August (and July) Writing Update

Philip HarrisWritingLeave a Comment

I definitely didn’t miss my July writing update, oh no. Definitely not. Look over there – a new David Duchovny album.

Okay, you got me. I forgot to update at the end of July. And July was a pretty good month, writing wise. I hit 19,808 words and continued my writing streak. Most of that time was spent revising my new novella.

August got off to a good start. I finished the novella and found a name – The Angular Bones Beneath. I also wrote a new short story set in my Serial Killer Z world – Monstro. If you’ve read the fourth book in that series, Shadows, you may remember a couple of characters called Otto and Monstro. This new story reveals how they met and will be appearing in an upcoming anthology.

And then I plunged into a writing slump.

I did manage to continue my writing streak and hit 11,914 words for the month but two-thirds of that time was just me poking listlessly at the outlines for my next two books. It was progress and I feel like the stories are getting better and better – the loose ends are less loose and the plot holes are getting filled in – but it’s not particularly satisfying and isn’t getting the books actually written.

I’m taking it as a sign I need a bit of a break from the self-inflicted pressure of working on my novels so I’m taking a few days off. I’ll still be writing as part of my day job – I have a videogame to finish – but I’m going to let my creative well refill.

When I’m back at the keyboard I might well dig into a different book or try a short story or two. Time will tell.

Until next time. Stay safe.

P.S.

Yes, David Duchovny really does have a new album out.

[August (and July) Writing Update by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 4th August 2021]

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