So my month sort of got derailed in the best way possible… A ten-day beach vacation! It was exactly what I needed after months of quarantine, and while it shuffled my writing goals and timeline around a little, I got in plenty of relaxing, rejuvenation and reading.

What I Read

GRAND TOTAL: 8

Fearless by Katie Golding 

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle 

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett 

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie 

The Damned by Renee Ahdieh 

What I Wrote

My plan for July was to kick things into gear, participate in Camp NaNoWriMo and knock out my revision of The One. That didn’t happen. The month started slow with me having major imposter syndrome/writing anxiety about revisions. That’s normal for me – although I hate that it is. Diving back into after time off is nerve-wracking and overwhelming. But sometimes those feelings are a sign.

After a week or so of beating myself up for falling behind on my goal so quickly, I realized what my brain was trying to tell me. I wasn’t ready. The full scope of revisions hadn’t been percolating in my brain long enough for me to have a clear path forward. So I stopped putting so much pressure on myself and let my brain have the freedom and time it needed. I’d start revisions after my vacation. And of course, then the ideas started to really flow and I ended up with a strong new outline I could dive into as soon as I got home.

Coming Up

Because of taking the bulk of another month off writing, my plans and timeline may change a little. I am not sure if I will be ready to submit to Pitch Wars or begin querying at the end of September. But that’s okay. I am going to keep working toward those goals, and if I make it great. If not, that’s okay too. But August will be a month full of revisions and I am excited about this story’s potential.

As far as reads go, I will likely be a little slower this month since so much of my free time will be dedicated to revising, but I am pumped about these books:

• Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
• Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

How is your summer going?