The end of the month is a mix of contradictions, because it both feels like so long I barely remember details of it's beginning and, at the same time, hardly anytime at all.
It's regrets and missed opportunities right along with beauty and contentment. It's frustration and gratitude co-mingling. It's the fringes of exhaustion with the rest of a sunny afternoon.
How can one month be so many things?
It's another layer of our humanity, that's what I'm learning. In the desire for an upward trajectory--growth, or whatever have you--we can see our lives are a myriad of fractures. Pieces that we're eager to make sense of, to lay in order by color, shape, and size.
But it's when the many fractured pieces, the moments of our days, are laid in their own pattern that we get to see beauty in the kaleidoscope of our lives.
I hope you get to see the kaleidoscope in your days.
April’s The Good List
What’s The Good List? After watching two writer friends (Kieran and Beth) share the positives in their monthly writing wrap-ups, I thought it was time to try. Not because I have a lot to show, but because so often I think I have nothing to show unless I've hit a big milestone.
The Good List is less "Look how much I got done!" and more of "See! You do accomplish things." It's part of retraining my brain to see progress in process rather than failure.
The Good List:
- I finished my narrative outline (aka zero draft) for Maggie's POV in The Haunting of Magnolia Woods.
- I joined Drafting Club with the Writing with the Soul alumni, which has helped to keep me a bit more honest and focused with check-ins.
- I edited the poems for Waking Wildlfowers. (They still need one more round of edits.)
- I compiled the preview format for Waking Wildflowers draft.
- I read some good fantasy and mostly caught up on my fall/winter pre-order reading.
May’s Goals
- Get through (a little over) half of Maggie's POV in The Haunting of Magnolia Woods. Goal: Chapter 8 (about 1.5 chapters a week)
- Return to morning pages. I’ve missed this and notice the need.
- Binge read some romance and fantasy books that are hanging out in my Kindle Unlimited TBR list.
- Get the pre-order up for Waking Wildflowers!
- Gather ARC Reviewers for Waking Wildflower (you want to be one?)
- Create pre-order bonus content? Maybe. I have some ideas.
I feel like I’m still getting to know my way around Substack, but I hope to be a little more frequent on here. I’m not quite sure yet what I think about all the new additions (notes! chats! threads! oh my!).
Social media feels a lot like shouting into the void and hoping someone will shout back. It seems to be a necessary piece in the life of a writer, but I’m not sure how to balance the connecting of social media with the creating.
Tell me…
What’s something good that happened in April?
What’s something you’re looking forward to in May?
In April I finished a draft of a secret project and got an early start on May’s (writing the sequel to a land of light and shadow). This month, I want to at least read thru secret project and take notes, plus work on that sequel. I’m letting it be a mix of full scenes and summary, which is a first and very freeing.