November is a legendary month for writing for me and this year was no exception. I won NaNoWriMo after only 20 days of writing! My pace was extreme, my stress level was surprisingly low, and no chores around the house were completed until I hit 50,000 words. But…once I hit those 50,000 words in my lovely (and really, I love it) draft, I more or less pulled my head from my cave of words and realized I needed to prepare for Thanksgiving, read a book, watch some TV (I neglected TV for those 20 days) and clean the apartment. So I finished the month with just over 51,000 words, rather than pushing through any further than that. If not for the Thanksgiving holiday and its attendant family responsibilities, I probably would have gone a lot further… (I will maintain that position indefinitely!)

Reading Accomplishments

• Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I picked up Born of Fire and Born of Ice, too. I’m a sucker for anything vaguely reminiscent of Star Wars and this series is that, and fun to boot. Still haven’t finished Sherlock Holmes, though I plug through the stories when I can. (Sherlock has become my read-to-work book, so I read half a story on the bus every afternoon.) … Which reminds me… First Lord’s Fury has just come out now that it’s December, hasn’t it? *Runs to bookstore*

• Vanished by Kat Richardson
• Bad Moon Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Naamah’s Kiss by Jacqueline Carey
• Big Bad Wolf by Christine Warren
• Demon’s Kiss by Maggie Shayne

I’ve also started reading a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Never read any of them until now, and I love them. Love.

Writing Accomplishments

A few thousand words in my WIP. Tons of editing and polishing work. Completely and entirely reworked whole chapters and plot points. It feels good.

I plunged back into my most recent draft with a renewed fervor. I’ve been rewriting it and it’s been going very well! The rewrite has taken it in a few slightly altered directions but it’s all for the best, I think. The world is very vivid this time around, and it’s much easier for me to dig into it. I think I needed the bit of mental break I’d taken when I worked on another document for a while. Coming back to this one now feels great.

Reading Accomplishments

• Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
• Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

I also listened to Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty and the Midnight Hour and Kitty Goes to Washington on audiobook, prompting me to continue reading the series over again (I’m on Kitty and the Silver Bullet now).

I’ve been switching between several different drafts. I’ve started fresh rewrites of two of them, and I’m working on deepening the backstory and streamlining the history of the linked stories. It’s a lot of work but not as much actual word count progress as I’d like, but I am still proud of what I’ve been getting done.

Reading Accomplishments

• Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #9)
• Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
• Awakened Mage by Karen Miller

I also listened to Kushiel’s Dart and Kushiel’s Chosen on audiobook.

I’m now approximately halfway through my re-write of my current draft. It’s been going slowly the last week or so because of a ton of life issues that have cropped up all of a sudden but I have hopes that things will get back on track this week.

Reading Accomplishments

Firstly, I’ve gotten Bryan to read a lot of books this month via audiobook and even via regular book. Our honeymoon cruise mid-month helped with that, I think. Otherwise my main reading accomplishment were the first three several-hundred-page epic volumes of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series, which were excellent and highly recommended:

• Kushiel’s Dart
• Kushiel’s Chosen
• Kushiel’s Avatar

Plus I listened to a few books I’ve already read on audiobook:

• Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

June will be a good month. I’m looking forward to True Blood‘s return to HBO and the start of my part-time job as well as the lovely calm that will now (hopefully) descend as a result of our endless wedding celebrations finally being over.

Writing Accomplishments

Lots of editing & some new writing! I’ve started rewriting the book’s backstory and outline, bigtime, changing the motivations/history aspects of the plot, though the main story idea is still the same (but now with deeper and more logical connections between the characters and the backstory/present action)! Woohoo!

Yes! I am back on track!

Reading Accomplishments

• Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
• Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
• Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance
• Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

I listened to the audiobooks of two books I’ve read before: Magic Bites & Magic Burns, by Ilona Andrews, as well as the audiobook of Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon, which I’ve read a few times.

I’m also about halfway through Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey.

After the wedding, we moved. Even if we moved across the street, it was still quite an endeavor.

Writing Accomplishments

Pretty much nothing.

Reading Accomplishments

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

Writing Accomplishments

22,985 new words in the draft I started in January.

Total words in draft at end of February: 78,003

Reading Accomplishments

Watchmen — story by Alan Moore & illustrations by Dave Gibbons

Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole

Dream Warrior by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher, illustrations by Ardian Syaf

The Tales of the Otori trilogy by Lian Hearn

• Across the Nightingale Floor
• Grass for his Pillow
• Brilliance of the Moon

Writing Accomplishments:

55,022 new words in a new draft. Wholly outlined said draft.

Reading Accomplishments:

Underground by Kat Richardson

Weddings from Hell (Anthology)

• “Till Death” by Maggie Shayne
• “Happily Never After” by Jeaniene Frost
• “Ghouls Night Out” by Terri Garey
• “The Wedding Knight” by Kathryn Smith

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

Midnight’s Daughter by Karen Chance