Category: writing

What I’ve Learned and Week Three Updates

This November has been a whirlwind of emotions and words. This is not the best November I’ve ever done (I have done crazy word counts in previous years somewhere between 90K and 100K), but it is the most consistent.

I made myself a promise this year to hit the minimum of 1,667 words every day and update every day to make sure I get all the badges on the website. With all of the allegations and drama over on the website now, it seems a little less important now, but I still want that success for myself.

In the meantime, for the rest of November, I’m going to keep writing and forming my own habits. That’s what this month is about first and foremost, finding the magic of a new novel and documenting how long it takes me to get words down and write a book with minimal distractions.

Here’s how I did in week 3:

Day 15: 2311 in 1 hour and 10 minutes

Day 16: 1885 in 45 minutes

Day 17: 1767 in 45 minutes

Day 18: 1704 in 37 minutes

Day 19: 1730 in 45 minutes

Day 20: 1869 in 45 minutes

Day 21 1724 in 40 minutes

Monthly Total: 42,681

Here’s a few takeaways I’ve picked up over the last week.

An outline is crucial

Before the month started, I wrote an outline for the novel. My writing journey has grown and evolved from when I first started at 13 and each project is different, but for the last few years (especially since I’ve been working on an ever evolving series or two), I haven’t been using outlines, I’ve been letting the work surprise me.

For this year, working on a brand new project (for the first time in almost two years), I decided I needed an outline, so from start to finish I wrote down an outline of what I wanted to happen and loosely when.

So far this month, I’ve gone off outline a few times with the first time being super uncomfortable and the next few times feeling more comfortable. My outline is not in the best order, but it helps to know that I can play around with where things are.

For example, my main character wasn’t supposed to interact with her best friend until the 10th plot point in my outline, but there was the perfect place to introduce her earlier so I did. Another example, as I’ve been writing, I’ve realized my main character was too passive, so I added in a scene where she wasn’t so passive.

That’s probably why it took me 18 days to get through the first page (landscape) of my outline.

Also, post-its have been the perfect tool to get through the day and list a few plot points I want to hit, but not be too overwhelmed by the whole outline.

It is entirely possible to write when you think you don’t have time.

There was almost a day this week that I didn’t write at all. I had a busy day with social things and a hectic morning, so I figured I simply wouldn’t write. The timing was weird, I couldn’t sneak away and put a few words down, I was drained and exhausted. I could and did make every excuse, but ultimately, before I went to bed that night, reason kicked in and kicked my butt.

I almost lost a near 300 day streak of writing because I “didn’t feel like it”. I would have lost par of 1,667 daily and my motivation if I had a zero day. It would have been harder to get back into the story that the interest was already flagging on because I’m getting into the muddy middle.

I wrote that night, I snuck in 45 minutes right before midnight and while it was hard to get started, I made it happen. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

There have been several days where starting to write has been difficult, but by the time I reach my daily goal I don’t want to stop.

Getting started has been the hardest part.

Self made deadlines are the best ones to break

One of my other goals this month, outside of writing a novel, has been to blog regularly and post over on Medium and Substack. I have a weekly schedule of when and where I want to post, but similar to the story above, the day was not conducive to any kind of creative work and it just so happened to be when a post was due.

Thankfully, the post was mostly complete, it just needed a few last minute edits. I beat myself up over having a “late post”, but overall the more I thought about it, the more I accepted that sometimes posts will be late or off by a day. The important thing is that I did post and I did keep up my streak. The important thing is I’m getting content out there.

November is for words, December (and beyond) is for editing

This year, my typing skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Currently, I have acrylic nails that are beautiful, but quite dangerous when typing. Autocorrect and acrylic nails are a great combination when it comes to writing a novel, so there are several instances where at the beginning of the month I was erasing and cursing and annoyed, but now I just roll with it.

Now, for ease of time and storytelling, I simply put the offending word (or the word I wanted) in parentheses and keep moving forward. I can edit later, now I’m telling myself the story and getting through my outline.

See you next week!

 

NaNoWriMo 2023 Week One Update

Usually for NaNoWriMo, I go all out and just write with abandon (which is part of their motto), in a frantic race toward the end. This year, I’m doing something a little different.

I want to try and find out what makes November so successful for me. Is it the high of starting a new project? Is it the time spent focusing on writing and not social media or other distractions on my phone? Is it simply the magic of November?

This year, I’ve decided to track my minutes and hours written and my word count for the day. I want to know how long it takes me to reach par (1667 words) a day and how to continue something like that into 2024 and hopefully much longer than that.

Lately, writing and editing and working on every project has felt like a chore and I’m hoping to take what I learn this month in November and find the joy of writing again.

Here’s how I’ve done in the first week of NaNoWriMo and the first 16,409/50,000 of To Have a Heart.

Day One

Day one is usually always the best day of NaNoWriMo. I’ve spent the last few weeks pumping myself up to get some writing started and when midnight hits, I go without a care in the world. This year, I’m doing something different and tracking my words and the time spent writing.

I started at midnight, despite the exhaustion and got about 200 words. I kept pushing throughout the day (with timers ranging between 5 and 15 minutes). I also went to a write-in for my region.

4,549 Words in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Day Two

Day two was a lot of world building and struggling with names. I felt like I needed to research, but pushed through and kept writing. Research is something I can do in December or when the full story is completed (which I am also hoping is in December.

1,694 words in 40 minutes

Day Three

Day three was the first day I went back to work after NaNoWriMo had started. I was fortunate to get the first two days off without asking for them and it was a great jumpstart to the novel. Day three was not the best writing day, especially with distractions from work, but it could have been worse.

2,200 words in 50 minutes.

Day Four

Day four was the first day I had off together with my husband and the writing was a bit slow to start with more distractions of spending time together and catching up after our week of work. It wasn’t the best writing day, but I did still manage to reach par (1,667). Day four was when I decided I am going to strive for par every single day of the month and get ALL the badges on the NaNoWriMo site.

1,897 words in 40 minutes.

Day Five

Day Five was a busy day and not because of writing. There was a lot of running around, thankfully all of it fun on a day off with Wine Tasting and delicious food. This was the first day I feared I wouldn’t make par, but thankfully long car trips and small breaks in between really saved the day.

1,882 in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Day Six

Day Six was another day back at work. I always try to get started with the daily count in the morning (especially since the first few hundred words are the hardest on a new day). On day six it was a struggle. Still, I persevered and made writing a priority even though distractions were calling my name. I also started to go off outline a little because for some reason I put a crucial scene and character way down in the outline and realized I could introduce her way earlier.

2,008 words in 47 minutes

Day Seven

Day Seven was another work day, a little busier, but also a little more freedom to get writing done in a strange way. The novel is really starting to get interesting, even though I feel like I started it too early before the real plot kicks in, but world building and a day in the life of a main character still counts for words, so that will be an editing problem once draft one is finished.

2,179 words in 45 minutes.

Overall Breakdown

I timed myself for every writing session I completed for this week in order to decode the magic of November and how I fare so well when writing during NaNoWriMo. I used both my computer and my phone because I rarely sit in one place when I write.

Overall, both computer and phone time were pretty close to equal with only about an hour and a half more on the computer, which surprised me with how much time I felt like I was writing on my phone .

4.5 hours average on my computer for the week and just under 3 hours on the phone.

In just over 7.5 hours, I wrote 16,409 words, which is 33% of the goal toward 50,000.

So far, November is going really well.

I have another write-in tonight, which should be a great boost for my word count, but I think Wednesdays this month will probably be my best days. I’ve learned a lot over this week analyzing my writing habits.

Tune in next week!

 

What I’m Writing: NaNoWriMo 2023

Here were are in November once again and here I am once again writing a new novel in November.

This year will be my 15th year writing a novel during November. Each year I find something new and exciting to write about. For this year, I’m writing a dark fantasy novel with elements of magic, war and a little romance.

It’s an idea I’ve been playing with for a few months now and one I’ve been building over time. The project is based off of one of my favorite books/movies and one that I spent a few months decoding to try and figure out why I enjoy it so much.

TW: Blood in the next image

Here’s my project for November:

To Have A Heart

Summary

Sa’Leigh, as a middle child, has always hoped to get married and find her true name. After an interaction with the Willow Witch, Sa’Leigh is forced to run away from everything and everyone she loves to prevent her untimely disfigurement and death, either by her affection or someone else’s.

Constantly on the run from the witch himself, Hale, a necromancer during the gruesome war spanning 500 years, has never enjoyed the abilities forced upon him. Despite his forced isolation, and constant work due to the war, he reluctantly opens his home to Sa’Leigh. He can’t break the curse of the Willow Witch, but perhaps together the two outcasts can make something of their tragedies.

Fun fact: This is the first novel in a long time that I have fully outlined before I’ve started.

Wish me luck!

If you would like to join me and write a novel in 30 days, you can join NaNoWriMo here.

 

October Results and November Goals

Here we are in November already! October was full of fun, including concerts, travels, fun experiences at a writing conference and different experiences at work. I hope November is a little more steady as far as schedules and routines go, but here’s how I did in October.

October Results

Writing

Finish Edits on Book 1

I did not finish edits on book one. I will not have a completely clean slate in November like I wanted, but I will get a decent break for the month of November. During the hustle of edits, I forgot to actually enjoy the story and what’s being built up in the story. I lost the love of it, for the technical aspects of style. So I’m going to take a little break and come back to it fresh in December or January.

Finish as many chapters/ sections as possible

This goal did not go as well as I planned either. With the travel and the upheaval of my usual schedule at the beginning of the month, it was quite difficult to get back to “normal”. I really started to push and get a few things finished in the last week of the month, and I’m glad to say I finished a few things. Which means a little less stress when I focus mostly on one project in November. There are still some projects to finish, but they can wait until December, or more likely, January.

Preptober for NaNoWriMo

This goal has been the most fun and most successful this month. I have managed to turn the notes I’ve been collecting over the last few months into a somewhat successful outline. I have been able to create mood boards and ramp up the excitement for myself. I have even played around with the idea of a spin-off from the first book. When November starts, it’s off to the races!

Inktober

Once again, I let the fear or not being perfect step in the way of trying something new. Not only that, but I always forget how much time I never seem to have in October. This month could have been such a good creative month but instead, I was more focused on other important things. I did attempt a few drawings, so perhaps I’ll post those sooner rather than later. It’s always a possibility!

Personal

Exercise

This month has been better for exercise. I’ve been more aware of it. The first few weeks of the month went really well and my exercise trend is back up. We’ll see how I do once the time change hits, but I hope to keep pushing forward.

Journal

Morning pages this month did not go as well as I had hoped. Digital pages, while they do help in a pinch, are not the way to do journaling. There were several days where I simply didn’t do my pages at all, because there was either too much or too little going on. I can only write so much about my desire to write and motivate myself before I realize I’m overdoing it. There have been a few weekends/days off that I did miss 2 days in a row, but I am still trying to do my best, even if that doesn’t mean every day or letting myself miss more than a day.

Hydrate

Once again, hydrating did not come easy. While I did not log things as much as I wanted to in my water tracking app, I do know I attempted to hydrate more. It’s getting to be fall, which means I’ll be drinking more hot liquids like green teas and non-caffeinated teas, so I am very excited to add those into my goals. Coffee is still a main staple, and caffeinated teas, but I have attempted to add more water, especially when I feel I need it. I hope to continue the practice in November.

Other

October was full of fun. I traveled a lot between 4 different state for a wedding, a concert and a mini-honeymoon with my husband. I went to a local writing conference and found my inspiration for creation again. I finished another book, which puts me way ahead of my goal for reading, so now it’s time to write more!

I started a few substacks, that should be going live sooner rather than later. You can read the start of them here. I hope to maintain them and update regularly, even during the hectic months at the end of the year.

Word Count: 12,269

November Goals

Writing

NaNoWriMo

This year, as with every year in November, I want to write 50,000 words in November. I will be participating with several writers from all over the world in this international challenge in hopes of having the start of a story. This year, I want to get as close to finishing this novel as I can. I’m excited to get started.

Post more writing online

I want to keep up with the blog schedule more regularly than I have. I also want to post more in other places. Keep an eye out for more posts here on the blog and other links to explore!

Personal

Exercise

This month is no different from any other months of the year, even though I am attempting to write a novel (or most of it) during November. I still want to exercise and try to stay motivated and take control of my health. Plus, exercise usually helps me find more awesome songs for my playlists or awesome ideas for the current story.

Journal

This month, I still plan to journal, but I’m going to do something a little different. Instead of my normal morning pages of just brain-dump, I am going to focus more on the novel writing process and what works and what doesn’t. November often flies by in a haze of “I have no idea how I did that”, but I want to explore the process a bit more this year. What better way to do that than in a journal?

Hydrate

Drinking water is important. Staying hydrated, especially in the throws of creativity is even more important. I have a better system of tracking my water intake that makes each attempt feel like a small reward, so hopefully I will make more progress this month and start to notice more positive changes.

If you would like to join me and write a novel in November, you can sign up here.

 

September Results and October Goals

September has come and gone in a blur of writing and not writing as much as I should have, work, personal accomplishments and everything else in between. If it was mildly important, it happened in September it seemed!

Despite the craziness, I did manage to accomplish a few goals.

September Results

Writing

Edits on Book 1

This month, edits went quite well. I made it all the way through my edits by hand, and slowly but surely I’m making it through the book chapter by chapter. With a month to go, I will definitely have to do another round of edits, I already know that, but I’m planning to still push forward and finish this round.

Publish Something

As much as I wanted to publish something, there’s still a lot of research to do. I had planned to publish a short story to Amazon, but I realized I would most likely have a better chance if I publish a few short stories at a time over multiple platforms. Plans have changed, but I still have the goal. Hopefully soon something will come from it.

Finish Chapters and Sections of Open Works

August was much better than September. September was busy with a lot of life changes and big plans, so finishing as many works as I did in August was impossible. I did finish a lot of parts of projects, mostly chapters of edits, but I still did pretty well.

Personal

Exercise

This month, I did get a few more days of exercise than usual, but there’s still a lot of improvement I want to make. I should be walking more, especially since it helps with stress, so I can only hope to be better in October.

Journal

Journaling was difficult for some reason this month. I had a hard time sitting down and figuring out what to write most days, since there was either so much or so little going on. I hope October will be a better month for journaling, even if I have to do a few days digitally.

Hydrate

This month, I was more aware of the need to drink water, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. A lot of the days, I forgot to drink water, but drank coffee and tea and everything in between. I’m not sure what I can do to drink more water, but I am doing my best with reminders and at least bringing a water bottle with me when I go places. One of the snags I hit was somehow one of my water bottles needed to be washed and the disgusting taste associated with it turned me off of using it completely. I should really make sure my water bottle is clean and the water is cold, then I should be able to drink more.

Other

September was busy!

First, I officially graduated with my Bachelors in Creative Writing and English. I am not entirely sure what I want to do with it yet, or if I’ll even branch out at all. I have a day job I enjoy a lot, but perhaps some work on the side or something. I’m hoping to begin the master’s program next, but we shall see.

I did a small vows ceremony with my now husband and attended another wedding at the end of the month that is the start of a long (much needed) vacation. A vacation is the best way to start the busy time of the year that will be October and November. I have a lot of goals and I’m excited to take a small break before I push forward again.

Word Count: 18,841

October Goals

Writing

Finish Edits on Book 1

I have somewhere around 12-13 chapters to go based on the outline, but I know that is not correct. I actually don’t know how many chapters I have left or what I will end up with at the end of the month, but I am going to push forward. These will in no way be the final edits, but I want to get through them and have a clean slate when I start a new project in November.

Finish as many chapters/ sections as possible

In November, I plan on working on a totally new novel (that still needs a name) and having that be my only project. To do that, I am going to finish as many chapters as I can in as many works and hopefully pick them up again in December/January. I am excited to see what plot points I leave off on and I hope I’ll be more excited to pick them back up again after a little time away.

Preptober for NaNoWriMo

Starting a new project next month means prep time is needed. I’ve been playing with this idea for a few months now, writing down any and all ideas when the decide to appear. I have a loose idea of what I want to accomplish, but I want to make a solid outline and develop a few if not all the characters. I do like to leave a little room for surprises, but I am excited to prepare for something new.

Inktober

I am not an artist, but I do enjoy trying something different every once in a while. In the past, Inktober has been hit or miss and this year is no different. With everything else going on, I’m looking forward to having a little stress relief and doodling time, even if it’s not every day. Every little bit counts.

Personal

Exercise

I want to exercise more this month, even though the weather will be changing with the seasons. I want to try and walk more over these next few weeks and use it to help generate ideas, if not a good few breaks away from the craziness of my goals.

Journal

This month, I will be playing with typing up my morning pages. I will be traveling a bit this month and a little out of my routine, but that doesn’t mean I have to drop it entirely. I might not get every day, but I’m going to do my best not to miss two days in a row.

Hydrate

I need to drink more water. I am chronically dehydrated, or so I feel certain days, but I admit I can be a water snob. It needs to be cold, but not too cold, icy, but can’t have a taste to it. I’m trying to drink more water and keep my preferred water bottles clean. I’ve switched back to a bigger bottle for the meantime, so hopefully that will help me reach more hydration goals.

 

August Results and September Goals

August has been a whirlwind of great things. My writing mojo is back, I’m finishing projects and chapters of projects through hard work and dedication (even if it is 5 paragraphs at a time). August has been very productive and I couldn’t be happier.

August Results

Writing

NYC Midnight’s 500 word Microfiction Challenge

As excited as I was for this challenge, once again, everything outside of writing got in the way. Somehow, I lost a day and when I remembered to do it, it was already past due. I did not give the challenge the time, nor the mental energy it deserved. I suppose there’s always next year. I was really looking forward to it too, but sometimes things aren’t meant to work out. I still have a pretty cool prompt to write though, so there is one positive.

Edits on Book 1

This month, I made decent progress on edits. I got through 4 chapters, but the most important part is that I have a detailed plan to reach the end by October 31st. I have a direction, and I have time to put into it so I’m going to make it happen.

Edit One Short Story

For this month, I had the plan to edit a short story, but more than that, I wanted to get the story ready for publication. That meant breaking the goal up into even smaller goals.

Writing the first draft:

This story is an idea I’ve had for a while, and the same idea I used to write a play for my playwriting course. New developments appeared when I wrote it as a play, so I adapted it back to a short story. I was able to get this goal done in a little over a week. Completed 8/9

Creating a Cover:

This is something I’ve been playing around with for the last few months. I’ve really had a fun time creating covers for my works. It worked out perfectly that a few days to create the cover was enough to let the first draft sit. Completed 8/31

Editing the draft:

This month was the fastest I have ever written something and immediately edited it (except the NYC Midnight challenges). Giving it a little time was exactly what was needed and it really helped to come at the piece from multiple angles before this “final” draft. Completed 8/31

Coming up with keywords and writing the back summary:

This is something I’m not used to doing. It’s a whole new ballpark when trying to find the niche the story will fit best, but it’s also exciting too, because that means I’m growing and learning as an author. To be completed in September

Stay tuned next month for the full results.

Finish my last class of my Bachelor’s Program

After just over 2 years of school, I submitted my last essay and discussion board. It took a while, I liked every class or at least a part of a class, but this one I just couldn’t get into or enjoy. I expected it to be something it wasn’t, and with everything else crazy, I honestly got a little senioritis in the last class. Now all that’s left is to find out my grades and get my diploma and definitely take a break from any schoolwork for a few months. Hopefully, I’ll start my MFA next year.

Personal

Exercise

This month, exercise was definitely great stress relief. With everything else more organized, and building a routine, I started the month off strong and started exercising at least a few days a week. It really helped my mental health to take a break between writing projects and go for a walk or do some stretches. As the month wound down, I didn’t exercise as much as I wanted, but slowly, I’m getting back into it.

Journal

Journaling was very effective this month. I added a few more journals and techniques to my routine, and they seem to be helping. It helps to start my morning with journaling and reading and avoiding my screens for the first hour of my morning. I only missed one day this month, which was unfortunate, but does occasionally happen.

Hydrate

This month, I wasn’t the best at staying hydrated. I did pay more attention to my water bottle and how full it was, but I still drank mostly coffee and tea. Still, I’m making small attempts to be better and doing my best to find more ways to stay hydrated.

Other

In August, I finished my last class in my Creative Writing Bachelor’s Program. I’m currently waiting on my diploma, so not officially graduated yet, but patiently waiting. In addition to finishing my last class, I was quite productive and finished 23 chapters or parts of open projects. A little bit of writing every day helped to get chapters finished, projects finished and new parts started. I’ve also picked up a few other habits outside of writing that I’m not quite ready to share yet, but they are quite relaxing.

In addition to writing like crazy, I read five books in August, in two series I read concurrently. Three I’ve read before (a few times, but have never finished the series) and a new series I haven’t read yet, but that I have enjoyed so far. Keep an eye out for more book reviews hopefully, and more fun content on the blog.

Word Count: 68,627

September Goals

Writing

Edits on Book 1

The deadline is set for October 31st and I plan to get as much done as I can in the time I have left. It means getting a lot of edits done, and spending a lot of time in the world of story, but I am so excited to keep pushing forward.

Publish Something

This month, I would like to put something out into the world for publishing. I’ve been playing around with several avenues over the last few months and I’m getting closer to making things happen. With any luck, it will be this month.

Finish Chapters and Sections of Open Works

In August, I started working a little bit in each project, a big reason why my word count was so high in August and how I got several parts of projects finished. I would like to keep that up in September, and hopefully for the rest of the year. This has been my best writing year yet, and I want to keep it that way and keep pushing forward. Perhaps I’ll even finish more projects than I intended. We’ll see!

Personal

Exercise

As for the rest of this year, I would like to build an exercise routine. I’ve been attempting for several months, and making positive changes in the right direction, but this month I would like to get out and exercise at least 2-3 times a week. It won’t always be possible, but that’s the goal I am going to attempt this month.

Journal

Journaling has been a big help over the last few months. I want to keep it up and expand it even further than I have. There’s something about putting my thoughts on paper and writing through several gel pens that helps me sort my priorities for the day. Hopefully I’ll look back and laugh as I have with previous journals, or find more ideas, as I have in the past when I read them in the future.

Hydrate

Last month, I tried to hydrate more, and wasn’t the most successful. I am more aware of my water intake, which helps, but I would like to keep it up and drink more than coffee, tea and soda. I want to at least try to drink one of my water bottles (22 oz) a day of just water, if not more. It doesn’t seem like much, but it is a start.

I’m looking forward to a lot of things in September, creative and otherwise.

 

What I’ve Learned: Typing up Old Works

I am fortunate enough as a writer that I started writing my stories with paper and pen. This is also unfortuate, because a lot of my works from my formative years in the early 2000’s (excuse me as I age myself) are all in a storage bin somewhere. Because of this, I still can’t find the original first novel I wrote and finished at 14. I’m hoping it’s somewhere in storage, somewhere safe, but we shall see.

I should say all the works were in storage or in a bin somewhere. Over the last few months I have scanned them in for safekeeping. A lot of those ideas are still good, or didn’t get the time they deserved back then because I got bored and started something else. Well, now they’re getting the time they deserve.

As of this month, I’ve begun to type up the works in an attempt to return to them later and either finish or repurpose them.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far in the first few weeks.

I’ve advanced a lot in the last decade of writing

I am so thankful for this! This year marks 20 years of writing (and more than half my life). The first few attempts were quite rough, with a lot of over explaining, a lot of characters staring at each other and long paragraphs of purple prose. I’m not perfect in my writing now, but I am glad I’ve made strides to correct some of my previous mistakes and improve upon my craft.

Some of the names are so cringe

While I don’t have the original of the first novel I ever wrote, I remember the names were so cringe. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to name my main character, so her name kept changing the more people she interacted with. Historical fiction with names like AnnaLiegh and a multitude of other terrible spellings of “old fashioned sounding” names.

In a piece I wrote around 2007/2008, the names aren’t terrible, but spelled so bad. Caylob (who while typing up I kept typing as Cayblob) and Fevar and Braxley. This novel, in my prime teenage years was a great example of why I should not have been naming real life people back then or even thinking about having any kind of responsibility for naming anything, even a puppet or two.

The ideas are spectacular, the execution not so much

When I was a teenager, I had a lot of great ideas, but not a lot of idea how to finish them. A lot of my projects had really strong beginnings, even if the word structure of the sentences were a little cringe. I typed up a chapter of a work recently and my goodness there was so much staring, no page breaks, and each movement was described in too much detail. “Her eyes watched his eyes as she blinked and smiled” kind of thing. So much cringe, but at least now that I’m putting it into a digital form, that means I can edit it all later and avoid the awkward of both characters staring at each other for long periods of time.

There has been so much creativity living in these forgotten pages and I am so excited to explore a few of those old ideas, finish them, and see what happens next now that I have grown as a writer.

It’s really nice looking back and seeing how much I’ve improved

A lot of these works, as I mentioned, are from the early 2000’s circa 2005-2010ish. There’s a lot of growth within the works between the years. Lately, I’ve been down on my current writing because I’m in the middle of everything, throwing a pity party that my writing is stale, blah blah blah. Thankfully, looking back at where I started has helped me see that I have come a long way in the last 15+ years.

I can’t wait to see where I’ll be in the next 15 years as I keep moving forward and making improvements in my craft and my writing.

 

What I’ve Learned…

Since 2023 started, I have written something every single day. As of August 1st, I have almost 240K to show for it. This is not the longest streak of writing I’ve ever had, but I will say I have learned a lot.

Here are some of my biggest takeaways.

Have Multiple Projects…

In the past, I’ve liked to work on one project at a time. In the past few months however, I have learned multiple projects means multiple places to jump around and put words if I feel like working on something else. I usually have a few “main” projects I try and hit every day, and then a few “side” projects that I can hit every day, or I can go back to whenever I feel like it. A few sentences in each every day yields a larger word count than you expect. On the flip side, having too many projects can be tough too.

…But Not too many that it feels overwhelming

Over the last few years that I’ve been taking writing seriously, there have been a lot of projects that languish and grow dull and lose their spark. Some days, I feel like writing a little bit in everything. Other days, I feel like throwing the project in the garbage. On those days, I move past that project and hope I feel more inclined to work on it in a few days. There are so many new sparks of ideas that come to me, many of which are those projects that have languished. So I have learned that the idea can be as fun as it wants, but that doesn’t mean I have to start it right away. Adding more projects to the massive list I have (oh and homework for my bachelor’s too), would be too overwhelming.

A few sentences a day go a long way…

There have been several days when a few sentences in a few projects will give me anywhere between 500 and 1500 words. If I have a short amount of time (hello, busy work and school life), I’ll write a few sentences where I can in a few projects. I’ll usually keep that streak up for a few days, then get busy and focus on a large project (like editing), but it helps to keep the momentum going by coming back to a project every day or even ever other day.

…But Sometimes momentum feels stilted.

Sometimes, when I give myself what I have been calling “5 Sentences and a thought” (Cute, right? 😂), the action of the scene can feel stilted, or worse, it takes me a month to write one scene. Depending on the day, sometimes 5:AT feels like slogging through mud. “I want to say this, but that is 6 sentences!” Or I don’t know where I want to go so I spend 5 sentences describing something mundane or describing a character’s inner thoughts badly. It can get comical, and at least I’m making progress, but most days after those sentences I tend to berate myself. “Really me?! No direction for today?”

Overall, the most important thing for me, since so many of these projects are first drafts, is getting the words down on the page and working through the story. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to get done. These are things that I’ve learned over the last 180+ days, and maybe in the next 180, I’ll throw it all out the window.

I’m learning, and I am growing. Most importantly, I’m writing every day.

 

July Results and August Goals

July has been hectic for all the wrong reasons. From a class in school I do not like at all, to a whole host of medical and dental distractions, July has not been the month I hoped it would be. Still, I did what I could when I could. I did not hit the goals I truly wanted for Camp NaNoWriMo or editing, but I do have more progress than I had when the month started.

It’s not quite the win I wanted, but it is better than what I had at the beginning of the month.

July Results

Writing

Camp NaNoWriMo

Nothing seemed to go the way I intended this month writing wise. Camp NaNoWriMo gave way to school essays and work and anything else but getting words on a page. I did manage a few things, but this month definitely wasn’t my best writing month.

Edit 500 words of Book 1 Daily

Similar to my goals for Camp NaNoWriMo, my goals of editing didn’t seem to go well either. A little here and there daily, with only a few days of actually reaching my goal. As much as I would have liked to be successful (wouldn’t we all?), July simply wasn’t the month to be successful. I do have more words and did make progress, but it wasn’t every day this month as I had hoped.

Edit One Short Story

Editing a short story came at a surprising time at the end of the month in connection with the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction second round. While it wasn’t exactly the short story I had hoped to edit, it did get done. This month, I’m taking the wins where I can.

NYC Flash Fiction Round 2

This challenge is always fun for me despite the looming feeling of a deadline. This year, this challenge actually helped save my word count for the month. Between not feeling well due to multiple health issues that popped up, work being hectic and busy, and navigating negotiations for time off, not to mention how many project I’ve stalled on in the middle, this challenge helped renew my excitement in writing. While I struggled to get started, I did manage to write something decent and submit it before the deadline.

Personal

Exercise

The health issues (temporary, thankfully) did not help my will to exercise. There were a few days, mostly lake days where I exercised without issue, but while at home, I simply couldn’t find the motivation to exercise. Plus when you have all over body aches and just a general yucky feeling, exercise is the last thing on your mind. I hope the next few months are better, especially now that I know what the culprit is.

Journal

Journaling has been my saving grace this month. Sitting down every morning and getting my morning pages down before I truly start my day has helped me make plans and strive for goals. Journaling has helped me get my stresses and successes down on the page and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I started my 4th journal of 2023 and more will follow.

OTHER NEWS

In July, temporary health issues sidelined a lot of what I wanted to get done. Still, I did what I could when I could and while it wasn’t the perfect month, I did make progress. I got the start or orthodontic work, with braces on 6 teeth for a few months and man are the headaches with those intense sometimes!

I went to two amazing concerts: Train and Tori Amos and neither disappointed. I love live music and the concerts were a much needed mental and emotional reset.

I also made it through the halfway point of my LAST CLASS in my bachelor’s degree. A few more weeks to go and then I work through the graduation process. I am so excited to be done, but I am more excited for what is to come next!

Word Count: 23,175

August Goals

Writing

NYC Midnight’s 500 word Microfiction Challenge

I’m always really excited for these short challenges that inspire me to work on something new and finish it all in one go. This will be the first year I do the 500 word Microfiction because this is the inaugural challenge. The 100 and 250 word challenges are fun, so I can’t wait to see how the 500 word challenge goes.

Edits on Book 1

I need to make progress on book one, that has been dragging on for most of the year. I have a true deadline for the end of October and I’m going to stick to it. Even if it means that’s the only project I work on for a few weeks.

Edit One Short Story

I have a story I wanted to edit in July, but it simply didn’t happen. I hope to make progress on the story and hopefully finish it for the next step.

Finish my last class of my Bachelor’s Program

3 more weeks to go and I am already looking forward to the end of this class. It has not been my favorite, but it is the last, so after that I am going to relax and feel waaaay less stressed.

Personal

Exercise

I would really like to get back into exercising in August if my body will let me. Pain more days than not kept me from exercising, but I desperately want to get back into it, so I can feel healthier again and hopefully less stressed.

Journal

Journaling has been very helpful this year. Some days it feels monotonous, especially on the days I simply wake up and go to work for most of the day. Still, journaling helps me realize my goals and put them on paper.

Hydrate

I’ve been really bad at staying hydrated, especially as the months get hotter. I would like to drink more water and hydrating drinks than just coffee throughout the day with a sip of water here or there. With the headaches I’ve been getting from the braces and the fun of relearning how to eat certain foods, it’s been a goal to hydrate more.

Here’s to kicking butt in August!

 

June Results, Halfway Check-In, and July Goals

And just like that, we have now reached the halfway point of the year. Where has the time gone?! June was a month of ups and downs, but thankfully mostly ups. Here’s how I did.

Writing

Edit One Arc of Book 1

I didn’t quite edit a whole arc of book 1 like I wanted, but I did make some decent progress. I managed to finish 2 chapters this month and I have a solid plan for next month to keep the edits moving. Editing is different from writing, and I am giving the project the time it needs to be the best version of itself.

1000 Words of Summer

I wanted 1000 Words of Summer to be successful for the whole two weeks, but I fell off the productivity wagon toward the last few days. I did manage to finish one project I’ve been working on for the last 8 or so years, so that was a win. Attempting to get 1000 words a day in another project after finishing the other project was like pulling teeth. I do still plan on shooting for 1000 words a day in July. I guess it wasn’t a complete failure.

NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge

The NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge, the challenge that started it all in 2020, went well this year. I worked on a brand new project of 1000 words or less in a genre I don’t normally write in. I got to flex my writing muscles and get used to putting more work out there. I had fun doing it, especially because I got to subvert a fairytale in the best ways. Results come out at the end of next month, and I am already excited for round 2.

BONUS: NYC Midnight’s 100 Word Microfiction Contest

This goal is one I totally forgot about. The results came out for round 1 and I placed 1st!!! I went onto the next round, which was difficult with so few words, but I made a solid attempt. I’m not entirely sure when results come out for this round, but hopefully I will be more prepared if I go for the next round.

Personal

Exercise

Exercise in June has been hit or miss. Some weeks I’ve been on it and kicking butt. Others I barely exercised at all. I need to get back to it and be more consistent, if not to look better than to feel better mentally. I started an exercise regimen that I thought would be nice, but it was unorganized and messy. Hopefully I’ll get back into Yoga and walking again.

Journal

Journaling in June was fantastic. There was a day where I almost didn’t make it, because I left my journal at home. Instead of letting the habit go, I journaled on my computer. It wasn’t totally ideal, and I want to keep it all on paper if I can, but it works in a pinch. I hope to keep up the habit for as long as I can.

Word Count: 41,959

Whoa! Halfway Point Check-In!

Write Every Day of 2023

January: 100%

February: 100%

March: 100%

April: 100%

May: 100%

June: 100%

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Keep up the progress and keep writing something every day.

Edit Three Novels

Slowly making my way through edits on Book 1. At this point, I might not make 3 novels by the end of the year, but I am going to do the best I can.

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Keep editing and moving forward.

Edit Six short stories

  • Congratulations- Written Jan 2015; Edited Jan 2023
  • H-E- Double Hockey Sticks- Written and Edited Jan 2023
  • Samson- Written 2014; Edited Feb 2023
  • Thanks For the Hand- Written and Edited April 2023
  • Mad With The Moon-written Feb 2021; edited June 2023
  • Love Lines- written Jan 2014; edited June 2023
  • The Way Out- Written August 2022; edited June 2023

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Goal update to 12 short stories this year. 5 to go!

Read Twelve Books

  • Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olsen- finished January 2023
  • All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban- Finished January 2023
  • The Will and The Wild by Charlie N. Holmberg- Finished February 2023
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas- Finished March 2023
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas- Finished March 2023
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Mass- finished March 2023
  • Queen of Ruin by K.F. Breene- finished June 2023
  • Daisy Jones and the Six -finished June 2023

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Keep Reading. 4 to go!

Publish Something (Either Traditional or Indie)

EXCITING THINGS ARE COMING!

Participate in Most (If not all) NYC Midnight Writing Contests.

Short Story Challenge

Round 1: 5th place. Moved to round 2.

Round 2: Did not place in round 2.

Screenwriting Challenge

SKIPPED

Microfiction (100 words)

Round 1: Placed 1st! 🎉 Moved on to second round.

Round 2: Results pending

Flash Fiction

Round 1: Results pending

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Keep participating and enjoying the process.

Finished Projects

  • Little Earthquakes 2016-2023
  • Short Stories
    Rocketman 2022-2023
    Luka 2022-2023
  • Various Fanfictions
    Names That Bind 2023
    You Don’t Need to Love Me 2023
    Hidge Week 2018-2023
  • Futures– 2015-2023

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR: Finish more projects as able.

Word Count: 217,132

July Goals

Camp NaNoWriMo

Once again it is time for Camp NaNoWriMo. This month, I hope to finish a project or two that have been languishing in my folders. For my goal, I would like to hit 40K. Realistically, I would like to get around 1000 words a day to keep the momentum up, in this project and a few odds and ends in other projects.

Edit 500 words of Book 1 Daily

For the last few weeks of June, with the 1000 word goal a fay, I attempted to get 500 words of edits. For the few days I was successful, it really helped move the novel along, especially through the boring middle bits. I hope with luck and practice and dedication, I can get through the edits with a bit more speed.

Edit One Short Story

I’ve had a lot of good luck editing short stories in June. I would like to keep the momentum up in July and keep getting short stories ready for the world.

NYC Flash Fiction Round 2

I enjoy this challenge as much as I do because there is an automatic second round. I’m excited to see how I do in round 1, and I’m excited to see the new prompt for round 2. 1000 words is the perfect amount to play with to write a short piece. I do enjoy long pieces, but a short piece now and then really helps me build my writing muscles.

Personal

Exercise

Exercising has been one of my wishy-washy habits over the last few months. I would like to make it a more steady habit and feel better about doing it. One of the first things that disappears when I’m stressed is exercise, as counterintuitive as that sounds. I would like to make it more permanent in July.

Journal

Journaling has really helped me over the last 6 months and I hope it continues to help me over the rest of the year and far beyond that. I’ve had to get creative with how I journal a few times over the last few months, with some days feeling like pulling teeth, but I still continue to make progress.

What about you? Any fun goals planned?

 

Wednesday Writing Tip: Finish Your First Draft

If you’re a writer first starting out, writing tips can be overwhelming. So many writers overthink the writing tips all over the internet.

I was fortunate to write my first few novels without the overwhelming “help” of the internet. I was fortunate to be able to find my own way of writing and creating.

I’m not saying writing advice on the internet doesn’t have its place, I’m sure it does, but not in the first draft. The first draft is for the writer to tell themselves the story. That story, that voice becomes muddled in between the “you should do blah” and “you shouldn’t do blah.” It can be overwhelming while working on a first draft

The first writing tip I have for anyone, brand new or experienced is Finish Your First Draft without writing advice.

Finish your first draft however you want to finish it. Finish your first draft and let the story tell you how it goes. Finish your first draft and find the way without anyone telling you how or why you should do it. Finish your first draft and then let the internet in when it’s time for subsequent drafts.

Happy Writing!

 

Thoughts on The Writing Process: Fun

Writing can be a strange hobby to have sometimes. With all the talk of “publishing” and “editing” and “making money from your hobby”, it can easily become like a job.

Over the past year or so, writing felt like a chore. I got wrapped up in the expectation that I need to be making money from my writing. I got wrapped up in school and figuring out what to do with my degree. I got wrapped up in the perfection bubble and it paralyzed me for a while.

I used to be able to put out first drafts in months, but for a long time my writing has been stagnant. I even posted on TikTok a few months ago when I finished a project that it didn’t feel the same, that it felt hollow. Still, I’ve been chugging along, hoping the inspiration will come back.

In the last few months I’ve made writing a daily habit and it no longer feels like as much of a chore. But that’s not what this post is about. Habits are important, but there’s something more important than habits.

A few days ago, something clicked. Most of the pieces I’m working on are still first drafts. First drafts are supposed to be fun, they’re supposed to be quick and ugly and hastily written garbage, but most of all FUN!

Even the edits I’m currently working on can still be fun. So far, I’ve added a few songs, and a few more prophecies. It’s been an enjoyable process, because I finally realized I’m making it fun.

I can’t believe it took me that long to realize I wasn’t having fun, or letting fun in. Writing is a hobby before it’s a business. Writing is something I do for fun, and if it makes me money eventually, that’s fantastic.

I will be an author some day, but I am still allowed to have fun with my hobby. I’m allowed to not take myself seriously sometimes.

Here’s to more fun and more silliness.

Stay tuned!

April Results and May Goals

This year, April wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Usually April is my worst writing and creating month, but not this year.

This year, I decided to embrace the mantra of “Fun!”. I often stress too much about little things and things that don’t matter. Thinking like that has made me regret a lot of things and miss out on opportunities, so now I have decided to change my outlook and find the fun in what I can.

Here’s how I did in April.

April Results

Writing

Edit Another Arc of Book 1

April simply wasn’t the month for editing. Not because of the usual reasons of April being filled with grief, but because other projects demanded my attention and seemed more fun. I did as much as I could, but I needed a break from editing. With any luck, in May I’ll return to it with more gusto.

Camp NaNoWriMo/35K in book 3.

While I didn’t do really any work in the book I was supposed to be working on for Camp NaNoWriMo, I did manage to get more than 35K in all the projects I’ve been working on. I’m still counting it as a goal reached, because 35K+ spread through everything I’ve been working through this month has been spectacular.

Poetry

Poetry as a goal was hit and miss. I did finish my poetry class for my bachelor’s program and did write/edit a good grip of poems. I did work on a few poems at the beginning of the month and make decent progress, but in no way did I work on Poetry every day like I had planned. Still, some progress is better than none.

NYC Midnight

This goal is a double add on goal. I had the NYC Midnight 100 word Micro-fiction contest planned, but forgot to put it as a goal. That went well, with only 24 hours to write and edit 100 words and tell a story. Another competition that came back as a surprise was the NYC Midnight Short Story Competition. My submission from January got 5th place which meant I got to go onto Round Two. I submitted that story and had so much fun with it. Things are starting to get exciting in the writing world for me.

Personal

Exercise

Exercise was a little better in April. I started making a conscious effort to go out for a walk when I could and get some kind of exercise in. It was nowhere perfect and nowhere where I wanted to be, especially as the month wound down. When I did exercise, I did pick up the pace more and added a little jogging to my usual walks. It makes me feel a little better and so far it has seemed to help me reach my goals quicker. I used to hate running, and I still do, but not as much.

Journal

As much as I wanted to make this a perfect month, it didn’t happen. There were days where it was impossible to make it to the page for one reason or another. A few were travel related, another was work related. Overall, in April I missed 4 days. Hopefully, in May I won’t miss any.

OTHER NEWS

In other news, as I mentioned, I finished another class for my bachelor’s program. This effectively means I have two left. I’m getting closer to my dream and I couldn’t be more excited. I am looking forward to what the next few classes hold and possibly what might be coming after that.

I have a creative project in the works that is getting closer and closer to being done and being out in the world. I can’t say much right now, but once I can I will be shouting it from the rooftops and blasting it all over wherever I can.

My dental work is finally done, with the permanent implant in, so no more horrible plastic whole mouth fake tooth retainer. I could not be happier, even though my mouth still feels “naked” after weeks without the retainer. I’ll eventually get used to it.

I have picked up another creative hobby in singing and while I’m not as good as I was in high school with daily practice in the choir room, I do feel like I’m finally finding my voice and not trying to imitate others. That’s a big milestone for me. While no one may hear me for a while, I do enjoy singing in the car as I drive to and from work.

Word Count: 45,696

May Goals

Writing

Edit One Short Story

I have a massive list of short stories to be edited, even though I have done more than I thought with the last few NYC Midnight competitions. I would like to work through another one this month and add it to my list of completed works for the year. 2023 is the year of editing, even if I didn’t do much of it in April.

Edit An Arc of Book 1

May means it’s time to get back to the serious work of editing. I didn’t do much in April, for a lot of reasons, but now I’m ready to get back to it and keep the progress moving forward. With any luck I’ll be able to make it through a few chapters in May.

Finish A Project (of any kind)

I have a lot of open projects that I’ve had for a long time. I think the oldest project I’m working on right now I’ve been working on, on and off since 2015. I would like to get some of my older projects done and out of the way so I can start something new. Knowing my luck and the class I am currently in, the project I finish might be related to school, but I’m ok with that. It will be some kind of fiction. Perhaps I’ll even finish two or three projects.

Personal

Exercise

I feel like now almost halfway into the year, I am starting to build a better routine. While I haven’t been able to get out every day and exercise, I at least think about it and make a plan. I don’t always stick to the plan, but I’m hoping in May I’ll get out more and notice more positive changes in my body.

Journal

April was not the best month for journaling, but I hope May is better. I feel so much better when I get my thoughts out of my head and down on paper. There are several days when it gets repetitive, but the journaling still does help. I would like to not miss any days during May and then keep the trend going for the rest of the year.

Ten Years

Ten years ago, I doubt I would have thought of myself here now,

Where I am now and who I was in that moment are markedly different.

For that, I am proud.

The me of ten years ago never thought herself worthy of time or love, stuck in those last few moments for so long.

For that, I am saddened.

Now, I have so much love, so much potential, so much drive to move forward.

To gain all those things, it took growth, leaving so much behind and learning from life lessons,

Lessons that should have never been taught so young.

I had just become an adult, and just like that, felt like nothing but a kid again.

As a kid, I had never felt truly safe in your arms,

But I stayed there much longer after you left.

Not physically, but emotionally.

I think about you a lot,

Even more so over the last few months, when everything has changed for the better.

I dread becoming like you,

I beg for a better life than you had.

I hope I do it all better.

I hope I find a better ending.

Ten years, you’ve been gone.

Ten years of growth you never got to see.

Despite all the struggles,

I still miss you, Mom.

Camp NaNoWriMo Update: Days 5-9

Between a few days off, a roadtrip and a holiday, the writing still continued smoothly, even though we entered the dreaded week 2!

April 5th

Today was an interesting day. I didn’t start writing until the evening, after a wonderful massage and a nice long hot

bath. I finally had some self care after my long stretch of work days, and it helped. I now have a somewhat loose outline for the main project I want to work on for Camp NaNoWriMo. I wrote a little bit in everything and worked on some blog posts and an outline. Overall a decent writing day.

WC: 1571

April 6th

I woke up early, despite not having to work, and got my words in early in the morning. I did some homework, and worked on my main project in the evening. Overall, a productive day both writing wise and in everything else too.

WC: 1575

April 7th

Writing was split up quite a bit today. A few rushed words in the morning in a few projects, then the rest of it at work. I was hoping to get more words today, since I’m off for a weekend away tomorrow, but beggars can’t be choosers. I did get words in everything and some homework done before the weekend, so really I could it as a win.

WC: 1502

April 8th

Road trip! For most of the day, my fiancé and I drove up to Sacramento to see John Mayer in concert. I got a little writing in the car, but writing definitely was not my priority for the weekend. Still, I managed to get a few sentences in all that I could.

WC: 1135

April 9th

Happy Easter! Another day spent in the car, this time driving home from Sacramento. A very enjoyable roadtrip with the man I love, but once again writing wasn’t a priority. Homework was, and that gave me a pretty good buffer of words once I got home, but not the best writing day.

WC: 665

Camp NaNoWriMo Update Days 1-4

Here we are again in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. Usually I do pretty well in November, and April and July mostly suffer, but I’m hoping to blog every day (or if not every few days) to keep myself accountable for the month.

So far, the writing year has been good to me. I’m hoping to keep that momentum up in April. With any luck, it will be the best month yet.

Here’s the breakdown of the first few days of Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023

April 1st

Overall, a good day. A Saturday, and homework is always due on the weekends, so that means words. Do I like counting words for homework? No, but it does give me a little buffer. It’s a work day too, so that means a decent amount of downtime to get a few words down. I made sure I got words in almost everything I’m tallying this month, which is, a lot. Except I didn’t get any words in the current editing project, nor in the project I am aiming to make the most progress in for Camp NaNo. There is always tomorrow!

WC: 1,445

April 2nd

Once again, homework is important to complete and means more words. Other than that, yet another work day (Day 3/5), which means a few sentences here and there in EVERYTHING this time, plus a little extra when I can. The writing bug has struck and I’m excited for the month!

WC: 2,282

April 3rd

The first Monday of April and oh man did it feel like it. No work done before I left for work (day 4/5!) which meant a lot of fumbling on my phone for words. Still managed to write a little in every project, thankfully, and that was it on the Most Monday feeling Monday.

WC: 1,006

April 4th

Tuesday, I managed to get a lot of words down before work (Day 5/5; I am ready for a few days off!), which means the undeniable tension to write has faded. Writing on a keyboard/laptop is so much nicer than pecking on a phone, though I have been known to do both. Due to some tech/syncing issues, the work I did at home did not sync to my work devices until after I got home. I could have done more work, but tech issues did not help.

WC: 1,440

Not too bad for the first few days of April. Better than I expected, quite honestly, with as disgusting as April has been in the past few years.

I hope I can keep it up over the rest of the month!

WC Total: 6,173

March Results and April Goals

As I head into the hardest month of every year, I’m thankful March was so productive. It flew by in a blur of homework, work, and writing, but I’m glad I was able to accomplish as much as I did.

March Results

Writing

Edit One Short Story

I didn’t quite edit a short story in the way I wanted to. Another project landed in my lap to edit, and I couldn’t help it. I actually had a deadline for this project and the edits involved with it. I can’t say much about it at the moment, but stay tuned for more updates!

Edit 4 chapters or finish the current Story Arc

This goal took up my whole month. March was definitely the month for editing the novel and the story arc and it did not disappoint. The arc took me the whole month, and five chapters instead of four, but that means I have edited half of the proposed chapters for the current project I’m editing.

NYC Midnight Screenplay Challenge

This challenge goes into April too so I’ll talk about it then. So far, working on other projects has taken precedence, but tune in next month for a better update.

Finish a Short Story from 2022

This month, writing didn’t really come as easy as reading or editing. As much as I wanted to finish this short story, it will have to be at another time. I have a direction now at least, which is always better than no direction.

Personal

Exercise

Exercising wasn’t really my top priority this month. With the rain and the strange weather throughout March, I spent more time wishing I could exercise, rather than actually doing the work and exercising. Next month, I am really hoping to get back to a decent routine and stick to it.

Journal

I journaled every day but two in March. Things have started to move forward with certain aspects of my life and my health. A few days I got too swept up in it and completely forgot to journal. I’m hoping to keep up my streak next month and do a full month and full pages for my mental health.

Other

Reading a book series, or I suppose re-reading, sucked up a lot of my time in March. I can’t help it, I get sucked into a good book and it’s hard to claw my way out and write original things. I managed to read three books in the main series this month, which means once again, I will reach my reading goal waaaayyy before the end of the year. Now it’s time to read another trilogy I’ve been trying to read for a long time, but have always been distracted. That also means I need to update my reading goal for the year. Nothing too crazy, but I do like to have goals.

I also have good news coming, with any luck sooner rather than later now that the momentum is moving in the right direction.

Word Count: 34,786

April Goals

Writing

Edit Another Arc of Book 1

I’ve started to like the idea of editing my novel in arcs. It’s nice to work on a few chapters at a time, make them as strong as they can be, rather than slogging through the whole novel from front to back over and over again. I’m hoping to keep editing through a few arcs and hopefully have the novel fully edited by June or July.

Camp NaNoWriMo/35K in book 3.

I’ve been itching to finish book 3 of the series for months, especially since November and NaNoWriMo when I started book three was absolute trash. Slowly, I’ve been chipping away, but I’m excited to focus on it in April during Camp NaNoWriMo.

Poetry

I’m looking forward to working on some poetry in the upcoming month. The idea struck me toward the end of March, and with it being National Poetry month, why not?

Personal

Exercise

With any luck, the weather in April will be better than the stormy stuff we had in March. I am hoping to make exercise more of a habit and less of a chore, so we’ll see how that goes.

Journal

Journaling has been getting more difficult, more dragging, so I’m hoping I find more joy in it again this month. Or if not joy, at least a place to pour out my grief as we approach the month that sucks every year.

Hopefully the month of April won’t be too rough and I can actually get some decent work done.

What are your goals for the month of April?

February Results and March Goals

Another month down, 10 more to go!

For being such a short month, February sure was busy. Between schoolwork, actual work, and writing and creating, the month was the most successful month yet.

Here’s how I did in February:

February Results

Writing

Edit One Short Story

This month, I did manage to edit a short story, but still have yet to type it out by the time I’m writing this. The short story I chose, as with a lot of the short stories I’ve written over the years, needed more work and more attention than I could give it in one month. Mainly, it needs a lot of rewrites. Thankfully, I have a direction and I know what I need to work on to make it shine. I’m counting this as a success.

Edit 4 chapters

Four chapters were edited this month, right down to the last minute. I am now 4 chapters closer to being done with the first novel I’m hoping to edit in 2023. I’m really enjoying the good bits I get to add, and some I’ve been surprised to find. I’m learning so much as I go.

Finish a short story from 2022

I’m super happy with my progress this month. I was able to finish the short story from 2022 pretty early in the month. There is nothing as awesome as finishing a project that is either slow moving or gives me trouble. The short story from November 2022 definitely dragged, but now I can say the first draft is done.

Personal

Exercise

This month, exercise was not my top priority, nor was it easy to come by. With the rainy weather, an illness and training for work, I didn’t exercise more than I exercised. I’m hoping I can improve over the next few months, maybe when the weather gets warmer and stays nice.

Journal

In February, I managed to write in my journal every single day. Some days were easier than others. Some days I’m sure I wrote complete garbage, but journaling at least lets me get it out of my head and on paper. After writing for the last 2 months, I’m three quarters of the way through the first journal of the year.

Other

In other news, I finished another class for my Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and started another. As much as I thought I would enjoy playwriting, I’m glad it’s done. I learned all I could from the subject, but there were a few factors that did not make the class as enjoyable as I would have liked. Now I’m off to Poetry.

I also finished reading another book, so keep your eyes out for another book review.

This month, I finished a project I’ve been working on since 2016. 2023 is the year of editing and finishing things and I couldn’t be happier. The first novel of 2023 is finished.

Here’s to so many more!

Word Count: 32,297

March Goals

Writing

Edit One Short Story

Editing one short story a month seems like a decent pace for what I want to get done this year. Especially since I’m more focused on editing my novels. I’m interested to see how much I can get done this year.

Edit 4 chapters or finish the current Story Arc

Over the last few weeks of edits, I came to the realization that instead of editing in order, it was really nice to edit as far as story arcs go. So far, each arc is a few chapters and editing in those snippets make the editing go faster and the story smoother. This month, I’m hoping to get through the funeral arc.

NYC Midnight Screenplay Challenge

I signed up for the NYC Midnight Screenplay challenge even though I didn’t really enjoy playwriting. This is a challenge from NYC Midnight that I haven’t done yet, but I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m interested to try something new and see how I do.

Finish a Short Story from 2022

I have one last short story to finish from 2022. December wasn’t a great month for writing a short story. Now that I have time (yeah, right!), I’m hoping to get the short story done and close out the projects from 2022. With any luck, I’ll finish it and be able to add it to the list of short stories I can edit throughout the year.

Personal

Exercise

Last month was not the best month for exercise. With any luck, this month will be better and I won’t be down with a cold for 10+ days. I’ll be happy if I get 3x a week for this month.

Journal

I’ve really enjoyed journaling over these last few months. It’s been helping to get thoughts on paper and not keep them bottled up in my head. I’ve noticed an increase in my creativity and in my joy. I hope to keep the trend up.

Wish me luck!

Wednesday Works: The Mirror

She had lived in the old house for as long as she could remember. Her parents had lived in it even longer, and so had their parents and so on and so forth. If she did the math right it was her great x7 grandfather who had built the house for his wife. She had died before it was finished, but he still built it exactly as she had wanted it.

Over the years, family members had added on and changed, but the one thing that remained unchanged was the foyer. The front door had been repainted too many times to count, one over the other, and each morning more multicolored paint chips fell onto the porch. The carpet had been torn up, tacked form, replaced with wood, back to carpet. The rugs needed to be replaced.

The one thing that didn’t change in the foyer was the furniture. A small table by the front door where the lot of the family placed their things when they came home. She still had the scar from where she had smacked into the corner of the table when she was 2 and a 1/2. She still placed her keys there when she came home.

A fancy China cabinet stood across from the front door, taking up space and showing off their fancy China from the civil war era. The China had long been a topic of discussion, from when it was new, to the last 50 years or so when they toppled over and no one could figure out how to open the cabinet and fix them without shattering them. They had simply stayed that way for years.

By far, her favorite was the ornate mirror that hung on the wall near the stairs. It had been there since the very beginning. All her ancestors had used it to catch their last looks before leaving the house.

She used it then to catch her last look before heading out on a date. He would be there any minute.

“You gonna go out looking like a painted up whore?” The reflection of her great great great grandfather’s ghost appeared in the mirror behind her.

In the next instant, her great great great grandmother appeared next to him in the reflection. “Give her a break, Clem,” she said with a reassuring hand on his ghostly shoulder. “That’s the style these days.”

“Thank you, Grammy Charlotte,” She said as the doorbell rang. “You all be good tonight and don’t let Louis argue too much about the china. Nothing can be done yet.”

Grammy Charlotte rolled her eyes. “That man and his damn china.”

Bre Writes Book Reviews: All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

I honestly didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I rented it from my library via kindle and started reading it just to see how the library app worked. Within a few chapters, I was hooked, and I read the book in a matter of days.

I read a book like I used to read books before I got busy and distracted with other things. I can’t remember the last time I read a book in a matter of days. It makes me really excited when I find books like that.

All Your Twisted Secrets is like an escape room meets The Breakfast Club, but they’re all definitely more effed up than the kids in the 80’s movie. Each kid has something going for them, and each kid is connected to each other in ways not even I saw coming. Each twist and turn was so well foreshadowed and yet, a lot of them I didn’t see coming.

The book follows Amber, an ambitious student who wants to go to music school to score movies. Her boyfriend is desperate for a baseball scholarship and thinks she can go to college with him wherever he gets in. Her best friend, who helped her get into the popular clique, Sasha and her previous best friend Priya are in the room, along with the stoner Scott, and the kid who ruined her dad’s business. Amber is connected to everyone in the room and as the book is told exclusively though her eyes, we get good connections and revelations that as I was reading made me go “Oh Snap!”

Oh, and did I forget to mention they’re locked in a banquet room of a hotel with a bomb and a syringe filled with a deadly poison and have to choose someone to kill before the hour is up?

I can’t give too many spoilers away or it would ruin the book, but boy do I want to! This book was crazy at times. But overall a really great book.

A few things I would have liked to see would be how the kids reacted after the revelations they heard and some consequences for the person who orchestrated the whole thing. I would have liked to see how they all handled the dark things they did while in the room and how their relationships changed after the ordeal. The book just cuts off on a cliffhanger after the kids that survive are let out. After all the build up of these seniors wanting to get into college, and the cutthroat tactics, there was no real follow through on their college plans.

Review: 4.5/5