Playing catch up, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo

In 2020 and 2021, when I wrote the first drafts of the first two books in the After Z-Day series, I had written at least 20,000 words by the end of October, used NaNoWriMo to add another 20,000 words, and wrapped up the first drafts by the last day of December. That was my plan this year as well.

Except that I've written less than 10,000 words of book 3 so far. I still have a few days left in October to make progress, but realistically, I'll be starting November with a little over 10,000 words written in my first draft. Even if I add another 20,000 words during NaNoWriMo, I'd only be about halfway done with book 3. As I see it, my options are to (1) increase my output in November, (2) write even more words in December than in November, or (3) give up on my goal to finish the first draft by the end of the year.

The second option seems extremely unlikely. Throughout my writing career, November has been my most productive month, thanks to NaNoWriMo. Although nothing prevents me from writing even more during another month, the psychological kick in the pants of NaNoWriMo has been undeniable for my productivity. I also don't want to give up on my plan to finish the first draft by the end of this year, even if I'm behind right now. Which leaves me with option 1. It's not out of the question that I can write more than the 20,000 words I wrote the past two years. After all, I've "won" NaNoWriMo before by writing 50,000 words.

So this year, I'm going to shoot for more than 20,000 words in November. How much more? 25,000 words? 30,000 words? I don't know. This will be an interesting NaNoWriMo for me because I'm planning to ramp up from writing less than 3,000 words a month the past three months to over 20,000 in November. Will I be able? Stay tuned and find out!

Changing reading tastes

 

If you're a long-time follower of my blog, you know that I've been a fan of YA books for many years (despite growing out of my "young adult" phase in life long ago). YA is the predominant genre I write in because I also love reading YA. When I came up with my favorite series, for example, 7 out of the top ten fell in the YA category.

This year, however, I found my reading tastes changing. I've read more books for adults than for young adults in 2022 so far. The top two categories are thrillers and fantasy/sci-fi, which are two genres that have been among my favorites for a long time, just not more so than YA. I attribute the rise in reading fantasy to my newfound fondness for Brandon Sanderson, as well as the general surge in interest in the genre through shows like "The Wheel of Time" (which I'm starting to read) and "The Rings of Power."

It's too early to say whether my shift in reading preferences signals a declining interest in YA or an increased interest in other genres. I've still read some really enjoyable YA books this year (e.g., The Inheritance Games series comes to mind), so it still holds a special place in my heart. I also don't have any plans to stop writing YA stories. Maybe next year, my reading preferences will revert back to YA. We'll see.

Hopeless is free this weekend!

For a limited time, Hopeless, the first book in the After Z-Day series, is free! Download the e-book from Amazon here.

If you enjoy it, try the sequel, Relentless, which is free to read for Kindle Unlimited members.

Release announcement: Relentless

I'm happy to announce the release of Relentless, the second book in the After Z-Day series and the sequel to Hopeless. 

Just in time to celebrate the 4th of July, Relentless is currently available in e-book or paperback format on Amazon. For members of the Kindle Unlimited program, you can read the e-book for free! If you're looking for an action-packed story this holiday, check out Relentless!

Description: 

Seventeen-year-old Sara Sanders survived the initial days following Z-Day, when zombies took over the world. She also reunited with her brother, whom she first feared was dead.

Preparing to face life in a new world on their own, she and her fellow survivors overhear a broadcast from an army base. The soldiers at the base claim that they can protect civilians from the zombies and provide them with some semblance of a normal life again. The base sounds like a godsend. It is what Sara and her companions have been hoping for in the midst of the zombie apocalypse.

But is it too good to be true? Is anywhere truly safe after Z-Day?

Cover reveal: Relentless

Relentless, the sequel to Hopeless, will be released soon! In the meantime, I'm excited to reveal the cover and description for this second book in the After Z-Day series. Look for the new book next month! 

Description: 

Seventeen-year-old Sara Sanders survived the initial days following Z-Day, when zombies took over the world. She also reunited with her brother, whom she first feared was dead.

Preparing to face life in a new world on their own, she and her fellow survivors overhear a broadcast from an army base. The soldiers at the base claim that they can protect civilians from the zombies and provide them with some semblance of a normal life again. The base sounds like a godsend. It is what Sara and her companions have been hoping for in the midst of the zombie apocalypse.

But is it too good to be true? Is anywhere truly safe after Z-Day?

Very late book anniversary

Thank goodness I'm not as bad at remembering my wedding anniversary as I am with my book anniversaries. I recently realized that I've been an author for more than ten years (how did that happen??), and when I looked back at the publishing date for my first novel, George and the Galactic Games, I confirmed it to be true since it was released on November 10, 2011. 

Before George and the Galactic Games, I had written short stories here and there and made a few attempts at writing a novel, but none of them went anywhere. At the start of 2010, I made a New Year's resolution to seriously focus on writing, and in 2011, I resolved to complete a novel. Somehow, I stuck with my plans, and the end result was George and the Galactic Games. The novel holds a special place in my heart. Not only was it my first novel, but it was a story that had been brewing inside me and wanted to be told, and I'm glad I was finally able to share it. Writing the book also showed me that I could complete a novel, and it paved the way for eight more novels in the following years, with a ninth hopefully ready for release in a month or two.

Happy belated 10-year anniversary to George and the Galactic Games!

A writing update

I haven't provided an update on my writing progress since my 2021 NaNoWriMo recap, so it's time to let my readers know that things have indeed been moving on that front since November. For starters, I accomplished my goal of finishing the first draft of the sequel to Hopeless by the end of 2021. I just made it by the skin of my teeth, wrapping it up on the last day of the year. 

Since then, I've been editing the manuscript. After a two-week break, I spent the remainder of January and all of February on my first revision pass. As expected, this comprised many changes because the first revision pass is where I make sure the story makes sense and that I'm telling it the way I want to. I wound up re-writing the ending of the book during this phase.

I made my second revision pass during the month of March. This is where I fix my writing, including cleaning up spelling and grammatical mistakes. At the beginning of this month, I began the third revision pass, and I'm focusing on tightening up my writing and catching any mistakes that slipped through the second phase. My goal is to finish this round of revisions by the end of April.

Depending on how clean I feel the manuscript is after the third pass, I'll either embark on another round of revisions or pass the story along to an editor. In either case, I believe I'm still on track to release the as-yet-unnamed sequel to Hopeless in the middle of this year. I'm excited because this will be the first sequel I've ever written for one of my novels, and I look forward to writing more books in this series!