Hello, lovelies! I hope you’re having a wonderful summer! I’m writing this post from Oxford, where I’m enjoying the first days of my summer vacation. I’m road-tripping through England, Wales, and Scotland this year, and I’m suuuper excited for all the beautiful places I (hopefully) get to see! I’m also looking forward to writing every day—which is part of the 19-page planning document I neurotically, lovingly created (if you know, you know).
But first—since we’re already halfway through 2025 (what is time, anyway?)—let’s check in on my writerly goals for the year!
Revise Project Black Captain
Sooo, I was hoping to complete a big, messy revision of Project Black Captain. PLOT TWIST: that did not happen. In fact, Project Black Captain is no longer Project Black Captain.
Allow me to explain:
When I started this project, I was sure it had “THE STORY” potential. The characters were vivid from the get-go, and their voices and dynamics made me giddy. I couldn’t wait to put their shenanigans on the page.
BUT—I was trying to write them into a world they didn’t belong in. The more I wrangled and forced them to fit, the more they lost their sparkle. It was so frustrating. This was no longer the story I had envisioned, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to keep working on it!
Enter the Words & Wonders retreat:
In June, I spent a week at a magnificent writer’s retreat, closed off from the demands of the “real” world (I also ate an embarrassing number of strawberries, but more on that in a future post). It was a week full of writer friends and all sorts of writing joy. Hearing my friends speak so passionately about their projects got me thinking: what would make me talk about my story the way they talked about theirs?
The answer came to me a few weeks later—though really, I’d been simmering on it since the retreat. This story was born from my obsession with revolutionary Paris. I even pitched it as OCEAN’S ELEVEN meets LES MISÉRABLES.
So why wasn’t I actually using revolutionary Paris in the story?! I should, right?
I wanted to. BADLY. But dipping my toe into historical fiction felt daunting (I’ll write a whole post about that later, because dang, do I have THOUGHTS).
In the meantime, I threw out my old draft and started working on a completely new manuscript: Project Paris. Ever since, the words have been flowing, the characters are shining, and I’m having so much fun! I’ve been writing every day—getting up early to squeeze in as many words as I can before the day job kicks in (ugh).
Also: I think this might, once again, be THE STORY 😉
Brainstorm Project Iron Mask
I’m still daydreaming about my YA retelling of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (the movie version, specifically), even though all my writing energy is currently going into Project Paris. I can’t wait to dive deeper into brainstorming, but alas—I’m a “one project at a time” kinda girl. So first, I need to finish my draft for Project Paris.
Keep Writing My Blog
I planned to keep updating this blog regularly, and so far, it’s going well! Keep an eye out for that 100th post!
Send My First Newsletter
I’m still battling the self-doubt-demon-army on this one, but I’ve been feeling super inspired by some of my writer friends who did have the nerve to launch their newsletters this year.
Also: 2025 isn’t over yet!
Read 35 Books
I’m on track to meet this year’s reading goal! I’ve read 20 out of 35 books.
Discworld Challenge
This year, I planned to read 12 Discworld novels (one per month). So far, I’ve tackled the first nine (in publication order), and I’m loving the challenge! Also: I’m three books ahead of schedule, muhahaha 😉