writing update

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: New Goals

I get way too much use outta this GIF…

I was watching this YouTube video and a lot of the complaints in it I am totally feeling: Underpaid, underappreciated, overworked… And with no end in sight. I’m sure my bestie will scold me for overworking myself, but I am upping my daily word goal from 2k to 5k. Doesn’t matter that I usually don’t make 2k, I’m doing it. I am just so sick and tired of struggling. I shouldn’t have to turn the heat off in certain rooms of the house to save money. I’m also concerned about where the government is going and if my insurance will even cover my son’s surgery anymore. I mean, they probably will, but who knows these days!? Everything is so uncertain…

I’ll still be working on the blog and needlework, but writing will be the priority. Let’s get to the numbers, as they say on Dead Meat:

  • Smut: 13,540
  • Short smut: 882
  • Dewey: 15,588

These are my starting points for the day, and I’ll try to make a habit of tallying up my words at the end of the day. I’d like to put the total words added in each WIP post to hold myself accountable. I will also give myself grace if I need to spend a day or two editing. Maybe with a higher output overall, I’ll have more stories to publish and pick up some members on my Patreon. I have a book I’ve been using for outlines to write faster. I was also talking with my bestie about some new ideas I’ve had, and I can’t get to those until I finish what I’ve got. And I gotta say, she’s my hypewoman but will absolutely tell me if one of my ideas is shit. That’s why she’s my bestie.

I guess see ya’ll in a week to see how this goes.

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WIP Wednesday! A lot to cover… Maybe not a LOT.

It’s been a while but I’ve been a busy bee. Let’s not waste any time and here are the word counts:

  • Smut: 13,290
  • Kinktober: 37
  • Dewey: 14,909

“Gosh what happened to Kinktober?” (which I will give a different name at some point) Whelp, I finished the first 4 prompts I chose, and it topped 10k words. I separated them into the individual stories to start editing to make my life easier. This means the word count resets to zero for the time being. The editing process is about halfway done, and I should be able to get one out before the end of the month. I cleared out that part of Shelley (the Frewrite Traveler) to start fresh with the 5th prompt. My goal is to keep writing prompts and release the finished ones at least once a month while I work on the longer stuff here and there.

You’ve also probably noticed I’m posting reviews again. I have 60 or so finished reviews ready to go. I just have to type them up and keep up with my ARCs. I keep putting them off to write and end up having to read 10 or more in one day. I also have library books to return and other physical books that have been orbiting my life to either gift, donate, or sell. They’re not all graphic novels, so they’re taking longer to get through. I’d also LOVE to review some of the books I’ve backed on Kickstarter. I’m pushing to release more content in general and be more active. Time to get back to it!

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Writing Update: It’s live! Fruit of the Dead: Season 1 Episode 3

The latest episode of this series is out!

“In part three of this series, our four lost souls face a ruthless Courier that pushes their abilities to the limit.* *Note, this story contains themes of abuse, suicide, prostitution, depression, and other mature themes. Trigger and content warnings apply”

Click here and select your preferred retailer. D2D is still working on some of them so, please check back. I didn’t want to wait on announcing it since I’m slow enough with writing updates as is.

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Writing Update: New Cover

The help desk didn’t get back to me about being able to edit the old cover so now the first part of Fruit of the Dead has a new cover. I was hoping that each season would have a different cover but ah well. In terms of problems, this isn’t a big deal. Now, as for the word counts:

  • FotD S1E3: 2443 but I’m not happy with how it flows so this may change
  • Dewey: 10,441 and I’m posting this in the middle of the day ,and I bet I’ll end up with more later

Also, due to a lovely surprise $4,000 bill that I didn’t think I needed to pay, I will be putting more time into my S00PER SEEKRIT smutty pen name because as much as I love to write fantasy, the smut is what makes me any money at all every month. I will do my best to ensure this does not delay my progress on my non-smut projects.

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Off Schedule Writing Update

(Image Source)

Happy Mother’s Day! If you’re into that thing. If not, happy I finished a project day!

The next part of Fruit of the Dead is finished and the rough draft is 2397 words. I absolutely have a ton of editing to do on it. I gave it a quick read through and there are things I need to add, details to expand on, etc. I have a much needed day off where I can do that and read a bunch of ARCs I’ve been dying to get to. I haven’t outlined the next bit yet but I have some ideas in mind. My book cover site has completely revamped and I no longer have access to edit the cover I’ve been using for this series. I did email them and support told me they could have it moved into the new editing software but it hasn’t happened yet. I really hope I don’t have to delay publishing the story when it’s ready or buy a new cover and have to go back and change it for the first two parts. It may not matter to others but, it’s important for me to have cover continuity. I hope they’re able to help me out soon so I can give this next part to you all.

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Last writing update for April 2025

(Image Source)

It’s been a nutty week and my numbers aren’t the best. I ended up down to the wire on a bunch of ARCs I’d downloaded so, reviewing those took a bunch of my free time. Expect a bunch of reviews to be posted soon. I’m also posting in the afternoon and may have som time later to keep working but I wanted to get the blog updated before I either forgot or fell asleep while writing. It’s happened before. 

  1. First Brood 4: Emma – 16823 words
  2. Dewey – 9565 words
  3. Fruit of the Dead S1E3 – 860 words

Not much in the way of work on Emma’s book but I’m pushing to get the other two done faster because FotD has been sitting without an update for years and since it’s episodic, it feels like a waste to leave it hanging. I’m hoping to balance my time better next week and have more of an output; especially since there’s no overtime for me until next month.

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Side Biz Status Update!

One of my yearly/life goals is stash busting and I’ve made some decent progress in that regard. These two items have been added to my shop! I have a lot more to go but I’m making some decent headway. My last round of decluttering unearthed even more damn yarn but I am not deterred. I will make things out of all the yarn I’ve bought and do my best to sell them. I know they’re some very simple designs but, I’m going for speed. And I have some interesting yarn types that I’m not sure what to do with. What comes out of it will be interesting.

As for my writing, here are the current word counts for my WIPs:

  • First Brood 4 Emma: 16,823 words
  • Dewey: 9,210 words

I’m making okay progress on these but I’m gonna spend some time outlining the rest of the plot for these two. I always start out thinking I totally can wing it for the rest of the manuscript but nah. If I want both of these done before the end of the year, I’m gonna have to be more organized. I’d like to continue my Fruit of the Dead series and that will ABSOLUTELY need a proper outline to make sure the episodes make sense. My goal is to have a wide variety of genres for people to read. And to get out of debt by finally making these things profitable.

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Writing Update! Plans going forward.

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So, since my money situation is not good, I am going to be releasing my next book in chapters as I finish them on my Patreon under the $5 membership tier. I am aiming for one chapter a month that’s as polished as I can make it. Be aware, this book is in progress. Once I finally release the completed book, things may be reorganized and absolutely will be re-edited. It’s been awhile since I continued my first series and I’m actually excited to get back to it!

I’m also still working on that dystopian librarian story and brainstorming some ideas for the Djinn, Fruit of the Dead, Go Away Girls, and Gods in the Grey City series. Sometimes it surprises me how many series I have going right now… These are also all available here on my blog if you want to check them out.

Yes, this is ambitious considering I work full time, overtime, looking into remote part time work, and still reviewing books all the while with a teenager but it’s clear that just one job isn’t going to keep a roof over our heads. I’m gonna have to push myself to write as much as possible. Hopefully, you all enjoy it!

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Cover Reveal! “Go Away Girls: Vanished”

Go Away Girls - Vanished

The third book in my Go Away Girls series is almost finished! It’s way overdue and I think it turned out pretty cool. Here’s what I’m considering as my blurb:

In the aftermath of the epidemic of the drug ‘Flight,’ Katherine and Audrey were hoping for things to go back to normal. However, some of Audrey’s fellow members of the Temple of the Great Mother have not been in contact and several prostitutes have gone missing from brothels in Trixa. Katherine and her friends work to hunt down the kidnappers and bring the missing people home.

This book/series features LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters. I am hoping for this book to be done in the next couple days and of course, I’ll update when it’s live!

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Today’s Workout and Camp NaNoWriMo Update

I didn’t get to all my workout apps today but I was strapped for time and recovering from a weekend dealing with a horrid upset stomach. I’m fine now; food is staying down and I don’t feel dizzy and sick anymore.
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Of course I didn’t get my word count up there and there’s no way I’m going to hit 50k words. And that’s mostly because I only have two story beats left to go: the climactic battle and conclusion. That’s just not going to be 30k words. Even if I stuffed it with fluff and that’s just a waste since I’ll have to cut it out later. I have enough to fix with all the typos and parts where I literally forgot a character’s name. I’ll have to take the general victory of finishing a book in a month without considering the word count.

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