My Current Creative Projects

When I work with a client, the focus is on them: their project, their intentions, their goals.

At the same time, it's important to me that clients know I am also a writer who is actively working on (often several) creative projects of my own. I'm constantly grappling with my own creative tendencies. I duel with my schedule to find writing time. And, like most writers, I alternate between being in the muck and feeling elated with the words on the page.

I don't often share much about my projects--I've always tended to be private about my writing. But one of the most special things about the Alongside Retreat, for me, is that I get to know what other writers are working on. And so it seems only right to share a little bit.

Book 1

I've been writing my first novel since 2021. I've completed a first draft and am now doing a big revision. The revision feels like I'm demolishing the house and the foundation, and I kind of am--it's a full rewrite that I started in a blank document. That's how I tend to revise short stories, though, so I'm not surprised that it's my approach here either.

I think the revision is making it better, and I have a good sense of where the book needs to go, but it's hard to tell at this stage. I've really enjoyed writing this book, but I have also found it completely stupefying. There are still some things I can't figure out--like why the images that feel TOTALLY essential to the novel don't work when I put them into the narrative. My hunch is that I'm attaching them to the wrong characters, or I'm trying to shoehorn things that aren't meant to be in the final draft...but I'm the kind of writer that has to try something and see it live before I can say, "Oh no, that doesn't work at ALL."

My goal is to finish the revision over the next six months or so and then to work with a developmental editor on edits before I start the querying/submission process. It's also possible that the book will need another revision or two before that happens, though!

Book 2

I have a second book project in the mix as well. This one is very early in the first draft stages--I'm just generating words on the page. But I have to say, the generating is a LOT easier now that I've already drafted one novel. I realize how much I was feeling my way in the dark when it came to writing my first book. I was a short story writer mostly, so a novel felt gargantuan and strange. That's pretty special to me, actually--that I had no idea how to write a novel but I managed it anyways. (With a lot of help from writer friends and mentors, of course.)

It is nice, though, to feel a little more adjusted to the form and to have some sense of what I'm doing. The second book is not one I planned to write, but one day, I just started, and it really came flowing out of me. That was not my experience drafting the first book--those words were a lot more difficult to catch hold of. It's possible that that's due to the POV; this second book is 1st person, while the 1st book alternates between 3rd and 1st person.

I've showed these pages to one close writer friend, and her feedback was very encouraging and helped me realize that this is a worthy project, even though it's competing for time and attention with my first book. But I've also realized that the projects play off each other in interesting ways. They are so different, but there are connections between them in my mind. I can also get a "break" from one project and leapfrog to the other one, which I like!

A third, undefined thing

In summer of 2023, I had the idea I should write a romance novel. I'm a Libra, and my brain is full of romanticized versions of things. So, I thought, why not pour those ideas into a book? I also thought it would be fun to explore a new plot structure, and I thought that learning more about romance novel conventions and structure could potentially help my other books. (Which are both about love, in lots of ways.) Writing a romance novel, I thought, would be like developing a new muscle group. I even outlined the book, which is NOT something I've done for my other books, and it felt like a really useful exercise. I can see why writers do it!

All that to say, I'm not writing this book currently; I don't think I could necessarily manage writing three different projects. But I do have a document on my computer where I take notes, jot down scene ideas, and take note of sentences that come to me. Honestly, it's just fun. And it feels completely no pressure and a bit freeing, too. I would likely publish under a pen name, and that idea feels so liberating in a way I can't quite explain yet.

In summary:

It feels like a weird and wild ideas shop over here, in the best way. I'm SO tremendously grateful I have people encouraging every single one of the above ideas; even though I can be private about the writing itself, I absolutely thrive on encouragement.

I also think I'm entering an era in my writing where I want it to be fun, and I'm less worried about "Is this coming off a serious literature?" That's been a hugely freeing shift for me. And it took so many years--decades--for me to see how I was imposing an unnecessary burden on my creative process.

I'm ALWAYS interested in the projects you're working on. If you want to talk about them or you're toying with the idea of creative support, you can schedule a call here.