This Week in Celuthia and the Real World

A lot has been happening this week.

I sent out advanced copies of the next novella in Sam's collection in preparation for its release on November 4th.

Everyone was sick (thank you kindergarten germs).

I started a new job! Yay!

And I've finally pulled myself out of my writing rut. Probably the best news for my mental health out of all of them.

I've been putting off looking at the sequel to my novel for a long time. A LONG time. I wrote it about nine years ago after I finished the first novel. I think it was my first successful NanoWriMo winner. And I knew that it needed a lot of work.

I've done so much world-building and had so much character growth in the amount of time it's taken me to be happy with my first novel. And after working with a bunch of people who helped me see the flaws in my writing, I knew none of that personal growth was reflected in the sequels. They'll likely be complete rewrites.

But I've taken the first step today: outlining the changes I want to see. I made an outline for a coherent story that doesn't take on too many different subjects and ideas, hints at bigger things to come, and doesn't GIVE AWAY THE PLOT in the first paragraph. Oh boy, that's a big change for me. I like to give too much information. Not unheard of for amateurs like me.

As I listen to my relaxing ambient music to help the ideas flow without putting words in my head, I can also hear my kids in the yard. Screaming. I want to assure anyone reading this: they are safe and sound. No matter that their screams could easily be mistaken for pain and fear, I know that they are playing with the dogs and mimicking cries for help because that's what they're into right now.

UPDATE: they were making the yard into a mud wrestling arena. No big deal.

Well, I think that's it for me for today. Hopefully, I can get back to my brainstorming now that the mud is all cleaned.

For now, you can preorder my novella in ebook format, or wait until November 4th for a paperback copy!

Desolate Seasons

Thanks for reading!

Dana