Tiny Break (Patreon)

TL;DR - Break from the actual writing, but still actively working on PM!

1. No chapter Monday. Let's all agree that the epilogue from b3 counts as Monday's chapter. (Which was the plan, but then I failed my Bravery roll and chickened out of the cliffhanger, lol.) Back Friday, 200%, unless my head falls off.

2. I'll be using the time to plot, plan, and set up a giant spreadsheet for all the matches next season. Admin stuff, basically. (It'll allow Max to say player X scored 4 in 8 matches, average rating 7.15 etc etc. without me stressing that someone will say 'well actually') In the case of the next 2 books I already know a few major 'oh no you didn't' moments and how the season ends.

2b. While I'm here, I can imagine the first two chapters being on the short side (comparatively). I always think that, and it rarely turns out that way, but this time I think it might actually be true. Tiny bit unsatisfying in web serial form, completely logical when you read it in book form. Just a heads up that it's, like, narrative and not me taking a break and then firing off two short chapters to annoy you.

3. I also need to watch an episode of a trashy TV show before hitting the keyboard. You'll see why in b4c1!

4. And I want to play a season on Championship Manager. Get back in the headspace, and for obvious reasons it's a good time for me to sneak in any major things I forgot to include in the curse! (Also to see how they calculate certain unimportant things that Max doesn't know aren't important.)

5. Can I take this opportunity to say thanks again? Your support has been unreal. It's crazy. So satisfying. I put insane hours into this story and I love it and that's because of you.

6. Big big relief you liked the last chapter! I was more worried about that one than a lot of ones you DID hate.

7. On the subject of breaks, my mum is coming to visit the first week of November. Probably won't write much that week. I'm not a good son but I will take care of the mad old bat. If November sees a weird uptick in reactionary elderly characters who Max gets super annoyed by... it's just a coincidence.

8. So far, the story has been trailing real life by at least a few weeks, which is handy sometimes for generating plot ideas. But at my current rate (3 books a year wtf) I'll almost certainly start writing faster than real life. (No way I'm writing 3 books to cover one season again!) No more Queen is Dead chapters. Two years from now I could be writing about the 2028 season. Any thoughts on that? One option would be to take two month-long breaks a year, but that doesn't seem like fun for anyone. Basically, Player Manager will soon be science fiction. You good with that?