I’m trying not to use the word “failure” when I look back on 2022. I hit a lot of rough patches, got very busy, had a lot of trouble finding time to write and then I would get stuck when I did. I spent a lot of time where I could have been writing dealing with …
Sixth Month of the Year Check-In
I'm not at liberty to discuss June. Was it an easy month? No. Was it necessarily harder than the others? I cannot tell. I definitely feel like I wrote less but I also had more to do. Which, I understand has been my excuse since the spring. A lot of on and off writing in …
The Shelving Debate
A few weeks ago, I excitedly plotted and started a sort of sequel to a story I wrote throughout 2020 and 2021. I took it down five days later and I haven't recovered since. I think as a writer I am deeply insecure. I also think this is a busy time of year and in …
Fifth Month Check-In
May came to a quiet close. Another month where I didn't write as much as I hoped or wanted but I still feel accomplished. I outlined some things, came up with new ideas, and I'm forging ahead with a firm head on my shoulders. Usually, a part of me wants to finish whatever draft I'm …
In Defense of Love Triangles
If I have one hill to die on, this is it. I've talked about this before and I'll open this damaged box of mine by saying even as I defend the concept of the trope that I cannot think of an example of it that I like or does it well according to my standards. …
Fourth Month Check-In
April did not go as planned. It started to. I wrote a good 15k words at the beginning, got two chapters ahead with Someone Will Die and did a lot of crucial plotting for Of Blood and Stone. And then I went on a nine-day trip to California for a wedding. I did not bring …
Third Month Check-In
March had a weak start. I ended February on rocking footing so it's not surprising that I came into this month kind of shaky. I started a new short story but haven't been able to work on it much given that I realized it would be a bit longer than my previous short projects but …
Pros & Cons for April
I somehow got the idea stuck in my little, aching brain that I should do camp nano this year. A few things stick out to me as reasons why I shouldn't almost immediately. I usually bail on regular nano just for sake of time or whatever my usual excuse is. For some reason, November is …
Old Draft Blues
A few months ago I talked about making the 'Graveyard' a folder in my google drive full of dead story ideas that were taking up space in my files so I discarded them in one neat little space because I can never truly get rid of anything. I talked about Death of a Prince, my …
Second Month Check-In
So, how did February go? To put it simply, I ended up taking a lot of creative breaks. Not so simply, I was bogged down by endless distractions and I did not write much. I made a lot of plans to write. Did a lot of thinking about it, but when I get down to …
Aliston. J Drake 