STORYTIME: Monthly Update. February 2018.

Welcome to my monthly update!

This picture was taken a loooong time ago, on a trip back to my hometown. 
The reason it's here is because I have started writing a new project, and it is set in the kind of place I grew up.

I loved living in this valley.
Deep rainforest. Endless canefields.
Quiet countryside. Sugar trains and sugar mills. It's a beautiful place.

But then of course I grew up and couldn't wait to get the hell out.

​Such is the nature of growing up in a small town I suppose.​

This month has been a slow one for me.

A lot of really wonderful things happened and lots of waiting happened, and lots of stress and anxiety happened (even though I keep telling myself how good things are...because they really are!).
And all in all, it was a month.

Working full time while writing can be difficult sometimes, but I’ve carved out a really nice writing routine these days I think, and do manage to get a solid hour and twenty minutes usually every day before I leave for work, and then if I have less things scheduled for the weekend then I do a bunch of hours wherever I can.

 So here is the lowdown....
​

What did I do this month?​ 

Latest book buy, it sounds really interesting!

​Well I went to a writing festival!
The Adelaide Writing Festival to be exact.

I was shortlisted for an award (which I didn’t win) but I still feel really pleased about that shortlist. It is so nice to have a tangible achievement to add into my previously rather sparse author bio...
 
Other than that, the festival was really interesting, and after listening to a few authors speaking about their adult fiction novels, I went to the conveniently placed book shop tent and bought two novels, both crime fiction. It seems I am suddenly rather fascinated by crime stories.... 

​Writing Stuff:

This month, I met up with my writing group, Adelaide’s Novelist Circle, and we dedicated a whole evening to discussing a novel I had submitted for them earlier. I got some really great and constructive feedback, really really helpful!

I am still taking a break from that manuscript at the moment however, but in a couple months when I am finished the initial draft of my current project, then I will utilse all the feedback to hopefully end up with a much stronger novel.
I really loved writing it and am looking forward to polishing it some more soon.


In other writing news, I started a new project last month!! Yay!
Actually I had planned to spend the month working on my author profile (so cleaning this site up and getting into using social media a lot more than I actually do – oh twitter, why do you confuse me so??!!). But instead I obviously began working on a whole new contemporary YA novel, which is pretty damn exciting but also totally not really my plan at all.
But oh well....
 
I LOVE writing that first draft. It is difficult and scary, but there is nothing better than putting a story together and seeing it take shape on the page. :) 
The new novel is bit of a horror I think, and hopefully will pull together how I envision it. So far I have completed Part One of the story, which sits at about 35,000 words, so I am pleased with how that is tracking after one month.


Reading: 

All my books on my to do list, stacked on my lovely desk and my lovely writing cork-board!

​
​So I didn’t get a lot of personal reading done in February because I was reading through two manuscripts for my writing group in order to provide feedback. Actually it was a really interesting experience reading their work, and something that is so great about being in a writing group.

Every author is so very different, and it fascinates me the kind of stories people choose to explore and tell.

It was a really good experience for me and I enjoyed both books. :)
 
So that was it. My entire reading list for February!
 

Right now I’m onto The Belles for my book club.
And after that it will be GODSGRAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Which I am quite massively excited about.)

​And then it is P for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones. (Who I also happened to hear being interviewed by Alison Tait and Valerie Khoo on their lovely podcast series, So You Want to be a Writer, which made me even more excited to read it!)

​So..... I guess that is it from me until next month...... have a lovely one!
And please feel free to tell me about your own goals and months if you are reading this!! :)
 
Bye for now!
Poppy.