Last time I wrote here, I mentioned that I’d finalized the list of songs for the album that might accompany The Broken. I still had some work to do, but I was getting close. Now, I’m proud to be able to say that I’ve finished the album (compositionally, at least)!

I have 11 full-length songs, complete with lyrics and demo vocals, with a runtime of about 46 minutes. The order and flow of the songs is strong, and (to my own, biased ears) there aren’t any really weak songs at all! The only downside is the still somewhat artificial sound of the sampled guitars and drums, but I’ve been speaking to a few colleagues at work who play guitar, and one of them has offered to help record live guitar, providing I can write it out in TAB (which will take a little while, but can be done).

I’m excited about the prospects of having an album to go with the book, but it also means I have to start focusing on turning my attention back to the story itself. To this end, I had a wonderfully productive conversation with my wife the other week about the plot points and ideas of the book, and together we came up with some very strong concepts that will fit well with the story and structure I’ve set up so far.

It means there’ll be a few extra chapters, and I’m going to have to consider carefully what aspects of the band’s formation, development, rise and fall will be important to describe, but I’m excited to introduce some extra layers of drama and tension to the story, as I believe it will help drive it forward all the better.

This leaves me in a place of heavy busywork over the coming months, both in terms of producing the album and writing the book, and whilst I’m excited to move forward on this, I’m also trepidatious about the timing, as I usually get severely depressed over the autumn and winter (I already feel it coming on). I had really wanted to have the book finished by now (it’s been almost two years since 22 Scars was published), but I’m a dreadful procrastinator, and things just … didn’t happen.

That being said, when I stop to consider things, I do feel an element of motivation, and I’d very much like to get another chapter or two written by the end of the week. Setting small goals was important in the completion of 22 Scars, and I think I need to get back to that for The Broken. I’ll try to post an update by the end of the week on whether I succeeded or not!