A Week Full of Stories!

Hey, how are you today? I hope you're having a great week.

As you know, I finished an extensive (3-week) novel revision last Thursday night and when I woke up on Good Friday, I was mentally exhausted. Seriously drained. So I really enjoyed the four-day break with my husband. Lots of relaxing, nice food, walking, a little shopping, and even some naps. It was awesome!

I felt recharged and ready to take a few weeks off between projects.

Yeah, that was the original plan. But then I decided it was time to complete the final read-thru of the short story I finished a few weeks ago. So I did that on Tuesday.

The final word count is: 3,173.

Very happy with this story now. I changed the ending during the second draft, but by the time the third draft was done, it ended up being more like a complete rewrite. Sometimes I do that. 😅

In the meantime, I wrote a new story on Sunday night. On my phone. See, after our nap on Saturday, I woke up with the first line of the story in my head, and when I typed it out so I wouldn't forget, I didn't stop until the whole first draft was done.

This violent little tale is actually a prequel to VampNovel1/VampNovel2. Yeah, this is the world that keeps on expanding. Just when I think I'm done, another story pops up. LOL.

Anyway, I worked on the second and third drafts on my phone, and read the final read-thru tonight. And now—after marking all the problems, deleting some excess, taking care of rep words, making the changes on Word, and doing a spell check—it's done.

The final word count is: 2,966.

I'm super excited about this story because it came out of nowhere. 

So, that means I've completed six short stories this year. That's 18,720 words worth of shorties. Not bad. 😊

What else did I do? Oh yeah, I read the first Murderbot novella and the latest Grady Hendrix short story release. I also went for daily walks, even though it rained a few times. Oh, we also watched and hated the second episode of The Last of Us. Decided we're not watching anymore. After wasting our time on 10 shitty Yellowjackets S3 episodes (this season was seriously bad), we're done watching mediocre shows.

Well, that's it for today. I'm going to enjoy another long weekend with my husband. Three days this time. Nice.

Have a good one!

THE BLANKS by Grady Hendrix

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I found out Grady Hendrix released a new short story, I had to check it out. And I'm glad I did because this is creepy af.

Rachel and Steven take their children to Jeckle Island every summer. It's a way for the kids to roam wild, have a great time, and relax away from the city. But there are rules to follow. Rules that have devastating results...

Yikes! Wow. This is such a terrific story.

I love stories that start from a very chill and fun place. When you get caught up in the atmosphere of the season and can feel/see the location in your mind. Then something dark sneaks up on you and the rest of the tale takes a dive into the terrifying.

And the concept of The Blanks is exactly that. Eerie. Scary. Impossibly heartbreaking. I can't get over that shocking ending.

Also, the writing style is as engrossing as Rachel's voice.

Love this! It's another awesome Hendrix story.

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ALL SYSTEMS RED & COMPULSORY by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I've had this novella for a while and decided to read it now because the show starts next month. 😁

A group of scientists are conducting tests on an uninhabited planet, and with them is a robot supplied by the Company. But Murderbot isn't just any old droid, this guy hacked its own module and doesn't like humans much. But when things go wrong, Murderbot might just be the best guy for the job...

I really enjoyed this fun SF novella, and Murderbot is an awesome character. This droid is witty, sarcastic, and doesn't like humans much. At least, that's what it claims, but actions speak louder than words.

Murderbot is also awkward, clever, is addicted to trashy shows, and certainly turned out to be a great narrator. LOL.

Also, the thing about this novella is that it's quite simple. Gets to the point and has plenty of action. The solution to the mystery was satisfying, and I loved the ending.

Yeah, this is a great story and I definitely want to read more stories in this series.

ALSO, READ THE PREQUEL SHORT STORY ON APRIL 16:

  Compulsory by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wanted to read this short story before the first book, and I'm glad I did.

Murderbot is trying to enjoy one of his favourite shows when something goes wrong with a miner. And that's when he has to decide: help or watch?

I really enjoyed this! Murderbot's voice is so snarky, yet very informational. He's robotic, yet so much more. I was also surprised by his bravery and look forward to reading more.

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This Revision is Done!

Hey! How are you today? I hope you're all having a nice week.

I know the world is in a terrible state right now, but I'm trying to lose myself in stories. And when I'm not writing, I love spending time with my husband. 😍

This week I got stuck into the final read-thru of my current revision, which is VampNovel1. I know that's not what I said I would do in last week's post, but after chatting to my husband last Sunday about my change of plans, I realised that completing this project before starting VampNovel2 just felt... right.

That means that after my daily afternoon walks, I sat down with my Paperwhite and read the story from start to finish. At this stage I usually find weird sentences, repeated words, and awkward phrasing. I also cut a lot of excess, and add new details. It's pretty much all about the nitty-gritty.

And I reached The End tonight! I even made all the changes, formatted the doc, did a spell check, and made a few final-final tweaks.

The final word count is: 90,075.

I'm super excited about this story because this character has been with me for about a year. It's a dark vampire story set in the 80s and deals with a lot of issues. Some I added to the plot, and other things that popped up during the revision process. It's also a horrormance novel because I can't stay away from hot vampires. 😅

And there's still VampNovel2 to revise. But that's a story for another day.

Now that my current revision is done, I'm mentally exhausted so I need a break. Good thing it's the Easter long weekend. Yay.

Well, have an awesome break! 

The Revision Continues...

How are you today?

I hope this week turned out to be a good one for you! 

Here, in Sydney, the days got a lot shorter but I'm trying to stay positive. The fact I hung out with my husband every morning, that I went for my daily walks during the day (mostly sunny) and listened to my 80s Playlist (awesome) certainly helped. Not to mention that I spent every afternoon and night working on the third draft of my WIP, VampNovel1.

And I really lost myself in these words.

Seriously, I'm enjoying the hell out of this story and every time I sit down to work on it, I love it a little more. From the start, something about these characters and their world totally drew me in. Even when it was a small idea, slowly gaining momentum in my brain, I knew it would turn out to be a lot of wicked fun.

Vampires are just awesome. 😁

Anyway, this is my progress:

• Monday: 51/228pgs (90,436w)
• Tuesday: 103/230pgs (90,268w) 
• Wednesday: 154/234pgs (90,868w)
• Thursday: 196/235pgs (90,451w) 
• Friday: 236pgs / 90,042w

Yay! The third draft is DONE and I'm super excited. I worked really hard on this draft. 

As you can see, the word count went up and down every single day. I actually cut a lot of excess, but also added quite a few words. All things that strengthen the story and make sure everything ties up nicely.

Usually, after this stage, I'd do one final read-thru on my Paperwhite. But I'm doing things different this time.

And there are two reasons for that:

1. My husband is having three long weekends in a row this month (fantastic!)
2. I have VampNovel2 to consider...

So, I'm looking forward to spending some extra time with my husband during all these days off. And because there are two weeks when he'll work only three days, I've allocated those six days (ends up being two weeks) to work on VampNovel2.

Then I'll work on the third draft during the last week of April. So when that's all done, I can read one book after the other on my Paperwhite and make sure everything makes sense, pans out, and I can catch any last-minute typos, inconsistencies, etc.

Oh, and I also completed the third draft of the short story I mentioned last week. There were some plot issues I had to fix, several rep words that stood out, and have added it to my Paperwhite. Not sure when I'll do the read-thru, but the word count is now: 3,255.

It turned out to be quite a story-heavy week.

Okay, that's about it. I'm going to enjoy a nice mental break now

Have an awesome weekend!