March has been a whirlwind of changes and harsh calls. Annwyn, my ever-weighty albatross, has been nothing but a nuisance. Initially, I removed all ergodic elements and my second POV to be more concise with worldbuilding and remove questions I'd rather not have the audience consider. I enjoy well-executed ergodic lit but didn't believe it was adding anything to the current manuscript. I also didn't want to lean on eccentric formats in place of honing my worldbuilding craft.
After making those decisions, I solidified my lore; decided I didn't want to include "requisite" fantasy elements like wide-sweeping histories; revised the worldbuilding elements that complemented the story I hoped to tell; changed my dragon origin story and Cassilyn history; and tweaked the mechanics of the university I'd been fiddling with for ages.
I put in all this work only to find that everything but the first act (of five) needed to be thrown out and rewritten. While the gremlins were on spring break, I read through my manuscript to get a better feel for whereβexactlyβI needed to flesh out or add new scenes. In the process, I determined the manuscript was not only hindered by the university element (the main fucking setting for 80% of the story) but that it also lost the strange, high-brow nature I'd loved from the very beginning.
Filing this fourth major draft into the virtual drawer wasn't an easy decision, but it was a necessary one. Over the last year, I've changed my mindset; instead of worrying about writing something I hope the market wants, I've been writing for myself. The trouble was my manuscript had been written when I bowed to the pressure of commercialism. Annwyn had lost its magic, the essence that made it original and beautiful, around draft two. This month, I simply realized I had to throw away the compromised material in order to return to the whimsy.
I intend to spend all of April blue skying new ways of setting Marlowe on his epic adventure, yet I currently have no clue what this massive change will look like. The goal is to brainstorm until I find the best entry point. Once that's squared away, I'll be crafting a detailed outline for the whole series. This incredible setback will inevitably delay my completion of Annwyn, but I still hope to have an edited and relatively polished draft for early readers by the end of the year.
I might also tackle a new or dead project, but I haven't set my mind to anything in particular. I feel a little lost, frankly. But it's also liberating in a way, to start anew and ensure that, this time, Annwyn will be exactly what I want it to be.
At the end of February, I put together a storefront to sell signed copies of Lipstick Covered Magnet. The store is attached to my new Buy Me a Coffee landing page, where you can also support my writing endeavors. You can find it all here: Buy Amber a Coffee.
Outside of writing, I watched Skins and The Inbetweeners with my oldest gremlinβtwo of my favorite teen British shows that I've adored since I was in high school. It's been fun to share those stories with her. I also learned "Watermelon" from Dinner in America on the drums and have been studying Irish through Mango. All in all, the month proved challenging but positive.
Song of the month: "Watermelon" by John + Jane Q. Public
Currently reading: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
The below lists are ordered by most recently watched/read.
March Watch List
The Pitt, Season 1 - still watching; pending review
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off - currently caught up
Rooster - currently caught up
DTF St Louis - currently caught up
Last One Laughing UK, Series 2 - currently caught up
The Inbetweeners 2 (rewatch) - β β β
The Inbetweeners Movie (rewatch) - β β β
The Inbetweeners (rewatch) - β β β β β
Sinners (rewatch) - β β β β β
The Lighthouse - β β β
In My Skin - still watching; pending review
Skins, Generation 3 & Series 7 (rewatch) - β β β .5
Somebody Somewhere, Season 3 - β β β β β
The Fault in Our Stars (family rewatch) - β β β β β
March Reads
The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss - β β β β
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring (ARC) - β β β
All Systems Red by Martha Wells - β β β
Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontΓ« (reread) - β β β β
The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang (ARC) - β β .5
Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis - β β β
Until next time, stay rad.