It's been a while since my last post. Things have been pretty scattered and frantic for the past few months... In real life, we are trying to get some work done on the house. Organizing the mortgage meetings and the contractors and realtors and everything else has taken up way too much time, and doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon. The seasons are changing also, which is leaving me with a bad case of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I am of the unpopular opinion that Autumn sucks... (and pumpkin spice everything is overrated!) Give me 90 degrees and sunlight every day. I also fell into a new favorite game. Nier:Automata has taken up rather too much of my time over the last month or two. It's wonderful and heartbreaking and it really took me for a ride I wasn't expecting.
In writerly news: Bulletproof made it into the top 3 in the Master Category with Ink and Insights! This means that I'm going to the agent round. There are 6 or 7 agents who will read and critique the top three entries and vote on which entry gets first, second, or third place. This is an amazing opportunity - getting my writing in front of agents at this point is such an amazing feeling (and of course, a little horrifying as well!). They have the option to reach out after the competition and work with the writers if they are interested. I haven't heard anything about the rankings yet, but there's still plenty of time for them to reach a decision.
I also made the Judges' Favorite list, which means that 3 of my 4 judges thought Bulletproof was their favorite entry out of everything they'd read during the competition! I had a really great score, and I want to thank the judges for all their hard work and commentary, as well as the person running this competition.
But my favorite part of the competition were the comments from the judges. They all had some insightful things to say and specific critiques that made so much sense. I'm still processing the information they provided, and it will definitely make this story and my writing shine so much! I'm so glad that I entered and grateful for the comments they gave me. Several of them pointed out places where I could apply that old writing adage, "Show Don't Tell", and I think my writing will be a lot stronger going forward because of their valuable insight.
(This comment in particular had me squealing with delight.... "I really enjoyed the mesh of Steampunk, Fantasy, and Western elements. Lots of authors have produced some combination of these genres, but it's rare that you get all three in one project. A gunslinging succubus, traveling with her adopted brother who's also a baby magical tinker? That's not something you see every day, but I would immediately buy a book with that on the jacket copy." SQUEE~)
On the actual writing front... not so much has happened. After finishing Bulletproof back in May, I dabbled in a few other projects. I worked for about a month on Sword, then I worked for another month on Arkaya, and in between I was working on "The Mechnician's Son", a novella prequel to Bulletproof. At the moment, I'm working on plotting Culled, my next first draft. I'm also starting edits of Bulletproof, leading up to Draft 2 at some point in the next couple of months (either during or after NaNoWriMo). I'm very excited for Bulletproof Draft 2 - I'm planning on adding some backstory scenes to highlight Corteo and Larodia's friendship.
On the horizon - 2018 is going to be the Year of Finishing All The Things. (Well, at least a couple of them.) My focus next year will be Arkaya Draft 5, Bulletproof Draft 2, and Sword Draft 2. And maybe another first draft. I've also got an older story called Dragonsoul which needs a rewrite, but it has taken a backseat to some of my stronger stories.
For now, I'm sitting in front of my sunlamp, drinking mango peach green tea, and putting the Nier Automata soundtrack on repeat. It's a wonderful day off and I'm going to get back to editing.