Monthly Update

In an effort to actually post here regularly, I want to set up a routine. The first week of the month will include a monthly update (any fun things I did, projects I’ve been working on, upcoming deadlines, or any other random babbling I feel like posting). The second week will be a short story. The third week will be a book recommendation post (to keep me actually reading because how can you write if you don’t read?). And then I’ll end the month with a writing process post, some insight or tip that I’ve learned on this writing journey.

So here we are in the first week of August!

July was a bit of a blur. The month flew by and I’m having trouble remembering a lot of it. I did a secret Santa in July with the writing group I am a part of (they are literally the best #manuscriptmanufacturing for life!). I put together a fun book sleeve on a notebook that combined sentences the author has shared from her WIP, different successful short story publications she’s had, fun visuals of what her book reminds me of, and little pieces of her life she has shared with the group. I hope it will provide something for her to look back on as a timeline of her successes and an interesting look at what changes in the drafting process. I learned that I have completely forgotten how to use scissors and glue, so I also bought her a laminator (because what writing nerd doesn’t love a good laminator!).

I’m heading to Foxwoods this weekend to celebrate a co-workers 60th birthday and cannot wait for a wild weekend of debauchery. I will hopefully have some great pictures for part of next month’s update.

Mostly, this last month was about making some decisions. I have been super distracted and working on so many things for so many different decisions. I submitted a short story to Ghost Orchid Press’ Blood and Bone anthology (it was not chosen), I wrote an entire horror novella for Tor Nightfire (will not have results for 9 months), and I submitted a short story to Air and Nothingness Press’ Spirit Machine anthology (will hear in October). I submitted my first chapter and query to two different competitions: WriteMentor (where I did not even make the long list) and Voyage (where I have still not heard). I also tried to adapt a character arc from one of my WIPs (yes I currently have THREE WIPS) for the Writers of the Future competition (which also was unfortunately not chosen). I completed the entire writers of the future workshop (which I should have done prior to submitting and would highly recommend), which upon completion allowed for a Live Q&A with judge and author David Farland. I was so inspired by the way that he answered questions that I bought one of his writer’s bundles that I am excited to go through and apply to my own writing.

All-in-all I have been extremely busy and unfocused. So, I have made the decision to work on drafting my “side-hoe” novel. This is an idea that plagued me while I was working on one of my epic fantasies, and was a fun place to dump ideas and characters and settings that did not fit in the other story. It was a place where I would go and have a good time, but ultimately make my way back to the main piece. An oddly horrible and misogynistic analogy, but a valid summary. Now I am planning to finish a “trash-draft” by the end of August, then fully devote myself to a well-thought out draft one by the end of the year.

Of course, I know myself and I fully expect to get distracted. I have an idea I’d love to work on for the next Writers of the Future quarter deadline that I can dabble away in when words get hard. But I’ve learned that I need a hard deadline if I ever actually want to get something done. So this is my accountability post and I can’t wait to check in at the end of the year.

And that is pretty much all I’ve got for monthly updates. I am excited to see what August brings!