How is it March already? I feel like I reach the end of every month and wonder where the days went and what on earth I filled them with. There’s always so much going on, the weeks fly by and now we’re two months into the year and it feels like we should only be in the first week of January still. And yet here we are. So much happened in February that I feel like the only proper thing is to recap all the amazing things that happened and were done. So, here we go.
Blogging
February was the month I started blogging in earnest. I’ve had this blog for quite a while, but to be honest, it’s taken me a long time to find my rhythm with writing blog posts again. However, I do have a consistent blogging 3 day a week blogging schedule now so yays for consistency! Now that I’ve started blogging properly again, I wonder why it was that I ever stopped blogging in the first place. There’s something so satisfying about writing and publishing posts and hearing back from the people who read them. Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you’re interested in sticking around to read more posts (you can always follow by email for the lovely convenience of receiving me in your inbox every couple of days or so if you like!)
I also completely redesigned this website, with the technological and artistic help of my wonderful mother and sister, both of whom know an awful lot more about website design than I do. I’ve been struggling to find a layout and design I liked and that functioned well for what I wanted, but I think we’ve finally found it. I still have a bit of tweaking to do to get it exactly the way I want it, but I absolutely love the way it’s looking at the moment. I hope you like it too!
Some good blog posts I wrote this month:
In which I talk about comparing yourself and your writing to other peoples and tell you that you are an amazing person.
When You Feel Down, Don’t Give Up
In which I hand out some free encouragement for those awful days when you feel like you’re not good enough.
Do You Ever Feel You’re Not Accomplishing Enough?
In which I share my struggle with feeling I have to hit some quote to be a ‘real’ writer and discuss the feeling of not doing enough
Writing
February was all about the writing. Or, to be more specific, all about editing. I am in the final stages of editing my YA fantasy, ‘The Crystal Tree’. Earlier in the month, I finally finished the last major edit, which I was super, super excited about. It’s so cool to see this story I’ve been working on literally for years finally taking shape as a real book.
But the most exciting editing news is that, hopefully by the time you read this post, I will have finished the proofing and tweaking round of edits in preparation for formatting and typesetting the book. This is both an exciting thought and a bit terrifying, because I’m quickly reaching that point where I have to say that I’m done and present a FINISHED book. However, it also means that I’m going to hold my book in physical form very soon and I am not going to lie, this is going to be amazing.
As well as loads of editing though, I’ve been struck with a few new ideas for books. I’ve been very creatively dry since NaNoWriMo last November, probably due to the intensity of the editing I’ve been doing. But now that I’m working my way to the end, inspiration has come back and I have a few new book ideas to work on, which is exciting.
Chief among these half-formed ideas are a couple of spin-off ideas for ‘The Crystal Tree’, which is both fun and frustrating because I can’t write them for such a long time. Gotta write that Book 2 first. And the other big one is a cool fantasy I’m planning writing for Camp NaNoWriMo in April. I don’t have many details to share yet, but keep an eye out for more info later in the month. It’s going to be cool!
Cool Things
The internet is a cool place filled with cool people and amazing things. Because of that, here are a few things I found really cool this month, and that I think you might enjoy too:
Ceasefire | for KING & COUNTRY
I just discovered for KING & COUNTRY and I wish I’d found them sooner. Their music has been on repeat since I found them and oh my goodness, if you listen to one of their songs, it has to be this one, Ceasefire. It’s just magic.
How To Write An Epic About Me Page (Without Ripping Your Hair Out) | Abbie Emmons
Is it just me, or are ‘About Me’ pages the worst thing ever to write? I usually end up smashing a couple of awkward facts and a laundry list onto the page. This is such a helpful resource. I’m planning on rewriting my ‘about me’ page in the near future, and I can see this post being super helpful!
Indeed pic.twitter.com/rOuU6zwjOt
— the Awkward Yeti (@theawkwardyeti) February 24, 2018
I just discovered The Awkward Yeti’s comics and they are so adorable and relatable. This is one of my recent favourites. I feel like this is me every time I try and sound like an intelligent person about art. Anyone else relate?
Website | The Hardworking Creative
This is a brand new website I discovered this morning on the recommendation of Twitter. (Twitter knows all the best things). It’s brand new, so there’s not a lot of content just yet, but it’s an awesome looking website to help creatives of all kinds do the work that will get them to reach their dreams. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this blog goes!
March Plans
I have so many fun things planned for March. Firstly, I’ll be formatting and typesetting my book and ordering the first proof. I just got all the bits for me cover while I was writing this post, and oh my, it’s going to look so good. I can’t wait to show it to you! While I’m waiting for that first proof, I’ll be working on the Kindle version, because proofs take a long time to come when you live in Australia. Also thinking about maybe doing an audiobook version down the track sometime. Let me know if you think that would be worth it, or if you have any tips!
Something else I want to do in the coming month is put up a page on this blog for this book so you can all see the cover when it’s finished and read the synopsis and hopefully get as excited for this book coming out as I am. I think it’s awesome and I can’t wait to share it with you all. (Can you tell I’m really excited about this book?)
March also means Camp NaNoWriMo prep. I have my fantasy idea to brainstorm and outline before April, iin between all the other fun writing stuff I have planned. I’ve also been thinking about maybe writing a post explaining Camp NaNoWriMo and how to set up your project and cabin and all that. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in.
So, that’s what happened in February, and what I’m hoping to make happen in March. Now it’s over to you! What did you accomplish in February? What are you planning to do in March? Let’s talk!
