Seven months ago, I was trying to kick my creative side back into gear. I was almost wholly unsuccessful on this front. 2022 hasn’t been much kinder to my than 2021, so far. But, we’re all still here, and that’s worth something, now isn’t it?
So what have I been up to since October 2021? I’m so glad you asked.
- I did separate my book impressions into individuals Book Thoughts like I said I would; the closest I’ll ever get to reviews.
- (I do still owe you all three posts on books I’ve read since the end of January… shhh)
- I submitted to what would end up being the final Pitch Wars in 2021. Though the Pitch Wars closed its doors, you can find my thoughts on applying to the 2020 Pitch Wars here, and these thoughts are generally applicable to anyone considering applying to any of the other writing mentorship programs out there.
- Re-wrote my query letter a few times and sent out three queries for my adult epic fantasy manuscript (I’m dodgy about putting my working title on the interwebz)
- Used Lulu to print a physical copy of my manuscript, with the hopes of doing a re-read and maybe another editing pass (which, fwiw, would be number eight? if I count by draft version changes…)
- Submitted a pitch to Pitchapalooza
- Wrote a new speculative short story
- Submitted to the April submission window of Rogue Mentor (and given the silence so far, will probably try in the May window as well)
- Submitted to five literary magazines (across three stories; so far three passes with two still pending)
- Re-designed this website (aka changed my WordPress theme) and added a “works in progress” page to pretend I’m a real author…
- For this page, I designed an aesthetic for my adult epic fantasy that I’m more than a little in love with. Most of the art came from my CanvaPro subscription, and I made the character portraits with Unreal Engine’s MetaHuman Creator. You can see some other portraits of characters made with MetaHuman here.
And that… actually seems like a lot. Here I am, telling myself I’ve been entirely disconnected with my creative side since October 2021. But, as I look at this list, I was still trying to express myself and keep trying to find way to refine this crazy world and story I’ve created, to crawl closer to my goal of sharing it with, well, you all, noble strangers.
In sum, if you’re struggling, I see you. Keep going. And be brave and take a look back at what you’ve done. You might find more than you expect!
<3
Until next time,
-M