Checking In!

Hey, it's been a while! How are you? Is everything okay in your part of the world? Over here, we're in the last month of autumn (which felt a lot like summer until a few weeks ago) and we're currently stuck in the middle of some very shitty weather.

If you've read my posts through the years, or follow me on social media, then you know how much I dislike the rain. A couple of days are fine, but when it stretches out for over a week... I get irritable. I even start getting headaches. Ugh.

Anyway, enough about that.

Can you believe it's May? Yikes.

I've been MIA from my own blog for quite some time because I fell down an editing rabbit hole. Seriously. I edited an 85k-word (supernatural murder mystery/thriller/horror/ghost story) novel in March/April, and a 55k-word (SF horror) novel during April/May. Actually, I just finished the latter last night.

When I say edit, I mean EDIT. Both books required plenty of work, but the 55k one pretty much involved a rewrite and even a new direction. Now I'm very happy about how they turned out. ☺️

I'm not squeamish about editing because I'm always willing to do whatever it takes to make the story better, deeper, and stronger. I'm dedicated to making each book as awesome as I possibly can, and I think a good editor definitely helps to turn a good story into an excellent one. 

These two books were edited by Austrian Spencer. And man, does he dig deep into the characters and story. If you're looking for someone to thoroughly edit your book with the sharpest eye and true commitment, you should definitely check him out. What he helped me achieve with these two stories is amazing. Seriously.

Oh, and if that wasn't enough. I also edited a 30k novella in April, which I almost forgot about because my brain is scrambled. LMAO.

As you can tell, I've been very busy editing the nights away during the last few months. I did manage to squeeze in a little reading here and there—plus read/blurbed an awesome ARC—but my main focus while my husband was at work was the editing. It's always a fantastic experience but I think my brain is going to leak out of my ears if I don't take a break.

For the rest of the month, I want to spend some quality time reading. And daydreaming about a bunch of ideas. I even have a vampire story creeping up on me. One that won't leave me alone and wants to beat all the others to become the frontrunner. 😅

We'll see how that goes, because I still haven't done the final proofread of my two short story collections. They got left behind during the maelstrom of edits. LMAO.

BTW, I also celebrated the release of my myth & monsters novel, THROUGH THE BLUR. Have you checked it out yet? If you like your horror with a bit of Greek mythology and a dysfunctional family, you might enjoy it. 🐍

Well, that's it for now. Hope you have an awesome week!

 

It's time to write!

Hey! Long time no blog. Well, I did post reviews, but I haven't provided any updates lately.

So, how are you? How's life treating you? How are you coping with this never-ending global pandemic situation and the foolish behaviour of those people who refuse to stop acting like selfish fucks?

Personally, I spent July with hubby, avoiding people and reading like a fiendish bookworm. I'm not even kidding, just look at all the reviews I posted below. I read SO many awesome books--including two different and fantastic 4-book YA series. I even managed to pass my 2020 Reading Challenge of 100 books. (Which I've now changed to 110.)

I also wrote the first 7,000 words of a new story on my phone, and took notes for a different idea. When the imagery is too strong to ignore, it's best to try and capture as many details as possible before they fade away. 😊

Yeah, my mind's really fertile at the moment. I keep getting random snippets for different story ideas I've had circling inside my head for ages, or new stuff that comes out of nowhere. So, I take a bunch of notes and then concentrate on the loudest.

The loudest right now is one I described like this on Twitter:

This week, I finally sat down at my desk and started adding words every day, and I'm very happy with the progress.

Here's how my word count went:

• Monday: 8,804 (added 1637w) 
• Tuesday: 13,130 (added 4326)
• Wednesday: 17,296 (added 4166w) 
• Thursday: 22,112 (added 4816w)
• Friday: 25,472 (3360w)
• Saturday: 29,031 (3559w)
• Sunday: 32,415 (3384w)

Not a bad start. 

Like usual, I have no idea if this will end up being a novella or a novel. All I know is that I'm very excited about how it's going.

I got this idea last year after the first chapter came to me in a dream. I wrote a bunch of notes then, so I wouldn't forget a single detail. The most important thing I captured from the dream and never forgot was how it all starts so seemingly normal and fun, before the story takes a turn for the grim.

So, yeah, it's a horror story. A bit of a slasher with supernatural elements. It's also about the strong bonds of true friendship, the discovery of love, and dealing with loss.

I know a lot about what's going to happen, but some details are still a bit blurry around the edges. I'm at that stage where I'm juggling a whole lot of puzzle pieces and just need to put them together. It's exciting and creepy, plus I really like these characters.

Well, asides from all this writing, reading and walking, we've started watching The Golden Girls from the beginning. This is a show I used to watch when I was a kid, but never in sequence. We also loved the hell out of the second season of The Umbrella Academy, and I've been keeping up with the final season of The 100, while enjoying the return of Wynonna Earp. 😁

Yep. Keeping busy.

There's always so much to do. I honestly can't understand people who get bored at home. My only problem us that there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything.

Well, that's it for now.

Hope you have a great week!

A Break After Revision

Hi, how are you today? What's new in your part of the world? Hope you're all staying safe. Can you believe another month is almost over?

As if living through a pandemic isn't fucked up enough, this week has added more disgraceful acts of violence by racist assholes to the unrest. I just don't understand these despicable people who refuse to treat others with respect. Especially when they're supposed to be upholding the law.

This world is so gross sometimes.

As far as the pandemic goes, the rate of infections remains very low in Australia, but Covid-19 is still there. Lurking in the background and waiting to pounce if we're not careful. What pisses me off is seeing how people are acting as if everything's just fine and normal.

It's not. Just because governments are easing restrictions for financial reasons, it doesn't mean we can abandon the health restrictions. 😐

I think everyone needs to be cautious, and embrace the social distancing that must continue. It's really not a hard concept, yet random idiots are still trying to get too fucking close. Ugh.

Anyway, as I always do after a hard and busy revision, I'm taking a bit of time off. Mostly that means having a nice time with hubby enjoying delish meals, long walks, watching stuff and enjoying every day together. And reading, of course.

This week I picked up a classic book I've had on my TBR pile for ages: REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. 

I took my time with this one, enjoying the hell out of every dark page. Getting lost in the suspense and dread. I was seriously hooked from the first sentence. I have no idea why the hell it's taken me so long to read this! But I'm really glad I finally did because I LOVED it. 😍

Really looking forward to reading more titles by this excellent author.

THIS is what I'm reading next.

Asides from reading, I've been going through my Idea Files. Trying to clean up the folders and decide whether all of the ideas I have are going to develop into more. 

So far, the two I thought I might scrap have started speaking to me. I wrote the beginning for one, and the ending for the other. Gotta love that.

Now I just need to update everything on my laptop. Probably tomorrow. 

Well, that was my week. Getting lots of stuff done, and nothing at all. While trying to minimise our store visits and staying away from everyone. 

Have an awesome weekend!

The Week After Revision

Hey! How are you today?

How's this week treating you? The world is still insane, so I know it's weird to ask. But still, it's nice to check in. To make sure we're all okay.

So, Australia is still on lockdown and is going to stay that way for another four weeks. The restrictions seem to be working. People are still getting this horrid virus, but the infection numbers have started to go down.

It's all sad and scary. Never-ending.

Personally, the danger is always there in the back of my mind. Sometimes it gets to me and I have a bit of an anxious meltdown, but that's expected during such unstable times.

Mostly, we try to stay informed but busy with the stuff we love to do. Spending time with hubby is always awesome. We only go out once a day for a nice long walk in the middle of the day, do plenty of yoga and sometimes just hang out checking out YouTube.

Hubby is still working his way through the Uncharted games. I find reading and writing work best for me.

Since I spent the last two weeks working on my self-imposed revision goals, I didn't have any writing plans. Now's the time to go through my Idea Folders. To see what catches my attention, add and remove things. But, while I was doing this, one of those Ideas really caught on. So much that I sorted the inspirational pics, started a Notes doc, and even wrote the first chapter. 👀

This is a SF idea I've had for a while, but it wasn't clicking. Then last weekend, while sorting the pics a lot of the stuff started to come together. A location change, a character profession switch, and the story's ready to be told.

Love when this happens, so I'm going to go with the flow and let the words come when they're ready. I already know this is going to be a novella, anywhere between 15-20k. 😊

Asides from this, I've been busy reading the books that I feel like. A lot of the books I've been reading lately are stories I've been interested in for ages. I did start reading an anthology for review last week, but after only enjoying one out of the six short stories, I've decided to put it aside for now. I'll go back to it, but I need a break.

Well, that's about it for this week.

I hope you're all staying safe!

Always About Stories

Hey! Long time no blog.

I was going to post a general update about what I've been doing this month: walking, thrifting, reading, writing... and since the running thread in all of those things is stories, I decided it might be cool to concentrate on THAT.

After all, this month has been full of ideas.

So far, I've written and revised two short stories, subbed a bunch of stories, had two short story anthology acceptances, started writing a novella, and got a new short story idea for an anthology call.

I don't know if it's because of Women in Horror Month, but my brain's super fertile at the moment and horror ideas keep buzzing around inside my head. There's so much in there I have to make sure I take notes on my phone. Or start writing the story so I don't lose any of what's hounding my brain. 😊

It's a great problem to have, really.

I'm especially excited about the novella idea because I've had Write A Novella on my annual goals for a few years now. And every time I started what I thought would end up a novella-sized story, it eventually became something much longer. 😬

So, what's different this time? Well, the story idea is definitely going to be in the 15-20k territory because I have a market in mind. I'm really liking the main character, her story is freaky and will definitely take her to even freakier places. Oh, and I've already got the final scene playing inside my head.

By February, I've usually put together some kind of writing plan, but this year has started very differently. I'm just letting the characters and their stories speak to me when they're ready.

I'm happy to ride this out for as long as it lasts, but will eventually like to start getting stuck into revision as well. I've got a bunch of novel first drafts I want to finish, while also enjoying writing new tales.

There are so many stories to tell...

Well, there you go. That's what I've been doing between thrifting, reading, sorting and hanging out with hubby.

Hope you're all having a good month! And don't forget to read as many books and watch as many movies written by women as you can. 😈

NaNoWriMo is here!

That's right.

Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo and I got stuck into it first thing this morning. 😃

My plan for today was to write the first chapter. I was aiming for 3k, but any word count was going to make me happy because all I wanted to do was get the story started.

And this is what happened:

I was not expecting or planning to write this many words but as soon as I sat down at my desk, the character started speaking. And wouldn't stop. 

That's what happens when you carry a story around inside your head for over a year, I suppose. 😬

I'm really glad that I decided not to give up on this idea. Several months ago, after my pitch was knocked back, I considered shelving it completely. I mean, it was so out there already, and if it didn't sound marketable, what was the point? But during one of our walks, I told hubby all about it and he said it sounded interesting to him. He called it fun and suggested I write it anyway.

After our conversation, the word fun kept echoing inside my mind and I decided he was right. THAT was the reason I developed the idea in the first place. 

So, when NaNoWriMo came around, I decided this was the right time. I was really in the mood for writing something that appealed to me. And judging by my first writing session, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the amount of emotion in the story. Or how important friendships would be for the main character. Although, considering the devastation she faces in the first chapter, I probably should've expected it.

Like I said last week, I'm writing Neon for me. It's going to be an action-packed, zany story with heart and will feature a bunch of my favourite 80s tropes and things. Not to mention the Playlist I put together.

BTW, if you want to be NaNo buddies, this is me.

So, there you have it. Today, I started a new WIP and will now take the weekend off.

Have a good one!

A Break Packed with Stuff

So, is a break packed with stuff really a break? It is when you can sleep past 4am every morning and do the stuff you want.

The first week of hubby's two-week annual leave is almost over, and there's only one word I can use to describe it. That's right, it's awesome! 😁

We did so much this week. All things we planned but slotted in better than we thought they would. For example, first thing Monday we walked to the doctor on empty stomachs to get our annual blood tests done. And by Thursday afternoon, we went back for the results. Everything is good, and most importantly, both hubby and I are immune to measles and chickenpox.

Yeah, who would've thought that adults in the 21st century would have to do this? But with these selfish idiots who refuse to vaccinate their kids growing in numbers, you just have to make sure. Ugh.

We also got the flu shot so we'll be covered for winter.

And we finished watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I adore this show! It's quirky and cute, yet dark and wicked. It's not afraid to venture into the darkest witchy and demonic themes. Loved it.

On Tuesday, we went for a long walk to one of our local (bigger) thrift stores and I found a bunch of cool books. Then we stopped by Ikea to check out couches and ended up having lunch at Harry's Cafe de Wheels. When we got home, we took a nap. This resulted in the start of a new story. It came out of nowhere! That night I wrote the first 400 words and have since added another 1k+.

Wednesday was HELLBOY day. We took off early and went to several bookstores, where I picked up more bargains. Oh, and let me tell you, I absolutely LOVED the movie. I don't know why everyone hates it because we all thought it was a gory, action-packed UF gem with so many cool creatures. It was so much FUN!

On Thursday, we went on another adventure. We took a new bus route to an out-of-the-way shopping centre to pick up the Captain Marvel tees hubby ordered for me. Plus we found another one in the girl's department, so that makes three.

See, I didn't lie when I said we packed the week full of stuff! So by Friday it was time to settle back a bit and enjoy a nice walk, some Rock Band and finishing up the book I was reading.

Now we have a new week to look forward to!

WIP Thoughts

This week I'm going to talk about the state of my WIPs. 

Not just because my head's been buzzing with stuff, but because I've been juggling and brainstorming and writing a bunch of different stories at the same time. There are several characters trying to grab my attention, but I finally feel like I might have found some kind of balance. Maybe. 😁

The story I'm working on is a (possible) novella-sized story about an unstable mother-daughter relationship further complicated by a demonic presence. It's actually a WIP I started last month. One that started at a much slower pace than usual after I handwrote the beginning in a notebook. By the time I'd typed up the first two chapters, I'd lost some of the momentum. Then some real life crap got in the way and I got a bad case of distracted brain.

Still, I continued to add words. It became a sporadic affair, made even harder when I was consumed by a short story featuring one of my old characters. A shortie prequel I wrote during a weekend in February, and then spent the following week revising. Actually, I got so caught up in it, I couldn't move on until it was polished. And subbed.🤞🏻

And that's when I went back to my demonic WIP. But even then, I wasn't adding as many words as usual. I just wasn't as involved as I wanted to be. Getting an unexpected idea got in the way! Well, it was initially a dream I carried around in my head for a week, before realising it could totally be a story.

Yeah, another horror story idea to add to the mix.

So I took some notes, put a file together and started adding inspirational pics, cast the characters and even gave them names. And it wasn't until I got this done that I finally returned to the ol' demonic idea. And really got stuck into it.

This has been the most constant week yet. I've added words every single day and surprises keep popping up all over the place. So I've finally found my groove. Without a hundred other things trying to get in the way to crowd my headspace, I was able to finally focus and keep a steady pace of new words going.

And you know what? It feels really good. During the last few weeks I let the interruptions convince me that the story might be the problem. That it wasn't as ready as I thought, that I couldn't get into it because I wasn't ready... but nope. The story was never the problem. 

The problem was mind clutter. Sometimes I let too many things get in the way, so I was glad I stuck with the story. Any progress is good progress.

I still have no clue how long this tale of mayhem is going to be, but I'll keep going until I reach the end of the draft.

Every project is different, and the process continues to evolve. I'm glad I kept going no matter what because after adding words all week, today I passed the 20k mark. Yay.

And not just that, but for the first time since I started this story there are so many new ideas and paths ahead. I can clearly see where I'm headed and am super excited about it. Also, everything took a creepier turn than expected. Even the family drama has been amped up.

*rubs hands together*

Well, there you go. These are some of the thoughts circling around inside my head at the moment. 😁

Have a nice weekend!

I signed up!

Yep. I finally did it! I signed up.

Today is Friday, and after spending the beginning of the week picking out a handful of possible ideas, as well as letting the loudest fill my mind... I'm excited about my pick.

The novel I'll be working on during NaNoWriMo 2018 will be a YA psychological horror. This is the description I posted on the website:

Just a dark YA psychological horror about a girl with too many monsters in her life.

It's vague, but that's usually how I tackle descriptions of my WIPs. 😀👍

It's funny to think that this time last week all I knew was that I was going to do NaNoWriMo again this year. And now, after spending some time going through my Idea Files--and puzzling over the suitable ones in my Moleskine--I've got pages full of notes about the story. Snippets of dialogue keep popping up, freaky imagery is creeping into my mind, and the character/s is getting really loud.

Love it when I start getting this excited about the story. Love that I have a folder full of inspirational pics and keep adding more. Love when my head fills up with characters and locations but I have to force myself to wait.

I mean, NaNoWriMo doesn't start until next Thursday. So I've got a weekend I'm going to enjoy--we're going to watch the new HALLOWEEN movie, so I can't wait--and three days of NaNoPrep left.

That's not bad because it means I can keep taking notes, keep daydreaming about the story, sort through the sequence and figure out how it's all going to begin. If I keep doing this, by the time I sit down and start typing, the words will be ready to burst out of me on the 1st. LOL.

Well, hope you have a great weekend!

NaNoWriMo is around the corner!

Hey! How are you today? I'm good, though I was better last week when hubby was still on annual leave, and we slept in and had an awesome relaxing time.

Now, it's time to get back into the swing of things. And this month, that means thinking about my next writing project.

As you probably already know, because I posted a lengthy post about it last year, I enjoy taking part in NaNoWriMo. And this year will be no different.

Sure, at the moment I have no idea which of my (many) projects I'll be tackling, but that's what I plan to do for the rest of October. I'm going to go through my Idea Files, pick the three loudest ones, and then take it from there.

It worked when my head was cluttered with ideas a few months ago. It's how I ended up picking Monsters, and then spent September caught up in a fun whirlwind of myth and horror. 😁

So, fingers crossed it works again because I gotta squeeze in some NaNoPrep.

Since I mentioned my interest in taking part--and I added another one to the list--I'm going to post a breakdown of my NaNoWriMo history: 

• 2006: UF (Angie) 
• 2007: SFR (Shade of Grey) 
• 2008: SFR (Shade of Blue) 
• 2009: Horror (Sinful) 
• 2010: Futuristic (Embracing Sunlight) 
• 2011: N/A 
• 2012: UF (Torn from the Shadows) 
• 2013: SFR (Dash) 
• 2014: UF (Willow) 
• 2015: YA Historical (MixedTape) 
• 2016: YA Horror (Haunted)
• 2017: YA SF Thriller (Cosmic Girl)

I can't believe this will be my 12th time taking part. It's always so exciting because writing another first draft before the end of the year is very appealing.

Of course, that also means adding more projects to my growing pile of WIPs To Revise, but that's not something I'm going to complain about. And it's a matter to tackle another time. 😁👍

What I really need to concentrate on right now is deciding which story needs to be told RIGHT NOW. I might not have settled on the story I want to work on yet, but I've got several possibilities already in mind. 

It's just a matter of deciding whether I want to work on an adult or YA novel. Am I going back to demons? Or reigniting my love for ghosts? Will I continue to delve into horror? Or maybe I want to tackle that crazy 80s SF idea that's been circling my mind for a while...

Not sure yet.

I'll see how my planning/thinking goes this week. Either way, I'll be sure to keep you posted. As soon as I choose, I'll post about it here, and will be sure to register on the NaNoWriMo website. I won't do THAT until I've made my decision. 

There's so much to think about...

So, will you be taking part this year?

Another week of Stuff

Hey!

I somehow managed to get a lot done during my daughter's last week of school holidays. Even with a public holiday thrown into the middle of it.

Actually, I wrote a 3,431-word short story on that day. We got the chance to sleep in on Wednesday and while checking my Twitter timeline, I spotted a beautiful pic. A picture that sparked a sentence, followed by another, until I ended up typing several paragraphs on my phone before breakfast.

And throughout the day, while watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, I wrote the first draft on my phone. It was just one of those pesky stories that wouldn't let me go until I was done!

Funny thing is that the day before, I got another idea. I started a folder, filled it with pics, notes and setting. But I'm not sure if this one is going to be a short story or novella. Not yet.

This happens a lot while I'm in between projects. There's really no downtime for a writer, just time to let my imagination rest... and that's when sparks happen.

Asides from all this idea stuff, I spent the beginning of the week updating my files, pics & photos. It took forever. I finally completed the third draft of my Woods shortie. Caught up on Siren (which is fast becoming one of my faves), watched first ep of Westworld (still hooked!) & The 100 (WTF is going on?!), plus watched the first season of Pushing Daisies.

Okay. Let's talk about the awesomeness that is Pushing Daisies, because I am SO IN LOVE WITH THIS SHOW. Seriously, from the first episode I knew it was going to be something that I would adore. And I wasn't wrong. This is the quirkiest, most romantic and adorable show EVER. Not to mention the murder mysteries are peculiar, it's full of hilarious banter, and the characters are so real and unique.

Everything about this show is so awwwww and wonderful and makes me gush. 💕

I also read a twisted book that infuriated me and had the most awful ending. But I couldn't stop reading because it was SO well written and intriguing. This happens sometimes. *shrug*

Oh, and we went to watch a little movie called Avengers: Infinity War. An ambitious movie that tore my heart out several times, and is SO fucking EPIC. A totally awesome and super emotional roller-coaster ride that doesn't stop.

That was last week. 

This week I'm going to figure out a few things. I want to write a synopsis, finalise my Woods shortie and update my Projects Plan.

Have a good one!

A Nice Break

Hey!

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break. We don't celebrate religious holidays, we just celebrate having long weekends. And this was an awesome one.

We enjoyed the hell out of our four days together by sleeping in, relaxing in the morning, going for a lovely long drive, eating delish meals, going for lots of walks, stopping by the shops, and watching a few shows. I even read an awesome  book. 

But mostly it was a great mental break away from the rest of the world. Sometimes you just need some time away from others, and spending time with hubby is one of my most favourite things to do.

Here's a tweet I posted the other day:

One of the unexpected side effects of having such a lovely time and being so happy is that it opened me up to a lot of inspiration. It helped me think about all the projects and ideas I'm working on at the moment.

I've been researching an exciting new idea I got a few weeks ago and everything's coming together nicely, so I've been taking notes and collecting pics as well. I can't wait to get stuck into it. I also need to (finally) finish my current YA horror WIP because it needs one final read. Plus I have a short story that's almost done... 

I'm excited about all the stuff I'm working on and can't wait to tidy these up so I can get stuck into a new lot of projects.

The first thing I'm tackling is the novel draft. I'm soooooo close to getting this one finalised that I got stuck into it first thing yesterday. And so far, the things I'm finding are small. The most important thing is that I'm actually enjoying the story again. Yay.

Falling in love with my own story usually only happens during the first draft and when I feel like the book is done. So, that's a great sign!

Wish me luck because this is the only thing I'll be reading this week. Then, after I'm done, I can get back to that TBR pile I'm so excited about. 😃

Have a great week!

A Week Off?

Well, my intention was to take it easy because I was feeling a bit wonky earlier in the week... but of course I ended up doing a bunch of stuff.

After being totally consumed by my own story, I got the chance to actually catch up on some reading. I finally finished reading FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King--an anthology I've been reading for a few months. Yay. I picked up a YA UF that I HATED so much I got rid of it as soon as I finished. But I did enjoy a great picture book.

I'm now reading two very interesting and intriguing books: a horror novella & a contemporary YA.

Asides from the reading, I watched quite a few things:

• VAN HELSING S1: Thought I'd give this a go... but could only stand two episodes of this garbage TV show before giving up. The premise was flimsy, the worldbuilding weak, it's pretty much a sausagefest, and anything portraying vampires like zombies does NOT deserve to be watched.
• ROSEMARY'S BABY, Part 1 & 2: This is the mini-series made a few years ago and starring Zoe Saldana. BTW, she was awesome in this! As far as the adaptation went, I really enjoyed it. The location was Paris (instead of NY) and several characters were added, a few things removed, but mostly the creepy, paranoid feel was perfect.
• HELLRAISER: Judgment: What a total waste of time. Too much gore for shock factor, instead of story. Serial killer mystery was too obvious. Cenobites were a disappointment. And no one does Pinhead like Doug Bradley.
• THE X-FILES S11 Finale: O.M.G. I've LOVED this season so very much, so I was both excited and sad about this episode. And it didn't disappoint. This ep was full of old school X-Files conspiracy action and was a thrilling race to find William. The End was amazing, emotional, satisfying. Seriously, if this is truly IT, I'm a happy fan.

This also happened:

Yep. One night, I decided to revise my moody short story on my phone, and on Monday I accepted all the Track Changes. It's now ready for one more draft. And, a few nights ago I got a new YA horror (with a twist of mythology) idea. All it took was stumbling on a freaky picture someone posted on Twitter! From that, I created a very cool concept with characters I can't wait to write.

Like I said, I did intend to take it easy but I'm glad I got things done/read/watched.

Okay, that's enough rambling for now. 😁

But before I go, make sure you take part in EARTH HOUR on Saturday night.

Have a great weekend!

When an Old Idea Becomes a New Idea

I've mentioned (several times) how important I find artwork when it comes to getting ideas, and even building on them. It's something that's always happened, but has been even stronger during the last few years.

The other day, I stumbled on a very cool image on Twitter. One featuring someone covering their face while red-eyed demons hovered behind them. At first, I thought it was cool. Then, I realised how well this pic fit with an idea I had several years back. 

An idea I remember writing notes about, getting excited about. An idea that went nowhere. That happens sometimes. I've actually got a handful of ideas I'm currently researching, collecting pics for and taking notes... even though I know they're not ready to be written yet. 

Some ideas come almost fully formed and are pretty much ready to be written right away--like the 3 first drafts I wrote last year--others need some heavy percolating. This can take months, or even years. All the pieces start coming together but are just too far from each other to connect yet. And that's okay.

Just like stories, every idea sets its own pace and rules. Mostly my process is similar for all projects, but never identical.

That's why I don't get rid of files. I don't want to lose anything. Even if I've placed a WIP on hiatus, like a bunch of sequels I had planned for books no longer published.

Anyway, after last year's sorting & purge of all my writing files, everything is much easier to find. So I looked up this particular idea and was surprised to find that I'd written quite a few handy plot notes already. I'd even written the first chapter! 

So now I have a legit folder set up for what I'm calling SKETCH. There are about 40 inspirational pics, a tiny bit of research and a doc with the character names, story details and quotes. Oh, and I can't forget the first chapter! But the most important thing is that the spark I'd lost has been reignited, to the point where I'm super excited about this story and have snippets dropping into my head all the time. o_O

Man, I've said it before and I'll say it again, writing sometimes feels like magic.

There you have it. This is (some of) what I've had on my mind lately. I haven't posted anything for a few weeks, so I thought this would be a cool thing to chat about.

Have a great weekend!

NaNoWriMo: Week One

It's hereeeeeeee! (whispers in creepy Poltergeist movie voice) 

Can you believe NaNoWriMo is here again? Or that it's actually November? The year is moving fast. Too fast, if you ask me.

As I mentioned in my post last month, of course I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo again. I can't help myself. LOL.

The 1st of November didn't hit until midweek, so I spent Monday and Tuesday doing some NaNoPrep. I even spent some time organising my clothes and reading an awesome book. I also enjoyed the hell out of Halloween.🎃 We found a whole bunch of adorable knick-knacks this year, and my skull collection has grown HEAPS.💀

When Wednesday hit, I grabbed my notes and laptop, then set up a new Word doc and started writing...

Tackling the first chapter is always a good mix of daunting and exciting. It's just so amazing how you can go from an Idea File filled with inspirational pics & notes in a notebook, to starting an actual story and stepping into the life of a new set of characters.

Sometimes, writing feels like magic.

It's also weird to think that until last weekend I was still trying to decide whose POV would be the best to tell this story, because my main character's voice is loud and clear, and also full of surprises. Now that I'm actually writing from her POV, I can't believe I didn't think of her sooner. It was thanks to hubby helping me through my conundrum during one of our evening walks that I had a lightbulb moment. And now I'm SO happy to be telling her story.

Anyway, this is how my first week's word count went: 

• Wednesday: 3,456 
• Thursday: 7,585 (added 4,129w)
• Friday: 11,420 (added 3,835w)

This is another story that I've had in my Idea Files for so many months it's super cool to FINALLY let the narrative out. These characters are SO ready to tell their story of friendship, mystery and love. BUT! Even though that's the case, several surprises have already popped up. Like a creepy attic chapter I hadn't expected featuring a bizarre character I didn't meet until I was actually writing Chapter Two. Yikes!

Gotta *love* that.

I'm excited about this novel. It was the right choice because even though I'm abandoning my YA horror addiction for this project, this story will still be packed with creepy girl stuff and freaky shadowy situations.

I've written 11k in three days and that makes me very happy. But like I always do while working on a WIP,  I'm taking the weekend off.

Have a good one!

Revision: Week Three

Hey! What's up?

This week has been a loooooong one. It feels like we packed so much stuff into it. I'm serious. By the time Wednesday rolled around,  I was already exhausted and wishing it was Friday. O_o

But you gotta keep moving.

Anyway, this is what I wanted to do this week:

• Finish the second draft of Haunted
• Read either a review book or a library book
• Continue brainstorming next WIP
• Get to know my new phone & (finally) say goodbye to my old one :(

I was really hoping to finish the revision I've been working on this month... 

And this is what I ended up doing:

• I reached The End of Haunted on Wednesday afternoon & on Thursday I rewrote a few chapters & adressed the revision list. (Second draft: 82,391/217pgs)
• Read a library book: COMING UP FOR AIR by Miranda Kenneally.
• Instead of brainstorming my next WIP, I ended up developing/researching a different idea.
• Slowly--and eventually--said goodbye to my Galaxy Note 3 & am getting used to my LG G6.
• Got a bunch of RL stuff done!

I'm very excited about finishing the second draft. Yay! Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of work to do, but I'm really happy with my progress. It was so nice to catch up with these characters and their creepy little town.

Now it's time to put this novel aside for a bit so I can get some space before doing the third draft. Although... I might have already started a new Revision List. LOL.

Now that I've completed the project I assigned for this month I'm going to take next week off. Well, I'm hoping to squeeze in a bit of reading, some brainstorming, spending time with new ideas, getting comfier with my phone AND watching the Wynonna Earp season 2 finale. :/

But first, I'm going to enjoy the weekend with hubby.

Have a good one!

Time to plan for August!

Welcome to a new month.

OMG. Can you believe it's August already? AUGUST! Why is the year moving so fast? O.o

Anyway. A new month means new plans. A new set of goals to tackle. Especially since July was mostly hubby break time with a side of sorting + researching. LOL. 

Although the first week of this month is pretty much over, I decided not to get stuck into a new writing project until next week. This gave me the chance to sort through my digital folders/files. What I thought would take one morning to get through ended up taking THREE DAYS! That's quite a bit of time, but I'm really glad I did it because my epub and writing files were a total mess.

Seriously, I had a bunch of duplicated files & pics, zip files I no longer needed, missing docs and a bunch of stuff that was filed in the wrong place. It was seriously messy. A total nightmare. 

But after much thought and organisation, everything is nice and tidy. It should now be a lot easier to keep track of files.

Like I said above, this was a very time-consuming project that was frustrating and repetitive... BUT, it had to be done. Now I just have to make sure I file everything in the right place and keep it neat.

I also started a new notebook so I can add notes for the WIPs that keep dropping snippets into my brain. So far, whatever isn't stored inside my head, is in the folders I've set up on my phone for inspirational pics and research.

Feels good to sort through my ideas on paper. And even better to have a place to jot everything down.

So, what else do I want to accomplish this month? Revision! I'd like to complete the second draft (of one of the two) YA horror novels I've recently written. I'd also like to brainstorm and research my next WIP. I already know which one it is and the story is really speaking to me, so it would be cool to start developing the storyline.

Oh, and I want to squeeze in some reading, of course!

Well. That's it for now. We're going to watch Atomic Blonde tomorrow. Really looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend!

Long time no post!

Actually, that's not technically correct because I have posted several book reviews and even a Q&A with an Aussie author... but I haven't added any actual update posts for a while.

So, how are you?

This month has been an excellent one. We've enjoyed a bunch of adventures, had lotsa fun, done plenty of chilling, sleep-ins, relaxing with hubby,  and I'm now a year older. That's not so great, but you know.

Hubby took a two-week break at the beginning of July and it was AWESOME! (Especially since I thought he was home for one week and he surprised me with TWO!)

It was a break we both needed. And as I mentioned above, we went on several adventures. We watched Spider-Man: Homecoming (loved it!) and then hung out in the city, spent the best Monday ever in the city and Milson's Point (to do the Bridge Walk & visit Luna Park), walked to IKEA (which is always an adventure), went for two daily walks, caught up on some reading, watched several movies, bought a bunch of stationery & toys, found some jeans that fit super nice instead of falling down, and just enjoyed the hell out of spending time together.

Only problem is how hard returning to our real-life routine turned out to be. LOL. Last week was a little harder than usual and felt plenty wonky. Which is why I spent most of it sorting my toy, stationery and book clutter.

This week, it's time to deal with my brain clutter.

See, although we did take it easy during hubby's annual leave, my mind kept working. A bunch of idea snippets started to develop into something more solid, which is always cool. So I found myself adding inspirational pics, character names, research, and even started seeing scenes play out in my mind. When this happens, I make sure to set up files and keep adding things as they come.

It's an awesome process, really.

So, there you have it. This is what I've been doing lately. What have you been up to?

Have a great day!

Multitasking Time & Stories

The other day I posted this tweet on Twitter:

Writing is hard work. But it's also exciting, fun, something I'm compelled to do, and yes... even cool. :)

I have a bunch of ideas cluttering my brain at any given time, but when I get stuck into a WIP I usually get so consumed by the story I'm working on that I hardly have time to devote to other projects.

This is EXACTLY what happened this month. I spent the last 4 weeks writing the first draft of my YA horror novel about a bunch of kids and the scary stories they tell each other. Every spare moment I had during the day was spent adding new words, or figuring out what was coming next.

But this time I decided to do things a little differently:

• Writing during the day
• Note-taking during the afternoon
• Researching other stories at night

It's amazing how much you can get done on your phone while sitting on the couch with hubby and watching Judge Judy on YouTube. LOL.

After a day full of words, the evenings are a good time to let my mind wander and lose myself in the possibility of other worlds and characters. So I collected heaps of inspirational pics, researched a bunch of concepts, named characters, made relevant graphics, and then sorted through all the files I created for easier (future) access.

Not only is this super productive, but I also had a lot of fun planning ahead. I now have about 6 ideas at different stages, and another I've just started to develop.

All of this has worked out very well, but there's one thing that suffered: reading. Working on stories fills my brain with so much I become obsessed with what's inside my head and don't have time for anyone else's stories. *cries*

Now that my current WIP is done, my new challenge will be to add reading time to the mix! I definitely want to keep developing these new ideas between projects and want to allocate more writing/revising time, but I need to include my reading habit back into the routine. I have TOO many books on my TBR pile not to.

Wish me luck!

Time for a New WIP!

Um, okay. Technically, that's not correct. And yet, it is.

Although I am getting stuck into a new WIP, I have a bit of a head start. Why? Well, that's what I thought I'd talk about today. I did mention this on Twitter yesterday when I posted my daily update, but it would take too many tweets to recap everything.

If you read this update post, then you already know what I'm talking about. And if you read this one, you also know what happened initially.

Back in March I started writing what I thought would be a short story that I wanted to sub to an anthology. I was aiming for 10-12k words. But when I wrote 5k the first day and almost 3k the second, I knew right away that the story had longer potential. There was no way I could squeeze the scope of these characters and their story into those w/c limitations.

So I put it aside. But not before taking a bunch of notes and setting up a folder to add/collect inspirational pics and research stuff. Then I got stuck into a different shortie, one that I did sub to the market I had in mind.

After that I took a bit of a break because of school holidays, annual leave and just general real life stuff. But I continued to brainstorm, collect pics and a bunch of relevant research.

Last week, I decided to work on the first draft during June. But because the month starts midweek, I'm already working on it.

Yesterday, I opened the doc and added a new first chapter. Then I started reading the rest of what I'd already written. By the end of my writing session I'd reached page 16/27 and added 2,342 new words. That means that I've now reached 10,306 words.

Not bad for the first day, right? :P

I'd like to write 2-3k words/day, and am aiming for a 50-70k-word total. As long as I get this story out of my head, I'm not too concerned about the initial draft's word count. I've been carrying this story in my head for several months now and it's definitely time to let it spill onto the page.

The reason for the (slightly) smaller daily word-count target is because of the headstart and because I want to squeeze in some brainstorming for another story whenever possible.

So, what's this current WIP about? As you can probably tell by the above graphic (which I made from a photo I took), it's about urban legends, suburban myths, and ghost stories. With a demonic twist, of course. It's a YA horror, which happens to be the  type of ideas my brain/muse has been feeding me lately.

And I'm totally okay with that.

I've been a horror fan most of my life, so it's not surprising that these are the stories I'm conjuring up during a new path in my writing adventure. :)

Well, there you have it. For June, there will be no new short story--just like there wasn't in May--but I'm working on a novel.

Wish me luck!