Hello friends, and welcome to my very first Writing Update! 😀
Every month, I plan on posting one of these just to track my progress while working on the first draft for my Work In Progress novel.
I’m trying to finish this draft by December, so let’s see how that goes!
*loud record scratch*
But before we get into that, I just wanted to say thank you so much to my 200+ followers! 💕
I started this blog back in September 2018. About 2 weeks ago, I reached 100 followers… and within the time since then, not only have I gained another 100, but my visitors and views literally doubled in just the month of January.
Like, how did this happen?? I’m so grateful! 💕 When I started this blog, I remember looking at my favorite bloggers who had about 230 followers and I was like, “Wow, that’s a lot!” And now, that’s me?? I feel like a completely different person now!
Okay, sorry for being all sappy – let’s get to the writing update!
What did you work on?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m currently working on a Fantasy novel which I started in early 2018!
And let me tell you… so far this is the most prepared I have ever been for a novel.
It’s amazing.
Earlier this month I completed a full outline of every single chapter, and considering the fact that I haven’t actually written much in the past few years, this was actually a pretty big accomplishment for me!

Figuring out what to do for the outline was the hardest part of the planning process, I tell you! Since a little less than half of the story is told in the past (but different times of the past, if that makes sense), it was difficult to figure out where each of those past stories were going to go, and how it would fit into the story.
This may not make sense now but trust me, it’s confusing to me, too.
I also completed about 2 (maybe even three?) chapters which I had started around October, so that’s awesome for me, too!
Once I sat down and told myself to write, things flew by pretty quickly. I was able to get so much done!
How many words accomplished?
I wrote a total of… around 4,000 words!
🤣
I know some of you probably write more than that regularly… but this is great for me! I haven’t actually written this much in a long time!
I mean… I guess you could say that writing on this blog takes away a lot of my “actual” writing time… oops.
And if you want to count the outline, it comes out to about 9,000 words.
(It’s a pretty detailed outline.)
How many chapters?
I wrote exactly one full chapter, and then I edited a few others.
But, I also made some major changes to the plot of the story. I’m nearly done with the planning process – now all I have to do is write!
Any closing words?
About two months ago, I was stuck with this story. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go, not because I didn’t know the ending, but because there was something missing… and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
But after talking with my family about it, I came up with some great ideas, and now I’m confident that the plot is so much better than it was before! 😀
I’m super excited to write this novel, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out! Hopefully I can actually finish by the end of the year!
Are you working on any drafts? How’s it going so far? Would you be interested in hearing more about my Fantasy WIP?
I want to hear all of your thoughts! 😊
You can also be my friend on Goodreads! 📚
Happy writing, everyone! 😀
Such amazing news. Keep on keeping on!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Congratulations on the follower count! And best of luck with your writing.
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Thanks so much! 😀
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Ahh yay CONGRATULATIONS on 200 followers!! That’s amazing! ❤️❤️ I only just recently found your blog and started blogging, but I love it so much already 😊 Congrats on your writing progress as well!
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Aww, thank you so much, Aline! 💕 it means a lot to me 😊 And I hope you’re enjoying your blogging time so far!
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Xandra, I’m so very happy for you! Congratulations on 200 followers 🎉 You definitely deserve it. And YES I would love to hear more about your fantasy WIP. Princes and dragons?! Sounds amazing🥰
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Thank you, Brianna! 😊 I would love to tell everyone more about my Fantasy WIP! Hopefully I can do that soon! I’m so excited!
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As you already know I’m also currently working on a WIP.
I love hearing about other authors ideas and plans. You seem to be making great progress and I look forward to reading a draft of this in December.
Do you have a possible title yet? Maybe let us know your MC? Give me some hints! I love fantasy stories!
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Haha, I love hearing about other writers, too! But you’ll have to wait for those hints in a later post! 😉
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Can’t wait! ^-^
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Thank you thank you, Kaya!! 😊
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Huge congrats on making progress on your WIP, and also on reaching 200 followers! 💃 Don’t worry about how slow or quick you feel like you’re writing, especially compared to other people. Take things at your own pace and you’ll be much more satisfied with what you’ve created! 😊 Good luck with it going forward!!
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Thank you so much, Margaret! 💕 That is great advice, which is why I’m giving myself a year to finish the WIP! I don’t want to stress myself out too much, since I could probably never do something like NaNoWriMo! (But who knows, maybe I will!)
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Congratulations on reaching 200! I loved this post, I’m a procrastinator when it comes to writing so I applaud you for reaching a milestone. I would love to hear more about your story if you would like to share! Dragons and princes sound really good.
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Thanks! 😀 Now that I’m back into writing, I just realized that I have been “procrastinating” for the past several years! I always find excuses to not write, and I tend to plan out characters and plot rather than *actually* writing.
And I would love to share a post about my WIP! Thanks for expressing interest 😊
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Congratulations on reaching 200 followers!!!! I’m writing my first draft too, and I’m about half way finished. I know how hard it could be getting past a block, and I’m glad to see that you’re doing well! I hope you have a good time writing it 🙂
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Aw, thank you! The weird thing about my situation is that I’ve actually written full novel-sized drafts before… but that was about 5 years ago, and I was so young then! It’s been more difficult for me to write while in higher education, but I’m trying to make sure I don’t lose my passion for it 🙂
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I’m sure you can do it!
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Thanks, I believe I can! 🤣
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Congrats on 200! Any secrets? Because I feel so stuck with trying to get new followers 😦
Good luck on your writing! I am not a writer whatsoever so I can only imagine the struggle. You’ve got this!
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Secrets? The only “secret” I have feels like a real secret to me, but I’ll help you out 😉 The only 2 significant things I changed this month were 1) I interacted WAY more with other bloggers, even if they didn’t know me, and 2) whenever I found a good lot of free time, I used it to write whole bunch of posts, and then I posted 4-5 times a week for all of January. I hope that helps! 💕
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Oh my gosh. SO proud of you for all the writing and outlining that you have accomplished. Quite a big step! Keep it up!
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Thanks so much! 😊
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It’s a big deal! I have a hard time getting the motivation. I just keep putting it off and putting it off and then it never happens. So I understand how much it can take to actually get to the point you’re at!
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I’ve had a hard time with motivation as well…. A lot of the time, I’ll just plan out what the novel is going to be like or how the characters are going to interact, without actually *writing* anything. But thank you, and good luck with your writing, too!
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Thank you! I hope to gain some motivation! Sometimes plotting is easier, sometimes writing is easier. I tend to just run with whatever is flowing at the moment, it seems to come out best when I do that.
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CONGRATS ON THE 200+ FOLLOWERS!!! And I wish you the best with your writing! I know how difficult it is to actually sit and write…that’s been the last few months for me. *sweatdrops* Anyway, good luck!
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Well, at least you’re writing! 😀 I tend to spend a lot more time on my blog now, so I’m thinking about posting on here a bit less.
Thank you so much, and good luck with your writing as well!
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Congratulations on getting 200 followers! I got 100 followers a few days back so, I know the feeling. 😀 Best of luck for your writing.
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Thank you! 😀 And congrats on reaching 100 followers on your blog!
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Congratulations! 🙂
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Thank you!
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Congratulations on 200 followers! That is awesome! Also, your fantasy book sounds fantastic – outlining is so difficult which is why I’ve never done one, so I’m in awe of all writers who can plan in that much detail. Lovely post!
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Thank you so much! 😀 It definitely took some time for me to get used to outlining, but it does get better and easier 🙂
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Yay! Congratulations on 200 followers! That’s amazinggg!
I’m also happy you finished your outline and wrote more than ever! That’s what writing should be about, really. Instead of comparing yourself to someone else, compare yourself to how you used to be and how much you’ve improved. I am trying my best to do the same too.
I finished the outline for my book back in January, but I’ve been procrastinating the actual writing process. I’ve also had some other questionings come into mind for the past week, and I feel like I’m about to go back and change everything! Even though I love my story, I realized it doesn’t speak enough about myself. I mean, it is a pretty White-American story, and I am neither, so I decided it might be the time to turn this into something more personal.
Congrats again on 200 followers! Wishing you an amazing February! 💛
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Thank you! 💕 Yes, writing should be about writing whatever makes you happy, at your own pace 🙂 I still have trouble with comparing myself, but we all do things differently and under different circumstances!
And I know how you feel about procrastinating! I procrastinated writing any actual chapters for *years*, and all I ever did during that time was plan out my stories, rather than *write* them. I’m glad you got the outline done, though! And that’s interesting about how your story was “pretty White-American” – while I am American, I am not white, but I recently realized that all or most of my characters are “white”. So I’m going through the process of trying to incorperate my own background, instead 🙂
I wish you luck with your story! And I hope you have a great February, too!
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Congrats! On everything. I hope you’ll have a fantastic February!
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Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful February as well!
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I would love to hear more about your writing process and your progress on this project! Congrats on your outline, and on hitting 200 followers, and on just having an all-around amazing blog 🙂 I can’t wait to see more updates as you continue to work on your WIP!
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Thank you so much! 😊 I’m glad to see people interested in my writing! (I thought dragons seemed a bit basic, haha) And I can’t wait to hear more about your writng, as well!
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Definitely not basic! I love fantasy, and some of my favorite books have dragons in them 🙂 (Have you read the Dragon Slippers series? They’re more middle grade than YA, but they’re still really good!)
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I haven’t read the Dragon Slippers, but that sounds interesting! I’m always looking for more stories with dragons 🤣 The main book I read with dragons was Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (it’s YA) 🙂
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Oooh I actually think I might own that? I’m not sure but I do know that I wanted to read it at some point… and didn’t, oops. Maybe that can be another buddy read 😉
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Congrats on 200 followers!! So well deserved 😀 And looks like you had a successful month 😀
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Thank you so much! 😊 It means a lot! Have a great February!
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Congrats on 200 followers!! I loved reading about your wip progress (princes and dragons?? that sounds amazing) and I think it’s so incredible how much you’ve accomplished! I’ve been working on my own fantasy wip for a little over a year now (though the seeds of the story have been floating around in my head for longer than that), but that’s mainly included brainstorming and trying to figure out as much as I can about my story before I start writing. I can’t wait to see more updates (and I’m here if you ever want someone to bounce around story ideas with)!
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Thank you, Cailin! 😀 I’m glad you enjoyed seeing something about my WIP (I was so worried no one would care)!
Good luck with your WIP! Personally, I like to do all of the brainstorming first, and then write, so you’re on the right track 😉 And thanks, I’ll let you know if I have any ideas to share! You can talk to me about writing anytime 🙂
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💖
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