Pages

Wednesday 3 December 2014

What's Up Wednesday & IWSG




It's time for What's Up Wednesday, a weekly meme run by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow. Here's what I've been up to this past week!

What I'm reading


I started reading The Rook by Daniel O'Malley, and I was drawn in from the first page! A woman wakes up with amnesia and some odd instructions from the person who previously inhabited her body, and is drawn into a secret organisation known as the Chequy (well, she doesn't have much choice in the matter). I loved how original and creative the various supernatural aspects were, and I've honestly never read an urban fantasy quite like it! The central mystery surrounding the protagonist's identity made it impossible to put down.

What I'm writing

I carried on drafting Book 3 in my series! ^_^ I'm also adding to my outlines for books 4-6.

My writing goal this week: Finish this draft! *crosses fingers* I'm less than 10K from the end, so it's hopefully do-able!

What works for me

I've actually discovered that I work best when completely focused on one project or series. I have drafted two books at once before, when I was finishing the fifth book in the Darkworld series and writing a YA fantasy at the same time, but I'd been working on the Darkworld series for almost a year and a half by that point, so Ash's character voice and the storyline were lodged in my brain. I can work on drafting and edits at the same time if it's the same series (like revising the first book in this series while drafting the second) because it doesn't require as much of a mind-switch as jumping back into Darkworld revisions did. It probably helps that the series itself is pretty much one continuous story with the same main characters all the way through, so I never struggle to reconnect with it.

That's the main reason I have so many drafts in need of revision - once I've finished a first draft, I disconnect from it unless I really love it, and that actually doesn't happen that often. I probably won't go back to the other projects I have sitting on my hard drive until I've finished drafting this series. I might have a lot of projects, but I definitely can't keep them all in my head at the same time! :P

What else I've been up to

Walking Shadow (Darkworld #2) released!!! :D

..,and so did Pokemon Omega Ruby!!! I've been a Pokemon nerd forever (since I got my first Gameboy in 2000. o.O) and I was insanely excited for the remake of the third-generation games. So yeah... that's what I did on my release day. :P

I also updated my author website after buying my own domain name (my web skills are nonexistent, but I made the new background by editing an old photo of the Lake District in PicMonkey). :)

Right now, I'm at my boyfriend's graduation (he now has a Masters in Music Industry, Management and Promotion), so I'll be returning comments tonight! :)

Picture

It's also time for IWSG! The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the creation of Ninja Captain Alex, and is a great way for writers to share their worries, support and encouragement.

Hmm... I'm not sure I have any insecurities I can share this month! Other than the usual mid-draft self-doubt and angsting, and the Imposter Syndrome which comes with being published. The Secret Project I'm working on right now is both scary and exciting, and I've an announcement about that coming up later this month... that's about all I can share right now!

31 comments:

  1. Congrats on your book release - exciting! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeh on all the good stuff going on! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay, Emma! Best of luck finishing your draft this week. I'm rooting for you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Starting drafts = fun!
    Finishing drafts = agony!
    Good luck in finishing--not easy.

    I've had The Rook on my To Read list for ages after a friend recommended it. Sounds like a good read :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Woot for no insecurities (other than the basics)! Grats on releasing Walking Shadow! I'm looking forward to it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on your book release! :D As for finishing your draft this week, you can totally do this! Just went and read the full description of THE ROOK and it definitely sounds intriguing. I've been venturing into the adult market a little more lately, so I might have to check that one out. Hope you have a wonderful week! Oh, and congrats to the BF for earning his Masters! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's a great read, I'd recommend it! :)

      Delete
  7. Best of luck finishing your draft this week, Emma, and congrats to your boyfriend on his masters!!!!! Have a great week. *waves pom poms*

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my word! I don't now how you juggle so many projects! I can barely remember my main characters names sometimes! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, I do have days like that, I admit. :P

      Delete
  9. Congratulations on your book release and to your boyfriend on his graduation! Celebrating with some Pokemon sounds fun! We've got lots of Pikachus and various other Pokemon toys/games all over our house lol. Good luck tying up that last 10k! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Thank you! I still have all my Pokemon games/cards. :)

      Delete
  10. Congrats on the release, hooray! :D

    GO FOR IT!!! You can totally beat that draft!

    I read The Rook last year. I liked it. Definitely one of the more unique books I've read.

    Have a brilliant week, Emma!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) I'm determined to conquer the last few chapters!

      Delete
  11. Congrats on the release! And not being insecure!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congratulations on your book release, Emma! Not having any new insecurities is something to celebrate. Good luck with finishing the drafts of your book!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Secret project - cool!
    I can't work on more than one project at a time either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd like to be able to, but it's difficult enough keeping track of one!

      Delete
  14. I feel the same way about working one project at a time, and I really wish I didn't, because some of my projects take a lot longer than I think they should. It would be nice to be able to go back and forth. Oh well...I'm looking forward to the Secret Project Announcement!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here - some projects are naturally more time-consuming. Me, too! :)

      Delete
  15. Congratulations on the book release! The Rook sounds really good. Adding it to my over-long TBR list. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Lol, yeah, my TBR list is impossible. :P

      Delete
  16. Congrats on your release!!! And your new author site looks amazing!

    Hope you have a great week. Good luck finishing that draft! *sends cookies for moral support*

    ReplyDelete