Hello Fellow Adventurer!
And, just like that, we’ve started 2023! I took a few days off between Christmas and New Year – it really was a much-needed break – in order for my brain to recover a bit. I’m afraid I’d wrung it dry by mid-December after the Year That Was 2022. This week, however, I’m up and at it again, including working on fiction.
The Tree’s Name is Branwen
Thanks to one of my friends, who also reads this newsletter, the tree outside my window now officially has a name: Branwen. And I love it! Taken from the Welsh Mabinogion, the name means “white raven”.
Fiction Writing!
I’m starting the Where the Stars Used to Sing half-rewrite this week and I’m really looking forward to it, especially since I haven’t touched any fiction during the past _two_ weeks. I think it’s going to read a lot better with the changes I’m going to make and the stories will be much more linked than they are now. I’m also going to add the story “And She Danced with the Moonlight” to the collection, although it will be edited to fit in with the rest of the collection.
Once Stars is off to the editor at the end of January (maybe even a bit earlier if I’m lucky!), I can continue the epically enormous outline of The Ruon Chronicles to start writing book one already. I’m getting a bit stuck on the structure while introducing several characters in book one. But I think coming back to the outline now that it’s been left to simmer for a couple of months (my poor story!) will let me look at it with new eyes.
As you can probably tell, I’m starting things out relatively slowly this year. I really don’t need another year where I’m so busy that I burn out and my creativity goes poof. Plus, I actually want to read more fiction this year as well and give (at least some) of the non-fiction a rest. Unless it’s research for fiction, of course. People, Academia is an absolute treasure trove of information that I may need for Chronicles going forward. Of course, Long Thread Media is another treasure trove and I’m just now off to read the new issue of PieceWork Magazine. Just look at that cover!
Until next week!
Love,
Carin