*Anakin voice* It’s working!

So, writing’s a job

💻 what I'm up to 💻
I luxuriated in my winter break. I forced myself to rest and not feel guilty about it. Between inhaling books and playing many hours of Dreamlight Valley and board games, I did some reflecting and reached an obvious conclusion: If I want to make progress in writing books of my own–books that are not contracted or based on other intellectual property–I need to treat it like the part-time job it is. 

I can’t draft only when I feel like it or only when I have a deadline. That approach had me writing nothing on my own books since August (I did work on 1.5 IP books in that time to be fair, but still).

My instinct is always to look for magic solutions. They must exist, right? But no, magical tools and situations can exist (I’ve found the latter) but you still have to show up and put words on a page. Nothing will do that for you… Okay I guess technically AI programs will now do that for you, but that’s a different conversation.

My little coworking writing space

So my magical situation is a nearby coworking space strictly for writers. It’s affordable, open to writers 24/7, cozy, and quiet. Since about two weeks ago, I go four mornings a week for two hours before work (I work on Pacific time, which helps immensely). I have that time set for any writing I need to do, whether it’s IP books or my own projects.

In the first week of going to the writers room, I made edits to my theme park romcom that I’ve been procrastinating on since September. SEPTEMBER. I go with a singular purpose: write for two hours. I limit internet use to writing related tasks. I only use my phone to play music (through my headphones, I’m not a monster).

It could be the newness of it but right now, scheduling my writing time has helped me immensely. I’m such a creature of routines and schedules (hi, I’m a Capricorn). It’s not like this is a new idea. I’m not making any incredible discovery here. In fact, I feel like a huge goof for not trying it sooner.

I’m grateful the space exists and that I can make it part of my new routine.

📘 my book things 📘

Oh hey, it looks like Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline has a (not final) cover now! Marvel.com officially announced the book today! I'm working on this one with Anthony Breznican and Rebecca Theodore-Vachon. Did you know the MCU timeline is complex? Did you know thinking about Pym Particles and time travel in Avengers: Endgame for too long will make your brain hurt in a mostly good way? I’m excited to see this massive freaking book keep coming together.

In other very exciting news, my theme park romcom is SO close to heading out on proposal. Like maybe by the second week of February?! Please keep things crossed for me. I hope, hope, hope that an editor will be interested.

📺 what I'm watching 📺
Willow

 If you like the movie Willow, I implore you to watch the series Willow. If you’ve never seen Willow and you enjoy campy fantasy that explores dark themes, watch the movie and the series. I wanted to see how season one of Willow wrapped before I sang its praises and wowee it did not disappoint. The cast is charming AF (Tony Revolori especially!), the humor’s goofy and fun, the creatures and villains are delightfully ‘80s, and it’s a solid romp filmed in stunning locations. Plus, the needle drops! I’m enamored. I might get Elora Danan’s mark as a tattoo. Ooh plus the BTS documentary just dropped on Disney+ and it’s quite entertaining.

I tried The Last of Us. The first episode was excellent and heart wrenching. It’s that last part that’s stopping me from continuing. I don’t think I can watch something so bleak right now.

📚 what I'm reading 📚
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
The latest in Jen DeLuca’s renfaire romance series is delightful and came to me at just the right time. The central character, Lulu, is over her stressful legal career and runs away to the renfaire, and while figuring out her life, she meets a sexy member of the Dueling Kilts. It’s the kind of book you want to sink into and it has me a) daydreaming about my next renfaire visit and b) finally seriously studying tarot.

The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
It has been a minute since I’ve fallen into an adult high fantasy and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy has me in its grips. And like, duh, it’s a wildly successful trilogy that has won multiple awards (again, no incredible discovery here). I took the first book on a trip recently, read most of it on the flight out, had to buy the second book while I was traveling, and read most of it on the flight home. I started book three Tuesday night and will be picking it up in all my free time this week.

The world–a land called the Stillness–is beautifully complex. It’s a place afflicted with an extra season, a Fifth Season, that is irregular in occurrence and length and when it comes, it brings widespread hardship and communities around the land have evolved and planned to survive these Fifth Seasons. The peoples of this land don’t quite know it, but their survival depends on orogenes–people with special skills to manipulate the earth (basically) and people who the rest of the world happen to treat like shit.

If you have missed out on this series for so long, like me, check it out.

Also Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky was a delight. It’s a romance set against the backdrop of saving a small drive-in. Real Heartstopper meets You’ve Got Mail vibes.

🐳 something whalesome 🐳
I like wholesome things and the whale emoji is cute so: whalesome!

useless_farm

A post shared by Useless Farm (@useless_farm)

Thank you to my wonderful coworker Tai for introducing me to the Useless Farm. Useless as in all the animals are there strictly for enjoyment, not productivity. Some are rescues, all are delightful. 

🍃 creativity corner 🍃
Here I’ll share tips and tricks that are helping me write, imagine, and/or stay productive.

Everything comes full circle, right? I’m always game to try different apps or tools to chase that elusive “perfect solution.” But what’s right for me at any given time changes. Right now, it’s paper notebooks (hoo, I’m full of innovative things in this newsletter, aren’t I?). I switched to the app GoodNotes years ago for so many things and while I still use that for my calendar, I’m back to different notebooks for different projects and it’s working.

I’m even making myself use blank notebooks I already own instead of buying new ones!

📃 quote of the month 📃
"Home is what you take with you, not what you leave behind." ― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season

I hope your year is off to a good start! Please reply or comment and let me know how you’re doing.