Nearing The End

It's almost the end of November and the end of NaNoWriMo. I didn't meet my goals for the month, that's true, but I'm not walking away empty-handed either. I'm coming away with a solid start on an idea that randomly popped into my head a couple of months ago with a great title. I'm still aiming for a mid-2019 release, so look for updates about that, and of course you can always follow the journey from start to finish if you subscribe on Patreon.

Saturday I am back to being fully committed to my poetry project. By next week, I should have the final cover ready for reveal and most of the drafts that are left completed. What I'll be focusing on in December is the formatting and the front/back matter. It's the more tedious tasks, but it's what makes an indie book look more traditional--which is always good for the bottom line.

Now that NaNo is over, what are your writing/reading plans for December?

NaNoWriMo 2018 Has Begun

It's the start of the craziest month of the year for writers. I'm glad that I'm finally able to release the title and the cover of my project! You can find it on my project page, and I'll be updating my Books tab in the coming days... you know, when I want a distraction from writing.

I started my novel... two months ago... (still counts!)

I'm also keeping a daily log reflecting on the writing process throughout the month of November. I'll be releasing those exclusively on Patreon, so if you are ready to join in on the fun, sign up and get a glimpse into every plot twist, procrastination, and hangnail. Lots of fun to be had!

Are you entering the depths of a NaNo project this year?

News and Notes from the Writing Desk: October Edition

It's October, folks. What does that mean around here? Snack-sized treats for the writer who can actually get stuff done. Other than that, no costumes or spooky things. Unless I ever get the nerve to start watching Castle Rock, but from what little I've heard, I doubt I could do it. I overthink once my head hits the pillow, and I replay all the scary things. Not just recent stuff either. If my mind gets on a roll, it goes from the last scary thing I've seen to the video from The Ring to the Wicked Witch of the West. Yes, I will admit it--I'm probably the only kid who hated The Wizard of Oz because she terrified me. Anyway... enough about that. Let's get to the notes:

Piles and Piles

I'm buried under submissions around here. I'm trying to get as many out as possible. For the submissions that contain anything from the poetry project, those have to be sent out by the first week in January so I don't have to move the released date to accommodate a publication that's still deciding. I don't think I have to worry about that. I've been getting my rejections at an average of 14-20 days. I still don't know how to take that when they've stated don't worry if you don't hear back before the end of three months. I'm not going to concern myself with the rejections, just getting the submissions ready to go back out.

The Wait is Almost Over

The wait for all things YA novel is almost over. I'm going to release the cover on Patreon on October 15th (now would be a great time to sign up at the $1 level so you don't miss it!). This novel is going to be different from what I've released before, not just because it's the first true YA I've tackled, but also because this is my test case for putting money towards the project. The cover was purchased as a premade product, but I like how it looks and it works well for the title, which is a little on the long side. I'm also going to hire an editor this time around, once the first draft is finished.

NaNo is Coming

And that brings me to my NaNoWriMo project for 2018. No surprise, it's going to be the YA novel. I've written a few thousand words already, but I know that I still need 50k on top of that, so it'll work well to get a draft that is not unwritten like everything else I do.

Now I'm off to find the biggest, baddest bag of candy I can appropriately ration for the rest of the month. Happy October!

Projects with Abandonment Issues

I've been immersed in my latest poetry project over the past couple of week. It's fun, it's challenging, and I'm finding constant inspiration. That's good, right? Because I'm trying to reign it in when I can, knowing poetry is low on the totem pole of professional success stories. Like a good investor, I need a diverse portfolio of work to make sure that success has a long-term reach. And that thought leads me to all of that other stuff I started working on and have yet to finish. Right now, I want to take time to acknowledge all of the projects I've put on hold.

Love Bites the Big Apple: My first foray into a story for the Episode app is still on my mind, it just hasn't been updated for awhile. I promise that when I get back to it, I'll do a major multi-chapter drop.

Completed first drafts such as Verses and Vows, In Another Life, 277 Miles: Hang in there, kids. We'll meet again--hopefully soon!

Numerous incomplete first drafts: I admire the dedication of these stories. They always come back to my mind in unexpected ways and at unexpected times. Usually right in the middle of NaNoWriMo, but what can you do?

And I can't forget the two other projects sharing my non-freelance time: Honorable mentions go to the draft of my current YA novel and to Pieces, which may have to take a short hiatus in a few weeks due to lack of new pieces to post.

Hopefully all of my projects with abandonment issues will come back to me at the right time to be completed. As always, you can be a part of the action: don't forget to join my journey on Patreon to get more details about my latest poetry project, exclusives, and much more.

News and Notes from the Writing Desk: August Edition

The Poetry Project

It terms of getting this project written, I'm on a roll. I have about half of my ideas fleshed out into full drafts, and plenty more ideas to fill in the rest of the pages. The sticking point on this one is the cover. I've tried working with multiple versions, and I still don't think I have it right. I'm going to post all of the versions I have (so far) on Patreon tomorrow so I can get some opinions on where I should go from here.

That YA Novel...

I've got a few pages down. I'm still feeling really protective over the title, so I haven't released it yet, and probably won't until I get the cover designed. I'm also having a hard time remembering what I learned in sociology, which is a big player in the story, so I'm going to have to refresh myself on what that's all about.

The Scriptwriting Itch is Back

The more I try to concentrate on just two projects until I see them through to the end, the more my brain wants to keep going back to other projects that are little more than a few scribbled notes. As much as I try to convince myself I need to stick to what I know and what is more likely to sell, I keep getting the itch to go back to scripts. I can't seem to ignore it this time. I keep thinking about two projects I have some notes for, but haven't actually started writing the script. One is a feature length, one is a thirty-minute pilot. Both topics are timely and a bit provocative, so I probably should work on them before it's too late to have the biggest potential impact. Then again, I'll probably get two pages in and talk myself out of it. I know there are avenues to getting these projects from start to finish, but it would be a bumpy road.