So far, 2020 has been an odd year for me. I might not be a person to make New Year resolutions, but I had plans, solid and detailed, and I was ready to see them through. Yet, as always in life, unexpected things happen, and my plans got derailed, so the first quarter of the year for me, although somewhat productive, has been affected by a sudden loss of direction and then need to rearrange my goals.

And although writing isn’t necessarily as lonely endeavor as some people might paint it, the writing progress remains invisible until a novel or a story is done and published. That’s why I thought I’d share how my writing life has been so far this year, and what else I’ve been busy with.

Writing

I was hoping to get back on the writing horse, but the change of plans affected my output, and in the end, I’ve written about 60,000 words total, so only about two thirds of what I’ve been aiming for. Yet, my progress was steady enough and I managed to meet some of my goals. I planned on finishing Memories of Sorcery and Sand, my standalone fantasy, but it seems that the novel needs a resting period while I iron out some details, so it’s going to be a while before I can finish it.

So, instead I worked on Scars of Stone (which changed from its working title, Fissure in Magic), book 2 of By the Pact series. The novel is finished, but it needs one last read through and then some copy editing to polish it, and I’m quite excited to move onto book 3. I hope to have all three ready before the year ends… and maybe even book 4 in the works, because book 4 is definitely coming.

Art

Other creative processes took a backseat to writing, so I didn’t have much done. But I was happy to finish the digitally-colored Frog Witch from my Inktober series, and as usually, I added it to Society6 and Redbubble stores.

I managed to get the dragonflies back, so if you liked them, be sure to check my social media on Fridays. I do my best to post them regularly, though some weeks sadly slip by.

I was also happy to finally redo my website. A new header with a tag line that I feel reflects my writing better, and a more mobile-friendly layout, so if you view it on the phone, it should be more convenient now. There are—as always—various visual works in progress, but I prefer not to share them until they’re polished enough, and when it comes to art, I tend to work on whatever the mood dictates at the time, since it’s meant to be a form of relaxation.

Life

Although the world is in the midst of pandemic, my life hasn’t changed much so far, except that the plans I had for spring, which included a road trip to Virginia’s national park, got postponed. I share my time between freelance work and writing, I try to exercise regularly, and I still enjoy a video game or a tv series, when something grabs my attention.

I turned 39 in Marched, but I tend to keep the birthday celebration low-key. Inq and I cooked a delicious dinner, and I bought myself a gift as I always do—this time a huge supply of delicious decaffeinated tea. And even though I don’t go anywhere, I decided to become a red head for a while, just for the fun of it.

Sadly, I haven’t been lucky with books lately, none grabbing my attention to push me in a reading binge, but I hope to find one soon.
I also take time to connect with my friends through Skype and Messenger. Even though living away from them means staying in contact this way, it feels like a good time to offer them extra time and support.

How about you? How is your life going? How are you coping with with social distancing?