me accountable to them. I'm such a terrible procrastinator, I have to be kept accountable even to fun things. 

1. I'll finally watch some of those anime I keep saying "I'll get around to" (Free: Eternal Summer, Psycho Pass, a few Miyazaki films...). Also, I'll get caught up and stay caught up on my sports anime (I had to let some of them go in order to focus on school). To that end, I hope to run a weekly column throughout break to keep me accountable. Maybe I'll title it "Anime Report." I'll tentatively schedule it for Fridays, but I can't set anything in stone until I know where and when I'll be working this summer.

The sticky note on the shelf is for anime: old shows to try or to
finish, shows I'm already following, and shows to re-watch.

2. I'm going to read. I already have two piles, labeled with sticky notes: "Summer Reading: Non-Fiction" and "Summer Reading: Fiction." The second sticky note also lists books I plan to check out from the library. Once such library book is The Name of the Wind, the first installation of the Kingkiller Chronicle. I just started re-reading it, and I plan to read its sequels. However, I need a little help re-awakening the bookworm in me. To that end, I'll start a weekly post series, in which I say something short about what I'm reading. 

3. I will write fiction! In addition to expanding and revising the screenplay I wrote about above, I hope to start brainstorming a new long story (I'm not sure if it will be a screenplay or a novel). Maybe I'll come up with something more lighthearted this time. I'll also refine a short story I wrote for a different class this past semester... and look into contest possibilities. I should probably write another short story this summer, too. 

I know I won't get to read and write everything I hope to. I need to get a job, after all, and I like to spend time with family. But I'll make a concerted effort, and blogging will help keep me accountable. So, here's a tentative blogging schedule... I'll at least hold to it this week:

Wednesday (tomorrow/tonight): Summer Reading. First up is The Name of the Wind. It will be a very short post, I think.

Friday (maybe 7ish PST): Anime Report. Don't know what will go on there this week, but I suspect it will involve a sports anime or three.

Monday afternoon: As usual, a post will go up in my corner at Beneath the Tangles.

We'll see how my volunteer hours and eventual job affect my plans in future weeks. 

What are your goals this summer? Do you have a to-read or to-watch list? Maybe we can plow through some of these titles together.