April Update: Camp NaNoWriMo and stuff

Hi friends. Checking up on me, are you?

As you should.

I've committed to posting on my writing blog at least once a month, and the month of April got away from me. I spent a full week sick with two different viruses, but I'm finally feeling more like myself.

That's a thinly veiled excuse for the lack of writing I've gotten done. It's the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo right now, and I set my goal at an easy 20,000 words. I've written 3,000.

But I still have a week. I know I can write the words if I just sit and write. But I'm trying to make it a point to not do it that way anymore. I've done NaNo enough years to know I can write 60k+ words in a month. But I want to focus more on the quality of words, not the number. And so, if I don't get all 20k words written this month, it's ok. What's more important is getting my ideas for this story down.

I'm working on the third story in a series that I started writing as my very first unofficial NaNo back in 2004. The story wound down at about 15k words, but left a lot of other stories to tell. Over the years, I've rewritten that first version a few times, and I've settled into the idea that someday I'd like to have five "season" of five stories, kind of like a television show. I've sketched out the whole series, and while the early "seasons" aren't all that strong, I think it has potential to be awesome.

I've thought about maybe self-publishing these under a pseudonym someday. I like the characters and the silly adventures, but the writing isn't as strong as I'm capable of and they aren't all that factually solid. They're supposed to be fun, both to read and to write, but I don't want that to come back and reflect poorly on me, in case I ever get serious.

So, maybe in another few years, once I've gotten the first five episodes written, I will start releasing them into the world. Maybe I'll build up a whole life for my alter ego. I'm already playing with different names I could use.

That's what's going on in my life this month. Attempting to write a novella, struggling with my health, and still awaiting critiques from my beta readers on Monsters of Lawrence. My friends have affectionately given my novel the hashtag #LFKMonsters. It'd be cool if that caught on.

Things have been quiet on the editing front. I finished up work on my most recent special project from Luna Station Quarterly, my author friend asked for a month-long extension to beef up her next book, and a horror writer who is friends with the future husband approached me about proofreading an anthology he's putting together sometime in June. So I'm between projects. Which means I need to stop binge watching Netflix and get some writing done!

Up next, I've got more Towers of Kansas transcribing, another month of Confabulator Cafe flash fiction stories, and I'll probably have to start incorporating beta reader feedback on Monsters of Lawrence as my friends finish up. Lots of work to do.

And ConQuesT is next month. Still no schedule yet, but Jack and I were both approached to participate on panels, so I'll let you know where I'll be as soon as I hear.

The next couple of months should be exciting! Stay tuned for more updates.

All Systems Go

Writing: check
Editing: check
Networking: check
Wedding planning: in progress!

Life has been a whirlwind. I'd like to start making sure to update once a month. I missed February, so my March entry might be a bit longer. After this post, I'll be sure to check back in April, too.

My work toward my writing goals has been pretty amazing lately.
-I have been writing short stories each month for the Confabulator Cafe.
-I have written a couple of narrative passages for work. I did write a total of ten listening passages over a few months, and now they're having me work on narratives.
-My novel, Monsters of Lawrence, is out to beta readers right now. The initial alpha readers thought it had real potential, so my goal for this novel now is to get it cleaned up and into final draft mode during the month of May so I can start submitting it. Scary stuff!
-I'm signed up to do Camp Nanowrimo in April and July. I'm going to try to keep throwing words at the Monsters of Lawrence sequel, Towers of Kansas. It's a tough one to draft, because I've been working on it on and off for the last few years. The continuity is a little off. It's also tough because things in the first novel are still changing and evolving. But, a lot of that will be fixed in the revision process. Right now I just need to keep putting down words so that the story is there. Once it's written, I can tweak it until it's right.

My editing work is taking off, as well.
-I finished editing Transmonstrified, and it's doing really well. I should get a sizable bonus for that at the end of this year.
-I finished editing Jack Campbell Jr.'s All Manner of Dark Things collection. That should be available for sale next month.
-I finished editing the stories for Sean Demory's Slow Boat to Fast City anthology. Hopefully that will be available for purchase soon!
-Projects for my special projects editing gig at Luna Station Quarterly have started flowing again. They are working on putting out a Best Of for their first five years. Pretty cool stuff.

Upcoming stuff:
-This week, I'm traveling to Pittsburgh to attend the American Copy Editors Society conference for work. My first work trip ever. I'm excited to learn about freelance editing and network.
-I might be interviewed about freelance editing by the Johnson County public library for their blog.
-I will be editing R.L. Naquin's first book in her new Mount Olympus series in April. We're hoping to get it out sometime in May!
-May is also ConQuest, and that feels like it's just around the corner. I've been reading everything Brandon Sanderson possible, and I'm excited to meet the brilliant writer. Hopefully I will get to be on and/or moderate some panels this year. I'm not optimistic about that, but it should be a good time regardless.

And yes, Jack and I are planning our wedding. We have the venue booked, our honeymoon planned, and we're hashing out details like how to feed everyone and how the reception is going to go. I am having wedding dress meltdowns, as well as guest list freakouts, and I'm also having a hard time reconciling the idea of myself as a bride. But things are coming together, and I know it will be nice. I don't care too much about the wedding. I'm just looking forward to being married.

So that's me the past two months. I promise not to stay away so long next time!