Mommy Writes Fantasy: A Writing Blog

December 2022 Updates

Hey guys! Aly here with your regularly scheduled monthly update.

The medical crisis with my mother in law has calmed down signficantly. She is now being cared for in a long-term nursing facility and seems much happier there than she had been in the hospital. Her mind is slowly slipping away due to the aggressive brain tumor she has, but the kids and I were blessed to be able to come love on her in a calmer moment, where she was able to at least recognize the kids and let them kiss her. We got photos and all of us really treasured that visit. Hoping to have another one around Christmastime, though it truly does depend on the day and even the moment that we visit. Her mood and energy levels can turn on a dime.

We're prepping for the holidays besides trying to visit all of our family, as I'm sure many of you are. Gifts must be wrapped, the house must be decorated, and since my husband's now on break from school for Christmas and New Year's, we're also squeezing in appointments we couldn't otherwise go to and catching up on maintenance for the cars and house. Busy time of year. Filled with joy, and more than a hint of bittersweetness as we prepare to lose my mother in law, but we are taking it day by day and enjoying the little moments as they come. It's important to let yourself feel joy, especially when it comes to you unexpectedly like a gift.

Progress on my writing projects is going well. I've turned in Book 6 of my ghostwritten series and I'm not due to turn in anything else until well into January. A well-deserved break is in order, and I'm filling my well by diving deep into my own stories, getting in some drawing and winter stargazing, and generally just enjoying the sights and sounds of the season.

"Flower of Faith" , the first book in my unreleased young adult epic fantasy series "The Mending Series" , has been tugging at my heartstrings lately. I reoutlined it, then reoutlined it again, and now I'm piecing together the ideas I like from both stories, which are quite different in detail but similar in the character arc. Sometimes I overwork a story to the point I just confuse myself, and this is certainly one of those times. This story was the first one I ever drafted to completion, was my first original novel idea, and has been in the works for the last 15 years, and the perfectionist in me just wants to do it justice. Still, if I focus too much on perfection of story structure and don't write the story that I want to read, it won't really have been worth it.

I've had my practice books to work on carefully fitting together the puzzle pieces of character arc, plot points, and story structure. Writing these ghostwritten books has also revealed to me just how deeply imbedded in my writing "muscle memory" these concepts are, so I feel it's probably best for me to just let go of those skeletal details and let the story that I want to write make itself known. Then, if there are points that need to be made stronger (and there usually are), I can go back and tweak rather than completely overhaul the entire thing.

The third book in my "The Kingdoms of Saelyn Series"  has also been outlined and is ready for drafting, though I haven't felt as strong a pull to start writing it yet. I have got a start on it--about 4K words or so--but the narrative isn't flowing very well. I find that with my own stories, it feels very patchwork-y the first go round. Then when I come back for revisions, I usually have to add (which is worlds better than having to take away in my opinion). Trying to trust my own process on that story as well, and since I have no definitive release date in mind for it yet, I'm going to try and just make sure my well is filled and work on it as I have the inspiration to do so.

In other news, fans of my Disney Fanfiction will be glad to know I've had an idea for a sequel to "Rattle The Stars" , my crossover fanfiction involving Alice Kingsley from Alice in Wonderland and Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet. I can't reveal many details without spoiling the ending of the first, but just know that idea is simmering in the background. :)

I think that's it for this update. Things are calm at the moment as we take things day by day and seize little moments of joy. My hope for you, dear reader, is that you can also snatch moments of joy out of your days, whether they are busy or quiet or somewhere in between. I wish you all the best during this season of light and grace, and Merry Christmas.

AlyCatAuthor