I’ve had a series of unfortunate events occur, which hasn’t stopped the writing train, but it has slowed it slightly. I got poison ivy from some yard work over a week ago, and it reached its worst this past weekend and into Monday. I’ve also been battling a sore throat for a few days which came to a head yesterday, my ears were itching fiercely, my throat was dry and gross, coughing, runny nose, headachey, fatigued, but I still had my sense of taste and smell, no fever, and no stomach problems, so I figured it wasn’t the Big Bad, but because of the Big Bad, I wasn’t going to head out and pick up anti-itch or cold medicine. I made due with what I had, but then something I ate for lunch triggered another allergic reaction (which I’ve never really had before) and my lips and mouth got all swollen and itchy itchy too. I was like, What the fuck, body, get it together? And then my period started, out of spite I assume, and I just sort of gave up.
But by “gave up” I mean I did some editing on She’s All Thaumaturgy and planning for the rest of this year and 2021, and didn’t write any new words in Vacancy II. But that’s fine because I’ve been multiple days ahead for a while now, and I’m feeling pretty great about this project.
I’m still a little in the weeds, which is usually the case around the middle mark. I’m second guessing a lot of choices and making some that, even in the moment, I’m like, Why are you writing that, Ashley? That doesn’t make sense! Please stop! Oh, okay, we’re moving on and not erasing it. Fine…
It’ll get sorted in editing, I guess: those are problems for Future Ashley to worry about, and she is undoubtedly a better version of Current Ashley, so I’m pretty sure she can handle it.
But Current Ashley also doesn’t quite trust her, so I’m ultimately floating in that weird this-is-all-terrible-and-needs-to-be-deleted space, although it’s not quite as horror-filled and lonely as normal. As much as I feel icky about a lot of things right now, it’s not as icky as I would normally feel. I don’t know if this is a good sign. Sure, it probably means I have more confidence and am actually embracing the “give less shits and be more extra” resolution I made at the beginning of the year, but it could also be that I’ve lowered my standards and/or ability to suss out crap.
I’ve been reading more–a lot more–and that’s great, but some of the stuff has been kind of…not great. And yet I’m picking these books based on the ratings and reviews and how they appear to sell many copies, so my meter for badness feels like it’s very off. And maybe it always has been!
There are nine days left, including today, of camp which really only means we’ve been through a bit over 66%, and I’m edging in on 40k words. I’m hoping to finish the month at around 60-65k and a draft that will only need a few scenes added here and there to round it out (plus buttloads of editing of course). Last night I rebuilt a trajectory through the end of 2021 based on my progress of the last four months, and it’s really promising, so I’m extra inclined to reach that goal. I really wish I could just take a peak at Christmas 2021 and see how I do (and also to see if the planet is even still here, I guess). It includes a release just about every three months with a pretty good cycle of plot, draft, revise, release, but there’s a solid year between plotting a new book and releasing it. That feels right to me, but I wonder if it’s how the self-publishing world works for those who make a profit?
Anyway, the point is I’m extra excited about brand new projects that I’ll be working at the end of this year and next year. I have two ideas, one traditional fantasy and one urban fantasy, both of which I really love and want to see develop. Each are ideally three-book series, and whichever I choose first I risk longing to work on the other instead. I guess, though, I should just be grateful for having the ideas at all.
And none of this has to do with Camp NaNo! Which I need to get back to now, so happy writing, Dear Reader, and happy Earth Day too!
A.K. Caggiano 