It’s been a slow month for me. I don’t know if it was the dreary weather, the short month, or just fatigue, but I had a difficult time getting into a good writing rhythm in February. I was able to do little fresh writing – though I was able to get a large chunk of a dialogue pass done for book 2 of my YA series – so I filled a lot of my time with editing passes, outlining and research.
I am still struggling with a sequence of events in act II of that book. In January I said that I liked the flow of the revamped section, but as I dove deeper into that I found it just did not hold up well, so I am back at it again. I know basically what I need to accomplish in that part of the story, but there is not a lot of action so I am looking for more places to add tension and drama. It’s been a balancing act, trying to keep the story moving at a quick pace while making a relatively uneventful part of the story exciting. I have some ideas, and there are major plot beats that happen in this section, but the rest is a bit dry. The biggest issue is that the lack of action; the setting is very peaceful and comfortable, at least when they arrive, and the lack of energetic events has to be counter-balanced with some vital character moments and the beginnings of escalating tension. I have to make sure I don’t lose prospective readers while remaining true to my objectives for that section. I love a challenge, so once I break this piece of the story and get it right, it will feel great.
I also mentioned that I am revisiting a story I wrote last year. Tentatively titled Colynn’s Song, I like the theme and tone of the story, but it needs some fleshing out and cleaning up. I did a first round of edits and I will probably do another at the end of this month. Hopefully, it will be ready to shop around sometime in April.
Writers often mention that inspiration and ideas come at strange and often inopportune times. I can attest to that. I came up with a story – nearly an entire story – on a night I was having trouble sleeping because of intense back spasms. I sat up and jotted down everything in a very cool leather-bound journal that my wife gave me for Christmas; once I let that percolate for a few weeks, that story will be one that I think I can write quickly (well, quickly for me) so hopefully that will be another piece I can use to fulfill one of my goals for the year.
Speaking of which, here’s a reminder of my 5 goals for 2024 with notes on my progress:
1 – I want finish editing book one of my YA series to the point that I consider it good enough for publication (it probably won’t be, but I want to get it as far as I can take it). I have started a second pass through book one, focusing on dialogue and continuity. Once I work through that, I will let it sit for a while as my wife goes over my changes.
2 – I want to begin querying agents to see if I can publish that book, and its sequels, traditionally. I’m not there yet but accomplishing goal #1 must happen first.
3 – I want to finish the first draft of book 2 in that series and begin outlining book 3 with an aim at starting the writing process this year as well. I’m a little behind where I wanted to be at this point, but a lot of that is because of my re-working of a major piece of the second act. Still, I have mapped a lot out so once I can get into a better rhythm this will flow quickly.
4 – I want to have at least 2 short stories accepted for publication (not ones I submitted in 2023). I did a couple of passes through an older story and I beefing it up a little, fixing the issues and adding some details to give the ending more impact. I may even submit it to the place it was originally intended for. I may also shop Blade of Glass around to see if someone will take it.
5 – I want to extend my visibility as far as social interactions and publicity goes. I am looking at joining a local writing group that is forming at my local library; hopefully, I will get some pointers on this topic while I network with some fellow writers.
2024 is now 2 months old. Spring is simmering beneath the surface and will be here before I write my next monthly update. Keep writing, keep working, and don’t give up on your dreams whatever they may be.