July 2021 Writing Update

It's the end of July, which means it's time to take a look at what I've been able to accomplish this month. 

 

Bref: 

• I have written well over 10,000 words... for my academic research project, which wraps up at the end of July/first few days of August.
• As part of the research project, I've sent out dozens of copies of my thriller, Apartment, to respondents of my survey that opted in for it.
  
• I've written and published the Apartment Literary Companion, which is hosted on the Apartment website that I also put together this month.
• I've been working on the short story "Venom Sweet" - a project that deals with femininity and the societal expectations placed upon women alongside the restrictions that exist.
• I've written two entries for the new gothic horror serial fiction project Letters to Adam.
• I've dabbled in a little bit of art as I practice and prepare for making my own illustrations for my books, especially The Beast of Ildenwood and Marie/Elise (the latter was supposed to be a graphic novel, but that might just take me 50 years, so I've settled on a compromise: to create a set of illustrations for it instead). 
• I've completed Chapter 5 of The Beast of Ildenwood. Hoping to start putting out a chapter every week (or two weeks) in August.

And that's that! It wasn't a very productive month, I felt, because of the research project taking up so much of my time and energy. I didn't write for The Pirates of Sissa, for example. I didn't write for Marie/Elise, which I was hoping to finish by the end of July. And I certainly didn't finish two short stories that I had planned for July - apart from "Venom Sweet", which was also supposed to be completed by end of July. But I've done a decent amount of writing nevertheless, and I am content.

Hoping to have a more productive month in August and actually complete a few of these projects!

I think I'll focus on the following projects in August:

• The Beast of Ildenwood (because this is a serial fiction, I hope to complete 1 chapter per week)
  
• Marie/Elise (I'm quite close to completing the current draft of this book, and while I have been considering changing POVs and re-writing again, for now I think it's best if I just finish what I've started with it)
  
• The Pirates of Sissa (this one needs a very heavy rewrite, but I'm excited to dip my toes into it; it'll also give me more material for my podcast!)
  
• Venom Sweet, Fisheye, and Shield of the Empire (short stories that I really wanted to complete in July)