Death is Eternal #353

Monday. June 19, 2023. 1,994 words.

An atypical Death is Eternal today. In the sense that I’m writing it on Monday instead of the usual Sunday. Why? If you want to know, and you should because the reason is fascinating, you must become a paying subscriber! But why? Because 1. you’ll be helping the continuity of the newsletter that you so dearly love—if you didn’t love, you wouldn’t subscribe and read—and 2. the reason is fascinating and expensive, so I appreciate any help! Without further ado, let’s delve deep into this Death is Eternal.

Contents

1. The General (intro)

2. The General

3. Writing: Office

4. Bye!

5. What have I been writing lately?

6. Last week (from June 12 to 18, 2023)

7. This week (from June 19 to 25, 2023)

8. Death is Eternal review #213: Back in Time for Winter

9. Death is Eternal review #214: Succession

10. The end

1. The General (intro)

If last week I’d no idea what to say here, this week is the complete opposite. However, it’s hard because I don’t want to spoil the short story. I built the narrative so that, hopefully, you’ll be surprised by who the general is. All I can say without ruining the surprise is that this character always fascinated me, not only for the character but for how no one learned to deal with the character throughout the battles. After the first two or three defeats, people would know what not to do, but that’s not the case. Be as it may, the general and other people’s stupidity has always fascinated me, so writing about that was a pleasure. I hope you like this first draft!

2. The General

The General always was and always will be ruthless.

It attacks both enemies and allies alike; it makes no distinction.

However, his power is diminishing.

Throughout history, the General had few defeats but many wins. Its tactics never changed: starvation and cutting the supply lines.

The General is, at the same time, continually attacking and defending. If you don’t pay attention, it’ll harm you.

It will harm you even if you think you understand and command it. The General is loyal only to himself and his country; no man can order it.

Napoleon’s Grand Armeé and Hitler’s Wehrmacht felt the General’s rage and power.

The Romanov were also victims of the General, and to them, it must have been even more problematic because they thought the General was on their side.

However, as stated before, the General has no side. It’s loyal only to itself and the country.

Today, everyone knows its power and tactics. Today, technology made it almost obsolete. But every year, it comes back to attack and defend. Because it doesn’t matter what happens or how far technology goes, General Winter will always be loyal to Russia.

The end

3. Writing: Office

Credit: DALL-E 2 (an office full of typewriters, computers, whiteboards, and papers, 3d render)

Yesterday, I read a blog post about how to organize a (cheap) writing office. And that made me think about my office and how it didn’t resemble what the person described.

First, the author mentioned having some small whiteboards, binder clips, and a calendar in addition to your writing tool and a notebook. The whiteboards allow easy visualization of anything you need to visualize quickly, and the calendar is for the due dates. He also says something like, “Start with analogue and the essentials.”

Those are good tips that I don’t follow. My office is my computer, and that’s it. Once upon a time, it was my computer and notebooks because I wrote the first draft with pen and paper. But I stopped doing that since I finished my second to last book and still didn’t find the time to digitize it.

I like the idea of going analogue. I like writing with pen and paper, and I dream of writing a novel on a typewriter. But I realized that doesn’t work for me. At least not where I find myself right now. Going analogue has many pros but one huge con: it’s time-consuming. And right now, I need to move as fast as possible. So time-consuming activities are a “no” for me.

However, I do like to keep things simple. That’s why I don’t overthink when it comes to my office. I have my computer, and that’s it. And if I’m being honest, as my Mac Mini (late 2012) begins to show signs of getting close to its death, I’m considering buying a MacBook to have more freedom. All this to say that office isn’t necessary to me. The tool matters, but the place doesn’t.

So my tip for building a writing office? Find whatever works for you. It can be nothing or a room where the walls are the map of the world you’re building and the family tree of your main character. The truth is, the best writing office is the one that works for you. And what works for you may not be what works for me, and that’s perfectly fine!

4. Bye!

Here’s where we say our farewell to the free subscribers. If you want to read the rest of Death is Eternal, consider becoming a paying subscriber. If you already are a paying subscriber, first of all, thank you very, very much! And second, I’ll see you on the other side of the paywall.