It’s been a while since I posted regularly. After nearly finishing the A to Z Challenge, I needed time to recuperate from intensive blogging, and I had to catch up with my writing. On top of that, the last two months were quite intensive work-wise, demanding my attention and time. So, with heavy heart, I decided to “disappear” for a while, including less presence on social media for the much-needed catching up with my priorities.
Writing
Back in the beginning of 2019, I planned to commit to rewriting By the Pact, one of my favorite projects. Yet, for several reasons, including the launch of my newsletter and the A to Z Challenge, I felt like I was falling behind. May was supposed to be the “back on track” month for the novel, and I wanted to have it done before June. Have I succeeded? Nearly. I wrote over 41,000 words, most of them in By the Pact, and even though I needed a few days in June to wrap up the novel, I considered the month a huge success. June was a little bit slower, with my brain recuperating, but I still got nearly 20,000 words done in various projects.
I also came up with a title for one of my projects. Memories of Sorcery and Sand is planned as a standalone fantasy, and it stemmed from some of my early ideas and inspirations. Even though I plan to work mainly on book 2 of By the Pact (as of now, tentatively titled A Fissure in Magic), I can’t help thinking about this project too as I’ll be venturing into new territories when it comes to storytelling and structure.
June also marked the release of Spring Into Sci-Fi: 2019 Edition, an anthology of science fiction stories, including my Black Eyes, Luminous monsters.
Art
Intensive writing and freelance work leave little space for art, so I didn’t do much of it in the past 2 months. When I was tired, I played around with some unfinished projects, including this dragonfly. It was one of the ones I drew for Inktorber 2018 challenge, for the prompt “Flowing”, so I wanted to see if I could color it. It’s been added to Society6 and Redbubble stores.
Life
At the end of May, Inq had a scheduled vacation, but it didn’t mean laziness. We had doctors scheduled for yearly checkups (than ran into June), and a trip to Washington DC, since I have to to apply for my passport at a Polish consulate. On top of that, of course, I got extra busy with work (because freelancing often means no weekends).
Because of the appointment in the middle of the day, I didn’t get to see much of the capital city, but I managed to take a few pictures. As a visiting European, I also enjoyed recognizing the landmarks I’ve seen in the movies.
Of course, all that meant that I fell behind with my friends’ blogs, and many other things got put back on the back burner, but I’m hoping summer will see me catch up with everything.
How about you? How was your spring? What are your plans for summer?
Sounds like you made cracking progress! Prioritising was clearly a good call, but glad to see you back 🙂
I just wish I had more time for everything… 🙂
Doesn’t everyone?
Probably 😉
It’s very hard juggling writing, marketing, blogging, and social media. Unless we writers just give up on life—family, friends, and fun—a break from our passion is needed. And sometimes a respite is necessary to sweep out the cobwebs and chase away the demons.
I agree with J.R., sounds as if you made great progress. Congratulations on “Black Eyes.”
To be honest, I somewhat did “give up on life” if it’s “family and friends”. Writing is where most of my fun is, so I try to focus on that. There are other things, but – as I wrote in one of my previous blog posts – I made a conscious decision to find time for things important for me, and writing is solidly in my top 3 priorities :).
Taking a break from social media and blogging was easier, as it isn’t as much writing-related.
And thank you, I really like that story. It might not be a ground-breaking one, but it was fun to write.
Wow – what a productive couple of months, Joanna – no wonder the blog went a tad quiet. But at the end of the day, that’s where your priority lies and quite right, too:). And the hard fact is that if we have to work and write, hard decisions need to be made. Writing takes time – there’s no magic short cut from the hours spent in front of the screen putting all those words on paper…
I’m glad you have someone in your life who is so understand, as I do. Though I also have members of my family who are nothing of the sort and bitterly resent the time and energy I pour into my work, which is very draining and undermining.
I’m glad you managed to squeeze some downtime to enjoy those tourist moments during your trip to Washington, which looks amazing. I’ve never visited the US and would love to some day… I hope the rest of your summer is as successful!
Thank you, Sarah!
I’m sorry to hear that not all people around you understand your passion. They don’t have to support it, but there’s no reason to resent it. I hope you will manage to get some distance from them, so they don’t spoil what is, at times, an already emotionally demanding passion.
Hm. Easier said than done, sadly…
Unfortunately :(. The vast consequences of family ties I see around make me relieved I’m not a particularly family person. I can still relate to those tangled in them.
Yes… right now things are a tad easier. But it’s a big family and there’s a lot going on.