Antici…pation
I have news. News I can’t talk about yet. News that I want to talk about, very very badly. I think it feels more important than it is because I *can’t* tell you about it yet. And also because there were a few months there where I really thought my writing life was fizzling out. We all go through that, right? The imposter syndrome? When the words won’t come and the rejections pile up, and a little voice starts to whisper, “maybe you are as bad as you think.” and “maybe this is the end. Just give it up.” But you don’t. You don’t give up. You keep staring at manuscripts and tapping at keys until you meander your way through a book. You open submission emails, swiping away rejections until one finally says, “we really enjoyed this story!” Those emails are a breath of fresh air. Validation when you’re…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #20
I know it’s been literal months since I’ve done a Goals Summary post, but I’ve spent more time in my office this week than I have in forever. And if I stare at this whiteboard long enough, I naturally want to write goals all over it. So, that’s exactly what I did on Wednesday — write goals for the remainder of the week. Last Week Edit and post podcast episode Revise/finalize query package Revision #2 of The Finest Creation of an Artful God Read something How’d I do? Edit and post podcast episode Yep! The newest episode of Top Shelf Librarians is out now — listen here! Revise/finalize query package Nope. But, to be fair, I only refocused on this goal this week. I plan to get it done by June 1st. Revision #2 of The Finest Creation of an Artful God Yep! Officially on its third draft, I’ve sent…
Spring Cleaning, aka Brain Dump
Ok. It’s May, and it’s been a minute since I’ve written about what I’m working on in any detail. You know what that means? It’s time for my Quarterly Review! Or is it a Triannual Review? I don’t know, Man, I’m just gonna talk about what I’ve worked on this year and what I’m working on in the coming months. If you’ll harken back to January and February, you’ll see that I really started the year out strong. I was reading a lot and writing a bit. My big focus was revising Tavi (now titled Something Sulfurous) and writing my query letter and synopsis. And I did those things. Y’all, when I say I’m so close to being DONE with this book… it’s SO CLOSE. Like, probably two weeks’ worth of polish and effort, and it’s ready. Which is, of course, why I haven’t done it. I’m terrified to query…
The Recap — Mar/Apr 2022
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything. Let’s fix that!
Monthly Recap – February 2022
Time is a construct, and nothing quite drives the point home like the shortest month of the year in the third year of a pandemic, with a highly anticipated game release capped off with the start of a war in Europe. God damn. And yet, here we are, living our lives and talking about dreams and goals. Call it futile. Call it resilient. Call it whatever, I guess. I’m just caling it past due. Let’s get this show on the road! February Spend at least 16 hours with Victoria Prep Tavi Query Letter and Synopses Read four books How’d I Do? Spend at least 16 hours with Victoria …. *sobs* Prep Tavi Query Letter and Synopses Yes! I’m doing some more revisions this week, but rough drafts were finished and even revised some in February! Read four books Close! Three books and most of a fourth. Not too shabby! Total Word Count: 3,541 Hours Check Here’s…
Goals Summary 2022 — Wk #8
Remeber when I said I didn’t have high hopes for my productivity this week? Ha. Ha. Ha. Last Week Tavi Query + Synopsis Revision Spend >2hrs with Victoria Write/Prep Newsletter Podcast How’d I Do? Tavi Query + Synopsis Revision Nope. Spend >2hrs with Victoria Nope. Write/Prep Newsletter Nope. I’m really sorry about this and will get it out sometime this week. Pinky promise! (Maybe sign up if you haven’t already? And if you do, don’t forget to check your spam box!) Podcast Yes! Recording went… slowly. there were a lot of technical issues, but we eventually sorted it out and got the show on the road! Weekly Word Count: 0 Well. I knew it was going to be a rough week for productivity. Mainly because I have no self control and I played over 50 hours of Horizon Forbidden West. I think at this point I’m just going to focus on finishing the game…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #5
Let’s get right into it, shall we? Last Week The Lament of Kivu Lacus line edits Spend at least 2 hours with Victoria Send Tavi to Beta readers Read The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik How’d I Do? The Lament of Kivu Lacus line edits Yes! I dreaded opening this edit letter — my first professional one — for fear that it would be rife with revisions and basically confirm what I secretly knew all along: I’m a shit writer. Yeahhhh that didn’t happen. It was ten minutes worth of work, mostly adding commas (which made me proud — you usually have to cut those!), and changing a word here or there. So, that’s done, we’re all in agreement and now I just wait for the final formatted version. Spend at least 2 hours with Victoria Yes. But until now I thought I hadn’t met this goal because I wrote it down EVERYWHERE else as 4 hours… Send Tavi to…
Thoughts on Revision
Good morning Bloggarts! As promised, now that I’m “done” with Tavi, I am back to discuss the revision process. I do want to note that I did write a very similar post on the old site back in August, although it also included pre-writing and drafting. So check it out if it’s of interest, otherwise, buckle up for a deep dive on revising novel length works. On Revision Historically, revision has been my least favorite part of the writing process. I (usually) love drafting. It’s the fun, adventurous part when I learn all the things about the world, the characters, and the plot. It’s a tapestry revealing itself one thread at a time. But revision? Revision is pulling those threads, cutting them, and reassembling them. Revision is a lot of work. It’s solving a puzzle that you designed and realizing you don’t know shit about making puzzles! (A/N: This is…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #4
Another week, another blog post. It’s been so long since I consecutively posted that this feels… strange? And yet, familiar? Even before the pandemic, I wasn’t always the most consistent poster and I don’t want to make you think I’m entirely reformed — I’m sure I’ll fall off this wagon eventually. But the pandemic just really through a wrench in all my routines, like it did for everyone. It’s just weird to feel like I’m recovering when the pandemic doesn’t seem to be. I’ll not look a gift horse in the mouth — ADHDetour — That particular idiom comes from the practice of aging horses by their teeth. If someone gave you a horse and the first thing you did was check its teeth to figure out how old it was, that’d be hella rude. So we have a saying about not doing that — ADHDetour — For now I’m…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #1
I can’t believe the first week of January is gone already. It feels like Christmas was forever ago, and yet this week felt so short? I really dislike how skewed my perception of time is in this pandemic age. It was a busy week back at work. We’re prepping for the inevitable switch back to distance learning, which means I have a lot on my plate right now. As the Librarian, it’s my job to basically plan and coordinate technology, textbook, and class materials distribution. And, when I get a moment to breathe, facilitate curbside pick-up of fun library books and record video book reviews for students. But, that’s the fun stuff that can’t happen until all the bigger, more tedious projects are complete. Speaking of projects, we’ve got some goals to discuss! Week #1 Goals Revise at least ten chapters of Tavi Finish The Woman in the Woods Spend four hours…