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