STORYTIME: Monthly Update. January 2018

2/5/2018

January was the month of waiting.

Waiting seems to be a large part of a writer’s life. I think I am getting used to it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check my email a hundred thousand billion times a day.
I try not to, but I can’t help it.

Waiting is better than not waiting though, because of course waiting means you have some projects or opportunities out there. And that is always a good thing, no matter how it all pans out in the end.

So most likely I will continue to wait throughout February as well, and perhaps even a bit of March too.

I think I’m getting rather good at it. :)

Writing Recap for January:

Right on the writing goals this month!

My aim has been to have my latest manuscript reach the highest level of editing I can before I sent it out to my writing group for some further feedback. It’s gone very well and I’m pleased with where it’s at, at least until this next round of feedback comes in.

Just so you know, this photo is a close up of the brickwork in the Jiankou section of the Great Wall of China!

Also, I’m feeling fairly happy with the editing process itself this time around. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it, though of course I know there is still plenty to learn!!

But compared to how I used to be, I can see tangible improvements in my editing skills, which makes me happy.
Progress is happiness after all!! :)

I am quite excited about this story I’ve been working on. I wrote the first draft at the beginning of last year and have now spent the last few months editing, editing and editing, and I think it’s coming together well.

This novel is called ‘A Song for Lonely Wolves’. It is a historical fiction detective story and is my first stab at mystery / crime fiction (Stab! Ha! See what I did there?).

It turns out I love writing this genre!

Reading:

In reading news, (because apparently that’s something I’m doing now?), in 2018 so far I’ve read a few books, one of which was a Ryan Graudin novel, Wolf by Wolf.

Ryan Graudin is potentially one of my absolute favourite writers now.

It’s interesting, sometimes I like a writer because of their gorgeous writing style (Vikki Wakefield), or their great ideas (Jay Kristoff) or their ability to write such addictive romance (Cassandra Clare) or the sheer emotional depth of their stories (Melina Marchetta), amazing world-building (Alison Goodman) and so on and so forth. Ryan Graudin has a lot of those elements I love, but seems to wrap them up in a way that is particularly suited to my tastes.

She is EXTRAORDINARY. Her writing is BEAUTIFUL. And her stories are DARK (which I love! I don’t want stuff to be too censored) and so filled with EMOTION and her stories are just freaking INTERESTING!

Gosh I love her.

I’ve read three of her books so far, having just finished Wolf By Wolf (which made me cry!) and then I will be chasing down her first novel, The Walled City.

Other reads so far in 2018 have been The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Which was truly wonderful. Obviously. (I do love Holly Black after all).

In January 2018 I also read Gemina by Aimee Kaufman and Jay Kirstoff. And I’m liking it a lot. Actually, although I think the plot in the first one is my favourite (cos it’s so damn exciting and unexpected) I really liked the characters in this one. I found them really interesting (also a space cartel should potentially be a whole book of its own! I mean A SPACE CARTEL! Like that Narcos tv show....but in space? Yep! YEP!).

I also liked that one of the characters drew little comic strips and pictures. That was a pretty cool addition to the familiar transcripts etc.

Reading is fun :)

But writing is even more fun! And that's saying something.

Life Recap for January and the end of December:

Did I mention we went to China? Cos we did.

We spent 9 nights in Beijing over Christmas and New Years (so we are talking COLD) and it was spectacular. Beijing is a beautiful city, an exciting mix of new and old, modern and traditional.

I loved everything about it and so did my husband.

It’s funny though, whenever I mentioned to people where we were going I would get a lot of weird reactions, a lot of ‘Why?’ and a lot of strange ideas about China or the Chinese. I am not sure that any of the people who said those things had actually traveled there though, so my initial reaction was.... Dude, we already paid for this holiday, WE ARE ALREADY GOING! So why the hell bother raining on it? (Also....don’t say weird unfounded things about a place you’ve never been).

But anyway....

It turned out to be our best holiday ever.

And we have been to a lot of BEAUTIFUL places already (Cambodia, New Zealand, Croatia, Korea etc. etc. to name some favourites). The whole trip got me thinking a lot about happiness, about how much your mindset changes when you’re holidaying, and how we could try and bring a little bit of that happiness back home with us.

And basically that’s been the life aim for January (and you know.... forever). Since we returned from Beijing, Gus and I have been getting out and about more often instead of just wasting away in front the TV (but oh gosh I LOVE the TV too!), enjoying the summer and visiting the beach and the river.
It’s been going pretty great so far.

It was a New Year resolution of sorts I suppose, just to be happier. Do better at it. If I think back, I think it’s been a tough three years, and bloody hell, am I ever ready for some change, for some happiness!

So on that note, here are some photos of China. Go there! Go to Beijing! It is beautiful!
It is stunning!

It is extraordinary!

So that’s it for me, if anyone reads this, please let me know your own goals and achievements for the month! :)
I always enjoy to hear.