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Hello, my friends. Long time, no chat! I’m so happy you found your way to my neglected blog. It’s been quite some time and I’m sorry about that. Life has been eating away at my time and inspiration the last few months and I’ve finally found myself in a position to get caught up and get creative again!
That’s not to say I haven’t been busy. Since my last post (Wow! February! Ouch!) I have had short stories and drabbles published in 22 anthologies. I’ve written horror and sci-fi, some steampunk and fantasy too. I’ve explored post-apocalyptic worlds and learned about the fascinating mythological creatures that inhabit foreign lands. I had an experimental piece published and one of my oldest short stories came out just last month. It’s been a busy time.
I’m not ready to rest yet though! This last year has helped me prioritize a bit and though I love writing short stories, it’s time for me to really settle in and focus on my novel writing. I have one finished and in need of rewrites (a fantasy steampunk coming of age story), and I am currently working on a paranormal police procedural. It’s slow going with the new writing, but it’s a new (ish) genre and I’m learning with every word I type!
Something that I’ve learned (and relearned repeatedly in my journey as a writer) is that when I’m struggling, a day with other writers is exactly what I need to get back on track.
Last week I had the chance to go (via zoom) to two meetings of creative minds. The first was my monthly writing group. Through random circumstances, I missed the last two months and as soon as the meeting started this week, I knew that this was part of what I’ve been missing!
The other event was a workshop that I attended. As a pantser, I am always on the lookout for story structures that will make sense of my brain and the way I write. I love outlines. My brain works in bullet points, but as soon as I try to use that for writing, I lose momentum. I keep trying, though. This weekend I went to a workshop with Gail Carriger (author of the Parasol Protectorate series that I am currently reading). She was presenting on her non-fiction book, the Heroine’s Journey.
Let me tell you two things. 1) The Heroine’s Journey works with my brain. So many times, I have tried to explain that I write quiet speculative fiction, and I wasn’t really able to express what makes it that way. This does though. This explains it perfectly.
And 2) Gail Carriger is an amazing speaker, and I learned so much from her. Not only was the material she taught fascinating, but she ran the workshop cleanly, had a very well thought out schedule and pacing for the class, and it was well moderated. If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with her, I would highly recommend it.
I’ll be back to posting weekly thoughts and past inspirations now, so feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you’d like to hear about!
I hope you have an amazing week and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter! After all this time, it is finally coming out at the end of the week!
