I worked steadily on A Gift of Grace throughout February, and got about halfway through my goal of 20,000 words. (Specifically, I’m now at 69,106 words with a goal of 80,000.) Progress, but unfortunately my end doesn’t feel any closer. I also have to keep resisting the urge to go back and revise previous chapters. This book feels like a world I’m living in, instead of a story I’m telling. But I’ll be continuing to work on it, of course.
I also worked reliably on two of the short stories I wanted to finish, both of which are turning into novellas, not short stories. One, currently titled Ella and Lila, which is not in any way a real title, is up to 9400 words, and the other, currently titled The Bazkire, ditto the lack of reality, is at 14,400 words. So writing happened.
Publishing progress did not.
I’m really no closer to wanting to release anything than I was a month ago. I did, however, start posting short stories and flash fiction to a section of my website called Scribbles. These are the same stories that I was planning to include in a short story collection of a similar name sometime this month. Posting them for free is probably not a terribly sensible business decision, but I felt comfortable with it as a stepping-stone. When I hit 20,000 words of short stories that feel complete (finishing being my major problem with everything I write these days), I’ll publish a collection. Of course, if I ever finish my story about the Bazkide, I’ll probably have the 20,000 words right there!
And I said that the wrong way… not “if I ever” but “when I do.” I’m not sure why endings have become such a challenge for me, but stories require them. Maybe this month I’ll practice writing endings.
In fact, I think I’ll start now…
Thanks for reading and may your March 2017 be filled with joy and flowers!
