That’s a wrap! April 2020
April 2020 has come and gone and our world continues to change. My month hasn’t been too bad, all things considered, with some solid writing progress made and five great books read. Come and check out all the details and tell me about what you’ve been up to!! →
April 2020 has come and gone, and I’m sure many of us can’t shake the feeling that the world has changed forever. I hope you and your families are all safe and well, and are coping okay in these strange times. My month hasn’t been too bad, all things considered, and has included the following key “highlights”:
Life in lockdown. Today marks day 38 of my time in lockdown, and I’m facing down at least another 11-12 days. We’ll see. As an introvert, I’m handling the isolation aspect just fine, but working from home is definitely harder than I expected—motivation is slipping rapidly from my grasp! Fellow Victorians, all COVID-19 updates are on the DHHS website.
News of the canine variety. So, the family will soon be getting a new co-worker after the old one quit on us last year! 😜 In all seriousness, my beloved childhood dog Leo died last February (see some cute pics here), and after making enquiries in recent months we received some exciting news this April: a bundle of fluff will be coming home to us soon!
Anzac Day 2020. April 25th is Anzac Day here in AUS, where we commemorate those who have served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. But this year, there were no gatherings, no parades. Instead, many of us stood in our driveways as the sun rose, candles at our feet, as part of the Light Up the Dawn initiative.
This April, I published 2 full blog posts as per my goals for 2020. You can check these out below!
I’ve also come across some excellent content posted by my fellows in the writing community! Here are some blog posts I’ve enjoyed this month:
- 3 signs you need a break, and why I’m changing my blog schedule by K.M. Allan
- 10 signs you’re really meant to be a writer by Meg Dowell @ Novelty Revisions
- 4 ways writing helps you relax by M.L Davis @ Uninspired Writers
- All 100 books on my LGBT+ Goodreads shelf by Margaret @ Weird Zeal
- How to work with time in a fantasy world by Kara Copple
Not gonna lie…I’m pretty tired after working on three key writing projects that span four separate novels! But I just can’t seem to help myself. The current status of each of my WIPs, and the progress I made this April, is detailed below.
Holding Up the Sky
“The weight of the sky—of the whole world—was pushing down, and it was crushing me.”
Status: Querying
Word count: 84,878
What’s new: My contemporary YA novel Holding Up the Sky is now well and truly in the query trenches! After months of procrastination, I forced myself to bite the bullet this months and just submit the damn thing. The query is now with three separate agents with a fourth submission ready to go, and recently I received a request for a partial! Tune in for more news next month!
Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)
“The Old has returned…and what once was, will be again.”
Status: Beta reading
Word count: 195,170
What’s new: I don’t really have any updates for Blood of Old, the first book in my fantasy series Graceborn. Beta reading continues, and I’m very grateful to my betas for the feedback they’ve provided so far. It has been really encouraging, and I have a few solid points to consider. I haven’t 100% decided how I’ll approach my next round of edits, and this WIP is not my priority this year, but I’ll keep you posted!
First the Song (Graceborn #2)
The story continues…
Status: Writing 1st draft
Word count: 43,069 (18.7%)
What’s new: I’ve been writing like a crazy person this month, and added 30k words to the draft of First the Song, the second book in the Graceborn series! This amounts to a full six chapters I’ve managed to complete. I’m now about two-thirds of the way through Part One, which puts me on track—just—to finish this draft by the end of the year. Sequels have their own challenges, but I’m having fun so far!
<Top secret project>
A brand new WIP!
Status: Planning
Word count: 0
What’s new: My new contemporary YA standalone WIP—which still remains top secret (sorry not sorry)—is coming along nicely. After developing all the characters last month, I spent this April fleshing out the settings, which means that the main planning phase is now pretty much complete. From here, I’ll be moving on to plotting, structuring and outlining, in time for smashing out as much of the draft as I can during NaNoWriMo in November!
I read a total of 5 books over the month of April, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. On other reading matters, I’ve also started a bit of a reorg-slash-makeover of my Goodreads account. There’s not much to see just yet, but hopefully there will be soon. Anyway, the titles I finished in the last few weeks are:
What have you been up to this April? Are you surviving life in lockdown? How is the writing and/or reading going?
Rebecca Alasdair
I'm an Australian indie author who hoards books, loves dogs and coffee, and has a tendency of staying up all night!
No Comments
M.L. Davis
Thanks so much for sharing my post, Rebecca! Great post of your own, looks like you’ve had a good month. Stay safe xxx
Rebecca Alasdair
You’re most welcome!! Your post was very timely, and I’m glad you like mine. It’s always nice to reflect on the last month and appreciate what you managed to get done! Take care yourself 😊
K.M. Allan
Thanks for including my post, Rebecca 😊. How exciting that you’re getting a new dog! I can’t wait to see pictures. We lost our 15-year-old cat two years ago and got a new kitten this past February and it’s been so nice having another pet in the house.
Rebecca Alasdair
I’m so excited it’s ridiculous! I’ve really missed having a furry friend around! 🤩
Lorraine Ambers
Yay! A new dog. I can’t wait to read Cresent City. I’m currently slogging my way through Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, I’ve heard the series picks up again so I’m sticking with it. :/
Rebecca Alasdair
Sometimes it’s a bit like that! I hope you enjoy Crescent City. It wasn’t my favourite SJM book, and I thought the side characters were more interesting than the MCs, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless!! 😊
Tomas
I’m glad to see your work on Graceborn #2 is going well – after beta reading #1, the wait for #2 will be endless!
As for myself, I’m finally wrapping up the beta stage and preparing to move towards the not-so-writerly things one has to take care of before sending their book into the world, and the challenges it’ll bring.
Rebecca Alasdair
That’s so exciting Tomas!! Best of luck with it all, and I’d love to hear how it goes. 😊
Tomas
Well, you can keep an eye out for my monthly updates – I don’t do them exactly on the last day of the month as you do but usually on the first Sunday after. And I’ll definitely share some bits of my journey when I get there.
Rebecca Alasdair
Will do!! 😊
Margaret @ Weird Zeal
Aww that’s wonderful to hear that you’re getting a new dog! I’m so glad you have that bright spot of joy to look forward to 😀
Ahhh hooray for The Infinite Noise! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed The Gravity of Us as well, since that’s on my TBR. Thanks so much for sharing my post, and I hope your May is wonderful!
Rebecca Alasdair
You’re welcome!! And yes, I mostly definitely enjoyed The Gravity of Us!! 😊