April 2022 Wrap-Up

And now we have reached the end of April. I don’t know about all of you, but April felt short yet incredibly long at the same time. That may be because I’m teaching and it’s the end of the semester, though. Here are the goals I laid out for myself last month:

• Read 8 books
• Start work on fixing my room/office (this is a giant project)
• Writing Goals
  • Minimum goal: 12k to reach
  • True goal: 15k to reach
  • Stretch goal: 18k to reach
• Blog weekly
• Monthly newsletter released
• Make blurb for The Reanimator’s Heart
• Brainstorm the newsletter freebie (since that didn’t happen in March)

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Reading

I set out to read 8 books, and in April I read exactly 8 books, lol.

1. Proper Scoundrels (#1) by Allie Therin- 4 stars, I really enjoyed her first series (Magic in Manhattan), and this continuation didn’t disappoint. Grumpy x sunshine is always a favorite
2. How to Read a Dress by Lydia Edwards- 4 stars, really fantastic resource for period costumes. While not comprehensive, it provides good info about the shifting trends and repurposing of fashion.
3. How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis by Brian Cohen- 5 stars, if you are a writer, I cannot recommend this book enough.
4. Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples- 4 stars, I have read it so many times (since I teach it in two classes) but I’m rereading the series in preparation for volume 10’s release this fall
5. Saga Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples- 5 stars, it just gets better. The world is expansive and the characters richly human (and awful)
6. A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee- 4 stars, really great dark academia, psychological horror(ish) type story, but I feel like this would have been better as New Adult instead of Young Adult as it would have been more believable
7. Heartless by Marissa Meyer- 4 stars, an interesting and clever retelling using Louis Carroll’s body of work, also made me sad
8. The Forgotten Dead (#1) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a contemporary paranormal mystery with romance between a ghost hunter and an academic studying paranormal phenomena, also yay for trans rep

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Admin/Behind the Scenes Author Stuff

• Reached the midpoint of The Reanimator’s Heart (and then some)
• Sent the book so far off to my cover designer, so we can get to work on that
• Created a blurb for The Reanimator’s Heart, which you can read in one of the blog posts listed below
• Worked on the idea/outline for the free newsletter short story that will come out later this year (you can join my newsletter by clicking Newsletter in the top menu)
• Finished the vast majority of grading for my class this semester
• Made a significant dent in my room/office revamping (mostly cleaning, sorting, tossing, but it’s LONG OVERDUE)
• Researched marketing my book on TikTok, but I’m not sure if I want to wade into that cesspool
• Edited the first half of The Reanimator’s Heart
• Commissioned couple art of Oliver and Felipe (thank you @Bloodwrit on Twitter)
• Was significantly less anxious than usual this month, so I’m putting that here as a win. It’s something I have been struggling with, but I think I finally found some things that actually help.

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Blogs Posted

• March 2022 Wrap-Up (technically because it came out in April)
• Rediscovering Your Weird
• Writing Update TRH #1
• Keeping Characters Consistent
• April 2022 Wrap-Up
• You can read my April newsletter here

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Writing

In total this month, I wrote 15,000 words, and I am really happy with that, especially since I tend to write fairly clean drafts. Secretly, I had hoped I could hit 17,000 words by the end of the month, and I was on track to do so until I sort of burnt/spun out at the very end of the month. I have officially hit and gone past the midpoint in The Reanimator’s Heart, so we are on the downward swing, tying up lose ends and such. Aka watch Kara get stuck on and off til it’s over, lol. I’ll definitely update you all during the month about how it’s going.

• Week 1- 1,505 words and 0 missed days, 502 words/writing day (3 day week)
• Week 2- 2,855 words and 2 missed days, 571 words/writing day
• Week 3- 3,955 words and 1 missed day, 659 words/writing day
• Week 4- 4,685 words and 1 missed day, 781 words/writing day
• Week 5- 2,000 words and 3 missed day(s), 667 words/writing day (6 day week)

I did so well in the middle of the month, and then I just faceplanted week 5. I fried myself a little bit trying to edit the first half of the book and then write profusely after. That worked for like a week before I tanked myself. I feel better now, but I need to remind myself to not knock myself out by overdoing it daily. Exponential monthly writing group isn’t really possible, and that’s fine.

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Hopes for May

• Read 8 books
• Word count goals
  • Minimum goal: 15k
  • True goal: 17k
  • Stretch goal 19k
• Blog Weekly
• Monthly Newsletter
• Finish majority of room/office clean up
• Play video games and craft more to unwind
• Do a craft for fun (I’ve been slacking)

Now that the semester/teaching is nearly over, my hope is that I can devote more free time to more crafty, artistic pursuits than I have been lately.
Let me know in the comments what you have planned for May!