2022 July Wrap-Up

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today’s post brings another summary of the past month of my life – with writing progress reports, reading accomplishments, and general updates!

So without further ado . . .

General Update

What a month! In some ways, July felt like it took forever to get through, but I also don’t know how it’s over already. The most difficult part was dealing with vestibular migraines for the first time, starting right away in the month, and reappearing again several weeks later. In all, I spent about half of the month with a migraine. Thankfully after the first time, we were more prepared, and I was able to continue working and mostly carrying on with normal life the second time. It’s definitely an adjustment.

The good part is that I’ve caught up significantly on my writing, in spite of and even partly because of the migraines. In trying to rest and take care of myself, I’ve spent more time writing, as it’s not very active. So I’m glad to have made decent progress after a few months of falling behind. I’ve also been able to spend more time with loved ones, now that I’m home again. No more trips to other states in my near future. I like new things, but it’s nice to be back. I’m happy for people who can travel a lot, but it’s just not my thing apparently.

As I talked about here, God’s recently been teaching me more about submission and trusting His plans, even when I don’t understand or like them. Being physically unable to do whatever I want or feel like I should, is very frustrating for me, and I get discouraged quickly. But I’ve seen how God uses those weaknesses of ours for good lessons, and to improve our relationships with Himself and others, if we let Him. Every time I’m tempted to think I know better, it’s helpful to look back and remember all that He’s already done. He’s trustworthy, faithful, and I’m so thankful for His eternal grace and patience.

Fiction Writing

One of the most encouraging parts of July was getting to write more fiction again! I’m super happy to report that I wrote 6,895 words last month! And most of that was actually in one week. When I write fiction, I find that I work best in bursts, that way my motivation doesn’t start to die. The project in question is one I’m not going to share just yet, but I’m really excited about it, and hope to reveal it after I’ve made a bit more progress.

But wait, what about Cabin Girl? Still in the works, I promise! I’ve also been working on it, but my primary reason that I’m not doing the last big publishing push yet, is because I’m trying to figure out a few more technical aspects beforehand.

After a lot of prayer and a leap of faith, I enrolled in a writing/publishing course called Publish & Thrive, which is an intensive 6-week course diving deep into the realm of indie publishing, and talking about the ins and outs of turning it into a more serious venture. The publishing strategy and mechanics are what I’m really stuck on, and I’ve already found information that’s going to make a huge difference for me.

More and more, I’m realizing that I want to have those foundational aspects in place before doing too much blind-acting on my own, so that’s one of the reasons I’m focusing on writing material right now, more so than publishing it. To all who have been waiting on Cabin Girl for so long now, thank you greatly for your patience and support. It means a lot!

On the Blog

I did my blogging in bursts last month, between migraines and overall busyness. It’s at this point that I’m very grateful I did my blog post brainstorming/scheduling/image-creating for the entire summer back in May, so that it’s a simple matter of writing the posts and actually putting them out there (the exceptions are short blog tags that come up). It’s saved me many times so far, when I’ve been too exhausted to come up with any ideas in the moment.

Doing the post-writing in batches has also worked really well to keep me focused on one task until it’s completely done, rather than floating from one type of work to the next. It’s nice to feel like I’m finally understanding how my brain works best when it comes to writing strategies! And as a result, I shared five posts in July, including a guest post from Kenny Sargent, whom I was very blessed to get to collaborate with.

Here are the posts for July (just click on the links to read them):

~ 2022 June Wrap-Up
~ What I’m Learning About Submission
~ You’re Chickening Out (Guest Post by Kenny Sargent)
~ How Theatre Has Helped My Writing
~ 5 Pieces of Relationship Advice I’ve Learned From My Parents

Reading List

What’s this? I actually read something last month? Multiple somethings? Indeed!

Though it was another busy month, I prioritized more reading, as I’m about eleven books where I wanted to be at this point the year and need to make up some ground. And I have so many good books lying around that I just really want to read. So I’m happy to report that I finished three more books last month, and read the Bible more too!

~ Here I Am Again, Lord by Carole Mayhall
(This was a quick, much-needed re-read, and I was very thankful for all the reminders of God’s love, grace, and patience. The spiritual insights and pieces of wisdom were very helpful, and applicable to the season of life that I’m in currently.)
~ Thirst by Jill Williamson
(This is the first book in a prequel duology, and while I’ve never read the original series, that didn’t stop me from enjoying it greatly! The dystopian premise was intriguing, the acting engaging, characters relatable…and the Christian themes were subtle but powerful. I finished it in a day!)
~ A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge
(This was yet another excellent read loaned to me by my cousin, and I’m so thankful for it! It was profound, in-depth, and full of truths I needed to read. It’s the sort of book that probably takes several read-throughs to really digest everything. Highly recommend for Christians!)

Looking Forward

I really don’t know how it’s August already, but here we are. This is the last month before some of my autumn/winter commitments start back up, and my schedule fills more again, so I’m trying to get ready for that by pushing to finish some projects. I have also been evaluating better ways to manage my time and stay caught up with everything during the next few months. It’s always a journey, but I feel pretty good about it so far.

This month feels like a transition in a lot of ways, not just into the autumn and a new schedule, but also due to things like my brother’s graduation party, my celebration of one year with my boyfriend, my last year to submit to a age-restricted novel contest (to which I’m not sure I’ll actually have anything…), me aging out of a writing forum, the end of my teenage years, and a few other changes to things I’ve done for years. It feels strange, but I’m also looking forward to the next opportunities that are coming up.

As far as writing goals go, I’m hoping to finish the first draft of my newest project, make more progress with Cabin Girl, complete most of the publishing course, prep blog posts/ideas for the next several months, come up with a tentative and realistic publishing schedule, and at least start the cover process for said projects on that schedule. In addition, work, time with loved ones, and involvement with my church and its youth group are priorities again this month. It’ll be busy as always, but I’m looking forward to it all.

What was YOUR July like? What kinds of things did you get to do? If you have a progress report on something, or books you read and would like to share, go ahead and let me know in the comments! And while you’re at it, feel free to include what you’re looking forward to and/or hoping to accomplish in August! As always, I’m excited to hear from you!

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