This isn’t how I usually like to do things, but strangely I’m loving the process this time. Even when I studied Creative Writing at university and we had to deliver multiple creative pieces within a short time frame, I struggled with handling more than one at a time. I think I’m coming to realise that I’m the kind of writer that likes to focus on one thing only, because I love the feeling of getting sucked into a new story and not wanting to try anything else. But sometimes you have to try something new, right?
Besides, I’m proud of how I’m handling different things now. I work 30 hours or more in an arcade, I’m a freelance editor (and have startled handling more than one project for publishers!), and of course next month I’ll be able to call myself a published author when my book comes out. I have a weekly planner to organise myself, where I’ll jot down everything that’s coming up on specific dates, including my weekly book review and writing post, and a Booktube video on Tuesdays. So it’s weird how time changes things, and your confidence in your own abilities. It definitely helps to have some kind of organisation device. I’ve also planned out every writing post and review for the next few months, so at least that way I can pick and choose my content for that week and feel a little more relaxed knowing I have a plan in place.
Anyway, I’m losing track of myself. So if you’ve been reading any of my previous posts you’ll know that my first book, Steel Princess, is due for release next month. For a while I thought I was going to put off writing the second book in the series, but recently I’ve thrown myself in the deep end with it a little, planned out a good amount of the story and began writing. This book is narrated by one of the characters who appears in the first, alongside my other main character from the first, Silver. I was so excited to write this new character because she’s fiery and sassy, and one of my most surprising ones to write from the first book. She’s a pirate princess, and not afraid to tell people how she feels. The first is narrated by a tinker called Eden, who builds the bots in the Steel City, and although he’s not going to be narrating it, he will still have a heavy amount of growth in this one, too. I also had to take a good amount of story out of book one, from my editor’s comments, so I’m going to be reshaping this and putting it into this new draft instead, but rewriting a lot of the story from the new character’s POV. I can’t wait.
I also have a Snow White retelling which I drafted a few years ago during NaNoWriMo, which I’m currently reading back through. I have made a lot of notes on developmental changes I want to make already, but it’s been a while since I read the story so I want to go back through and make sure it all makes sense!
It’s going to be a bit of a challenge writing both, but I couldn’t be more excited.
April Grace 