April tends to be a colorful month – nature fully wakes up from its winter slumber, the weather can be anything imaginable, and that makes my free time just as varied.

When it comes to hiking, I managed three hikes – I skipped the first Saturday of the month, when the weather was unpredictable, though I walked (instead of taking the bus) to see my grandfather, so I wasn’t just slacking. The three hikes I did during April were quite varied – and, as usual, will get their own post. For now, a teaser photo:

Aside from hands-on hiking, April also means that the hiking club starts working on next year’s plans, so there was some light work done on that front.

April wasn’t that good when it comes to reading – I managed only one book and a half of another, both in the second half of the month, but my bookish focus was elsewhere. Especially in the early part, I managed to get some writing done in the form of editing that’s mostly focused on book two, though I made some minor, connected edits to a scene in book three. That said, I’m returning to feedback files I received before my long break – back in summer 2023 – and aside from executing some ideas, I started making more notes as for what changes I might want to do.

That said, I still struggle with having a clear view of any progress – I tend to have some ideas, then I work on some, but I feel like the main goal is way too far, and with too many questions still unanswered. This was part of the reason why I wasn’t reading much – I was, in fact, going through my draft files, trying to spot issues and get ideas for further edits and polish. I might need another self-read of books two and three (in the most up-to-date version) soon to see how the story fares and where I should focus my next efforts.

At some point this year, I’d probably try to have a shorter feedback session with my “core” beta readers to get some feedback on the general direction about the changes done and changes I have in mind, as I’m a bit too afraid of being stuck in my own echo chamber.

Aside from that, as you might’ve noticed, I finalized my series of blog posts about men’s views on romance, and published the first three parts, with two more planned for the beginning of May to close this thread of thoughts. It’s been something different to do a series of posts on a single topic, something I haven’t done in a while.

With some other plans I have for May, that makes it seem like a busy month. Fortunately, I took the week after Easter off, and actually spent that week taking things easy, so I do feel rested enough.

---

So, that’s it for now. I hope your April was good and so will May turn out.