One month in and what I’m working on

Hello February sunrise

Last week, Anno asked what I was working on and whether it was the series about Pansy (she of the sentient umbrella).

And yes, yes, it is. I’m writing the entire series. Or rather, I believe it’s the entire series, three books with a companion novella. I’m writing the whole series first before publishing any of it.

I’m doing this for a couple of reasons. First, I simply want the joy of writing it without any external expectations. If I publish the first book and it’s nothing but crickets and tumbleweeds, that can make the subsequent books more difficult to write.

If the first lands and finds its readership? Well, that could make the subsequent books even harder to write.

Right now, I’m in my writing bubble and having an immense amount of fun, and I don’t want to give that up.

Second, I think the series will be better for it. I’ve already refined the world-building by writing book two. I’m keeping notes of what I want to change in book one. Small things, a sentence here or there, backstory that needs a slight rephrasing. I could probably get away with not doing this, but I really enjoy doing this sort of work. To borrow a word I used a few blog posts ago, it feels like a luxury.

Last but not least, I believe that, in the long run, it will take less time to publish the entire series. There was a three-year gap between Coffee and Ghosts books three and four. Part of that was circumstances (oh, hi, pandemic). Part of it was I had to figure out how to bring back (spoiler) the entity. The entity is Katy’s foil. The series doesn’t work without the entity sticking its nose into things—not that the entity has an actual nose.

I will start publishing once book three is drafted and I feel secure about the content. Not all at once, but readers will know the series is complete.

So, during this first month of full-time writing, I reached ~91,000 words in book two (yes, these are long fantasy books). I’ve written close to 20,000 words this month. Considering I’m still recovering from burnout, I feel that’s significant. It feels like a win.

Also, one month in?

No regrets.

Shenanigans and hibernation

We’ve been in hibernation mode this week. Kitty, of course, secured the coziest pet bed.

But it’s not like the dogs are suffering. We have more pet beds than pets and lots and lots of fleece blankets.

See? Plenty of blankets.

But it was definitely a week for hibernation.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been consistently writing every morning, and the story is in my head a lot more these days, but I had a book three brainstorming session this week as well. The sort that really does feel like a storm, where you’re typing notes as fast as you can because the ideas just keep coming.

Up until now, book three has been essentially a blank canvas. I know the (many) story threads I need to tie together, but the what and how and when could be summed up with one word:

Shenanigans

True, book three is all about shenanigans. But now I have an idea of what those shenanigans might be. This is a good thing since I’m getting close to the end of book two. I’m not only relieved, although I am that. But I’m excited as well. I’ve been trusting my intuition and subconscious to work things out while I’m busy elsewhere, and I’m pleased that’s happening.

This coming week is bringing us some warmer weather. However, I predict Kitty will still claim the best bed in the house.

The strange indulgence of being offline

So this week, I headed downtown to meet with my accountant to do writerly business-y type things. I discovered that the office was one block away from the statue of Mary Tyler Moore.

This felt fortuitous, so I had to stop to take a picture.

You’re going to make it after all.

My morning routine hasn’t really changed since I started this full-time writing thing. I pushed my wakeup time forward by half an hour. I don’t know if this is my optimal wakeup time, but it feels close.

It’s true I no longer rush in the mornings to get an hour (or less) of writing done. The other thing that’s changed?

I don’t go online until noon. This is starting to feel like a routine now. But at first? It was like I was breaking some sort of rule. After all, being accessible was part of my previous job.

It’s not like people can’t contact me in case of an emergency. I don’t silence my phone. But I don’t get a lot of calls or text messages to begin with, so I don’t need to. I also don’t have social media on my phone (10/10 would recommend not having social media on your phone).

I obviously need to be online for this writing thing. And there’s a lot I like about being online, friends, interesting things to read, and hey, look, I’m writing this blog.

But it’s also abundantly clear that there’s a billion-dollar industry that’s intent on capturing as much (all?) of our time and attention. Not giving into that feels like an indulgence, a luxury.

And that has given me pause this week.

If you’re dealing with the polar vortex this week, stay warm!

One week in (and an accidental book haul)

So, one week into this experiment, and so far, so good. It’s been both wonderful and surreal. Last week, I had a short bout of the Sunday Scaries. It was as if my body didn’t believe I wasn’t logging on Monday morning and opening up email, Microsoft Teams, and Jira. (Oh, Jira. Do I miss you and my many filters? No. No, I do not.)

I was a little worried Monday morning that I’d open the manuscript and be completely blank—both the page and my mind. But I wasn’t, and I haven’t had a writing week like this in a very long time.

Accidental library and bookstore book haul

I also finished the Trapped in a Gothic Novel course with some help from that accidental book haul. I found The Haunting of Hill House creepy but interesting and not as scary as I expected. A Haunting on the Hill was very creepy, not to mention scarier. I like gothic fiction, but I’m not really into horror (at all). A Haunting on the Hill is about as scary as I can tolerate. I already had the last book, Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, on Kindle (and it appears to still be at $2.99 as I write this if you want to go grab it).

Now it’s on to the other two books in my accidental book haul. Because reading (for pleasure) is absolutely part of my job these days.

Entering 2025 with an exit strategy

I’ve alluded to an “exit strategy” on the blog previously, back in October. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been able to put it into action. As in:

As of January 3rd, I no longer have a day job.

I wouldn’t call myself officially retired, mainly because I plan on writing fiction full-time. Whether that amounts to an actual income stream is not something I’m necessarily banking on. I hope so, but it isn’t crucial.

So there you have it. I am now a full-time fiction writer, and the thought is both exhilarating and scary.

I’m still adjusting, obviously. You can’t work somewhere for twenty years and not need to adjust once you leave. Also, I’m in some pretty serious burnout, burnout I couldn’t get myself out of while working my previous job (I tried; oh, how I tried.).

I do not want to bring this burnout into my writing, so I’m committed to recovering, taking things slow.

But for 2025, I do hope to be blogging more, chronicling this new adventure. And yes, I hope to be writing and publishing more as well.

Right now, it’s enough to be able to take a full breath again, to have the time to do things at a natural pace, to feel that ten-ton weight lifted from my chest.

Right now, it’s enough to close the page on one chapter and start another.

Northanger Abbey watch-party

So, last night, I attended a virtual watch party for Northanger Abbey. It’s part of the course I’m taking called Trapped in a Gothic Novel (mentioned in last week’s comments) at the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

Y’all, how is it 2024, and I’ve never done one of these?

Between watching the movie and reading all the witty comments, I didn’t have a chance to make any of my own (witty or otherwise; I’m not sure how the others kept up). My favorite of the night, in reference to the hero’s brother, Captain Tilney:

He’s handsome in that I-eat-live-scorpions-for-breakfast kind of way.

Up next is A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, the authorized follow-up to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Which would be fine, except …

I’ve never read The Haunting of Hill House because back in eighth grade, I read “The Lottery” and subsequently noped out on all things Shirley Jackson.

I’m not sure I can do this, but I’m going to dive into the reading this week … and hopefully not lose too much sleep.

Snow and solstice

I love how often we get one of those bright blue days after a snowstorm. It’s one of my favorite things about winter. And when it corresponds with the longest night of the year, making everything just a little bit brighter? Even better.

I can pretend I’m in a ski lodge, drinking hot chocolate and eating sugar cookies. Mind you, I haven’t been skiing in ages. The last time I remember was when I was living in Germany, and a group of us took a trip to Salzburg over a long weekend. And even then, I didn’t ski. My eyes were all wonky, so I spent the time lounging outside (it was warm enough in the sun), drinking that hot chocolate, and eating the Austrian version of sugar cookies.

So today, I’m going to pretend I’m at that ski lodge, although I’ll stay indoors. I have hot chocolate. I have sugar cookies. I have a good book.

I hope your Sunday is filled with such things as well.

On such a winter’s evening

Last week, my daughter and I headed to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for their Winter Lights display. Just a few photos, none of which really do the display justice.

And yes, there we are, drinking apple cider inside a large, electrified apple. In retrospect, this seems to be an unwise move on our part. We should have opted for the hot chocolate. Thankfully, the large, electrified apple is benevolent, and we emerged unscathed.

Sunday sunrise (with bonus mall nostalgia)

I was going to Photoshop all the wires and utility poles out of the photo but then thought better of it. This is how my sunrise looks, warts (or rather, wires) and all.

This week, a video about people living in malls popped into my feed—because I’m a little obsessed with abandoned spaces, malls in particular. I wish they’d spent more time showing us all the different apartments. But it was still interesting, and yeah, maybe there’s a story idea or two in there.

In fact, Coffee & Ghosts, Season 4 (The Ghosts You Left Behind) has an abandoned (and the same not-so-abandoned) mall as one of the main settings. I based that particular mall on the one in my hometown, which opened when I was in eighth grade (I think) and was a Very. Big. Deal. This part of the story was fun to research and write, although I probably spent more time looking at “vintage” Orange Julius storefronts than was strictly necessary.

I also had fun exploring the whole “what if you’re locked inside the mall overnight” scenario. 0/10 would not recommend, but it helps if you have some ghostly companions.

So that’s me this Sunday. I think I’ll quit now before I go completely off the rails with this questionable 80s mall nostalgia.

Sniffles and summit

I finished the author business summit videos, and they were a nice distraction because I’ve also been down with what I’m optimistically calling the sniffles for this long Thanksgiving weekend.

And don’t ask me why I believe I can think my way out of being sick. It never works, but I’m always convinced that maybe this time, it’s mind over matter.

Spoiler: it’s not.

So yesterday, my daughter and I decided to go with it. We pulled the shades against the afternoon sun, got the fireplace going, and then started on a rewatch of The Lord of the Rings series, extended edition. We took a break to cook dinner but managed to get all the way through The Fellowship of the Ring. This is a lot of movie. Not that they were short to begin with. But I like the extended versions; I can simply sink into the story and let everything go for a few (or several) hours.

Up today: The Two Towers. I don’t know if we’ll make it all the way through or not. But it will be a nice way to cap off the long, if somewhat sniffly, weekend.