Plowing through December

November's writing month was a success! While I'd hoped to get to more than one project, I did at least manage to finish i9. 66,951 words spewed from my head to the the keyboard.  The rough draft of i9 clocked in at 117K. There are definitely some spots than need fleshing out so I'm guessing that will increase a bit but we'll see how the edits shake out when I get that far.

I had a goal of at least 1K a day. Other than the one day 
I was gone at a comic con for long hours, I was able to at
least touch my WIP every day. Yay!

So what's next on the agenda? Editing? Nope. That story needs to rest for a bit. More writing! Those other two projects aren't going to write themselves. Sadly.

While I take a day to ponder which project I'll be diving into next, let's get to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other participating writers.

Do you write cliffhangers? Are they a turn off for you as a reader?

As a writer, I endeavor not to write cliff hangers. The book needs to end. Does the main conflict need to be resolved? Yes. Do the characters need to have meaningful growth? Yes. Can there be a few unresolved tidbits floating around to tease the next book? Yes, that is acceptable.

Would I ever end a book with: to be continued? I have strong words on that topic so we'll leave it at a HARD NO (see the toned down version below).

As a reader, if I invest time and energy into a book at it ends with any version of 'tune in next time to find out', that book is flying at a high velocity into the nearest wall and I will not read that author again. For the love of all that's holy, end the damned book! If an author cannot end a book,  my faith is lost in this little contractual thing we have going on. I purchased a book. I did not purchase a book with the unwitting obligation to by two to twelve other books to find out how it all ends. There need to be 'endings for now' along the way. If the author can show me a gratifying end to a book one and I enjoyed book one, I will likely give book two a try. Leave the choice to continue in the reader's hands.

It's Writing month!

November marks my 19th foray into pouring out a novel in 30 days. 

I used the last half of October to get back into the writing groove, because I'm here to tell you, if you haven't been writing at all seriously in nine or so months, the brain gets a little rusty in that department.

To get back into the swing of things, I set a goal to write (at least) 500 words a day from Oct 14 to 31. Setting a goal lower than I know darn well I can do helped alleviate the pressure of  'having to do the thing'. While it was a rough start and there were three days early on that I wrote less or nothing at all, I did manage to grease the gears enough that my brain and fingers remembered how this noveling thing works. By the end of the month, I was hitting my usual NaNo pace of 1,800 words a day.

I used Trackbear, a nifty new to me app to help set my habit goal that I can also use to set word goals and combine word counts to meet those goals across multiple projects. This is super handy and much easier than trying to math while in writing mode. Check out this free app if your interested in setting writing goals and establishing good wordy habits.

How do I have time to hit 1800 words a day with a job, surprise kids, pets, and all the usual life things?  When I'm in full noveling mode, I write three times a day. Morning (before everyone else is up) tends to be pretty productive. A quick twenty minutes after work but before making dinner. And then whatever time I have between after dinner and before running the surprise kids around / spending time with my husband / becoming unconscious. 

Can I crank out 1,800 words in one sitting? Yes. Can I do that in an hour and half? Sure. Do I like to? No. It's mentally exhausting and hard to maintain day after day. For me, anyway. Your word mileage may vary. Breaking up the word load over the whole day is easier to handle and less stressful. And who needs stress? Save that for your characters. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

This month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question is: What creative activity to you engage in when you're not writing? 

I paint, doodle, go on random new craft binges, and when in the mood, do cross stitch. What do you like to do?

Bookshelves, Venue groups, and IWSG

Things are slowing down. Yes, I've been waiting to say that since March. Whew! We're finally here. Which means, at some point in October, it's time to get back in the writing groove. More on that in a moment.

Last month I finally had time for podcast interviews. I did a reading of The Summoning from Everyone Dies on Indie Reads Podcast YouTube / Spotify  I also had a chat on C's Creative Corner Spotify / Apple If you have a podcast and would like to chat, shoot me an email (info on my About Me page).

As event season winds down, there are a couple of tidbits I'll share for anyone looking to get into in person event selling in 2025.

1. Book your events NOW. Yes, I know it's still 2024, but you know what? I've booked half of my 2025 events already. Many cons and art festivals book tables/booths nine months to a year out. Research your audience and where you can interact with them and secure yourself a spot in those places or at least write them down to watch for when applications open up.

2. Where do you find those mysterious places where your readers might be? Research. In theory, you likely write what you like to read. So where would you go to meet an author of the thing you like? There are Facebook groups for everything. Search for your area, your state, comic cons, festivals, library, craft and vendor events, etc.

3. Consider what you need for your table set up and get on that now rather than waiting until two weeks before your first event of the season. It seems like every year I update or upgrade something in my set up. If you're starting out, start basic, a table cloth, a stand of some sort to get your book(s) vertical, a credit card processing device, business cards or bookmarks with your name, socials, and book cover(s) on them.  Level 2 would be adding a table banner or a stand up banner or both. If you have several titles, consider getting a book rack instead of individual table easels. Amazon sells many wire book racks, but I don't like those as they hide too much of your cover if you have to use all the spaces. I designed a rack that works perfectly for me and maybe it will for you too. This one breaks down flat for easy storage and transportation in my event kit, and it allows 90% of the cover to be on display, while also keeping your books from blowing over in the wind (a real problem at outdoor events), and provides hidden storage in the back for your food, water, bags, cashbox, etc.

Back to that looming writing thing. November brings my annual writing frenzy month. So what's on the agenda for year 19?

1. Perhaps add words to i9. I haven't added much to this since last November, but I have been working on edits as the existing chapters work their way through my local critique group.

2. Godmother - the YA fairy tale I outlined but never got to last November.

3. The Adventures of Nugget the Space Chicken - Early chapter book to add to my children's chicken offerings. This one is outlined and illustrations (by my artsy daughter) are in progress.

Yep, I have plenty of options. The more important ingredient is ambition. And that's where I'm guttering at the moment. We'll see how October pans out for refilling that well.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

And that brings us to this months Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? 

Ok, so not your typical 'classic' horror tale, but this twisted story did make a grisly impact on me as a teen reader and has stuck with me through the years. Was I reading age appropriate stuff? Was there parental guidance on reading selections? This was the 80's, people. Definitely not. *Not for the faint of heart or those sensitive of violence toward women.

 

Oh Thank Goodness, It's September!

I made it through the six weekends of events in a row of the August frenzy! I won't say I'm coherent or brimming with anything other than good memories, money for groceries for the next few months, and a hankering for a week of nothing but naps and reading, but I'm here.

 August highlights include:

Author Joan Young and I spent a long weekend in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula at the Wild Blueberry Festival.

I made some time for a beer and a book on the shore of Lake Superior.

Author Ingar Rudholm and I spent a weekend meeting readers
at the South Haven Blueberry Festival.

Magical creatures at the Michiana Ren Fest enjoyed
 visiting with Laya and picking up her book.

It was a hot weekend at the Michiana Ren Fest, but I met lots of readers
and managed not to poke any eyes out with my fairy wings.

Now that I have Laya's Vacation out in the world, what am I working on next? Resting. Do I have projects lined up? Yes. I'll get back into them sometime between now November, when writing begins again in earnest for National Novel Writing Month. Until that urge returns: Naps and reading and one author event a month until the end of the year. A much more manageable pace.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Onward to this month's, Insecure Writer's Support Group portion of the post. This month's fellow co-hosts are: Beth Camp, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando

We're back to school and talking about English class and the one writing rule we learned that messed us up. But honestly, I can't think of any rules that I've had issues with or that my editors  repeatedly have thrown back at me. There are things I've forgotten and had to look up because it's been... umm, 35 years. Other than that, I loved English classes. I took all of them, even the elective ones! It was one of the few subjects, other than art and the sewing portion of home economics, that I was really good at. Let's not talk about math or science, well, the math parts of science, anyway. Numbers bad. Letters, good!

To stay on topic(ish) though, I was recently talking with my father and he mentioned running into his English teacher, who asked if he was still writing. He had stopped before I was born and I've never read anything he'd written (in a creative writing sense), but he mentioned I was writing and published, which his teacher was excited about. This is so very weird to me because: Numbers. My English teachers and my art teacher have passed away - people I would very much have loved to share my accomplishments with - from only 35 years ago. Yet, his teacher is still out and about and remembered that he used to write. At least one English teacher, even if it wasn't mine, is excited for my accomplishments. I'll take it. :)

 

New Release: Laya's Vacation

It seems like it's been a bit since I've had a new release. Ok, it was March, which, in the grand scope of things, wasn't that long ago, but I'd really hoped to have this book done by June and well, that just didn't happen. Will I have another book out this fall? Odds are not likely, but I won't rule it out.

But we're here today to celebrate the release of Laya's Vacation! Woohoo! After months of trying to do the illustrations in between events, work, and life stuff, I finally finished this labor of chicken love. Even more stressful than trying to get the book finished was the fact that Laya was ill twice and at four years old, I was worried things might not work out for her. How long do chicken's live, is a question I get asked all the time. The answer: not as long as you'd like. My oldest chicken is 9 and she's not in a good way, but she's still kicking so we let her go about her days until she's ready to tell me she's done.

The good news is that after some meds and a lot of love, Laya is back in good health and ready to promote the release of her book. Hooray!

This book is based on Laya's adventures with me last year in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We'll be returning there later this month so at least we made this book happen before that show. #goals

The art is all watercolor paintings and this book has more pages than the Kay-Kay book so I knew what I was in for, but still...I did it anyway. See also: Why it took so long to finish.

Short-tempered from the summer heat, Laya takes a vacation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, far away from her family and friends. She travels to Paradise, Whitefish Point, and Tahquamenon Falls to see what animals and sights exist beyond the chicken yard.

The official release date is August 10. You can order signed copies now from the "Buy Signed Copies" tab above (within the US) and I'll get those out as soon as I have books in my hands. The book is also available from all the usual online retailers including Amazon / B&N

You can also get your signed copy at these upcoming events:

August 10&11    South Haven Blueberry Festival 
August 16-18     Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise, MI 
August 24&25    Michiana Renaissance Festival in South Bend, IN
Aug 31 & Sept 1 Newaygo Logging Festival 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

This month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question is about using AI, which is a topic it feels like we just talked about a couple months ago and my answer is still the same: No, I don't use AI for book creation, marketing, or research. All these weird and twisted people, creatures, and plots come from my brain. Yay me!

If we could get AI on washing dishes and doing laundry, maybe mowing the grass, and cleaning toilets, now that, I'd be up for. Leave the creative stuff to humans.