Reflecting On My Writing Progress and Updates in 2024
Writing progress update for 2024! I thought this would be a great time to do a little behind the scenes for how I approach a new year and new writing goals!
Especially having just finished a book in November, 2024 really feels like a fresh start for me. It’s a time to hit the ground running come January now that I’ve celebrated the release of The Wings of Shattered Fire.
New year hits a lot different this time around. I discovered a lot about myself in 2023 and what I am capable of now that I’m not the only one to take care of during the day. Having a baby running around definitely slowed me down much more than I initially anticipated, but I also found new ways to sneak in some quick writing time and build some productive writing habits.
That hasn’t stopped me from being a bit ambitious with my writing goals. I’m a former athlete, so I really can’t help it when I go to set goals. When I look at 2024 and my author goals, I want to push myself, but in a comfortable setting. So, I think about what sort of novels are on the docket.
TCOFD (Smoke and Shadow finale)
Fall anthology story
Star Remnant (Blue Star #6, Star series #3)
Yivi’s story (Smoke and Shadow spin-off)
AU stories for Patreon
Looking at those five projects, I know I’m realistically looking at 1-2 releases this year. Those books will likely be Remnant and the fall anthology story (surprise! I’ll be sharing more info soon).
How I approach these stories is a bit of what I used to do back when I first started writing full time (which I am in no way capable of writing at that same pace, but my strategy can be adapted to my current situation). I had some really good daily habits for maintaining productive writing, and a lot of those I’ve adapted to take into 2024.
The permanent story in the drafting process is going to be TCOFD, while the others will be written in the order above.
What does that mean? It means I’m constantly writing TCOFD, but I will always have a ‘side’ project to be working on as well. The reason I’m doing this is because TCOFD is a massive undertaking and, to be honest, it’s super overwhelming. I tend to get sucked into perfectionism and imposter syndrome and sometimes that can shut me down completely. If I have another project I can be working on when I hit the figurative brick wall of my own insecurities, I can always be writing and feel creative/productive.
For example, it’s not quite 2024 yet and I’ve already got a chapter of TCOFD done while finishing three chapters (much shorter in length) for the fall anthology story.
If you’re panicking, don’t worry. I did this before. When Wings got a bit crippling on the anxiety and perfectionism, I started writing The Bones of Crystal Sand! Yes, it was in the same series, but I also finished up Star Supernova in that time. So really I had three projects going on then, which helped me manage my stress during pregnancy too.
So, let’s look at that release schedule. Realistically, I’m going to for sure have the fall anthology done since that release date will be September 2024. Those drafts should be done around April so there’s plenty of time to get it done. My goal will be to have that story through writing (draft 1, if you will, which is an edited version) by the end of February.
Come March, I’ll be doing last minute fixes with the anthology story but starting work on Remnant. And, yes, TCOFD is still being written as the primary project. I’m just adding Remnant as the new side project.
Ideally, the final Star series book will publish by the end of the year. The great thing is, once it is done being written, I’ll give it a ‘break’ by focusing on TCOFD only for a little bit before going back and making the last rounds of edits on Remnant.
That leaves my wild card of Yivi’s story, because right now it’s just a vague idea. I know she needs her own book, I know the particulars of the relationships, and I am determined to not write another 200K word story so it’s going to be ONE BOOK DAMNIT. But seriously, this is going to be my bonus “if I get to it” project because I always like to have ‘the next thing’ lined up. Will I actually get to starting that book this year? Unknown! Still fun to include.
Since most of y’all are probably more interested in TCOFD’s status, that pub date is still up in the air. Is it being written this year? Absolutely! But because it’s such a huge thing and it’s the series finale, there’s going to be a lot of extra focus and care to make sure every single loose thread that I opened in this series is wrapped in an appropriate way.
That takes time, and as always, you’ll be able to read everything I’m working on over on Patreon! As you know, it’s mostly first draft stuff which means everything is subject to change in the final version, but your support here means the world.
Come 2024, I’ll be dropping a lot of things. They might be out of order, so I really apologize for my scatterbrain. One week you might get Remnant, the other a fall anthology story, and the next TCOFD. The brilliant new ‘Collections’ tab will make it super easy to keep these stories all sorted. So, you can wait to read any of the stories all at once before pub or you can read the different things all over the place!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this really long winded disaster of my brain! I know I’m constantly reflecting on my writing progress and these things are bound to change, but going in with writing goals and setting strategies to achieve those milestones is what keeps me excited!
