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.

As I sit on the floor in a pile of sweat from my first Zumba instructor training class since 2015 (I think it was, whenever I did Basic 2), I am happy to have a free Saturday for a few weeks. That means I can catch up on Olympic shenanigans I missed during my birthday vacation (still have the Men's Break Dancing to watch, Rhythm Gymnastics, whatever they call Synchronized Swimming now, and both the Opening AND Closing ceremonies), catch up on my DVR, and keep up with the writing momentum I've gained in the past couple of weeks!

I've really been waiting for this feeling to come back, of being excited for the next scenes and getting the ball rolling towards the end of Draft One(ish; y'all know I edit as I go) of Divided Princess. Scenes I wrote prior to knowing where to place them are falling in line, and I can move on with a breath of fresh air and Let's Do This energy. 40 is hitting different, and I'm appreciating it!

Speaking of Divided Princess, even though I've been holding on to this title for dear life, I don't know how much it matches with the current plot anymore. My little cousin brainstormed the title with me, though, so I'm like, "Noooo, I don't want to give it up!" BUT, I think I have a title that fits it better. Even the cover, which I was going to use for Book 3, might fit this book even better. I might be able to use the title for the third book, thinking about it? We'll see. I'll mull it over and reveal the new title if it sticks. I think it will. I'm just trying to hold on to Divided Princess even while I'm tryping this.

Anyway, now that I've exercised and sweat out my freshly gelled edges, lol, I'm going to shower, play a little bit more of Final Fantasy Tactics, and then do some more writing before hopping on Apex. I hope to see y'all soon!

Also: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CASSIE H.! ;)

Also, if you haven't, visit my website! :D

September Review

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

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...

It is the third Friday of the month, which means it's time for a writing update. This one is brought to you by Twitter:

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.

Literally just said, "Oh...MY God!"#brainstorming pic.twitter.com/7gHElaXxw5

— Debra Renée Byrd, author (@DebTheAuthor) June 14, 2022

There are other tweets after the first that may or may not have clues to the inspiration for these plot points, but ...*evil grin*.

Anyway, I had to make a slight change of plans for my attendance at Comic-Con, so while I won't have a table this year, my spot is reserved for next year, and I will be walking around with the merch I have to pass out to folks. Hopefully they use it to find me here and everywhere I am on the interwebs.

January Writing Update

Well, I'm off to a good start. I'll pretend like I posted this Wednesday.

It's already the 4th Wednesday of January, and I can't believe it. We're currently behind a week, because I forgot that IWSG was on the 2nd Wednesday this month, but that's okay. We're going to pretend it's the 3rd Wednesday. On 3rd Wednesdays, I usually forget to post on time, and then I give a writing update, so here we go.

I've actually been writing a little bit! I had a few bursts of inspiration for the asexual romance I've thought about doing for a couple years now. I now have names for my main characters, a couple major plot points, and some scenes planned! I want to kick it into full gear on this one soon. I haven't written romance in so long, but I know it will feel natural when I get back into it.

A couple months back, I also put down some words on a new supernatural fiction that I'm extra excited about featuring nephilim. I've wanted to write about these creatures for a minute, and I feel no one has gotten them right so far--though that's not totally fair to say, because there isn't much information on them in the first place. Still, I'm excited to give it a go.

Divided Princess needs more work before I can go on. I feel like the chapters I've written are okay, but not much happened, so I am going backwards for a little bit to insert some action before I move forward. I did put down a couple scenes, though, one of which is the last scene, and I'm extremely excited about it. It's something that didn't make the many cuts of Fractured Princess, but it will definitely work now.

My NA fantasy is on hold at the moment, just because of all the work I've done on the above. I had been reworking it, though, and I like where I'm going with those changes, too.

If you want to see what all of my future projects are, you can also view my "Coming Soon" story at my Instagram account. It has music, because I'm dramatic.

Have a great week! See you (on time) next week!

October Writing Update

Found on Pinterest

As I renewed my domain for another year, I realized it's Wednesday. I'm a terrible blogger.

Writing-wise, I'm reviewing and rewriting some things I did on my NA Fantasy, so that it's a little more cohesive. Some things just aren't making sense plausibly, so I need to get those kinks out before I go any further.

Sequel-wise, I've gotten a few more words down on Divided Princess. Fleshing out the characters in their new setting (no spoilers) isn't that hard, but it is fun to explore their personalities right now.

Also, I need that meme of the guy with his girlfriend, but he's watching a girl walk by. He is me; his girlfriend is my WIPs, and the other girl is new ideas, because those are popping up! I can't wait to work on them, but I think my WIPs would protest.

How has your writing been going?

Wednesday Words & September Writing Update

All right, it's 11:30 am, perfect time to be late to post.

This week, you will be getting a double dose of my posts, so first let's start wtih Wednesday Words! Typically, I share with you all what I am reading on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, but I was with my Mom last week, so I didn't remember to post until Thursday. She's recovering, and thanks for those who sent well wishes!

Following Toni Morrison's death, I vowed to read her work, because I actually hadn't read any of it. Last week, I was reading Sula, and this week I'm reading her first book, The Bluest Eye.

I haven't gotten too far into it yet, but the first page is a mind-numbing repetition of See Jane Run (I think), and then the beginning of the story starts with some heavy stuff. This book is short, so I don't want to give anything away for myself. I will say her work is a raw, unapologetic look at the life of African Americans, and I appreciate that she held strong to her view of writing for us and no one else. I'm very interested in what this book and the rest of her work has in store.

And now for a brief 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

*me, sitting casually at work, playing Bingo* ...OH SHOOT!

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

First of all, I need this year to slow down. Second, this is going to be short.

Since going full steam on preparing Fractured Princess for publication, I haven't done any writing. It's starting to bother me now. After Saturday, I should be able to focus on my other projects again. Hopefully. I did look over old short stories I wrote in my teens last night, and one from that series I started a little later but never finished. I still don't think those stories will see the light of day. They were my first attempt at teen romance, and they were a little messy, so, I might just leave them on my computer and reminisce when I can. We'll see.

And as you can see, I did update my blog design.This is the first time I haven't had a pink blogger, and it's hard. haha But this looks so much more professional and definitely gets my book out there when people look at it. Pre-orders are coming in for the Kindle edition, and that's exciting! I can't wait to release my baby to the world! She's ready. I hope I am.

June Writing Update

First off, Happy Juneteenth! If you don't know what that is, please research it. TLDR: June 19, 1865 was the day the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. reached Texas. It really should be a national holiday, but . . . this is America.

Anyway, onto my writing update! Here's Snoopy, making writing cool since the 50s.

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)

It's still Wednesday, at least!

12 hours after I usually remember I'm supposed to post, here I am. Funny enough, I thought to myself that I needed to write this this morning, because I had time before work. I at least caught up on other stuff I needed to do. Still. Good evening!

We're in the middle of the 2nd quarter, and it's the 5th Wednesday, so I'm talking about my goals for the quarter. Of course the big one: publication. My cover artist e-mailed me Saturday to say she'd gone into labor, so I hope she and the baby are doing well. She was working on finishing touches for me, so I'm not too worried about my timeline. I still haven't picked a date.

I decided to not create a whole new website, especially since I do so well maintaining this one. Blogger can't get rid of me yet.

I'm still reading How Long 'Til Black Future Month, just because I have so much going on. It's so good! Some of the stories are so innovative. I love N.K. Jemisin's work.

My next goal is to read It before the second movie comes out. I haven't read Stephen King's fiction since Full Dark No Stars, so I may need to pray before this one, especially as my mom and older sister agree the Bev in her old house scene is the scariest in the book, and it looks terrifying in the trailer.

Also, I can't wait for the Summer shows that I watch to return, and the new ones to come on! I have yet to start Chernobyl, but I'm really anxious to. I just started watching the last season of Broad City. I'll miss it.

All right, that's really all I have. Next quarter, I hope to be a novelist and also, I'll be 35!!

What are your goals this quarter?

May Writing Update

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

It wasn't until Friday that I remembered I was supposed to post Wednesday. *facepalm* This will be a short one.

So, also on Friday, I got to see a draft of my BOOK COVER! I'm so excited. That means it's really happening. I can't wait to show everyone. I plan on a cover reveal in May and publication in June, so hopefully that stays on track.

I'm working on a newsletter and trying to build something a little closer to a website via Wordpress. I'm not the biggest fan of Wordpress, though, so if I have to make a home page-type page for here, as I've already bought this domain and know Blogger fairly well now, then that is what I'll do, and just change the domain in 2020.

I've been writing in my next fantasy project, and I'm finally pulling pieces from my document of scenes for later. I can't wait to get to the end of this one and then develop the sequel. I feel that's gonna be a journey. This story is already pretty adult and darker than I've done in a while (kind of what happens when your first words came from an angry place, but c'est la vie). I can't wait to see where this one is taking me.

If you celebrate, I hope you enjoy the Easter weekend. I will see you all (on time) next week!

March Writing Update and Wednesday Words: A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney

©meansomething

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.

This book is a spin on Alice in Wonderland. I was a big fan of the cartoon, the first live-action movie (with the dragon!? I need to find that movie), the Disney series, but honestly, I couldn't get into the book. Alice was too precocious for my liking, so I never finished it. I was hoping A Blade So Black would help me enjoy another Wonderland take, and I can say so far that it does. Here is the blurb:

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

This is exactly what writing is like.

February is moving by quite slowly, which I don't mind. My Kickstarter is (holy crap, I just looked) now at 80% with 24 days to go, and that just turned my day around. Although now I have to do an update, and I wanted it to be a video! It's after 10pm right now, though, so....no video.

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

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

It took me 30 minutes just to find a photo that suited my needs, and I even edited that!

Anyway, it is the fourth Wednesday of the month, so that means I am looking on back on the month to discuss any writing I have done. I haven't really done too much writing, but I have been writing, and that's always a good thing.

I did some last minute touches on Fractured Princess, which I plan to publish this year through Amazon. The Kickstarter for its cover art goes live next Wednesday, and I am trying not to freak out that I'm actually going through with this. I started writing this story in 2004. After a couple of computer crashes, breaks for college, three or four major rewrites and too many revisions and "no thank yous" from agents to count, it's a big step for me to say this story is ready to see real light. I hope people like it.

I've also done some more writing in The Queen's Daughters (introduced here), which will be the next publication if Divided Princess isn't finished first. TQD is the first non-derivative story I've written in a LONG time. Most people start writing because of a book they read, and as I've said before, my first attempts at books were because of television, a la X-Men: The Animated Series, which I was watching as a kid. Then came my rip-off of The Outsiders, and I was heavy into Backstreet Boys fanfiction in my teen years, The Tribe fanfiction in my college years, and between them Fractured Princess (formerly Save the Queen, formerly The Crystal Bearer), which (who doesn't know by now) is based on Final Fantasy (pant, wheeze). The Queen's Daughters will to be my first original-original novel-length story. The only thing I've pulled from for it is African mythology and folklore, and loosely at that. I'm really excited about it. I know how it ends, so I just have to get there.

Speaking of sequels (huh, what?), the other night on my way home, I realized that I might have an idea for a sequel to the The Queen's Daughters, and I'm here for it. I'll start writing down the ideas, but as I'm not even halfway done the first book, I won't focus on it too hard.

February is going to be an exciting month for me (I hope), so I hope you've had a productive January and a good start to 2019!

Oh, Shoot. I'm supposed to post.

Expect a Post Each Wednesday!

Week 1 - Insecure Writer's Support Group

Week 2 - Wednesday Words

Week 3 - Writing Update

Week 4 - Monthly Review

Week 5 - Quarterly Goals

 

 All right, I'm failing already. Great start.

 

 

For the past few months I've only posted during IWSG, and that's been a big help. However, I do miss posting, so I'm going to try this new schedule.

Today is technically supposed to be a Wednesday Words day, but I forgot my book, so I thought I could at least take this time to say that I will be posting weekly again:

 

Starting in February, the 2nd Wednesday of the month will be to share with you what book I'm currently reading, but for this month, that will be next week.

 

Consider this week my writing update, which will be the 3rd Wednesday starting in February.

The 4th Wednesday will usually be the last Wednesday of the month, so I will provide what is hopefully a positive review of my progress.

The 5th Wednesdays fall at the beginning of the quarter this year, so I will be establishing some goals for myself for the three months that follow it. January's in particular will be my goal of reaching my Kickstarter goal for my book cover (squee).

Have a great week!