This year, I aim to write and submit one story a month. So far, I've held to that goal. I have written 11 stories and submitted 9, so I'm ahead of schedule.
I am running out of stories I think are submit-worthy, so I may spend the next couple of months editing.
But! I am distracted! The short story I wrote for this month was a hell of a mess, but an intriguing idea that I think would work well as a novel.
Here's the elevator pitch:
A princess, overlooked by her family as nothing more than a pawn to marry off, ventures on an epic quest to rescue her four brothers and claim the throne.
Exciting, yes? I think so. It's inspired by many, many fairy tales.
I'm in the process of writing the first draft. I just spent a week plotting and compiling research. Y'all know how I love my research. What am I researching?
Castles!
Medicinal herbs!
Desert and mountain climates!
Flora and fauna found in the boreal forest!
Medieval cuisine because I also love fantasy foods!
How far a horse can travel in a day and how much they can carry!
And more!
This is my first real attempt at high fantasy. I've read plenty of it, and I've written some short stories in high fantasy worlds, but this will be my first long attempt. I'm not going to worry too much about the magical system, because I don't believe that magic needs rules, but I do want a world that makes sense.
When I'm writing short stories, I tend to pants my way through them, but when I'm writing a book, I feel a need to plot. Two writing resources have been hugely helpful for my process this time around:
The first is Abbie Emmons. Abbie Emmons is an author who shares her insights on YouTube. Her video, "The Simplest Way To Outline Your Novel (pantser-friendly!)" really did provide me with a simple but comprehensive outline.
The second is First Draft in 30 Days, a book that you can purchase on Amazon OR read FOR FREE on Archive.org! Now, I haven't finished the book, so I can't vouch for its 30-day promise, but I'm about halfway through and I have the beginnings of a comprehensive outline.
Sneak peek!
Oh, yes, and I'm using Scrivener to write the book. I use Google Docs to write my short stories, but Scriv to write books.
So that's what I'm up to! I'll probably be sharing tips about worldbuilding as I learn them.
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