Chapter 7 of In Want of a Wife is complete. Turned out longer than expected. Might have to split it into two during edits. Things will be picking up in the next few chapters so that’ll be fun to write :)
Chapter 8 complete. The calm before the storm.
Chapter 9 is finally complete. And I did not leave Cecily and Laurence in a great place
Chapter 10 is complete and I have passed 40,000 words.
Chapter 11 is finished
Chapter 12 is complete. Not too much on the romance side in this chapter. More character development focused.
Chapter 13 is complete. Cecily and Laurence are growing closer.
Chapter 14 is finished. Their not-a-date was fun to write.
Chapter 15 is complete. Had to split the chapter into two, so chapter 16 should be finished soon.
Chapter 16 is complete. Bit of drama in this one.
Chapter 17 is finished.
Chapter 18 is finished. This chapter got very big and I had to split it into two.
Chapter 19 is complete. THEY’VE FINALLY KISSED!!
Chapters 20 and 21 are complete.
Chapter 22 is finished after a bit of a break in writing for the holidays
Chapters 23 and 24 are complete.
Chapter 25 is complete.
Chapter 26 is finished.
Chapter 28 is complete
Chapters 29 and 30 are complete
Chapter 31 is finished. Only one more chapter and then the epilogue.
Chapter 7 of In Want of a Wife is complete. Turned out longer than expected. Might have to split it into two during edits. Things will be picking up in the next few chapters so that’ll be fun to write :)
Chapter 8 complete. The calm before the storm.
Chapter 9 is finally complete. And I did not leave Cecily and Laurence in a great place
Chapter 10 is complete and I have passed 40,000 words.
Chapter 11 is finished
Chapter 12 is complete. Not too much on the romance side in this chapter. More character development focused.
Chapter 13 is complete. Cecily and Laurence are growing closer.
Chapter 14 is finished. Their not-a-date was fun to write.
Chapter 15 is complete. Had to split the chapter into two, so chapter 16 should be finished soon.
Chapter 16 is complete. Bit of drama in this one.
Chapter 17 is finished.
Chapter 18 is finished. This chapter got very big and I had to split it into two.
Chapter 19 is complete. THEY’VE FINALLY KISSED!!
Chapters 20 and 21 are complete.
Chapter 22 is finished after a bit of a break in writing for the holidays
Chapters 23 and 24 are complete.
Chapter 25 is complete.
Chapter 26 is finished.
Chapter 28 is complete
Chapters 29 and 30 are complete
Chapter 31 is finished. Only one more chapter and then the epilogue.
Chapter 7 of In Want of a Wife is complete. Turned out longer than expected. Might have to split it into two during edits. Things will be picking up in the next few chapters so that’ll be fun to write :)
Chapter 8 complete. The calm before the storm.
Chapter 9 is finally complete. And I did not leave Cecily and Laurence in a great place
Chapter 10 is complete and I have passed 40,000 words.
Chapter 11 is finished
Chapter 12 is complete. Not too much on the romance side in this chapter. More character development focused.
Chapter 13 is complete. Cecily and Laurence are growing closer.
Chapter 14 is finished. Their not-a-date was fun to write.
Chapter 15 is complete. Had to split the chapter into two, so chapter 16 should be finished soon.
Chapter 16 is complete. Bit of drama in this one.
Chapter 17 is finished.
Chapter 18 is finished. This chapter got very big and I had to split it into two.
Chapter 19 is complete. THEY’VE FINALLY KISSED!!
Chapters 20 and 21 are complete.
Chapter 22 is finished after a bit of a break in writing for the holidays
Chapter 7 of In Want of a Wife is complete. Turned out longer than expected. Might have to split it into two during edits. Things will be picking up in the next few chapters so that’ll be fun to write :)
Chapter 8 complete. The calm before the storm.
Chapter 9 is finally complete. And I did not leave Cecily and Laurence in a great place
Chapter 10 is complete and I have passed 40,000 words.
Chapter 11 is finished
Chapter 12 is complete. Not too much on the romance side in this chapter. More character development focused.
Chapter 13 is complete. Cecily and Laurence are growing closer.
Chapter 14 is finished. Their not-a-date was fun to write.
Chapter 15 is complete. Had to split the chapter into two, so chapter 16 should be finished soon.
Chapter 16 is complete. Bit of drama in this one.
Chapter 17 is finished.
Chapter 18 is finished. This chapter got very big and I had to split it into two.
Chapter 19 is complete. THEY’VE FINALLY KISSED!!
Chapters 20 and 21 are complete.
Chapter 22 is finished after a bit of a break in writing for the holidays
this chapter is almost 7000 words long and I haven’t even gotten to the meat of it yet.
Update: it’s finally finished at a total of 10, 223 words (pre-editing) my good lord this wasn’t supposed to happen. apparently when you imagine scenes in your head like a movie a 5 min scene turns into 10 pages. who would’ve thought
I had to split it into two chapters even though I *really* did not want to I can’t believe
I’m back and I’m pretty different to how I was before, so my blog is gonna change a little bit. I’m still a writer, but I want to talk about some other stuff with this blog/my youtube channel, so I’m just gonna bullet those things here.
This Blog
random things from college, be it stories, out of context quotes, or little updates
similar to the first thing, I want to talk more about life in general, so life updates
photos! I’ll be sharing stuff I post on my instagram on here too
Still gonna do writing updates
My Youtube Channel
ASL Videos! I’m currently learning ASL, and I would love to make videos using ASL, maybe some ASL covers of songs or something, I don’t know yet
Discussion videos where I talk about topics I’m into. I have a few ideas
Life of a Trans Guy vlogs, where I talk about stuff related to my transition/living as a trans man
So I took an impromptu hiatus for… Over a month. Mainly for mental health, which I’m doing a lot better with than I was before. I honestly deleted a lot off of my WIP, a good 1500 words at least, but we’re getting back into the rhythm of things so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me on your dash!
I finished chapter five!!! Honestly I’m living for the progress I’m making.
Also, I guess since it’s the last day of September, I should talk about what I’ll be doing next month. I’m going to shoot for at least 15,000 words in Secret Santa, and I’m also going to try doing one of those short stories every day challenges for October, so we’ll see how that goes.
So I’ve finished chapter three! I’m really happy to be making so much progress. Lately I’ve been having more depressive moods but the fact I’m making so much progress is definitely a positive in my life. Also, if anyone’s curious, college is going well too!
I’ve finished chapter two! Also, I’m now in college, which is so exciting, and while I don’t have as much free time as I used to, I have a schedule again, which makes me much more confident in my ability to get shit done, so yay!
I’ve been adding details to my outline as I write, and I’ve finished chapter one. My little mini goal inside my goal (goalception?) is to finish chapter two before I move into college in literally a week.
I’m tired and only ahead of par by three words, so I’m just going to post some good lines. Okay? Okay.
His eyes had ghosts living in them.
It is a cruel thing, the wound that cannot be healed.
And an excerpt, for good luck:
Cassian couldn’t stand up straight. He couldn’t function. He couldn’t breathe correctly. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it— that she was gone, that he’d never see her again, that she just didn’t exist anymore.
He muttered a prayer to keep himself from floating away. “Sharmet, Fate of Morning, lend me your strength…” he said, his voice fading to a whisper like it had been torn from his throat. “Lend me your strength to…to…”
I woke up at 2pm, a boy called me pretty, I went to a concert, and I didn’t get home until after midnight. It wasn’t a good writing day.
Line:
“Keep your chin up. And look me in the eye.”
He did as he was told. He uncurled his wings slightly, trying to sit tall like they were and look serious like they did.
Day Four Word Count: 6700 (3124 written)
Me? Writing half my word count in a single day? (I know, right? It’s hard to believe.) It only took me THE ENTIRE DAY. No joke. I was forcing out words from the hour I woke up to midnight.
Line:
Selene stepped forward and gave him a hug. “You better come home.”
Surprised, Augustus nodded. “I’m planning on it,” he said. “But you don’t have to worry about me. It’s not like I’m leaving right this second.”
Day Five Word Count: 7789 (1089 written)
This one makes me kind of mad because I reached par (~8335 words), but only after midnight. It is pretty good, though, considering I had school, took two tests, went to Chipotle with friends, went to hockey, and had multiple simultaneous heart attacks involving aforementioned boy.
Line:
Selene’s mouth opened, then closed. When it opened again, the words came out slowly. “They’re drafting girls now, too. As nurses.”
“At what age?” Melissa asked.
“It says here…eighteen.” Her voice cracked as she said it.
Total as of now: 8677 (Wow, that means I’ve written 888 words today. And it’s only 2 am!)
i finally got over my writer’s block for chapter 57 of make them gold and honestly it’s wild from start to finish and i love the chaos involved. also it’s where draco’s redemption starts, aurelia gets into a fist fight, and everything starts to fall apart for our dearly beloved, asterope.
… Aurelia goes back to her work only to be interrupted hardly ten minutes by none other than Neville, he gives her a sheepish look after poking her shoulder “Hey, Ari, can you help me with this, uh, question here?”
Nervously, Aurelia glances at Neville and the parchment in his hands. His round face is bright red and his hands are shaking, she nods her head “Aye, sure what is it?”
“Why are you ignoring me,” Neville says quickly, almost in one breath but he gives her a determined stare.
Aurelia blinks, smiling slightly “Wow that was — wow, well played, Plant Boy.”
Neville gulps but the sly smile on Aurelia face makes the bold question on the tip of his tongue easier to say “I think the, um, answer is supposed to be, uh, longer than that.”
Aurelia laughs, smiling widely, she gives him finger guns and wink “I’m sure you’re right, Plant Boy but Sinistra is staring at us and I’m sure she knows just as well as we do the answer isn’t one she wants discussed on her watch.”
“After class then,” Neville says, it’s not really a question, Aurelia can tell he wants answers and he deserves them but she can’t give him truthful ones.
“Aye, after class, Plant Boy.” Aurelia agrees, smiling fading as she instantly regrets saying yes to this. What if he knows, what if Lyra actually told him and he’s going to —
“I’ll hold you to it, Sunflower Girl,” Neville say …
i’d like to thank both @itseatyourdamnapplesand@lost-in-the-shelves for helping me flesh out some future plans of make them gold (read here)! i got this idea for how i wanted part three to go and i wasn’t sure if it would be interesting to read, if it sounded right as a plot, and all that jazz! and they were both super helpful about it, and they were very kind, and i just really appreciate them!!!
… She blinks, startled by the fact that he’s genuinely annoyed. In the time she’s known Neville and Aurelia, he’s never been anything but patient with her and to see him act like this, it leaves a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, Abigale frowns and scuffs her feet against the snow-covered ground.
“Well, it’s not that she’s confiding in me or anything, like, we’re not even hanging out for fun. I’m teaching her Legilimency and Occlumency, she needs it because of Professor Black, who’s like a total twat,” Abigale says quickly.
Neville’s annoyance fades back into concern “What did Lyra do to her, is that why she hasn’t talked to me?”
“Well, Longbottom, it’s up to her to tell you that. And she will, she doesn’t want to lie to you, she’ll tell you anything — anyway, I’ve got to, like, go. I will tell her to talk to you, don’t worry, Longbottom, I am rooting for you,” Abigale says, winking at him. …
… Apparently all the professors were told by Dumbledore to pass the message along to Aurelia because on the way up she passed Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra both tell her a similar message. And Aurelia finds herself very uneasy and angry by the time she gets to his office. She doesn’t understand why he wants to speak with her, she hasn’t done anything wrong.
Entering the office she’s met with sight of Dumbledore and Umbridge — ah, fuck this can’t be good. Aurelia shakes in both anger and nerves as Dumbledore and Umbridge leer at her, they both look feverishly excited about something and that makes Aurelia feel very queasy. She scuffs her feet against the ground, biting her lip and she wants to stand tall but she feels very small “Why am I here?”
“Did the professor who told you I needed to see you not tell you why I’ve requested to speak with you,” Dumbledore questions, sounding slightly exasperated as he spares a glance at Umbridge, Aurelia shakes her head.
Dumbledore doesn’t look like he’s going to explain but it’s not like he would get the chance to because Umbridge clears her throat and pulls out a long black envelope with the Ministry of Magic emblem on it in gold ink. …
Hey everyone! We are mid way through NaNoWriMo, and it has been a crazy month so far. I’m working on two projects, so I’m basically doing a double NaNo, so it’s been extremely hectic on my end. It’s a good kind of hectic though? I’m really enjoying what I’m getting out as far as words go. Of course, I’m going to have to do the traditional Post-NaNo edits… but I’m starting to actually get a…
Hey! Back with another update! Sorry for the wait! with this chapter we officially have the first arc done with! Hope you can stick with me through the others! There will be another break between chapters as I plan and start writing again. Life is getting busy and completely changing for me, so as I adjust I’ll be taking some time away from this.
Keith had come to Altea with a few ideas about what his wedding night would be like. They centered around two scenarios created before he knew Shiro personally. The first scenario was the one that scared him the most. It was the traditional route where Keith was required to lay back and spread his legs. There were few ways for him to get out of it and most of them left a bitter taste in his mouth and consequences he couldn’t avoid. He could assault his spouse and face dire repercussions or lay back and listen to the training from the academy (he was scared that was his default, to escape into the back of his mind to avoid the pain of what was happening to him).
It could have also gone down the disinterested route which, in theory, sounded wonderful. But all it did was fill Keith with an unease: unease and a deep hatred for himself because he should have strived for this scenario, not feel shame for being rejected. It made him feel like the deca-phoeb he spent conforming to the academy had truly worked against him. He pretended to play with their rules but in the end maybe he had been truly listening to them after all.
He hadn’t thought his wedding night would include Shiro, a rather giant bed and room with an armful of blankets.
It was an interview with Rick Rubin on the Lex Fridman podcast. I don’t normally listen to that one. The episodes run for hours. But I grew up listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rick Rubin produced pretty much all their albums.
I wasn’t disappointed. It was a great conversation — I recommend listening to it in full. While Rick may look like he’s sleeping on a bench outside your house, he very likely produced one of your favourite songs (and is worth like 250 million).
Midway through the conversation, Lex asked Rick whether he ever wants to go back to change something in music that he produced and released many years ago. Would he make different choices on songs from 20 years ago with all that experience that he gained since then?
The answer was not what I expected.
I struggle with this all the time. Every time I look back at something I wrote in the past, I’m embarrassed. I could make it so much better now!
Rick doesn’t feel like that at all. He said that he always works hard to make everything the best he can. Once it’s the best he can make it, it’s finished. It’s time to move on.
Any piece of art — a song, story, painting — is a reflection of a moment in time — the inspiration and your artistic ability at the time.
For him, each thing he creates is like a journal entry: it reflects what he did and thought about at that time. You wouldn’t go back to revise what you wrote in your journal two years ago. A journal entry can’t be wrong.
Honestly, I’m still recovering from the shock. It makes so much sense.
Make your art as good as you can, but no better. As you look back, you will inevitably find mistakes in your previous work. Those are a part of the journey. Nothing you create is ever wrong.
A piece of art is like a journal entry in the life of the person who made it.
You can only make one mistake: fail to write anything in your journal.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Radek . I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.
I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.
Focusing on my creative projects has been a real struggle for me recently. It’s not that I don’t have the time — I can find 15 or more minutes a day every day. The problem is that I absolutely cannot get going with anything. I’ve been wondering why.
First, I put this to fatigue, but that doesn’t quite explain what’s going on. I sleep more than I usually do.
The current suspect is headspace. I have a few projects going on at the moment which are causing me this very mild but constant stress. It’s nothing too dramatic, but I find myself thinking about these often. It’s as if these things implanted themselves into my brain. Even though I can’t resolve them now (there’s a fixed deadline in the future), these things are taking space that I can’t use to work on other things.
Some people are great at compartmentalising their lives so that no single aspect affects the other. I’m not one of them. I wish I was better at it.
Headspace is one of those insidious things. There isn’t any clear indicator to tell you that you don’t have enough. You’re not getting anywhere, beating yourself up about not being productive.
Sometimes, the lack of headspace prevents you from even seeing all the opportunities that are available to you. And you remain stuck. My theory is that the pandemic and the lockdowns caused many to reconsider their situation because it was the first time in years that they had some headspace.
I don’t have any evidence for it, but I feel like meditation helps you to train yourself to let go of certain things when they aren’t important — to get more headspace.
Excuse me while I go sit with my eyes closed for ten minutes, trying not to think about anything.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Radek . I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.
I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.
I hate writing terrible first drafts. Just piling words onto the page without thinking about the consequences too much. I know that terrible first drafts should have flaws — that’s the whole point. If it doesn’t suck then it isn’t a terrible first draft. But knowing about those issues and moving on makes my brain hurt.
I’m not entirely sure why this happens. I am aware of all the advice. You can always fix it later. You can’t edit a blank page. Anything is better than nothing. Sure.
Knowing something and being able to act on it are two very different things.
It could be a case of simple risk aversion. Perhaps I’m worried that by moving fast without taking time to thoroughly think about every twist and turn in the story, it’ll end up being a giant mess.
Cooking is a good analogy for this. Some people clean up as they prepare their meals. It takes longer, but you don’t have to do all the cleaning after you eat. I do this pretty often.
People on the other end of the spectrum pretty much trash their kitchen every time they cook. They use as many pots, pans and plates as they need and leave them dirty all over the place. Whatever it takes to make their meal faster.
The difference between writing and cooking is that cooking is a lot more predictable. You’re either following a recipe or doing something you’ve done many times before. You know all the steps ahead of time so a little detour here and there won’t affect you too much.
When writing, nothing is truly certain. You may have an outline, but that isn’t set in stone. You could wake up tomorrow and change your mind if you come up with a better idea. Getting to the finished product as fast as possible is crucial because that’s the only way to find out whether it’ll work.
And so I’m here, learning how to make a mess, trying to convince my brain to let me write terrible first drafts. It’s harder than it looks.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Radek . I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.
I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.
Long time no chat, beautiful humans! I’m so excited to share with you that today my first fully original piece of interactive fiction has been released and is up for you to read!
As many of you know, this past year I have been writing interactive fiction professionally and it has been truly phenomenal. Being paid to put stories to paper is such a dream. The only downside is I have been adapting existing romance novels into interactive fiction pieces. While I love it, it’s not the same as being able to write from scratch, but for the past few months I have been working on a fully original story and now I can share it with you!
Billionaire Match is a new interactive story available on the maybe app. This story is a whirlwind romance where you play the role of fake fiancee to a sexy tech billionaire. It’s got a lot of fun choices and tension. It’s sexy and sweet. And I think you all will really like it if you like my writing in general.
If you want to support me and my work (and read a wonderful story at the same time) you can download the maybe app for android or IOS.
Billionaire Match is such an exciting moment for me. I love fake dating plots. I love some good romance and interpersonal drama. And I especially love exploring how relationships develop, despite our pasts. I hope you all will enjoy it.
The wonderful team at Cinamon has done such a fantastic job with art and animation. It’s such an immersive experience.
If you read it, please let me know your thoughts! I would love to hear from you
All the love,
Lia
Also, only two more weeks left in this pregnancy! I get to meet my daughter so soon, so lots of exciting stuff going on here. Sorry I’ve been MIA. This year is crazy.
