October Wrap Up

Happy Wednesday! 

I can't believe October is almost over! 😭 It feels like it went by so fast! And yet, I feel like this last week of October is creeping by. I'm not sure if I'm glad for the very slow end of October or would prefer to just have it over with haha I am sad to see the Halloween-Fall month go, but I'm very much looking forward to November and Thanksgiving. I'm so ready for Nanowrimo!! 

October Writing: I finished the first draft of Scarlet Phoenix on October 4th, so that was awesome! It's more of a skeleton draft and definitely needs some more meat on its bones, but it was still the best feeling to have it finished! It's got so much potential and I seriously can't wait to start revising it. 

The rest of October was spent revising and editing my short story Operation Revelry and editing Unearthed. I actually ended up publishing Operation Revelry just last week! So if your a fan of superheroes, explosive nanodroids and snarky characters you should for sure check it out. 

I finished edits for Unearthed! My goal for the last two weeks of October has been to finish this major round of edits, so I can focus on Nanowrimo next month. I've been feeling the pressure lately and have been super stressed with Unearthed edits having piled on top of classwork and with this month having been a bad mental health month for me anyways I want November to be a chill month. So, I've decided to push back publishing Unearthed. It'll be out in early December instead of the end of November like I had planned. I just need that extra time to take the pressure off, do a fun cover reveal and hopefully do some more marketing for the book before it comes out. 

In the past two months or so I've slowly felt this need to encourage and spur on fellow writers as well. That's why I've decided every Tuesday on my Instagram and my blog I'll be sharing writing and publishing tips on top of doing my more faith based Wednesday posts. Suffice to say, it's all a lot of writing... 

Overall, it's been a pretty jam packed and productive writing month. 

October Reading: I think you already know what I'm going to say... My reading this month has been good because I am almost done with my read through of the Keeper series!

I'm officially on my favorite (so far) of the series: Legacy. And guess what?? Unlocked comes out in just a few weeks!! I am slowly dying from the anticipation. I must know what happens, and I must have Keefe POV chapters!! 

Also, I ordered The Invincible Life of Addie Larue, and it's sitting on my shelf right now.

I can't decide if I should wait until after Unlocked to start it or if I should read it while I'm between Legacy and Unlocked. Knowing me, I'll probably start reading it before Unlocked because that book is just begging me to read it!

October Life Stuff: My anxiety has been pretty bad the last two weeks of October. It's felt like a busy month. I've been going to the chiropractor three days a week, my classwork just feels nonstop and then Unearthed edits and publishing a short story... it feels like a lot. It's been a little exhausting and I know I haven't been taking care of my mental health the way I should be. I pushed myself pretty hard this month and heaped too many expectations on myself. I've also been having a hard time with overthinking things, and my brain just is unable to stop. It's all felt very overwhelming. 

Besides that though, it's been a good month. The crisp weather is settling in. I've gotten to wear jeans and take Fall pictures!

The leaves are changing and falling and it's all so beautiful. We've taken long walks surrounded by the colorful trees and now we get to close out the month with Halloween! Some friends of my family are throwing a Halloween party this week. And then there's Halloween! I'm dressing up as a Grounder from The 100/Post-apocalyptic vibe cus I think it'll be funny to dress in post-apocalyptic clothes during 2020. We'll put our bonfire out front in our new house and hand out candy and go trick or treating. A little slice of normal in this very abnormal year. 

Looking forward to November: I've got mixed feelings about November this year. Election day is on the fourth, and I don't know if I'm ready for the fall out that will ensue. No matter what happens, one way or the other there are going to be a lot of unhappy people. I'm a little worried about what will happen afterward. I'm worried about riots starting again and who will win and what that will mean for 2021... 

But I'm also really excited for November. The tail-end of October has felt really stressful and hectic and exhausting. November is going to be my rest month. I've tackled the big Unearthed edits and now I feel like I can breathe again. I'm excited to polish Unearthed in November, and I'm excited to participate in Nanowrimo. I'm super excited about the story I have for this Nanowrimo. It's an Arthurian legends retelling/continuation with the daughter of Merlin as the main character. Her name is Emilie, and I am absolutely in love with her and can't wait to tell her story. She's my bubbly, bright warlock girl who's got so much power and strength inside her and so much responsibility riding on her shoulders. Emilie is so clear in my mind. I can see her smile, I can hear her laugh. This may sound weird but, the thought of her brightens my heart and pushes all the anxiety away. She's the sort of person that lights up a room when she walks in and that's exactly what she does to me every time she pops into my head. She lights it all up. I hope that one day she'll be able to light up the rooms of others as well. I don't know what her story will hold. Really all I know is her name, the name of a second character, Adrian, and the fact that she is the daughter of Merlin. But I can feel so much potential in her story and I can see the ending of that story so clearly, which is always a good sign. If I can see the ending then that means I have a destination and if I have a destination then that means I can fill in the rest of the journey. I can get from A to Z as long as I know what A and Z looks like. Anyways! Enough of me gushing about Emilie. If you want to know more about her and Adrian and my Nano story, go follow me on Instagram cus I have a feeling there will be a lot of talk of them in November. 

I'm also super excited for Thanksgiving. I can't wait for it this year. We're going to stay at this super fun and nice hotel that we stayed in in July. I'm itching to get out of this house and go somewhere else. It'll just be nice to get to get out of the house and go somewhere else and spend time with family. Thanksgiving also means a week long break from classes, which I am so looking forward to! I can't wait for a break haha

So yeah, October was good, but I'm hoping November will be better. I'm hoping November will exceed my expectations. 

How was your October? What did you read and/or write? Are you doing Nanowrimo this year??