The winter has been long and I started the fall semester of school in a bit of a funk. I just wasn't ready. I was engrossed in my writing, after a long and extremely productive summer, and the return to academia felt bumpy, awkward, and jarring. Coupled with unusual cold, this dumpster fire election season, deaths in my extended family, and my own personal work and physical injury, it was hard.
But, as they say, this too shall pass, and it did. Eventually.
I mean, most of it has passed. We still have to deal with the President Elect... which seems to have set the stage for the premise of my manuscript "Trans Liberty Riot Brigade." With that big wall? Homophobia? Bigotry? Racism? Yep. I cannot describe the sheer horror I feel watching the dystopian premise seemingly unfold before my very eyes. I started writing TLRB in 2014, before this emerging nightmare, and lemme tell you, being right is often an extremely painful experience.
So what's in the works now? I'm plowing ahead on a huge revision/rewrite of part of "The Valley of Howling Wind" and am completely smitten with how it's turning out. Revision is always my favorite part, the cultivation and shaping of the raw material is where the real art happens for me. My goal is to be completed with the rewrite/addition part of the MS before school starts back up in a couple weeks, which means about 10k words or so? Doable but tough. The edits and refinement will be at the mercy of my school schedule unfortunately... especially since there's been some exciting developments regarding "Trans Liberty Riot Brigade." I'm not ready to share all the details just yet, but I am very excited for upcoming possibilities. Stay tuned for more information about that.
I also want to make a brief note about how much I appreciate my writing community. I have a local writer's group, which I attend almost every week (except when school interferes, boo hiss) and they have had a monumental impact on my writing over the past couple of years. I also have close writer friends who support me, beta read, and swap revision/query/agenting information. Having people to celebrate your accomplishments with cannot be overstated. It has made all the difference. I'm planning on going to PNWA again this year, hopefully to pitch TVHW this time, and can't wait to be back among like-minded writers from all over the country. Writing can be a lonely endeavor, but it really doesn't have to be. Twitter and Facebook have also given me so much support and information -- inspiration is everywhere I turn/click!
Here's hoping YOU have inspiration and community in your life, and if you don't, make 2017 the year you begin to build it!