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?

    September Writing Update: Big Changes & New Goals

    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 month of September has been a crazy month, full of endings and new beginnings. Change is happening!

    Why? Well, I finally reached the decision, after much contemplating, to quit my job as a PhD researcher. It was tough, but ultimately my heart just wasn’t in it. Last week was my final week, which means I’m now officially unemployed and searching for a new job.

    You may be wondering what it is I’m searching for, and I’m actually looking for writing jobs! I’ve been searching and applying quite a bit for either contract jobs or freelance jobs as a content writer, copywriter, or editor. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating, but I’m ready for something new. I’ll let you know how it goes!

    Either way, because of all the changes and wrapping up work, I haven’t written as much as I would’ve liked. So be prepared for that, ha. Anyway: here’s my writing update for September! There’s some sharing of what I worked on and what my approach was, if I met my goals (spoiler alert, I didn’t), and what my new goals will be.

    writing update september iris marsh

    What I worked on this month

    My project that I call Ice Cold has not made as much progress as I’d hoped. So, my goals were to add another 7k words, analyze Nevernight as my masterwork, and re-evaluate the sign-post scenes I had planned for it.

    What did I do? Well, I added roughly 4k and 3 new scenes. It isn’t bad, but I’d hoped to write some more. Hopefully, now that things have settled, and my job is done, I will have more headspace to sit down and write. Actually, most of the words I wrote these past days, so that seems to be a good indication that October will be more productive.

    As for the analyzing of Nevernight and checking the signpost scenes again, I did not get around to do this. Probably because I didn’t even put it in my agenda after setting these goals. And if I don’t do that, I just forget. So, note to everyone (and most of all to myself): write down your goals in your agenda after you make them, and actually plan time to do them.

    RELATED: OUTLINE YOUR NOVEL USING SIGNPOST SCENES

    For Half-bloods, I said I would edit the first 5 signpost scenes and brainstorm the next 5. While I didn’t edit all of them, I did manage to edit the first 3, which is already more than I did last month (which was nothing). So, you know, progress overall. I do like the switch between these two projects, also because they’re in a different stage.

    Do you like to switch between projects, or are you more of a one-project-at-a-time kind of person?


    My Goals for October

    Well, it’s a new month, so let’s set me some new goals! Honestly, these goals will look very similar to the goals of the previous month, so there’s not much surprise there. For Ice Cold, I just want to add another 7k. I think I will be able to manage that next month. And this time, I actually do want to analyze Nevernight and recheck the signpost scenes I came up with. For Half-bloods, I want to pick up the pace a bit. I feel that I can, you know? So, I’m not just going to edit the final 2 signpost scenes; I’m also going to brainstorm the next 5 and edit these as well.


    Summing it up

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

    • Write at least 7k words for Ice Cold
    • Analyze Nevernight as my masterwork for Ice Cold
    • Re-evaluate the signposts for Ice Cold
    • Edit the next 7 signpost scenes for Half-bloods
    • Brainstorm the next 5 signpost scenes for Half-bloods

    We’ll see next month if I’ve succeeded!

    Do you have some writing projects going? Do you like to set monthly or weekly goals? How do you go about setting them? Do you find it helpful to explain my process to you? Would you like more or fewer details? 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?

      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.

        © 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.