Hello from the trenches! Your girl is deep in the mud, caked and covered, and in desperate need of a warm change of clothes and a long shower. But!! When you set your mind to getting your work into the hands of professionals; tell yourself that every no is just a pivot towards your yes, it becomes very easy to set your ego aside, let the emotions subside, and simply send another email. I am now onto my third query. Two agents this year already and one that carried over from last year.

Am I the only one upset that our rejection letters are now digital? Maybe I should start printing them! I want visual representation people!

What else is going on? Well, I told myself going into 2026 that since I had managed to create enough of a habit around writing in 2025 that now it was time to start proving to myself how far I could push without breaking. I’ve now realized that anything more then 3k on a day off is asking far too much and my brain WILL turn to mush. I become very ansty at my desk if I attempt anything more then that. I’m giving myself grace on days I work. Anything between 500-1k is more then enough and I’ve started planning my weeks around that ability.

I’ve found having a minimum and maximum word goal helps as well. For example, I could be finished the first draft of Chuck the Chosen by middle of February but I’ve given myself wiggle room to also finish by the end of February. Both would be classified as a win and me holding myself accountable to stay on track. I’m doing the same thing with publishing. I would absolutely love to be ready to publish come August. August is the month I finished writing my first ever novel last year and so it’s become sort of symbolic in a way for me. I also just think alot of what I’m writing would do really well leading into the fall months. Alot of readers I see posting talk about fantasy being their ideal genre for those months so having my book out and ready for those readers for that season is ideal.

However, if I publish by December, that’s still a win. The goal is to simply start being a published author THIS YEAR. No if, ands, or buts about it. This is the year I publish a dang novel, and if I’m lucky it will also be the year I land an agent for my children’s book. I can only control what I have power over though so I will write and send emails. That is the plan!

Lastly, I’m reading Project Hail Mary!!! I was given a copy for christmas with a very cute written message inside from a friend. It made me very happy! I adore Rocky, if you know you know and I’m at a very intense part of the book for him! I might have to riot but I won’t say anymore then that. I don’t typically enjoy alot of science fiction. It’s one of those genres I think I need to be in a very specific mood for but Andy Weir has a knack for writing this genre in a way that the average reader could comprehend without feeling weighed down by the very specific terminology that often comes with science fiction novels, specifically in the adult genre.

Lastly for real this time!!! I just posted a short story here. I said I would like 3 months ago…better late then never, amiright? It’s a horror and I honestly would love to try and adapt it to a full-length at some point but that’s very much on the back burner. I think I would need to read within the horror genre more in order to branch into it with my own writing. I would just want to make sure I fully understood what a reader who consumed alot of those kinds of books would be expecting from me and as of right now, the straws are being grasped at with verocity. Still, I hope y’all enjoy it and any feedback is always greatly appreciated!

As always, stay writing because your agenda says you need to write 2,467 words!

Oh! And you can follow me on IG & Threads ❤