Yes, I’m aware this post is late. I’m sorry about it, but there just wasn’t much I could do about it. See my most recent post to learn more about where I’ve been this past month. Otherwise, I’m just gonna dive right in.
July Goals
- Finish the book
- Finish “King Tide”
- Start book revisions
How'd I Do?
- Finish the book
- Nope.
- Finish “King Tide”
- Yes!
- Start book revisions
- lol no.
Total Word Count: 5,565
So. I have some thoughts about this. First, that I’m not completely unhappy with that word count. It’s the most I’ve written since March. So obviously something was working. But, I couldn’t maintain it through the rest of the month. Things petered off fast as the start date for my new job loomed closer and closer.
Between that and the house renovations, I only had so much bandwidth for creative endeavors. And by “so much” I mean none. I has zero energy to try and eke out any more words on either the novel or “King Tide”. I did keep reading though! Like, kind of an absurd amount of reading.
The hours speak for themselves…
Hours Check
- Novel: 5.5 Hours
- Reading: 25 Hours
- Willamette Writers Meetings: 13 Hours
- Website Management: 4 Hours
- Submissions: 1 Hour
- Queries: 1.5 Hours
- Outdoor Time: 12.5 Hours
- “King Tide”: 5.5 Hours
- Podcast: 1 Hour
Total Hours: 69 hours (Noice)
Thank goodness for audiobooks and gardening bumping up those numbers! Okay, but in all seriousness, I’m not unhappy with how my time was spent, considering July was such a clusterfuck. Eleven hours on actual writing projects feels like a win.
Honorable Mentions
Now, both of these things actually happened at the start of August, but I want to talk about them now, while they’re fresh!
The first is that Saltwater Sorrows is OUT NOW! Inside, you’ll find my short story “Human, Still” among a stellar Table of Contents! Buy yours now!
Second is that I sold another short story! Keep an eye out for “A Lullaby for Mattie Barker” in Issue 055 of Luna Station Quarterly, releasing September 1st!
For those of you keeping track at home, that’s four short stories releasing this year (so far)!
August Goals
- Complete 1st revision of the novel
- Submit “King Tide”
- Get the Podcast back on schedule
Those are the priorities this month. I am SUPER close to being in revision mode for this book (my brain has been in revision mode since April, I think), so I’m really optimistic about how that process is going to go.
I’m really happy with how “King Tide” is coming together. I shaved off a bit from where the rough draft ended, and my beta readers all seem to get what I’d hoped out of it. They’re all also yelling at me to turn it into a novel, but one book at a time, please. I’m going to go back through it with a fine-toothed comb, and with my generous readers’ thoughts and see what magic can be wrought. But it’s quite close to being done.
And, of course, the podcast. You might have noticed we’re a bit behind schedule. Turns out my summer wasn’t the only one gone off the rails a bit. Heather’s been busy with grad school and a literal mountain of homework, so we agreed to take a pause and reconvene to record double episodes in August. So, just sit tight listeners. We’ll be back, we promise!
And, uhhhhh, yeah. That’s what’s up. I pinky promise I’m working on the July Newsletter (it may not include a Microfiction this month – sorry!) and we should get back to some regular blog posting in the coming weeks. August is all about settling down to get that good, good work done.
I’ll see you all on Monday!
Until then, bloggarts!
BZ
