Tomatoes have been picked, sunlight hours are growing noticeably shorter, and my day job has resumed. It's already past Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. Seems like a good time to consider the "labor" that occurred this past season.
I had a decent summer of writing. Better than most. Spending my fun money on house repairs rather than travel and feeling the internal pressure to have more to show an agent kept me focused.
June was my most productive, with 18,600 words written and the first draft of a novel (Aco) revised and finished. I wrote for 4+ hours each day, which added up nicely.
July was okay, with another draft (Haven) mostly revised, though left without an ending (for now).
August FLEW by, and I didn't make as much progress as I planned or hoped. It doesn't help that my day job recommenced exactly halfway through the month. My most satisfying accomplishment was listing out my chapters, with POV and summaries, in an effort to see the chronologies of Queenswood and Storm side by side. After fixing some of the timing, it does look like I will be able to switch back and forth between storylines without too much confusion for the reader.
Goals for this fall:
I am hoping in September and October to finish revising Haven. As I work, I'll weave Queenswood and Storm together to see if they gel. Then in November, when my students are finished with their writing workshop, I can make a final push to write the ending. It may be a Nanowrimo year.
The middle volume will probably have to wait for 2020. But we'll see. It doesn't have a name yet, though there are various large concepts that define parts of it... Overall, I still call it "the middle book," "the quest section," or "the coming of age part." Wolf, Burn, and Crossing are potential section titles.
I'd also like to watch more Masterclass videos, as I'm a full member right now but not taking advantage of the masters' expertise. I've watched all of Aaron Sorkin's brilliant videos but only dabbled in Baldacci, Patterson, and Gaiman.
Personally, I am working on more restful sleep (a new mattress is helping immensely) and daily exercise (I've made my step goal ten days in a row, which is a record). I should also have a goal of eating less bread, but the BLTs are too tempting of late.
It's important to enjoy the fall harvest, however lean or fattening.
