A week and a half late isn’t the worst, right? I mean, with everything going on, I’m lowkey surprised I wrote a blog post at all. But I did! And now you get to read it. What a crazy, random happenstance!
Last Month
- Write at least 3x/week
- Read 4 books
- Keep on schedule
How'd I Do?
- Write at least 3x/week
- Nope. I averaged two writing sessions a week, which isn’t bad. Just, not the goal.
- Read 4 books
- Yep! I actually read eight titles last month.
- Keep on schedule
- Yes? As well as I reasonably could given the crazy house situation we’ve found ourselves in.
Total Word Count: 16,090
Okay. I’m struggling here. That word count is nutso good. Like, I am STOKED about that number, but all month I felt like I was dragging my feet and standing in place. I felt unmotivated and stuck. How can I write that much and still feel like I’ve accomplished nothing? Why is my brain like this??
Now, that word count is spread out across various projects. The novel saw just short of 9k words added this month. The rest went to a new short story project, the Newsletter microfiction piece, and a little bit of fanfic.
Just goes to show that feelings aren’t always an accurate reflection of reality.
Things did slow down quite a bit during the last week of the month, but I’ll get into that soon in the upcoming (and quite belated) Goals Summary.
Honorable Mentions
Beyond just a decent writing and reading month, there were several bouts of good news!
If you’ve read the March Newsletter, then you’ve already learned all the things, so feel free to scroll on down to the Hours Check. 
“In the Librarian’s Garden” is OUT NOW!
First and foremost, my short story “In the Librarian’s Garden” released in Issue #6 of Tree and Stone Magazine! A quiet Fantasy piece about finding yourself after a period of loss, about where we feel at home, I’m so happy it’s finally out in the world. I hope you enjoy it!
Saltwater Sorrows now available for Pre-Order!
In March Tyche Books revealed the cover art and release date for Saltwater Sorrows! You’ll be able to read my story “Human, Still” along with 17 other works of Gothic Fiction about women and the sea on August 2nd!
And, of course…
Life Beyond Us Pre-Order ends soon!
There’s been so much developing hype for this book. From a Publisher’s Weekly early review to an editor interview in Clarkesworld, a review in Grimdark Magazine and an Advance Reader Copy on John Scalzi’s desk! The book is making waves and it releases in 10 DAYS! Pre-Order it now!
Hours Check
- Novel: 11 Hours
- Reading: 20.5 Hours
- Website Managment: 14 Hours
- Willamette Writers Meetings: 12 Hours
- Queries: 1.5 Hours
- Short Story Submissions: .5 Hours
- Podcast: .5 Hours
- Miscellaneous: 3.5 Hours
- Workouts: .5 Hours
- Fanfic: 3 Hours
Total Hours: 67 Hours
I’ve had worse months, even though it didn’t feel like it at the time. The reality is that balancing a writing life, a day job, and a suddenly nomadic home life is really hard y’all. As of this writing, we’ve been out of our house for almost three weeks. We’ve stayed in two different Airbnbs in that time frame. Two adults are living out of a carry-on sized duffel bag, with a neurotic and anxious af dog, in a strange place. I’m tired. I miss our bed.
And I have a book to write. Speaking of…
April Goals
- Reestablish Routines
- Read Short Fiction
- Write 3x/week
- Finish the book?
Look. This month is wild. There’s Norwescon, which I’ve already talked about in this week’s Goals Summary. I have my school’s prom to chaperone this weekend, as well as a concert with a frend. Then Life Beyond Us releases (4/22!), followed by the Terroir Creative Writing Festival. There’s something happening every weekend this month and we still don’t know when we’ll get to go home.
So, I think it’s only reasonable that I give myself some space and not expect too much from the writing brain this month. I’m still going to set the goals and try to do the things, but if my output is lower than usual that’s okay.
If I put it in writing, hopefully I’ll actually adhere to the belief.
And that’s the state of things. That’s where I’m at.
I don’t expect to be back this week/weekend, so I’ll talk to y’all on Monday.
Until then Bloggarts,
BZ
