Hello friends!
Another month has come and gone, and—as I feel like I’ve said every month this year—it flew by! Spring is always a busy time of year in our household, so I shouldn’t really be surprised. Still, I’m hoping to be better about savoring the little moments through the rest of this season because it’s one of my favorite times of year.
Writing Updates
Jumping right in with the writing side of things, because in April I finished the first full draft (AKA draft 1.5) of book 3! This was the longest I’ve ever worked on any draft of any book to date, but—as I’ve said in previous posts—the slower pace at which I’m going has truly been worth it. It has definitely saved me from burn out, which wreaked havoc on my writing life last year.
Even though I wanted to dive right into draft 2, I forced myself to take a week off of writing. The plan was to get my mind off my own characters by catching up on my TBR and other hobbies, but did a poor job since I literally could not stop thinking about my book. It’s definitely a good sign and makes sitting down at the writing desk a joy rather than a burden!
Now, draft 2 is officially underway, which entails first reading through the entire manuscript in as few sittings as possible. I’m trying to view it from a reader’s perspective rather than a writer’s, mainly checking for flow of the plot, character arcs, and dialogue. I’m also identifying passages I can condense, combine, or (sadly) need to cut (the previous draft clocked in at over 100,000 words—the longest draft I’ve ever written, and far too dense for the genre I’m writing in).
At the time of writing, I’m about halfway through the read-through, and while there’s still quite a bit of work that needs to be done, overall I’m still so thrilled with where this book is heading and am ready to buckle down for this next draft!
A Celebration
Outside of writing, April honestly wasn’t all that eventful. My spring walks are in full bloom, and we’re still adjusting to being a two-cat household (if anyone has tips on how to prevent your cats from eating each other’s food without having to buy $200 feeders, please let me know).
The most notable, non-drafting related milestone that happened in April was celebrating six months of The Paths We Carve being out in the world! I made a sappy post on my Instagram about it, but to sum it up: TPWC was the book I didn’t know I needed, a love letter to some things that I cherish, and a balm to the pieces of myself I didn’t know were aching. Hearing that it has felt the same to some of you has made it so much sweeter. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has picked up the book and loved Lydia and Aiden as much as I do. It truly means the world.
Monthly Reading Recap
For the romance readers:
First-Time Caller (Heartstrings #1) by B.K. Borison — I’m definitely not surprised by how much I loved this book. Borison just writes pure magic, so when I heard she was writing a three book series inspired by three Nora Ephron movies (this one was a nod to Sleepless in Seattle!) I was beyond excited. She absolutely nailed it with this one and can’t wait for the rest of the series! Bonus: the spice is easy to skip if you’re also a non-spice reader!
For the literary fiction readers:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (BTCGC #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi — Magical realism meets literary fiction in this short and sweet novel about a coffee shop that allows you to travel back to the past but requires you to return to the present before—you guessed it—the coffee gets cold. If you love thoughtful, introspective, and emotional books, I highly recommend this one!
For the fantasy readers:
Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas — I started reading the Throne of Glass series earlier this year, and while I enjoyed the first book this one was a major step up for me. The characters and the intrigue kept me hooked from page one, so much so that I found it hard to put this one down. This series is long so expect to see periodic updates on it in my reading recommendations throughout the year!
That’s all from me today! Hoping and praying you have a wonderful month ahead. Thank you for reading!
-Abby
New here and interesting in checking out my heartfelt coming-of-age novels? You can find them here!