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!

Looking Forward in December

I ended up with an official NaNoWriMo word count total of only 20,740. Not even half way. I don't like excuses, but I had a nasty cold throughout the last ten days of November and could hardly do anything, let alone think coherently about a novel. But that's not stopping me. I'll finish the novel by the end of the year, whether it ends up being 50k or just 40k, as long as I have a complete story to work with during the first round of revisions.

My other goal in December is very vague, but I can take tangible steps to get there. Officially, the goal is called "get to where I want to be" but I know what that means (most days). Usually it involves a change of scenery, a new job and some courage that I haven't yet found (I think the lion from The Wizard of Oz took it all). Right now, there's a really positive attitude going on around here, but an abundance of Christmas candy could be a contributing factor to that. So while I'm still walking around with a smile on my face, I'm taking the month of December to set a few more concrete goals (and enjoy the Christmas season) so that I'm not floating in the wind aimlessly in January.

You know what creeps me out the most? I watched a movie last night that had three of the elements that most despise in a movie: Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, and the fact that it was a musical. But I hate to say it, I really likes Sweeney Todd. It's amazing that I would--Tim Burton is too creepy for me. Johnny Depp is not an actor that I particularly like, and I can name maybe five musicals that i can stand to watch, and even then they have to be particular casts. Like West Side Story. It has to be the 1960s film version, or I can't watch it. I can't watch Grease on stage. The only way I can stand The Wizard of Oz is the stage version. See? Weird,I know but you know, whatever. At least I found a new movie to like.