Writing Writing Writing

It has been a while since I have posted. Lots going on, including the kiddies' having issues at school (I know, they have only been back a little while- this was the 2nd freaking week!), writing, a week long stint at the county fair, crafty stuff, more writing, and medical issues. You have my sincere apologies for staying gone so flipping long. I really think I'm turning into a zombie. Anyways...

Back in mid-August, I posted about my writing goals. For those that don't remember, here are those goals:

Research specific topics

1. realistic and descriptive battle scenes
2. 15th century Moldova
3. colonial America
4. Cincinnati in the 1800's
5. antiques from 1300's and up

Write something daily

1. back story for a few other stories in the works to pick up on next year
2. journaling through NaNo prep

I figured an update was in store. Let's see. Research... I completed 2-5 a lot faster than I expected, along with research on Gothic and Revival architecture, architecture in Cincinnati, and a tiny bit of botany research. By the end of August, I finished all that and #1 of the Write Daily list. So in September, I decided to start writing on one of my side projects, the focus of all that research. Using Liquid Story Binder to keep track of my writing sessions, I managed to get down about 62,000 words over 12 writing days. My total writing time amounted to under 55 hours. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I finished the story?! I'm a pantser as you know so when I reached the end (and realized it was the end) I was in shock.

This new story doesn't resemble anything like The Immortalis Trilogy.

My newest story (and 3rd novel if you are keeping track) is a YA urban fantasy set in present day Cincinnati. It is a stand alone novel but with so much possibility for a series. 62,000 words is a bit on the slim side for my tastes (Journey of Shadows ran around 83,000 in its last incarnation and the 2nd in the series, still untitled, is sitting at around 130,000) but it feels complete to me. We'll see what happens after my Beta readers have a look.

With that 1st draft done and the story out of my head, I am finally able to relax. Or can I? Crap, its mid-October already and I haven't done any NaNoWriMo prep. At all. Son of a- I'm off to start research for #1 above (battle scenes) and try to forget about the children's fairy tale that keeps bouncing around in my head until after November. Maybe I'll just make a few notes first...

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3