Current Writing Status

The theme of June is: Those Summer Nights for YAtopia. As a result, I’d like to discuss where I am in my writing process since it’s June.

I sent a bunch of submissions out last Friday for a YA LGBTQ Fantasy novel to publishers that accept un-agented submissions. Sending that project out the door felt good. The manuscript was something I first got the idea for in February. But I didn’t really start developing it until two months later in April.

I have also finished revising my MG (Middle Grade) Fantasy gender swapped thematic Alice and Wonderland retelling, and will send that novel to MG publishers that accept un-agented submissions. This particularly revision is something I’m proud of. And I mean that in the least arrogant way possible. This revision shows a lot of growth in my writing. I increased the word count from 38K words to 53K words, which was necessary. Sure. MG lets writers have a shorter word count than Young Adult books. But I still needed to flesh out the plot more. One way I fleshed out the plot was with pushing the story forward after the original ending. And I didn’t just add a series of chaotic events. I found a way to organically connect the novel’s two main plot. However, the twist has some clues so it doesn’t feel melodramatic. Being able to connect the dots is important so the readers can look back and understand the logic even if they didn’t see the twist coming. I also like my MG revision since it leaves the door open for a trilogy despite standing alone as a novel.

I’ll start drafting my YA LGBTQ Mystery/Thriller after I send out the MG manuscript in the next week. I’m super excited about my YA LGBTQ Mystery/Thriller. It’s a voice driven quirky mystery. I also have an idea for a YA novel that can be thought of as the A game of Pretty Little Liars/I Know What You Did Last Summer in a fantasy setting. Furthermore, I got the idea for another YA novel the other day. It was the most random thing. It’s a mystery in a quirky fantasy setting. I might work on that idea over the A game of Pretty Little Liars/I Know What You Did Last Summer YA Fantasy novel. It’s less complicated. Anyway, the point is writing the next project is important. It will keep me busy while waiting to hear back from publishers about my YA LGBTQ Fantasy novel and my MG Fantasy gender swapped Alice and Wonderland thematic retelling.