Book Updates & Prepping for NaNoWriMo!

Hi all! How is it already more than halfway through June?! The heat has finally hit us here in Arizona, clocking in in the 110-115 range for the last two weeks or so. At least it's a dry heat, amiright? Plus, we don't have the cicadas... (sorry, KY | OH fam)

As far as book updates go, I have a few. March was my big month, finishing up the first draft of my entire novel, "Recovering," after working on it for over a year. I took a pause to celebrate that little victory, and then erroneously assumed that I'd quickly complete edits, send it off to a professional editor, and be well on my way to publishing soon after.

Laugh. Out. Loud.

April rolled around and I hit a rut. I didn't want anything to do with the manuscript. I couldn't stare at it any longer, didn't know what edits I should make, and felt generally disengaged from the whole project. After a few weeks, I began to question the book entirely, wondering why I ever thought it was a good idea. I started to wonder if it'd ever get finished or if it was destined to be just this little project that permanently doomed in writing purgatory, never to make it into the hands of readers.

I was super dramatic about it, I know.

It wasn't until the beginning of June that I started to feel invested again in the characters and their stories. In the last couple of weeks, finally (FINALLY) I've found myself once again thinking through events and scenes, reflecting on how characters would react to certain things, and what specific details need to be added to enhance the book.

It's good to be back!

Riding this wave of inspiration, I've been able to set some editing goals, just in time to then set new writing goals for NaNoWriMo in July. Woot!

For "Recovering," my goal is to have this round of edits finished by the end of June. It's a bold timeline, considering I'm only on chapter 4 of 32, with 9 days left, but as a professional procrastinator, deadlines are the spice of life. Whenever I finally get through this round of edits, I'll be sending it off to an editor for professional support. So that's exciting progress.

That then leads me into July and Camp NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. It'll be my first time participating in this writing sprint, and I'm excited to see how it goes. If you've always thought, Hey, writing a novel sounds so fun, check out what I'm talking about here.

I think those are all of my updates, at least for now. I'll check back in at the end of July to give a report out on how NaNoWriMo went for me, as well as the process of selecting an editor for "Recovering."

You can stay in the know about all things writing related by following my instagram page here. You can also add your email to my newsletter sign up and once the book is closer to being released into the world, you'll be the first to know!