Get a free short story!

Sign up for the newsletter & receive a free short story: Veils. 

Ari and her dragon Oizealth are in the final round of a deadly competion: Veils. Only two more men are in the way of what she truly wants: a life together with the one she loves.

But does Ari have what it takes to win?

    December Writing Update: Taking a Break

    This post may contain affiliate links for products and services I recommend. If you make a purchase through these links, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission. Read the full disclosure here.

    The last month of 2020 was… extremely relaxing, as I took some time off. In terms of writing… well…

    I made some progress, but not as much as I’d hoped. Mostly because I also took a break from writing (which I hadn’t intended to do).

    Then again, I did kinda predict that I’d probably end up playing video games, didn’t I? Could be it was some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. 😂 It’s just that the Witcher III game is amazing, and it never, ever ends.

    Anyway, onto the more interesting content! You can find my writing update for december below.

    writing update december taking a break
    Save this post for later!

    What I worked on this month

    So, first of all, I made a decision about Half-Bloods. I decided I’m gonna put it aside and take a break from it. It’s just that no matter how often I edit it, it doesn’t seem to come out the way I want. And I think it’s because I’m just not at the level I need to be for this book as a writer. Which is okay; one day, I will be, and I can come back to it and write it the way I want the story to be told.

    It does mean I can focus more on Ice Cold and perhaps actually write those short stories I’ve wanted to write for a while. Speaking of which, I did edit two scenes and wrote two new scenes for Ice Cold, so that’s at least on par with my goals.

    Abigail (my editor) also suggested we work on an emotion spread-sheet with different descriptions to use for the different emotions so that I don’t end up automatically writing the standard ones. I actually do have the Emotion Thesaurus for this, and I should use it more. So I think a spreadsheet will really help.

    (Also, I wrote an article here about adding emotion to your writing using the Emotion Thesaurus).

    I did not work out a spin-off short story for Ice Cold. Yet. It’s a new goal for January. 😜

    My Goals for January

    As per usual, my goal is to edit two scenes and write two scenes for Ice Cold. It is going to be a bit of a straining month for me. You see, I have this skin condition, and January is the month where I’m getting very intensive treatment. This means I’m gonna be a bit strapped on time in between work.

    So, my goals won’t be that extraordinary. Just the above, and working out a spin-off short story for Ice Cold. That’s it!

    Summing it up

    For my own convenience, this is what the list then looks like

    • Edit two scenes & rewrite two scenes for Ice Cold
    • Work out a spin-off short story

    Helpful writing articles

    So, to be honest, I haven’t read many new articles in the past month. But still two great articles I recommend below!

    🍁 On the storysoul, Madeline wrote an interesting article on how to create a good writing schedule you’ll actually stick to.

    🍁 Signe has some ideas on how you could use folklore and fairytales as inspiration for a new story. Makes sense: just look at how many retellings excist!

    Tell me about your writing progress

    That was it for my December writing update. So, tell me about your writing projects! What are you working on? Where in the process are you? Let me know in the comments

    If you liked this, you might also like...

    Get a free short story!

    Sign up for the newsletter & receive a free short story: Veils. 

    Ari and her dragon Oizealth are in the final round of a deadly competion: Veils. Only two more men are in the way of what she truly wants: a life together with the one she loves.

    But does Ari have what it takes to win?

      2 thoughts on “December Writing Update: Taking a Break”

      1. I just have to say that it’s SO impressive that you were able to recognize that you weren’t quite ready for a book and be able to shelf it to work on something else. That’s awesome and I hope you have writing on the project you’re working on!! I have been abysmal at staying on track, writing wise, so my goal is to develop a routine again and make writing a priority.

        Also, good luck with your treatment this month!

        1. Thank you! Yeah, it wasn’t easy to make that call, but every time I wrote it, it came out more YA-ish. Which is fine, but not what I wanted for the book. I hope you can get into the routine again! It’s a tough thing to do (somehow other things always seem more important right?).

          And thanks! 🙂

      Leave a Comment

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Hi There!

      I’m Iris Marsh, a passionate reader and writer. On here, you can find book reviews, book lists, and more bookish stuff. You can also find more information on the books I’ve written. If you want to know more about me, just click here.

      Stay In Touch!

      Get Short Story!

        What's New On The Blog

        Hi! I’m Iris Marsh, your bookish friend. Please join me in conversations about books: one of my most favorite things in the world. Read more about me here.
        Search

        © Iris Marsh by Iris – Content & Creatie

        KVK: 80650422

        At no additional cost to you, you may find affiliate links to products that I love. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.