Hello! Hard to believe March is almost over.
This week went well. My writing is coming along nicely, as are my preparations for Camp NaNoWriMo starting later this week. In addition to that, I was able to read and craft a bit. All things considered, I count that as a fairly good week.
Writing (And Camp NaNoWriMo)
I’ve made some good progress with Book 11 this week, both with regard to drafting and refining the outline for the upcoming section. A good bit of this current chapter wasn’t entirely planned when I started it, but I’m liking how it is developing. I definitely think I’m getting some good character interaction down, as well as figuring out a bit more about some of the intricacies of the magic system and how it affects different characters. That latter part has been something I’ve been pondering for quite some time. I think the work I’m doing here should help not just for the end of this book, but also for the next book (the last book of the series).
My plan for Camp NaNo in April still seems to be holding steady. I should be able to finish Book 11 and start Book 12, and I’m still planning on writing 50,000 words for the month. I do have a few things coming up in April that might interfere with that plan, but I’m hoping to work around them.
Now all that’s left is to see how much of Book 11 I can draft before the end of March.
Reading
This week, similar to last week’s update, has involved a continuation of Brandon Sanderson’s Shadows of Self, the fifth book in his Mistborn series. I’m almost finished with it, and so far I’m enjoying it fairly well.
I’ve also recently finished Tom Felton’s memoir Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard. I’ve been reading that on and off for the last month-and-a-half. I also enjoyed that book. I think it might have been the first memoir that I’ve read that isn’t writing related, not that I’ve read many of those. (To the best of my knowledge, those are Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Stephen King’s On Writing.)
Art
This is a light art week for me, though I do think I’ve figured out a few things about how I tend to operate. When it comes to things like art and crafts, I am not one of those people who makes something just to make something. If I am crafting something, it is either because I want to make it for myself, or I am expressly making it as a gift for someone else. It occurred to m that I kind of approach art the same way. If I have something I want to make, I will do it, but the kind of practice that is required to improve is usually not finished pieces.
As such, while the skills will build into something useful, the actual activity is not generally the “thing I want to be doing” (namely drawing my characters and assorted other subjects). There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the practice and the actual goal, and I’m currently trying to figure out the best way to bridge that gap. I know I want learn to draw, but that doesn’t mean that the act of learning to draw (and everything that entails) is one that I’ve been able to successfully do. It is definitely still a work in progress.
Crafts
My craft this week has been continuing to work on my crocheted Doomslug, from Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series. As it is, I’m in the stage of adding final details. I’m thinking I should be able to finish the remaining crochet and accents this week.
For anyone who wishes to crochet your own Doomslug, there is a free Doomslug crochet pattern available as part of Brandon Sanderson’s “Year of Sanderson” goodies (you can find it the pattern here, just look under March and click the button that says “March Free Download”).
Next Week…
For the upcoming week, my main goal is to focus on writing. Between getting as much of Book 11 drafted prior to the start of Camp NaNo, and trying to get Camp NaNo off to a good start, I suspect that will keep me fairly busy. Outside of that, I’d like to try to plot more of Book 12. I also want to finish Shadows of Self. If I can do that, I plan to start reading the sequel, The Bands of Mourning. My final goal for the week is to finish crocheting Doomslug. I’m really close, and it will be nice to see her finished.
Also, Camp NaNoWriMo is coming up in April. Feel free to add me as a writing buddy on the NaNoWriMo website. My name on the site is Theresa Seanchai, and you can find my profile here.
That seems to be everything for this update. Thanks for reading!
~ Theresa
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