May 2021 Writing Update ✍️

It's the last day of May, which means that it's time I write up a reflection on what I've been able to accomplish this May. 

 

 

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I've been hard at work on a couple of projects, one of them being an academic project that I have to complete this semester for my studies. The project has to do with books and publishing, and it involves a great deal of research. This past week alone I've created a research log of 43 pages (but it's still a work in progress and will most probably get much longer). I've also had to create about 7 separate documents as part of the research prep. In addition to all of that, my research write-up has passed 5,000 words, and I still have a lot of things to add to it that I haven't had the chance to add yet. So, a lot of writing, but not necessarily for my stories!

However, that doesn't mean that I haven't written for my books. It's just that I haven't been writing for my fantasy novels, which are the ones that I'm supposed to be focusing on. In the past four days, I've decided to write a bit for my murder mystery book, Marie/Elise, which I  spoke about often back in the day, but which I haven't talked about much on this blog or of late. I got a flurry of inspiration for it, so I was able to write almost 12,000 words in the past few days, which makes me very happy and proud of myself. That translates to roughly 3,000 words per day.

Not altogether writing-related, but I have also read quite a few books in the past week or two, including Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun, Girl In Trouble by Stacy Claflin, Gathering Water by Regan Claire, Center Stage by Denise Grover Swift, and The Wave at Hanging Rock by Gregg Dunnett. 

I went into these books without reading any reviews, and purely on the blurbs. That's always a risk, but I thought they sounded interesting and wanted to make my own decisions about how much I enjoyed them. Most of them have turned out quite enjoyable, but there's at least two that I wish came with a warning for sexual content, which I really don't like to read. I suppose that's just a personal preference of mine, but it does tend to impact how well I enjoy a book overall.

I will be writing reviews for each of the books on Goodreads to share my thoughts - once I have some room to breathe from all of the work I've got on my plate currently. I don't tend to enjoy the star rating system, because it seems too simplistic, but since Goodreads requires it, I've rated them already. The reviews will present a better view of what I actually enjoyed about the stories.

And, to wrap up this update, here's a little excerpt from the current draft of Marie/Elise:

Her eyes flicker, as though aware of my staring, and I drag my gaze away from her and scan the rest of the bus. There’s only one other person here, and he’s been here since we climbed into the bus. We haven’t talked, and he seems a bit shaggy and run-down, but otherwise not a threat. He sits at the very back and has his legs up on the seats, fast asleep. The bus driver is doing pretty well – looking alert, despite the late hour – and I settle back down, sighing. 

My eyes find her dormant form again, all huddled up and small. There’s really not much else to look at, and I have to admit, a sense of calm washes over me when I see her, see the way her steady breathing moves her shoulders up and down. She’s been sleeping for about as long as I have, I think, and seems to be doing a lot better than I am in that department.

But then, I’m pretty sure she’s not running away from a murder.

🔚