No Rest for the Wicked

Sometimes I wonder if I've started repeating blog post titles. Then I remember I'm coming up on the 11-year anniversary (!!!) of this site and I've decided not to let it bother me.

Okay, so! As of my last post about a month ago, I'd finished writing a book that had taken me on quite the journey. Whenever I finish a writing project, I always say I'm going to take a little break, maybe read some books that have been on my list for a while, play some video games, etc. Aside from my usual August vacation, though, I've noticed that break getting shorter and shorter. My "to-write" list never seems to get any smaller, and I guess I've gotten used to my routine, even if I'm not as fast as some other authors out there. There's probably also something to be said about how with the current state of indie publishing, especially for romance/erotica, the faster you produce, the more successful you are, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle that topic.

All that is to say...yeah, I've started a new project. I'm not going to say "book," nor am I going to say "short story," as I don't know yet exactly where I'm going to land word count-wise. Originally, I thought it was going to be a short story, but as I started writing, the words started coming out FAST. Like, really fast. I'm as shocked as you are right now. I started it almost three weeks ago, and I'm already creeping up on 10K words. For me, that is fast.

By my estimations, which have actually been getting worse over the years as my writing has become more detailed, I think I'm around the halfway point. So much for a short story. Either way, I'm having a lot of fun, and that's the important part, right?

(I'm not 100% sure about the title yet, so no tag for now!)

Persistence

IT IS DONE.

Sorry, we all know I can't help being dramatic whenever I finish a writing project. (Or at any time, really.) The writing, the editing, the fucking blurb...I am DONE with Sonata for Springtime and have shipped it off to one of my publishers for their consideration. Phew!

This journey was a long one, and you can click on the appropriate label if you need proof. I started writing this book in March of 2018, which seems like a very, very long time ago. I shelved it when I got sick at the end of 2018 and wasn't doing much of anything, tried going back to it in the fall of 2019 after I was fully recovered...and then shelved it again after only writing a few new paragraphs. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd ever come back to this one. It's not that I *dislike* contemporary romance; it's just that we all know how I love my dragons and spaceships and everything.

After all that time, I still loved the characters I'd created and the story I wanted to tell for them. I don't know why it suddenly felt like the time was right to revisit them, but I'm glad I did. (Moral of the story: NEVER DELETE YOUR FILES.) I'm somewhere in between a plotter and a pantser, so while I had a basic beginning, middle, and end outlined, some of the middle parts were a little fuzzy. Ultimately, everything worked out the way I wanted it to, and I'm proud of the end result.

So now, the typical followup question: What next? As always, I'll try to convince myself to take a break for a while, maybe get some reading and gaming done. But, just like we all know how I like to announce things in all caps and proclaim my love for dragons at every opportunity, we also know how I can never be without a work-in-progress for too long. I'm pretty sure I know what my next project is going to be, and while it'll likely be on the shorter side, I'm going to make myself hold off on starting it for a while. As I said, Sonata for Springtime was quite the epic saga, and I'm going to try to bask in the DONE-ness of it for a bit longer before jumping into something new.

January = Time to Write!

I'm way too busy and/or lazy to go back and check, but I'm pretty sure I usually write a blog post around this time of year about having a fresh burst of writing energy. The holiday season doesn't leave much time for writing, despite usually having some days off. This past December in particular was insane for me work-wise; I really think it was the busiest month I've ever had at my day job, and I'm coming up on my 10-year anniversary with my company. (Which is also crazy to think about!)

Both the holidays and the work insanity are over with for now, which means I can finally sit down and get some serious writing done. I've just arrived at the final chapter of Sonata for Springtime, and since this is a slow-burn romance, we all know what's going to happen here. (wink wink nudge nudge) I know I need some sort of epilogue at the end to wrap things up, and I haven't figured out what's going to go in it yet, but, as I love to say, the end is in sight!

I do like starting a new year this way. Once I'm done with SfS, I'll probably take a little break and read some and game some, but we all know those breaks never last long. My to-write list never ever ever ever gets any shorter, and as of right this second, the next two projects I have planned will be on the shorter side (I think), so I might as well knock them out. Every time I do build up some writing momentum, I try to enjoy it while it lasts, so we'll see how far it gets me this year.

Happy 2023!