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 read Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch. Loved it! This is one of the best YA fantasies I've read in a long time.
I'm now rereading the Discworld series. I was sad to hear about Terry Pratchett passing away. :/ Discworld is one of my favourite fantasy series.
What I'm writing
I've been tweaking Nemesis. Managed to cut over 300 uses of the word "that" and other such overused words. Also, em-dashes.
I'm trying to emotionally disentangle myself from the Alliance series so I can plan something new. I have two potential ideas - one's YA SF/paranormal and possibly (gasp) a standalone, the other's an epic fantasy idea I'm playing around with. I'm definitely not ready to commit to a long series again for a while, though!
My writing goal this week: More brainstorming!
What works for me
Brainstorming new ideas! I'm currently playing with two completely different ideas. One's epic fantasy, the other's YA paranormal cyberpunk SF... yeah, my brain's having trouble focusing at the moment. :P Right now, I'm brainstorming, worldbuilding, researching and making lists.
What else is new
Adamant is out and selling, and I'm getting pre-orders of the second book, too! My evil plan is working! *ahem*
I also sorted through old writing stuff from Teenage Emma, which was... enlightening. Amongst other things, I found a story about someone throwing a dead body in a river, some awful poetry, two printed-out copies of the first manuscript I wrote, a morbid and angsty continuation of Lord of the Flies I wrote for GCSE coursework (and got an A*. Ha!), and a monologue from the POV of an angry ghost which earned me my first rejection. Hmm.
Other than that... not much. It's been an odd week. And it's really weird not to be working on a draft. So I'm concentrating on freelance work, playing Skyrim and Lego Hobbit, and generally recovering from the pre-publication panic!
It's such a shame Terry Pratchett passed away. :(
ReplyDeleteHave fun brainstorming - just try not blow your brain up in the process! ;)
I won't. :P
DeleteOoh, love brainstorming! I'm hoping to start some as soon as I finish tweaking my current project. Congrats on Adamant's success. Here's to much more!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Enjoy the brainstorming! :)
DeleteCongrats on the pre-orders already, that awesome! I'l have to check out Snows like Ashes. I was sad to hear about Pratchett too :(
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) I know, he's one of my top fantasy authors. :/
DeleteWhen I finish writing a book, I can't work on something for a while, and need to just relax and brainstorm, so I totally understand what you're saying about needing time to brainstorm after finishing your series.
ReplyDeleteMy What's Up Wednesday post.
Same here! I'm a fan of taking breaks between series.
DeleteI'm so glad Adament is doing well. i wish you more success in the future. Good luck with Brainstorming. Thanks for sharing. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteCongrats on the pre-sales and good luck with the new ideas. They sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeletePre-orders? That's excellent! A little part of me died when Pratchett left us, but it is the ultimate inevitable. Brainstorm like there's no tomorrow! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteHow fun to look through the old writing! And glad to hear Adament is doing well. I had to laugh at your non-desire to do a big series for awhile - understandable. Oh, and cyberpunk scifi sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteI've actually never read anything by Terry Pratchett.
ReplyDeleteI'm also an em-dash overuser.
Congrats on Adamant selling well! Your evil plan is working! Lol.
Thanks! :)
DeleteI'm so horribly bad for overusing words like "that" and stuff like em-dashes. Ugh. I'll have my work cut out for me in revisions. :-/ Was sorry to hear about the passing of Terry Pratchett. I've never read anything by him, but the hubz was a fan. Have a fun week of brainstorming SNIs! :D
ReplyDeleteI always do. I wish my first drafts came out perfect! :P Thanks! :)
DeleteI've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, and now I feel disappointed that I didn't before he passed away. So sad when the writing world loses people. I totally get the need to emotionally disentangle yourself from a series. I'll be going through that soon too. So your new story idea is cyberpunk? Nice! As you know my series is cyberpunk, so I'm partial. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteIt's a weird hybrid of cyberpunk and paranormal. I never can stick to one genre! Thanks! :)
DeleteI love brainstorming a new idea. To me it means a new notebook. I love office supplies. I love when it's fresh and I'm coming up with names. Have fun brainstorming! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteBrainstorming is my favorite part of the process! Those of us over here bogged down in revisions are sooooo very jealous. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd going back and reading stuff you've written years before. Totally had to laugh at that because when I do that I get royally embarrassed for "past me".
Hope you have a great week!
I do love exploring new ideas.
DeleteHaha, I decided against sharing any of it. :P
Thanks!
Cutting em-dashes! lol I love those things, too, and sprinkle them in liberally. Congrats on the release of Adamant! And pre-orders of the second is even more awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great book! Congrats on the success!
ReplyDelete