Writer’s Notes # 3

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We are more than halfway through this year! How’s everyone doing? I’ve had my fair share of emotional ups and downs, lazy days, want to sleep all day days…and then, there are the productive spurts. 

This month, I finally broke into Act 2 of my new WIP. I’ve been tinkering with this new idea since May, but really started to draft in earnest at the beginning of this month. I’m by no means a panster, but this time around, I’ve got a loose outline–as opposed to my usual 10+ page outline modeled after Save the Cat beats–and after slowly (over)perfecting my first act to really get into the heads of my MC’s, I’ve given myself permission to just do whatever it takes to GET. THE. STORY. OUT. OF. MY HEAD. 

That includes: Writing bad dialogue. Putting notes in brackets to remind myself of what to add in or research later. Using adverbs galore! The plotter in me cringes every time I run amok on the page, but a personal goal of mine is to be a faster drafter, so I’m going to see how this goes. My aim is to have a (terrible) first draft by mid-October. 

*shrugs*

Anyway, if where you’re at is way too hot right now, Fall (and my birthday month!) is around the corner, my friends. Stay cool and till then, here’s what I was obsessed with in July:

I have an agent!!!!

July was a BIG month–I signed with the amazing and wonderful Hannah VanVels of Belcastro Agency! (Read her blog and follow her on Twitter because she is so incredible and wise!)

At some point I might write a “How I Got My Agent” post (do you guys want to see that? Let me know on Twitter or Instagram!), but for now, I’ll say that when Hannah asked for my full manuscript an hour after requesting the first three chapters (which she requested FORTY minutes after I sent my query!), I knew she was the one. 

To succeed at anything, you need to surround yourself with people who believe in you. Your agent needs to champion you and your book just as hard as you do. 

Hannah’s enthusiasm for my story from the beginning was just one of many reasons I wanted her on my side. I’m excited for what we’ll accomplish together and happy to kiss my #amquerying days buh-bye!

The Baby-Sitters Club TV series

This was exactly the kind of show I needed this month. As a kid, I loved THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB books, which encapsulated many of the highs and lows of growing up that I was experiencing for the first time–even down to the running of a business part (I made and sold friendship bracelets to my classmates back then. Thank you Klutz books for teaching me how to weave an attractive chevron pattern!). 

Watching the show gave me the strong female friendship and nostalgic vibes I didn’t know I was craving during quarantine, but it also had its heavier moments. Almost every episode made me tear up from either joy or sadness (but I cry during commercials so this may just be me lol). 

Books I Read

In addition to binging TBC, I gobbled up all four seasons of Insecure in less than a week. It’s another fantastic show about strong female friendships, but also being Black in modern America. I highly recommend it! However, all this TV meant I didn’t read much as many books. 

In July, I read HOW TO BE AN ANTI-RACIST by Ibram X. Kendi as part of my ongoing anti-racist education, HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter, and FOREST OF MEMORY, a novella by Mary Robinette Kowal (who co-hosts my favorite writing podcast, Writing Excuses). 


But by far, my favorite fiction read this month was A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN by Roseanne A. Brown. This YA fantasy debut gave me such an education on worldbuilding and deep character POV. My new thing is adding Post-It notes to sections that I want to go back to and re-learn from. You can see from my Instagram highlight that I learned so much from Roseanne. Definitely pick this one up if you love to read and/or write fantasy!