Hello everyone,
I hope you are all keeping well and that you were also able to welcome 2021 with at least some hope that it’s going to be a better year than the last one! I ended up welcoming the new year with some sparkling grape juice (as usual) and putting Josh Groban on loudly at midnight (as usual) as his music helps to calm my pets when there are fireworks.
After such a trying year, I did end up crashing a bit here towards the end and decided to give myself some time off and just remove the pressure of having to do it all before the clock struck midnight on 31 December 2020. I practically disappeared from all the social channels and I think it was needed as I could then more completely ponder my goals and plans for 2021. (Let’s face it, it will take some time to digest 2020…)
Goals and Plans for 2021
I’ll be honest; most of my goals and plans for 2021 includes the stuff that I ended up not doing in 2020! At least when it comes to writing.
I really let my writing fall by the wayside during the last few months of last year, but rather than beat myself up about that, I’m giving myself grace for getting through the year with any kind of hope and plans left!
This year, my writing focus will be Where the Stars Used to Sing, The Ruon Chronicles, and worldbuilding and outlining Porselein.
Writing Update - Where the Stars Used to Sing and The Ruon Chronicles
Yeah, so, Where the Stars Used to Sing wasn’t released on 15 December after all. Oops. I honestly had a look at it and, though I know that it can never be perfect, I also don’t want to send it out into the world when I’m not happy with it.
So, to that end, I’m doing some more editing and may even add a story or two (and sketch or two) before releasing it. The book will still be made available on Paste/Noisetrade Books and all my subscribers will still get a PDF. None of that have changed. :)
The Ruon Chronicles series is a real sore spot for me. I’ve been working on this project for a long time and it always seems to be two steps forward and two steps back. However, I also realise that I’ve probably (okay, most likely) been putting waaaaaaay too much pressure on myself to create this perfect epic fantasy in one go.
Instead of simply working on the plot points that I need to focus on, I’ve been fretting about letting parts of the story fit that really… can’t. Basically, I didn’t want to kill my darlings.
I also didn’t want to face that it’s my fear of messing the story up that has been keeping me many times from working on it when I do have a sliver of time. Plus, I really need to remember that ‘editing is your friend’. I can always change what doesn’t work without anyone else ever knowing about all the darlings that now lie dead.
In good news about The Ruon Chronicles, I’ve decided to start with a different prologue - which I’ll soon be sharing in one of my newsletters! This new prologue will tie the beginning of book 1 together much better, I think. I’ll keep you updated on all the news of Ruon Chronicles as time goes on and, in fact, (drumroll) this year will contain a LOT more epic fantasy stuff. So much more that I even needed to use all caps just now.
And this is something else that I’m really looking forward to — writing on my blog again, writing this newsletter, and sharing some Scenes in the Life of the Writer on Instagram (I’m seldom on Twitter these days, the negativity really gets to me). My goal is to post at least one photo every 2 days on Instagram this year.
Words of the Year
This also brings me to the words I have chosen for the year. Yes, I know I’m supposed to pick one. Apparently I’m a rebel!
I’ll leave you with some words that my old boss (as in ex-boss, not elderly) posted on LinkedIn
Have a great week further!
I’ll see you again on Friday with some fiction!
Love,
Carin