š» what I'm up to š»
The day you get this I will be arriving home after 13 days away and I will be overjoyed to see my husband and my cats and our backyard birds (Iām trying to befriend a crow, Cornelius, that visits and I need to be there to give him peanuts).
I took some time to refill the creative well at a writerās retreat by Lake Muskoka in Canada. It was a cozy cabin with reliable wifi, a wee kitchen, and five other folks, all of us in various stages in our publishing careers. I heard loons, took walks, and camped out on an adirondack chair on the front porch and did a decent amount of writing and a lot of thinking and planning. Sometimes I sat near the water to write and it was heaven. In between writing I meditated, soaked in nature, and read a lot of books.Ā
It was chill and good. My introverted self did hit my limit around being other humans in such close proximity by the end of the week, but that was to be expected. Iāve moved onto the next leg of my travels and am writing this in a gloriously empty and private hotel room, huzzah.
My theme for the retreat, if I were to say I had a theme, was to not be hard on myself about what I did or didnāt get done. I never have that many consecutive days devoted solely to writing so at first I dreamed of word counts, of doing the damn thing. Hey, itās nice to have dreams, isnāt it?
I went in intending to focus on and finish rewrites for a book and while I did put in time to set myself up for success in that regard as far as reconsidering the outline and a character-focused plot rather than the other way around, I didnāt get into those rewrites. And then being by the lake inspired a new idea, so I started drafting that because my brain needed space to run, if that makes sense. I canāt write this new draft quickly enough so with no other impending deadlines, Iām letting myself focus on that.
š my book things š
The official MCU timeline book I wrote with Anthony Breznican and Rebecca Theodore-Vachon is out in October. Iāve seen some spreads and it looks SO cool!
Otherwise, I have news I will get to share one day about an exciting thing (hopefully by the end of the year??). I have several non-fiction IP projects in various stages. Iām slowly rewriting my middle grade fantasy, and as mentioned above, Iāve started on a new contemporary adult romcom. I like having different things I can choose to work on depending on my mood. Or the option where I just want to play Dreamlight Valley (Belle is finally coming!) and work on nothing.
šŗ what I'm watching šŗ
This is what Iām watching: Pay writers and actors fairly already, for fuckās sake, AMPTP!
š what I'm reading š
Wild Things by Laura Kay
Iām very into found family stories lately, bonus points if thereās a romance subplot and more bonus points if itās a found family fixing up an old house together. Wild Things checks all those boxes with a property in need of love in an English country village. This book was a warm hug, as was Ann Aguirreās The Only Purple House in Town.
The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel
If, like me, you are not a fan of summer and being hot, escape into The Wild Hunt. Itās an atmospheric, creepy tale about lore and processing trauma and grief set on a Scottish island during October, a month when sluagh (think crows that carry the souls of the dead) descend on the island annually and loom in a scary manner and sometimes attack in a scary manner. I couldnāt put this one down.
In the realm of non-fiction, I really enjoyed Blythe Robersonās America the Beautiful?; she travels the Western National Parks loop with insights about the great outdoors, stolen land, and overcrowding through a humorous lens. As much as I enjoy camping, I enjoy that this is not a book about setting up tents and being one with nature (not exactly).
š³ something whalesome š³
I like wholesome things and the whale emoji is cute so: whalesome!
Ā Help those impacted by the Maui wildfires.
š creativity corner š
Here Iāll share tips and tricks that are helping me write, imagine, and/or stay productive.
On my way to the writing retreat, I read Lisa Cronās Story Genius. I had some extreme travel shenanigans that left me having to spend an unexpected night in Toronto before the retreat but the upshot was I had time to read this book in its entirety. Itās about connecting your plot to your protagonist in a way that will sound obvious once you read it, but if you tend to write from the angle of āthis thing happened and then this thing and also this thingā without thinking through the WHY of each thing happening and how itās important to your protagonistās arc (hi, itās me), this oneās for you.Ā
Then if you want something easy to put into action, try Jennie Nashās Blueprint for Books. I used this to work through my latest outline for my MG fantasy.
š quote of the month š
āDonāt say yes to things you wish you had the confidence to say no to.ā - Matt Haig, The Comfort Book
I need to put this quote somewhere near my desk so I will see it every day and take it to heart.
How are you? Have you had a pumpkin drink yet this season? Comment or reply and let me know (but if you hate pumpkin spice or want to insult those who love it, you can keep that to yourself).
I need to check out Story Genius.
I'm doing good thanks, Amy. Chris has put my pitches on the list for next year's Insider articles, so that's exciting. And I'm going away in a few days on a trip to York and Hadrian's Wall, both places I'm revisiting through the lens of someone whose next WIP will be historical fiction/fantasy.