I sometimes worry that I am not working hard enough. I create writing goals each year and those, in turn, put expectations (and pressure) on me to produce. In some ways this accountability is good but it can also create stress and stagnation when those expectations become too heavy.

If I have too many goals or competing projects, it just divides up the effort and makes producing something really good, hard enough in its own right, even more difficult.

Progress, not perfection on a single project, each day, can still mean you are being productive. And that more natural productivity can lead to compounding returns that you might not expect.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The Guardian looks at the pending UK publication of THE INVISIBLE HOST, the suspected inspiration for Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.
  
  
• Looks like Elba is getting his wish (and perhaps fan’s wishes) as he will reprise Luther (and his overcoat) in a new Netflix movie. The series as a whole is very up and down but Elba’s charisma and any scenes with Alice carry it through most of the rough patches.
  
  
• Some of these have started popping up on shelves, but Thrillist looks at the big books coming this fall across genres.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Elba’s Luther this week:

• “Don’t you ever worry that you’re on the Devil’s side without even knowing it?”
  
• “I’ve heard that one before. Lack of conscience dressed up as philosophy.”

1 QUESTION

• What returning series or new book are you most looking forward to this fall?

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Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series