The end of the year in nearing and it made me look back on the past year. I’ve got a post specifically dedicated to that for you all scheduled to post soon, so I’m going to skip that for now. Instead, I’ve been making some nice progress on my WIPs which I’d like to share with you.

I’ve been working on more and more project lately, so I hope this just doesn’t get too much out of hand. Earlier this year I tried to focus on one WIP at a time, but it just ended up in massive writing dry spells and it just didn’t work out for me. Allowing myself to work on multiple projects at a time (concepts, outlining and drafting, and editing only for short stories) has helped me to keep writing.

Work in progress

So over the past two weeks I’ve worked on SALANDRINE, adding new chapters and doing some heavy editing. Adding Amal’s POV has made a bigger impact on the overall feel of the story that I’d guessed, but it’s also really helped me develop her character and voice. I’ve gotten to know her a lot better and I think it’s an improvement so far. Just a couple more chapters and Salandrine and Amal will leave the palace for a while, which also means I’m nearing the midpoint (again)! Good progress!

While I’m working on SALANDRINE I’ve also done some worldbuilding and outlining for a future project. It’ll be quite the size (probably epic novel size) and quite the challenge, but I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a cross between power fantasy and cyberpunk, in a shared universe with SALANDRINE and diving a little deeper into the subjects of corrupt governments, secret underground organizations and gangs, and disability.

But I’m not drafting anything for that one yet. Won’t be until I’m completely done with SALANDRINE and have sufficiently done the worldbuilding for the setting. Instead, I’ve been inspired yet again with some new story material. I’ve started my WIPs DREAM and HEAT (working titles). One about dream magic and Autistic characters helping each other out with learning magic. HEAT is about a young woman escaping a dark past and coming to terms with finding out she has magical abilities in a world where that means being hunted for her powers.

Curious? Here’s the first paragraphs to HEAT:

The world had turned empty. It seemed as if I’d burned it all, leaving behind white powdered snow I imagined to be ash. It’d come down angry and storming, scratching my face despite being bundled in furred coats and wool scarves. I walked on, left everything behind and the storm subsided as if happy to see me go, but I knew better. The storm had been mine. My rage. My violence.

Overhead the skies turned from grey to cerulean, with clouds drifting out ahead of me. All I knew was to follow an instinct deep inside me. One which had started to whisper as if to answer, born from all that I’d bottled up inside. Awakened by the candle flame that sparked my escape. The fire that lit the path towards my freedom.

I walked for hours, my boots crunching into the deep layer of snow and ice coating the frozen tundra. Resting. More walking. No matter the light of day or by shimmer of the moon, I kept going, pulled by something, tethered to that inner whisper.

HEAT’s drafting has been going well. I’ve finished the first part (there’s going to be about 7) which together will make the full novella. Unless I write way more for the next parts, then it’ll become a short novel. Either way, it’s going to be too long to add in my future short story collections, so I’ll eventually publish it on its own. I’ll have to see if DREAM will go down a similar road or if it’ll remain under the 17.500 words.

I’ve still got to finish my second draft for my LEGEND WIP set in a historical Mnaluria from SALANDRINE. Once that is done it’ll be ready for my CPs. I’ve also got some proofing to do for my HALLOWEEN WIP and have yet to find a good title so… Need to do that too before submitting that somewhere next week or so. At least before the end of the year.

So yeah, good work, but still some ways to go. Wish me luck!