October 2021 Wrap-Up
Another month is nearly over and another is upon us. Personally, I’m ready for October to be over; it’s been way too gloomy for my liking and I’m ready to move on. But I’m not sure I’m ready for the holiday season to be here already; not because I don’t like the holidays, just because I’m so unprepared. XD
Anyway. Let’s look back on October.
Writing
The productivity patterns that I had in September completely fell apart after I finished editing Calligraphy Guild and my brain has been a little all-over-the-place this month, but I’ve still managed to make a lot of progress on a few projects.
I got a few more chapters of my non-fiction project done and I’ve now finished 2/5 parts. The next two parts are the ones I’m most excited about, but they’ll also be the longest and most complicated so I’ve been putting them off due to my lack of mental energy. ;P
One of the things that most sapped my mental energy this month was a project to redo my newsletter entrance sequences and get it linked to from a bunch of my blog posts. The end result has been more interaction on my emails and being able to connect with my readers more, which has been awesome! But it’s taken a lot of energy behind-the-scenes, and I’m not even quite finished yet. So, to everyone who has responded to my emails, thank you. You’re why I’ve kept pushing through this project. I want to serve y’all, my readers, and this seems to be the way to do that at the moment, tough as it is until I’ve gotten everything set up. I’m excited to have everything fully set up and be able to devote my attention solely to interacting with y’all.
If you’re not on my newsletter list yet, you can sign up here.
I’ve submitted a few posts to Kingdom Pen this month, which has been a really fun process! I’ve been wanting to write for them for years, but I haven’t actually sat down and done it. They’re running a contest centered around guest posts for the next few months, though, which finally pushed me out of “park,” and their editor Kathleen has been great to work with! I’ve learned a lot from guest posting and I’m super excited to continue contributing there. :)
And I released my worldbuilding course a few days ago!!! I am so excited to be able to share The Worldbuilding Toolbox with all of you! This is a worldbuilding basics course designed to help you learn what makes good worldbuilding, how to develop a worldbuilding process that works for you, and how to keep your worldbuilding info organized as you work. If that sounds like something that would help you, you can check out the course here! If you enroll, you’ll get lifetime access for just $15.
I started a short story earlier this month, too, which I’m excited for in theory but I’ve found difficult to execute the way I want to. I have two short stories on deadline for December (this one and another one), so I need to sit down and make a plan for each of them.
I’m still anxiously awaiting the return of Calligraphy Guild from the editor, but in the meantime I’ve gotten a marketing plan worked out, I’ve made a handful of graphics, and I’m reading through a print copy of this current draft! It was so exciting to get my book in the mail and get to hold it in my hands, even if it is only a mock-up. And it’s FLOPPY. I don’t know if y’all know this, but I love floppy paperbacks, and I’ve actually been hoping that Calligraphy Guild would print on floppy paper, so this was like… a teeny tiny petty little answer to prayer that made me ridiculously happy. XD There’s no way to know if every copy will be like that or not, but here’s hoping and praying!
Reading
I haven’t gotten a whole lot of reading done this month. I’m in the middle of several books, but I haven’t finished much.
Currently reading
- Calligraphy Guild (I’m about 2/3rds of the way through)
- The Tolkien Reader (just finished “On Fairy-Stories,” which is an excellent essay)
- Phantastes by George MacDonald (almost halfway through)
- Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (I’ve discovered I need a mix of classic and modern literature or else my brain finds one or the other to be too much)
Finished
- Plato’s Critias and Timaeus dialogues (these were fascinating)
- Renegades by Marissa Meyer (modern YA literature that explores topics in a nuanced manner!)
- A children’s collection of Robert Frost’s poetry (I’ve determined I like his work)
I’m trying really hard not to fall into the paralysis that comes of knowing you can never possibly read everything you want to read as the stack of books I’m borrowing from my parents grows taller and taller. XD
What’s Next?
I’m not doing NaNoWriMo next month, which some of you might have guessed by my silence on the subject, lol. I might see if I can get my non-fiction project to 50k next month, but I’m not going to push myself to make a word count as long as I make substantial progress. I don’t have any big fiction projects to work on for November, so… *shrugs* No specific NaNo participation for me this year.
For those of you who are participating (either with the official organization or some other way), I’ll be here cheering you on!
My hope for November is to figure out a new rhythm that allows me to get things done without burning out, since I seem to be struggling with that lately, lol. And I should be getting Calligraphy Guild back with edits in the next couple of weeks, so I’m super excited for that! I’m looking forward to seeing the proverbial red ink. XD
How was this month for you? What are you most proud of? What’s been the most fun part of the month? What are you most hoping to accomplish next month (big or small)? I’d love to cheer you on!
I’ve seen your name on the KP sign-up sheet. I’ve tried, but it’s harder for me to write articles as opposed to fiction. XD I am participating in Nano this year; I’m hoping to hit 50K on my YA mystery novel. :)
That’s fair. It does take an adjustment at first, lol.
Woo! That’s exciting! :D I hope NaNo goes well for you! ^-^