August 2022 Writing Check-In

Hi, writers - it's time for our monthly writing check-in! How was August for you? Did you work on an outline? Add words to your first draft? Start a revision? Or, maybe you rested?

August was a busy month for me. In addition to appearing on the Author Your Dream podcast and the #AmWriting podcast, my family made a last-minute trip to see my mom. Her health has been up and down, so it doesn't always work for my family to come and visit. It was a 10-hour drive there and another 10 hours back. We left on a Sunday afternoon and came home the following Saturday, so it was a bit of a whirlwind, but it was wonderful to spend time with my mom (hadn't seen her in person since August 2021). We even squeezed in some time with other family and friends that we haven't seen since before the pandemic, and we enjoyed an idyllic outdoor lunch in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan (one of my favorite things to do in one of my favorite places on the planet).

Amidst all of this, I did manage to get a little writing done. I've been working on a new story idea by following the #AmWriting-Author Accelerator Butt-in-Chair Blueprint Challenge this summer. [*Side Note: Even if you haven't been playing along in real time, I encourage you to go back and listen to the 10-part series. (The first episode aired at the beginning of July, and the final episode airs tomorrow). Since the challenge is free, you have all the blueprint steps laid out for you, so you can re-listen whenever you are ready to start or revise your next book.] I am revising my Inside Outline to complete step nine, and then I'll finish the Blueprint this coming week.

Can I just say that I am super excited about this new novel idea? It's an adult sweet romance (I've never written in this genre!) and I am tinkering with a dual timeline structure that I think (hope... pretty please) will be amazing. This is the fun part of writing, when the idea is shiny and new and the writing is perfect because it doesn't exist. Do you experience this euphoria at the beginning as well? And then I start to draft...

I have been very upfront about my distaste for writing first drafts. SO. HARD. I'm hoping my excitement for this project will help carry me through the first draft. Honestly, I think it will, because I'm more clear on this story than I've been for any other novel I've worked on. I can see it, and that it makes it feel more attainable.

Here's to a writing-filled September!