Unlike the other months of the year, there is something about January that makes it feel eternal. It’s been January for six years now, or at least that’s what it feels like. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had an unusually productive month, or perhaps it’s because it always feels drab and long after the holidays, but whatever the reason, I’m looking forward to February as a change of pace.
After a November and December frantically trying to zero draft GUARDIANS 3, I took the time in January to actually sit down and figure out what the story is instead of focusing too much on word count. It always feels like pulling teeth when writing a book, but at least I’m getting more efficient in pulling them???? (What a dreadful metaphor. Also, what are words.)
Other than writing, not much else to report in life. It’s been a very mild winter thus far, and I’m a little concerned we won’t get any snow this year. Again. Apparently last year was the first time my area didn’t see snow since the 90s, and I’m worried at the speed at which you can see climate change affecting our lives. I want snow! My poor pups have never had the joy of frolicking about in a field of fresh-fallen snow in their short lives, and I want them to experience it. :(
In this issue
1. JJ’s magical world
2. Lexical gap
3. Upcoming events
4. This creative life
5. What you might have missed
6. What I’m reading
7. What I’m watching
lexical gap: solastalgia 🧩
Perhaps it’s my Cancer sun, but as someone who’s has moved so many times in her life, I’ve learned to carry the feeling of home with me no matter where I go. Still, I can’t deny that returning home to Los Angeles feels strange every time because it keeps changing and changing and changing. I can’t stop the march of time, nor do I want to, but there is a sense that the town where I grew up is growing up and apart from me, a sensation that is both sad and right at the same time.
upcoming events 📅
Friends, the amazing Krystal Sutherland, author of House of Hollow will be coming to the United States, and I will have the honor of chatting with her about her newest book, The Invocations in North Carolina!
WHERE: Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC (tickets required but the event is free!)
WHEN: Sunday, February 4th at 3:00PM
this creative life ✍🏻
I am at that strange point in publishing where I am working on the final touches for one book while drafting another. I just finished reviewing the first pass pages for AMI and turned in a synopsis of GUARDIANS 3 to my editor and am now working on streamlining and making coherent the 40K words I wrote during November and December into a workable outline.
It’s funny, the more I write, the more I realize that I simply must plan ahead in order to get anything done, but the “planning ahead” part looks nothing like what I thought it did back when I believed in such binaries as plotters and pantsers. My process is slowly but surely getting refined with each book I finish and looks something like this:
Start writing with a vibe and a dream for about 10K words.
Realize that the 10K is completely useless because you have no idea where you’re going.
Start writing a long, shitty synopsis just to make sure you have enough story there to make a book.
Write 40K of a long, shitty synopsis.
Reverse-engineer said 40K of a long, shitty synopsis into something more manageable and actually reads like a story before sending it to my editor.
Figure out where the act breaks are in the long, shitty synopsis.
Figure out where the chapter breaks are in the long, shitty synopsis.
Rewrite the long, shitty synopsis into something resembling an actual book with a narrative.
Flesh out the long, shitty synopsis in a draft.
Realize that in the fleshing out process, you still need to vibe and improvise and then cry about how you can’t ever seem to stick to an outline.
I realize now that the long, shitty synopsis is probably an equivalent of a zero draft. I zero-drafted my way through AMI, but in that instance I simply bulldozed my way through 80K words (with enormous chunks missing) before having to go back and fix the mess. I try to make things easier for myself with every book, so this time before I vomit 80K words, I’m trying to give myself a road map.
We’ll see how it goes. In the end, it’s all the same amount of work, but hopefully someday, it will no longer feel so dreadful to do it.
what i’m reading 📖
Despite being in the throes of writing, I’ve managed to get a lot of reading done this month, which I’m pretty proud about. As y’all probably know, I’ve been in something of a media rut for the past few years, but I think—I think—I am slowly starting to emerge from it.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young. I went to see Adrienne at my local bookstore when June Farrow was first released but didn’t have time to read it until now. And I loved it—I read it in one sitting.
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. Another one-sitting book. Starting off the year strong!
Morning Glory Milking Farm by C. M. Nacosta. Not gonna lie, this was 100% a cover buy because I see a tongue-in-cheek clinch cover with a monster on it…I’m going to have to read it because I feel the author and I will vibe with the same sense of humor. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was sweet and cute! Despite it being, you know, monster smut!
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. So confession: I tried reading this when it first released four years ago, but just couldn’t get past the first 100 pages. I gave it a second try because I’m just as susceptible to the hype train as everyone else (I, too, an curious about the upcoming Maasverse crossover event in House of Flame and Shadow) and managed to breeze through this one quite easily.
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas. I am now finally caught up and ready for whatever chaos descends in House of Flame and Shadow.
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. After None of This Is True, I was in the mood for another thriller and while I enjoyed this one, I found the first half much more riveting than the second.
what i’m watching 📺
Saltburn. I am of two minds about this movie. On one hand, I loved it, it is exactly up my alley, a take on obsession and novels of manners like Brideshead Revisited, The Talented Mr. Ripley, or The Little Stranger. On the other hand…I needed it to be…more. Like…more unhinged. Yes, I know, I said more unhinged. For me, this movie played at a solid 80% for me throughout the entire runtime, barring the few (yes, few!) moments of true wtfery, which I absolutely wanted more of. This is the kind of movie I want playing like a Grand Guignol of unhingedness and it just never quite got there. But that’s probably just me.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I think I preferred the philosophical bent of the book more, but this was a pretty solid adaptation of the source material. Also the music slaps. I’m sorry for ever having doubted you, Suzanne Collins!
other things of note 💾
Klein, Matt. “The META Trending Trends of 2024.” zine @ kleinkleinklein.com. Jan 2024.
Exeunt, pursued by a bear.
사랑해,