My first project of the year was to keep pushing through on revising the sci-fi adventure outlines, but a few days before New Year’s, a colleague contacted me and asked if I could take a look at his collaborator’s first ten pages.

English isn’t the writer’s first language, so while the intent and context of the words and the overall sense of the story were there, in addition to a lot more telling than showing, the pages just didn’t read smoothly. I asked my friend if they wanted to me to do some cleanup work and polish it.

“Please. And feel free to make any changes you think are necessary.”

Challenge accepted.

My project was put on hold, with all focus redirected to this. It’s been a lot of fun. What the original story had made for a good foundation, and I’ve really enjoyed putting my own spin on it and doing what I can to kick things up a notch. Nothing drastic, but again – fun stuff.

It also helps that my friend gave me a deadline. I know what I need to do, and how much time I have to do it. That really helps you stay focused.

If I can keep up my daily output of productivity, it looks like I’ll beat the deadline by at least one to two days. Which is what I was hoping for.

And then it’s right back into my own material.

Part of my plan for 2020 is to not only get something done every day, but to have it help me move things forward. So far, so good.

And the first week isn’t even over yet.