Morning Ritual at Sea
👋🏻
I am back on the mainland. Ocean air and no Internet were indeed good for writing. We don't have that final script, but I have made serious headway. The draft in Obsidian is sitting with 4,600-ish words; cut out my notes to self and we are closer to 3,500~.
I kept my routine out at sea. I woke up early. The ship was almost a ghost ship at those hours, the only people moving about being the crew and myself. I tucked myself away at a table on the lido deck with a cup of the most mediocre coffee; just strong enough to ward off headaches and wake me up. Mediocre flavor aside, these cruise ships are quite the feat of engineering, capitalism, and excess. It's a miracle that I was able to get a hot cup of coffee in the middle of the ocean.
Once again, no internet really forced me to write. I am so thankful for my rich, offline notes. I wish they were richer at times, but having extensive quotes and notes organized and accessible let me get the shape of the piece without having to disengage from Obsidian. When I didn't have exactly what I needed, I left myself a note to go back and kept on writing.
Besides the sunrise rituals, I read. I ripped through Stuart Turton's The Devil and the Dark Water, which is a murder mystery set onboard a 17th century East India Trading Company ship.
I know.
Stuart has quickly become a favorite author of mine. I am so glad I asked the lady next to me on a flight last year about the book she was ripping through—The 7 ¹⁄₂ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I am already into his third book.
Being able to read 30-35 chapters a day was a dream come true. More reading vacations please. This was time I needed to recoup from my last trip. This was my vacation from my vacation. Now I just need one from the cruise...
Getting this video done in two weeks feels unlikely, but I am still gunning for it. If the remaining tasks were a broad list, it'd look a little like this.
- Finish first draft
- Proofread, get feedback, incorporate
- Record VO
- Slice and dice video in Final Cut Pro
- Publish
That list doesn't seem too long, but it's all the tiny tasks that lie between those bullets. We shall see. For now, I need to go get ready for Christmas festivities. Lots of family gatherings and dinners between now and New Year's Eve. I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Until next time...
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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