Tag: monthly update

dead magic · Monthly Review · Writing

October 2016 in Review

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

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Last year, I decided that I would post my accomplishments for the month and what goals I hope to achieve in the following month.

October was infinitely less chaotic than September, and now, that I’ve gotten into the groove of teaching, I look forward to what the spring semester holds.

What I accomplished in October:

  1. Worked out a system to stay on top of grading student papers/homework
  2. Read 4 books:
    1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (5 stars)
    2. The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 2 by Kore Yamazaki (4 stars)
    3. The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 3 by Kore Yamazaki (5 stars)
    4. The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 4 by Kore Yamazaki (4 stars)
  3. Formatted the ebook and paperback of Dead Magic
  4. Prepared for Dead Magic‘s release by setting up promos
  5. Ended up scrapping a short story I had planned to write
  6. Bought a word processor to help me focus
  7. Started plotting Selkie Cove, which will be book 5 of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices

What I hope to achieve in November:

  1. Read 4 books
  2. Keep up with grading/feedback for my students
  3. Tweak the syllabus for my creative writing class
  4. Write 10,000 words of Selkie Cove
  5. Launch Dead Magic on November 10th

October has been a recover month for me. With all of the prep for Dead Magic coming out and the amount of grading I’ve been doing, I have been more than burnt out. Teaching is something I love doing, but I’m still not accustomed to it. Because I’m an introvert by nature, I often leave campus feeling high and fried at the same time. What I’m hoping is that by time I teach in the spring, I’ll be more acclimated to this sort of energy expulsion. As of right now, I’m also scheduled to teach less days next semester, which may help.

What else have I been up to? Well, I started writing a short story that I thought I would publish by Halloween, but it just wasn’t working out. Most of the time, I believe in pushing through and finishing what I start. This time, I knew it wasn’t working out. It took me days to type out a few thousand words that weren’t very good. I scrapped it for now. In the future, I’ll work on it again or incorporate the idea into a future book. It’s a doable storyline but now isn’t the right moment for it.

Most importantly, DEAD MAGIC IS COMING OUT IN A FEW DAYS!!! *screams internally* I’m so excited to share this book with everyone. I think it’s my favorite thus far, and I desperately want others to read it because I can’t really talk about it with anyone considering all of two people have read it. On top of launching Dead Magic, I’ve also begun working on the fifth book in the series, Selkie Cove, which I hope to finish by next spring. It feels great to be writing again and not editing. As much as I love editing, it’s much more draining than actually writing.

Remember to keep an eye out for Dead Magic, which is coming out this Thursday, November 10th in ebook and paperback.

 

Monthly Review · Writing

May 2016 in Review

Kara Jorgensen9 Comments

Last year, I decided that I would post my accomplishments for the month and what goals I hope to achieve in the following month.

Somehow I didn’t expect to be so productive in May, yet I feel like I’ve walked away with a lot of writing and ideas to use in June.

What I accomplished in May:

  1. Wrote 17,000 words on Dead Magic (hit 39,000 total)
  2. Wrote 8 blog posts
  3. Read 2 books
    1. Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
    2. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
  4. Heavily researched for an Ingenious Mechanical Devices companion novella
  5. Began cover construction for Dead Magic
  6. Finished the audiobook for The Winter Garden to Audible’s specifications (should be out within the next week)

What I hope to achieve in June:

  1. Write at least 18,000 words of Dead Magic (for 57,000 total words)
  2. Write at least 6 blog posts
  3. Read at least 3 books
  4. Begin outlining and writing one of the IMD companion novellas
  5. Write the back blurb for Dead Magic
  6. Do a preliminary edit of chapters 1-10 of Dead Magic

I can’t believe I wrote 17k words this month. March and April were so slow in terms of my word count, but it seems that once the story hits the 1/3 mark, it just starts to roll. Laying the foundation is the slowest part, followed by the end when I need to make sure that I’ve tied everything up. I’m hoping that June will continue the trend of the productivity.

I’m so excited to be able to share some random excerpts of Dead Magic. Writing it has been a blast so far with lots of dark things, some gore, a bit of magic, and having to do a lot of research on trauma and PTSD (sorry, Immanuel). My artist boyfriend/cover designer/Photoshop guru will soon be working on the cover for Dead Magic as soon as I finish the back blurb and convince him to do it instead of working on his new design shop, Regal Rook designs. I’m sure I’ll be posting more on that in the future as well.

The one major thing that was sacrificed this month was my reading. I meant to finish Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater in May, but I was busy researching and writing and it ended up sitting on the sidelines. It’s a really good series despite how long it’s taking me to get through it.

On Tuesday in my post Plot Bunnies and Projects, I wrote about the companion novellas I’m planning to write over the summer. I haven’t really begun planning them out yet, but I hope to have at least one of them written (probably Judith Elliott’s first). I’m super stoked to work on them because I really love the ideas I have rolling around, so hopefully, they’ll come out as good on paper as they are in my head. I will be updating you as I write.

At the top of the page is a little newsletter sign-up thing. If you want to get exclusive excerpts, ARCs, and messages about new sales/deals, sign-up. I don’t send them out often, so you won’t need to worry about me blowing up your inbox.

So what are you working on this month?

Monthly Review · Writing

March 2016 in Review

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

Last year, I decided that I would post my accomplishments for the month and what goals I hope to achieve in the following month.

March was a strangely productive month for me in probably every aspect but blogging (sorry, readers). April has started with a lovely sinus infection, BUT I know it’ll shape up to be a great month.

What I accomplished in March:

  1. Read 5 books, 2 of which were for class.
    1. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
    2. Hunter of Demons and Master of Ghouls by Jordan L. Hawk
    3. Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
    4. A Chorus of Stones by Susan Griffin
  2. Wrote 10,ooo words of Dead Magic (IMD #4)
  3. Found translators for the Italian and Spanish versions of The Earl of Brass (IMD #1)
  4. Finished all of my projects for the English department

What I hope to achieve in April:

  1. Read 3 books
  2. Write 12,000 words of Dead Magic (IMD #4)
  3. Write 4 more blog posts this month
  4. Edit the cover for The Earl of Brass in translation (Italian and Spanish)
  5. Finish up the last of my grad school work and prepare for graduation

So March was a much better month in terms of productivity. I think as the days get warmer, it gets easier for the words to come. I also got into a better writing routine at night, which I’m hoping to keep up as soon as I get over this sinus infection. It’s always lovely to start the month sick and completely disrupt my writing mojo. Oh well, life goes on, and I keep telling myself that I’ll feel better in a few days.

Anyway, I’ve been working on Dead Magic and have finally begun making decent headway into it. I’m really starting to get into this book, and I think you’ll like it as well. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more info and insights about it now that I know where it’s going.

March’s Journal Spread
April’s Journal Spread

I’ve also taken up using a bullet-journal, which is a way to keep up with monthly and daily goals. Pictured above are March and April’s bullet-journal spreads. This little journal holds me accountable and reminds me that I need to get things done. It’s also highly portable and not as easy to lose as scraps of paper. I don’t always get everything done, but I try to get as much done as I can. You may notice the little sad face on April 1st. Sinus infection = nothing getting done.

What I’m most excited about are the forthcoming translations of The Earl of Brass! I recently joined Babelcube, which helps put translators and authors together, and now I have Italian and Spanish translators. I’m beyond excited. I know a bit of Italian, but not nearly enough to get anywhere near translating an entire novel. As the translations progress, I will update everyone. Hopefully it’ll be a smooth process. What I will need is a second set of eyes that can read Spanish or Italian, so if you can and are willing to read my The Earl of Brass for any glaring typos, please drop me a line!

That’s all I have for March. Let’s hope the productivity continues in April!

What are you planning for this month?