- Complete final edits for Broken Princess after I get my last Beta Reader's comments.
- Practice illustrating and work on the cover.
- Reach out to my cartographer with map updates.
Oh, Shoot, I Missed July. (Quarterly Goals)
Wednesday Words? No, Just Weekly Words!
So, I wanted to do a cute graphic where I use the old Wednesday Words image but cross it out and then have the Weekly Words image, but Blogger isn't that advanced, and I'm too lazy to create another cheap image. Ah well.
But also, I looked at my March post, and I said that hopefully it wouldn't be another 2 months before I posted again...It's been exactly 2 months since I last posted. I'm so sorry. If nothing else, I have to post at the end of the month, because there's finally another 5th Friday, and I have to see if I completed my goals.
One major goal is that I want to have the first draft of "Divided" Princess completed by the end of the month, which will also be the 2nd anniversary of Fractured Princess, 2nd Indie Edition. When I do finish, I'll also announce the official book title, which I've mentioned previously; don't ask me when, because it's been so long. Hopefully, I can also get some time to finally sit down and listen to the audiobook clips to edit. It's been way too long since I finished. I've got to get it done.
On the reader side of things, I've been lamenting that I'm not reading as many books as I used to, and then I remembered that I am actively reading EIGHT web comics, one of which I'm catching up on, so I'm actually reading every day. But I did start reading a compilation of Black science fiction short stories from W.E.B. Du Bois to modern-day authors, and my, are they haunting. I swear one was the inspiration for the game Inside. I'm taking my time on those...as I continue to buy e-books on Bookbub like the book addict I am.
Anyway, that's all for now. I just wanted to do a quick update, and it's a full blog. haha Oh, lastly, I logged back into my Goodreads to do a few updates, and if you're still following me/seeing this post there, thank you so much!
See you on the 30th!
August Writing Update
I was supposed to post this late yesterday, but as K-Ci & Jojo say, "Time is slipping away froooom meee." Eh, nothing wrong with a Saturday post once in a while.
September Review
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Welcome to Fall!
September has been a pretty okay month. I've been taking the bus to work, so I have a chance to read more. I cut my book goal in half for the year when I realized I wasn't going to reach 2 books per month. I might get in more than 12 this year, though, so I'll try 24 next year. I'll be on vacation next week, so I plan on sitting and reading, reading the first part of DP, and catching up on shows I've started and have yet to finish.
The job is going very well. With the whole department full of new people, we're all learning together, so my productivity has been higher than ever in any State job. haha The commute is draining, but we'll be moving a little further south early next year, so I won't have to get up before 6am to try to catch the bus. It's only 8-minute difference from one building to the other, but the new building would require too many buses, and I spend too much time checking routes and times for ONE bus every in-office day (anxiety is a bitch). Freelance-wise, I haven't received Fiverr requests for a long time, and Twitter won't let me send the Tweet to promote it for some reason. I'll try again soon. My other freelance proofreading work went very well this past summer. I'm finishing up a project this coming week, and hopefully I can work with the company again soon.
On another note, I'm going to cancel the Patreon. I know it's only been a few months, but it's not getting any hits, and I'm the kind of person who has no motivation to do things if no one is interested in it. I tried to hold out, but trying to drum up content for a patron who literally lives with me is disheartening. I can just tell her my updates. Maybe I can try again later when I have more engagement, but not right now.
Oh shoot, there's a 5th Friday this month. As usual, I will look back on my last goals, see what I accomplished, and also post what my goals for the next quarter will be. I'm excited for the end of the year, because 2023 means I will be free to start hyping, promoting, and SELLING Fractured Princess again. I can't wait, and I hope you can't either.
Enjoy the weekend!
September Writing Update
We're going to be in 2032 if we blink too long!
It's the THIRD Friday of September, can you believe it? Not only does that mean we are a few days away from my favorite season, but it also means that it's time for a writing update!
So last month, I mentioned that I finished the first part of Divided Princess. I started the first chapter of the second part. I did one major revision to it, because I brought in a character earlier than they were needed, and it was getting in the way by my forgetting they were there haha. I need them later, so I'll put them back in then. It just makes sense.
I'm going to pause the writing and read the first part back to see how it all feels. I think that will also help me with the next few chapters before I get to where I need to go in the story. One thing I do want by the end of the series is for there to be less crying haha. Jonnie cried a LOT in the first book. Of course, she went through a lot of grieving in that book, too, so it should be understandable. I just want NO tears from her by the third book, if possible haha. We'll see how that goes.
In other news, I'm going to Kensington (Northeast Philly) tomorrow to meet MultiMind for her book signing! I featured her in my Black Author Spotlight back in January, and her hustle is so inspiring. I can't wait to be able to promote FP again. She's given me so much knowledge about self-publishing and has helped me in this journey so much, I can't thank her enough.
I need to try to record some Patreon videos today, one for last month and one for this, and I'm also supposed to be working (what else is new?), so I'll cut this here. Have a good weekend!
June Writing Update: Change of Plans But Good News...
Me, figuring out another missing letter in my plot alphabet.#brainstorming pic.twitter.com/xZn1avswEO
— Debra Renée Byrd, author (@DebTheAuthor) June 10, 2022
Me as another revelation comes into this plot point.
— Debra Renée Byrd, author (@DebTheAuthor) June 14, 2022
Literally just said, "Oh...MY God!"#brainstorming pic.twitter.com/7gHElaXxw5
January Writing Update
October Writing Update
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| Found on Pinterest |
Wednesday Words & September Writing Update
I actually worked on some pre-sequel work that will never see daylight, but it did help to get my mind working. I think I actually have an ending for Divided Princess now, so I will be writing that down soon. It's bittersweet, but so was the ending of Fractured Princess.
I'm thinking of changing something I wrote out in The Queen's Daughters. I'm also trying to figure out if I want to keep it 1st person and focus on just one character or slip in 3rd person with some of the other characters. I feel like it might flesh the story out a little more, but I'm not totally sure I want to do it. There are also some factors I want to work on that might raise questions I can't answer. We'll see. Work in progress!
I'll be on vacation next week! I may do a Monthly Review; I may not. It hasn't been very eventful.
Have a great rest of your week!
August Writing Update
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| Calvin and Hobbes © Bill Watterson |
I forgot it's Wednesday. The 3rd Wednesday of the month, I update you all on my writing!
Honestly, I haven't written too much yet. I'm mostly revising what I've already written (a bad habit, I know, but I can't help it). I'm going to work on fleshing out my Fractured Princess characters for Divided Princess. What do they look like as people now, after all that happened? That's going to be fun to explore, and I already sort of know some aspects.
I don't want to say it, but I have more ideas for the Shattered Chronicles *squeal-cringe*. I didn't want to have ideas for a sequel, and now, more things are popping into my head. Whether or not they will make publication remains to be seen, but they would be really cool ideas to birth, so I do want to give them a try.
If you haven't purchased Fractured Princess yet, there is still time to get the paperback for $9.99. I will be increasing the price soon, just from some advice I've been getting, but not too high. I still want it to be accessible to all readers, especially as it's a paperback, which usually run cheaper.
All right, if I remember next week, my Monthly Review will be posted on time. Have a great week!
July Writing Update
June Writing Update
I was about to say I haven't done any writing, but actually, that's not true. I've written a very pivotal scene in Divided Princess, sequel to Fractured Princess. Stepping into the waters with this story, there are some dynamics I still have to figure out, but I imagine that just like Cyan and Jonnie created their own dynamic during, like, draft SIX, I think things will work themselves out eventually.
I skimmed The Queen's Daughters yesterday so I can work on more scenes for it. I'm a little stuck, even though I know what the next scene is. It's not even a hard scene, as far as I know, so I should just type away at it, even if it's fragments of the scene, so I can move on. This story is really going to be emotionally tough and will have at least two trigger warnings, but the inciting incident also stems from an emotional purge for me, so I knew it wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows. I've never been able to write sunshine and rainbows. I'll try one day, I promise.
Book news: I've pushed publication to July, but I should have the cover in the next two weeks. I can't wait to share it with everyone! I wanted to update the look of my blog; technically, it's been the same since the old blog, so once I have the cover, I will be able to change the theme up and get rid of the watercolor background. I love it, but I want this blog to look a little more professional once I'm published. I can't wait to test that out, too!
Wednesday Words update: Two more books I forgot I had on hold came in for pickup at the library, so I've added them to my post from last week. I'm being REALLY ambitious this Summer!
Next week is my monthly update, so I hope you all have been enjoying June so far, and I will see you later!
Quarterly Goals (Follow-Up)
May Writing Update
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| Comic by Guy Kopsombut at 4amShower |
Is that not the truest comic we'll ever see? Is "writer" Yiddish for "procrastinator?" I know it's not, but haha!
In the April Writing Update, I saw the black and white draft of my cover. This month, I have seen a COLOR draft. I believe the next one is the final, and I am so excited! I've created the bookmarks for my backers, and there are going to be a few extra, so I might have some giveaways with those. Once I get the final cover, I can make my backers' Thank You Notes, and I want to have a few more prizes for them. I started a newsletter for them, and I'm glad they're all people who already know where I live, because by law, my address needs to be posted on there! Whether or not I open up the newsletter to others depends on if I acquire anymore readers and draw enough revenue to buy a PO Box (those things are expensive).
I'm trying to decide, for my NA/A Fantasy, whether or not I want to keep it 1st Person limited or open it up to a few other perspectives. I have scenes in my head that pertain to three other characters, but I'm currently liking the angle of the "unreliable" (she's not completely unreliable; maybe biased is a better word) narrator. Maybe I'll make the other perspective short stories, like N.K. Jemisin did for The Inheritance Trilogy. I really like that idea (and God, I need to reread that series. Nahadoth!).
That's it on the writing side. I will see you all next Wednesday for my Monthly Review, and it looks like I have a Quarterly Goals post this month as well! I guess I thought April had five Wednesdays, but it did not.
Enjoy the rest of your week, and tell me how your writing is going in the comments!
April Writing Update
March Writing Update and Wednesday Words: A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
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I was doing a sensitivity read last week, and this week I'm sick, so you're getting a delayed 2 for 2 blog post today!
So big news: my Kickstarter reached its goal and even overshot it! I'm currently receiving surveys for the rewards, so I now have to work on those. I'm also talking with the cover artist I'm commissioning, and she is really nice! This is going to be an exciting year for Fractured Princess.
I haven't done too much writing otherwise, just some last touches on FP, so I'll be pushing myself to work in my other projects now.
This week I started reading L.L. McKinney's A Blade So Black.
The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.
Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.
The first scene was emotional and intense, and I don't mind a book that throws us immediately into the action, which this one does. I can't wait to see what else happens. Also, the Mad Hatter as a cutie? I'll take it.
Let me share a line I've read already, don't want to spoil anything for myself:
A dog stepped out of the black. Huge paws ended with long, wicked claws that clacked against the ground. Inky skin, no fur, rippled as it moved. Illuminated eyes blinked at her; one pair, then two, and three.
Yeah, multiple eyes are a good place to stop.
What are you reading this week?
February Writing Update: Sequels and More Ideas
I started the month off in jury duty, and let me just say I'm glad I loved Chemistry in school, because I learned a LOT about hemophilia drugs in that time. That said, on Day 1 (which made it so much worse, because I couldn't say anything!) an idea for a story came to me from some of the base facts. It's going to be a vampire novel for sure, possibly horror? Not completely sure yet. Some serious research has to come out of that, but at least I have another story idea!
I mentioned this in January, but I had an idea for a sequel to my current WIP, The Queen's Daughters, and on Monday I finally wrote out a few ideas for it. It'll definitely be another journey story (Fractured Princess is essentially a journey story), but that's all I really know for now. For The Queen's Daughters itself, I've been rereading parts, so now I just have to work on writing more parts and connecting the fragments. There are a few scenes I really need to get down, and I don't want to delay any longer.
As for Fractured Princess, I did a few more quick edits (typos and a minor revision), but I plan on not touching it anymore, as it is the subject of my Kickstarter. I also added a new scene in its sequel, and I can't wait for the whole story to come completely to life. It's going to be pretty big (in my head, anyway). I hope I do it justice.
That's all for now. I will see you all next week with my monthly review!
Monthly Review: January 2019
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