A Long Overdue Writing Update & Two Exciting Announcements

good morning, cyberspace!

I can’t believe that this is the last post of September. This month has absolutely flown by, and now that I’m sitting at the end of it, I couldn’t tell you where on earth all the time went. The Silmaril Awards have been happening–and if you haven’t managed to check out the Awards Ceremonies yet, I highly encourage you to do so!–and I think I got so swept up in the thrill and excitement of the Silms that I might have forgotten to reveal some very exciting news that happened back in August. (tbh, I might have already told you all about this, but I can’t find a single trace of it anywhere on the blog, so please forgive my cornflake of a brain cell XD) So while I wanted to jump on in here and tell you all my exciting plans for October, I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to be able to do that until I patched up some untold information in regards to my current WIP, Project Goblin.

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A LONG OVERDUE WRITING UPDATE

So! Last we talked, I believe I was telling y’all about my grandiose plans to try and enter Project Sunset (or SK) into Pitch Wars this year. That, as we all probably could have predicted, did not happen. Of course there was some slight disappointment in regards to this, but all in all, I’m actually not all that sad about it. I knew September was going to be a giant chunk of a month regardless of whether I participated in Pitch Wars or not, and after about the first week of September, I realized that Pitch Wars just wasn’t gonna happen. One month wasn’t near enough time for me to redraft an entire novel–at least not to a point where I was proud of it and willing to let potential mentors look at it–so I decided to drop the idea of Pitch Wars before it could consume me and swathe September in a blanket of anxiety and dread. (and between you and me, it was one of the best decisions I made all month)

But all of this talk and dreaming of Project Sunset begs a very obvious question: what happened to Project Goblin? Astute readers of my blog, followers of my Instagram, and listeners of my everyday life will know that Project Goblin has been my WIP for the past 6 months or so. It’s been one wild adventure after another with that book ever since its birth in 2018, but after some careful consideration, I have decided to no longer work on that book for the time being.

…

…

Because I finished its first draft back in August.

Yep! You read that correctly! Project Goblin is no longer just a thought, but a messy, chaotic, plot-holey mess on my hard drive! The characters are a little warped, the setting is a little deprived, and the overall story arc resembles more of a limp noodle than an arc, but my goodness it’s finished! At least, the really sloppy first draft is finished, and that is obviously the hardest part.

I feel like I might have mentioned the fact that I finished this book somewhere in a blog post a month or so ago, but for the life of me I can’t remember saying it. So I’m saying it now! Project Goblin’s first draft is over and done with, and after a much-needed month-long novel hiatus (in which I read good books and essentially just stared at a wall in contemplation for four hours a day), it is my greatest pleasure to announce that I’m back to drafting and ready to dive in to another project!

Which is perfect timing, if I do say so myself, because–*another announcement incoming!*–I’M PARTICIPATING IN NANOWRIMO THIS YEAR!

Except I’m not participating in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, one might even say that I’m rebelling entirely. But I’m definitely going to be working on a book during the month of November, which obviously means that I’m a perfectly reliable Wrimo, and no one can tell me otherwise… *brandishes pitchfork menacingly*

Ahem. Anyway. Now that I’ve clarified where I’m at with Project Goblin and have announced my rather sketchy participation in NaNoWriMo, you might be wondering… what AM I working on during the month of November? And this, my friend, is a very solid question–and also one that I’m more than happy to announce!

The book that I’ll be working on for NaNoWriMo this year is none other than Project Sunset! (a.k.a SK. a.k.a. oh my word I need to stick to a name for this book already) Despite the fact that I wasn’t able to enter it into Pitch Wars, I still very much want to have a solid second draft of this book done by the end of 2021. It would make this slightly terrifying year feel slightly more productive than it currently does, and also… I’m just so beyond ready for people to be able to read this book already. I know there’s still so much left to do before it’s reader-ready, but a second draft would be one more step closer to that final goal, and that alone makes me excited and inspired to dive in and do the hard work necessary to accomplish that.

However, since NaNoWriMo is still a month away, and technically I’m not QUITE ready to start revising this novel yet, I’ve decided that one more exciting thing should happen between now and November. Something a little bit bloggerly, but also a little bit writerly. And what is this Thing, you might find yourself wondering? What exciting diversions do I have in store for all my NaNoWriMo peeps during the month of October? Well……..

*drumroll please*

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PREPTOBER 2021: The Beginning

For anyone in the NaNoWriMo-sphere, you already know what Preptober is. For those of you who maybe aren’t quite as familiar with this hobgoblin of a writing event, allow me to explain!

Preptober is, essentially, a month long event in which hopeful Wrimos spend the 31 days of October prepping their novels–and themselves–for the 30 days of intense, grueling writing which is to be done during National Novel Writing Month (November). Typically, I don’t do Preptober. I usually pin down what book I want to write somewhere between October 20th and Halloween (#procrastinationftw), do some very minimal prep-work, and then wipe my hands of the mess and call it good. XD But THIS year, since I’m revising a novel and–hopefully–coming out on the other side with a partly revised second draft, I decided to do things a little bit differently! This year, I’m gonna be going all out with my Preptober planning, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

I recently did some polls over on my Instagram page asking for y’all’s opinions on some of the topics I wanted to cover this month, and you guys absolutely delivered! Currently I have 5 posts in the works which cover everything from my re-outlining process, to what’s inside my NaNoWriMo Rebel Survival Kit (a yearly staple at this point XD), to the mentality behind writing. It’s going to be an intense month of writing and prep and all of the delicious creativity, and I am 100% here for it.

All in all, October is going to be packed with writing and work and Halloween and two of my favorite humans’ birthdays, and I’m so excited for all of it. Autumn is the time of year where I truly thrive, and with NaNoWriMo just on the horizon, I sense beautiful magical wonderful things on the way! So thank you all for sticking around and putting up with my slightly chaotic posting schedule as of late. It hasn’t been as consistent as I’d like, but I’ve been managing to get something posted every week, and in this crazy season of life I’m in, I consider that a pretty big win! So here’s to October and all of the craziness it throws our way! Let the Spooky Season officially commence!!!

*maniacal cackling in the distance*

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talk to me, peasants!

are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? if yes, what project are you working on? are you sharing it on the cyberwebs, or are you keeping it private until it’s finished? if no, what sorts of beautiful wonderful magical things are you doing during October? let’s talk about ALL OF THE AUTUMN things down in the comments below, my friends! And as always, until next time…

* flings cookies in the air and disappears *

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