I know I’ve been quiet in the last month and a half, since I decided to “quit” my 12 Months, 12 Genres 2 project, and just keep working on the four novels I hadn’t finished yet this year. While I’ve continued to write every day (though some days, very little has been written), I haven’t made as much progress as I might have hoped. Alas, that’s part of why deadlines can be so important to me, because once I take some pressure off the gas pedal, I’m only coasting instead of pushing onward, full speed ahead.
I’ve only added about 13K since the end of July, and as crazy as it sounds, I’m still working on recounting my relationships. The good news is I’m nearly caught up to when I met my wife, so there won’t be too much more ground to cover, even if I tend to remember someone else every once in a while, which has meant going back to plug in the pieces, and throw the whole thing off a little more. But that’s okay.
I have to admit, it’s going to be weird when I move on to a different section. I might not know how to continue, frankly. But that leads into my next bit of ground to cover: with Nano on the horizon, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Do I work on something from the rest of the year that hasn’t been finished? Do I start something completely new? I haven’t committed to anything yet, but I still have a month and a half.
I did get a new idea of how to spice up my mystery novel. Right now, that’s the fast favorite for November. I can also procrastinate on that with further progress on any of the other things. Ten years ago, when I last did 12 Months, 12 Genres, that’s largely what I did: I was supposed to be working on a Western novel, but I wrote way more in the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure piece to finish up all the choices that hadn’t been tied up from September. Maybe that means my June novel of the same genre should see some action come this November?
Before I go, two things from yesterday (September 13th) that I want to share. I’ll start with the more serious one. I had a writing group meeting, where we reviewed two pieces, and mine was the second to go. I (generally) have very few line edit suggestions, and not always do I get “big picture” kind of feedback that helps me know if the snippet captures the emotion I hope it does. But last night, considering the drama involved in the piece (from the end of my Historical Fiction novel, so no spoilers), and the fact that it involved a situation that I’ve not really ever personally experienced, to hear from my group members that I wrote an accurate description of the stuff involved, and wrapped it into an emotionally-compelling ball, well, that was immensely satisfying to hear. I know it needs a lot of work, but I tell you, that novel is still my favorite of the year, and one of the things I’ve written that I’m most proud of. I really need to get down to the nitty gritty of polishing it up more and getting it ready for some proper shopping around
The more lighthearted of the items from yesterday is this: it was the fictional birthday of a pair of twins from main literary universe, as I was reminded by a Facebook memory from 2010. In that post, I noted that Meri and Jane were turning 20 years old. By that logic, they’d now be 33. However, in the timeline of the stories that they’ve sadly grown less and less a part of, they’re only 23, nearing 24, but we haven’t gotten to September of that particular year yet. I don’t know it it helps, but they’re both married and happy, if that’s any consolation to them. I’d like to think so, but with Jane in particular, that’s not always the case.
Anyone who does Nano, I’m always around for advice, support, and accountability. Anyone else, I’m likely available for the same. Until next time, which hopefully won’t be another month and a half away.