I fully intended to do this last week, but time got away from me and it did not happen. Oh well, better late than never and the content of this update is much the same as it would have been last week.
Today’s post will feature:
- How did I go with last month’s goal?
- WIP1 update
- Wait, did I just say WIP1?
- Also, is that pen and paper I see?
- Writing through the brain pain
- My next goal.
Fortunately, I set my goal very low last month so it was achievable and worked for me. I have written every week, even if it is only half an hour. This may be a small goal in many ways, but I feel like I have achieved more with the ‘write something’ goal than the ‘write 2k words’ goals I have set in the past. But what does that mean for my WIP? I am glad you asked!
Last month I was sitting at the 34k mark. WIP1 is now over 43K typed and the story has only changed slightly from where I was heading last month. WINNING!
I realised more needed to happen between where my story was and where it needs to go, so I have been playing around with extra scenes and (I think) they make the story flow much better. Plus, it allows for some pretty important moments to feel more natural.
Now you may have noticed that I wrote WIP1 above, and there is a very good reason for that. I have started working on a second book, though WIP2 will be much shorter than WIP1.
Why will it be shorter? Because WIP2 is intended for a younger audience than WIP1.
What prompted me to start WIP2 now? Well, my younger brother requested I write him a book for his birthday and I intend to deliver. I have a deadline and am writing this story around his requests while throwing in a few elements I feel are important for him and other children.
How far have I gotten? There is a very rough outline and the start of the story, but none of it has been typed yet so I do not have a word count. I want to write this story to what it has to be regardless of words, so this one will likely spend the next couple months on paper.
Paper? As in, handwritten? With a pen? Yes, yes, and a fountain pen to be specific. I was feeling a little blocked with WIP1, so I decided to go back to the days where writing with pen and paper was my outlet and see what happened. I have filled half a notebook (both front and back) with handwritten scenes for WIP1, quite a bit of which have not been added to the word document and are not yet included in the word count mentioned above.
After my brother’s request, I decided to try pen and paper from the start to see if that makes it easier or helps me be more creative. Not sure if it works, but it is certainly doing something so I plan to keep it up.
Physically, I have gotten a little better so I am now able to keep a meal down and not be in a world of pain, but I still ache and feel constantly drained of energy. I know part of it is my brain doing what it always does. There have been some new stressful situations at work which have set off my anxiety in a variety of ways. Between my health, my anxiety and the mentally draining people in my life right now, my depression has also been making itself known.
Fortunately, writing with pen and paper has been helping me work through the feelings, add to my WIPs and keep the darkness at bay. Considering some of the topics and scenes I wish to include in my work, being in a low mood has been somewhat helpful in developing them. No pain, no gain, right?
I think I will do my next writing update towards the end of March as it will be just before April CampNaNoWriMo. Until then, I want to continue with the write every week, but I am also challenging myself to have all of my handwritten scenes for WIP1 typed up so I know exactly what I do and do not have both word count and scene wise going into April.
How are your WIPs tracking?
Any goals for the next month?
Until next time literators and bibliophiles!
Amy x
Zany Bibliophile 
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