Writing Update #4

Haven't done one of these in a while, so for those of you wondering what projects I'm working on lately...ta da!

First of all, I am very very excited to announce that a short story of mine has been accepted to run in the Bleeding Ink anthology. It was the first acceptance letter I've ever received for my writing and, I can tell you, if felt amazing. Not quite sure what the dates are yet for it to be released, but I will keep you posted!

I have a second project in the works to be submitted for the Day of Demons anthology, and it's currently in the process of thorough editing. Thorough editing. My first draft looked like it had been massacred. It felt pretty good, actually. This one is a short story I spent January writing and I'm proud of it - can't wait for you to read it.

Otherwise, I've been editing. A lot. Mostly not even on my own stuff, but projects and betas I've taken on to help others, which has been both satisfying and entertaining. I have, however, started reading over my first draft of Bitter Cold, and, well...it's not going great. I don't like my first chapter - great start, huh? But it's all right. I have a few theories on how to improve it, so February will start that whole process.

The downside of having all of this fix-up/read-through/editing to do is that any new writing has to sit on the back-burner. I have a hard time switching back and forth between analytical and creative thinking - trying to write during my "editing" phase usually leads me to jotting down dry, straightforward, emotionless garbage I normally wouldn't consider. It's a problem that reminds me (horrifyingly) of university, of trying to balance my novel with the masses of research papers *shudder*. Still, I have a few ideas I'm brainstorming, noting ideas for.

On The Raven's Quill, I've reached some awesome benchmarks as well. 4200 hits as of the end of January. It's incredible! I never thought it would reach so high, and I only have you to thank for it so...thanks!

"That's it for now," she said, taking a deep breath. I'm blown away that this is just January. 2012 has started out with a bang for this writer - can't wait to see where the rest of the year takes me!