Here are my annual Christmas watches, listed in no particular order:
I'm not sure why I always make unrealistic goals around the holidays, but here we are. While I hoped to finish the entirety of draft two this month, I instead rewrote, revised, and did copy edits on the first 52,500 words of Secrets of Annwyn so I could send the manuscript piecemeal to my grandfather. While this wasn't the initial goal, I'm still on track to finish revisions and send out beta copies by Christmas.
If you'd like to read an unpolished early draft of Annwyn in exchange for honest feedback, you can sign up HERE.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn, draft two
Monthly word count: 20,330
This year's word count, to date: 248,991
Tentative December TBR:
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (reread)
Krampus by Brom
Spooky season took a turn for the weird this year. Apart from the typical horror movie marathon and Halloween prep, I've been pushing my way through a head cold for over a week and took a trip out to California to see my ill grandfather.
When it comes to writing, I've dropped Jagged Edges to focus all my efforts on Annwyn. My current goal is to have the second clean draft ready by November 30. I've axed over 55,000 words of the first draft to sculpt it into the best version I can muster. After outlining my changes beat for beat, I've found I'll need to write about 50,000 new words, so I figured I might as well shoot for a rebel NaNoWriMo.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn, draft two
Monthly word count: 11,089
This year's word count, to date: 228,661
Tentative November TBR:
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (reread)
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
September was a marathon! I put so many hours into the Colorado Gold Conference, and it truly paid off. I had a great time, made new friends, talked writing, and had a blast connecting with the local writing community and industry professionals. The agent I pitched to even requested the full manuscript! That means I need to get my shit together and polish Secrets of Annwyn.
Apart from the conference, I outlined a punk coming-of-age screenplay in the same vein as Dinner in America and started chiseling away at a new horror novel.
Current unfinished project: Jagged Edges
Monthly word count: 11,438
This year's word count, to date: 217,572
Tentative October TBR:
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede (reread)
Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (reread)
August proved a busy month. The gremlins went back to school, allowing me to write full time. I finished the first draft of Secrets of Annwyn and started another project while I let Annwyn sit for a while. Jagged Edges, a story I dug out of the vault, will be a horror fantasy full of creepy dolls, ancient curses, fun deaths, and appearances from Mordred and Merlin.
Finished project: Secrets of Annwyn
Current project: Jagged Edges
Monthly word count: 36,640
This year's word count, to date: 206,134
Tentative September TBR:
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
July has been a crazy month. I started an internship with an agent only to find that I no longer wanted to spend my days building a career I don't want. For years, I've dreamed of writing full time, and this month I resigned from the internship, shuttered my editing business, and created a two-year writing plan. Since 2018, my husband has urged me to follow my dream. I'm finally secure enough in myself to make that happen.
A brief overview of my two-year goals:
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn
Monthly word count: 34,239
Project's current word count: 90,203
This year's word count, to date: 169,494
Tentative August TBR (all horror or horror adjacent):
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Burn the Negative by Josh Winnings
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
This month was much more fruitful than I expected. With the gremlins home on summer break, I expected to get much less done. Instead, I finished Act I and II of Annwyn, started editing again, and even have a potential agency internship on the horizon.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn
Monthly word count: 37,677
This year's word count, to date: 135,255
Tentative July TBR:
Out There Screaming, a horror anthology edited by Jordan Peele
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (ARC)
May was full of work, from writing to keeping gremlins alive to ensuring the Colorado Gold Conference was updated and running smoothly. I even started going to a physical therapist for my jaw, neck, and shoulder pain, and it's all starting to improve.
I ended up tossing my last draft of Annwyn, after realizing I was following the wrong character. Since switching POVs and creating a scaffolding outline, it's been much more fulfilling. I'm nearly finished with Act I.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn
Monthly word count: 30,486
Tentative June TBR:
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima (ARC)
The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (ARC)
Out There Screaming, a horror anthology edited by Jordan Peele
This month was a little crazy, with my TMJ recovery journey and all the volunteer work I've been doing for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer's Colorado Gold Conference. Despite my mountain of extra duties, I had a fruitful month. I finished Act I of Secrets of Annywn and have a solid outline in place for the rest of the novel. It's all coming together.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn
Monthly word count: 23,528
Tentative May TBR:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (a reread)
Three top-secret books for a contest I'm judging
This month was exhausting. While I was able to write every day, I was often distracted by a lot of personal growth that should ultimately make my prose stronger and my characters more nuanced and interesting.
Current project: Secrets of Annwyn
Monthly word count: 10,031
Tentative April TBR:
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin (ARC)