As you may have read in my last writing update post, my wordcounts dropped during the last weeks of January, and they might stay on the lower side for at least the next week or two as well. Instead I will be focussing on reading for my CPs.

I did finally get an idea on what to write for Disabled Writers Destroy Fantasy from Uncanny magazine (deadline is February 28). I REALLY want to submit something to them, but it needs to be below 6000 words and for some ironic reason I’m failing at writing short stories that short these past weeks. It used to be the other way around… hmm…

Shit, I hope I’m going to make that deadline. Meanwhile I also need to figure out a 5000 words max short story with an Autistic protagonist for an Autistic SFF anthology called Our Own Skies by Kaia Sønderby. As far as I know there’s no deadline yet, but this is something I’m also very enthusiastic about and hope to become a part of if possible. Kaia’s the author of FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE which I recently read and it is AMAZING! Absolutely amazing! Here’s the description on Amazon:

As one of the only remaining autistics in the universe, Xandri Corelel has faced a lot of hardship, and she’s earned her place as the head of Xeno-Liaisons aboard the first contact ship Carpathia. But her skill at negotiating with alien species is about to be put to the ultimate test.

The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won’t risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can’t bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire.

Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she’s beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own.

Description of Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby  on Amazon

So for both anthologies I have an idea, and I know which I want to send where, but I’ll still need to see how the stories turn out. I have a feeling the one for Uncanny will be shorter than the one I planned for Our Own Skies, so I might have to switch where I send which story. We’ll see.

February might also be when I hope to meet my first milestones. There’s some which feel within my reach:

• Meet the 50.000 words written milestone
• Write my first novelette
• Write a AD(H)D representation
• Write asexual representation in a romantic relationship

Looks like I’ll need to do that goal reward shopping someday soon!

So in short, my writing goals are:

• Write something for Uncanny magazine’s Disabled People Destroy Fantasy
• Write something for Kaia Sønderby’s Our Own Skies anthology
• Finish first draft for “SALT”.
• Work on SALANDRINE
• Write at least 15.000 words

It would be awesome if I could do something for Valentine’s day as well, hmm… All I’ve got so far is a 1500 words long paranormal romance on Wattpad (TEMPTED). Something new would be nice though. Can’t make any promises that I’ll be able to promote anything else this year, but perhaps next year I will have something special 🙂

// Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash