So it’s 12:35 am, my dog just threw up (don’t worry, it’s cleaned up now) and I’m a bit behind where I wanted to be a little while ago in my plans for this evening. That being said, I have been treating this blog like a journal in many ways, so that won’t be changing any time soon… I don’t think.
As for my plans, I’d hoped to have chapter two of Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse rewritten tonight but after a few pages, I realised something was wrong. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it wasn’t flowing properly and the pacing was off. Perhaps I’m becoming a better editor, or perhaps I’m going to second guess everything I do, either way, I’m going to come back to it tomorrow after some sleep (eventually).
In other news, my TOR submission has reached position 305 in the queue and in the meantime I submitted a short story to the first ever Kill Your Darlings Spec Fit/Fantasy Showcase. They said they’ll get back to me before the middle of February, so I add that to the wait pile.
I also submitted my first chapter for critique among my various writing groups and got some incredible feedback that I now have to make the decision to put into good use or let fall to the wayside. Some I’ve already implemented, some things I’ve cleaned up and clarified and others I skirted, trying to find the balance between something I found important and they didn’t. A few great things are that they picked up on the themes and the protagonist’s wants immediately and all of them enjoyed the hook. In other words, I’m on the right track!
Lastly, while rearranging my writing room I found a pile of rejections I printed off and my first chapter assessment from Zoe Walton from Penguin Random House. As I read them, none of them had a bad thing to say. In fact all of them said the writing was quite good and to keep on submitting! When an editor tells you the writing was solid, you breath a deep sigh of relief.
Well, really this was just an update (and an effort to post more frequently) but I hope your writing is going swell out there! As for me, I’ve not only managed to get some writing, rewriting and editing done, but I’m proud to say I’ve smashed through seven books of my Goodreads personal challenge of twenty four! Here’s the list below in the order I read them and my ratings!
- Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi (Amazing, go grab a copy and preorder the sequel, five stars!)
- Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend (Four stars, not as good as the first, but decent!)
- Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter (Four stars, nothing goes to plan and that is what is great about it!)
- Legion & The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson (Five stars, forget Legion, while that’s good, The Emperor’s Soul is something I may read monthly as a masterclass in fantasy writing. So. Damn. Good.)
- Read This If You Want To Be a Great Writer by Ross Raisin (Four stars, while not for me, the book itself is great for someone starting out in writing.)
- City of Lies by Sam Hawke (Five stars, starts off strong, lulls a bit in the middle and then drags you like a bolting horse toward the finale.)
- The Book of Answers by A.L. Tait (Four Stars, an easy read, come for the mystery and stay for the team of supporting ladies who deserve their own book while helping out their protagonist friend!)
As for what’s next I’m tossing up between the following:
- Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
- Obsidian by Alan Baxter
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- Lirael by Garth Nix
- The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
What’s worse is that is merely a shortlist of my ridiculous TBR pile. I’m DEFINITELY open to suggestions still though.
Wish me luck!