January wrap up
How is it the end of January already?
The start of this year has been energetic and, dare I say it, enjoyable?
Although I hate winter (generally) and the cold, especially the few days of snow we had recently, I think I’ve managed to skate my way through the hardest part by sticking to my new year plans and generally staying high in spirit.
Sometimes I worry that starting the year with such gusto is the recipe for disaster. I live in constant fear of falling out of love with my interests or routine, because once I start to see the cracks in it… the whole thing falls apart. My life is, in general, just a giant Jenga.
That being said, I’m not actually going above and beyond in terms of my writing schedule. Over the last couple of years I struggled with it for many reasons. I would tire easily or lose track of time, falling into the static of the mundane; go to work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat.
It’s hard being (not even a) part-time author. I’m sure everyone who has picked up the proverbial pen has found themselves using it to beat back time to the best of their abilities. Stolen moments before the commute to work, a lunch time of fast typing, the sleepy-eyed screen time sandwiched in between dinner and bed. And that’s not even taking into account the other daily habits you keep, or the routines you have to follow, with eyes wide open and a hammering in your heart because you want to be doing so much more, but also so much less.
I digress. January, what have we done together?
I have reestablished my after-work writing routine which constitutes (mostly) as an hour sat at my desk every night after work, where I’ve found I can knock out just over 2,000 words if I play some ambient music and keep my phone out of reach.
Weekends have been turned into something of an attempt to do more, but to be honest 2,000 words a day, no matter what day, feels like good progress when you have a million other things on your to-do list.
Soon I’ll write about all of the things. The state of the stories I’ll be putting out this year, and how many I have on a shelf, waiting to be dusted off and handed around to see if they have finally found their time to shine.
Until then I can say that I have written 21,488 words of the third instalment of Etta’s story in January.
I am closing in on the end of the book, which is very exciting. The story has revealed itself to me, finally. That’s not to say I didn’t know what was going to happen but sometimes ideas bloom unexpectedly.
This little beauty will be published later this year and this is, in my opinion, the best of the story so far. The world has opened up and Etta is having adventures, that’s for sure!
I got down to business and finished 4 books from my reading list, which is making me feel very good about myself. I have wavered in my reading for a few years, but I do feel like I’m finding my mojo again!
And wonderfully, I hit over 1k followers on TikTok. Something I never thought I would do… I didn’t even think I wanted to join the app, but I have found a wonderful fountain of inspiration and camaraderie over there, it’s been lovely!
I will record a little video soon where I talk about all of this and how it fits or doesn’t fit into my day to day life, because I feel it’s easier to have that conversation out loud, and it’s important to talk about the realities of trying to be an author when you aren’t getting paid to be an author!
Until then - have a great day!
- Sam
