Writing Update: January 2023

I’m one of those New Years resolution girls and tried my best to hit the ground running after the holidays. Here’s what I spent January doing:

— wrapping up a POV rewrite for one of my narrators

— mapping out my story beats thanks to the brilliant book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (GO READ THIS BOOK if you’re writing a book. Best decision I ever made). This exercise helped make it clear where I need to tighten up the narrative and where I have room to breathe.

— diving back into another round of edits with my Save the Cat momentum!

Something I learned this month that I want to carry into the rest of the year as I write:

• It’s okay to have favorite scenes.

• It’s okay to have some chapters that are simply necessary and not favorites.

There’s a swell and trough and a crest to every wave. We all love the moment that a wave breaks, crashing down in a way that we can’t look away from — but making that moment requires some still water, some ripples, and lots of work beneath the surface.

As I dive back into my latest edit, I’m keeping this mindset so I don’t get frustrated by the chapters that simply don’t spark as much joy as the others.

Happy February and happy writing & reading!