This month has been a huge “I don’t want to write anything” month. And I can’t help but be mad at myself for it.
I’ve always known the way my brain works is not the healthiest. I’ve always been of the mindset that if I’m not actively working on something, I’m wasting time. And now, with Blood of the Gods with my line editor (YIPPEE!), I feel the pressure to get as much work done on TDA #2 as I can. Once August rolls around, I’ll be focusing on applying those edits, and in September and October, I’ll be hard at work on my free-to-read prequel novella. And then after that, I’ll be finalizing Blood of the Gods’ cover and front/back matter, then prepping for publication.
So, until Blood of the Gods gets published, I’m gonna be booked solid. I won’t be able to touch TDA #2 for a long time. So, I should be writing now.
But I don’t want to. My brain is like a petulant child refusing to do what it’s told. This is what’s good for you, I tell my brain, and it stomps and wails. I wouldn’t classify this as burnout, nor writer’s block. Rather, it’s some third, worse thing. My mind is pulling an “oppositional defiance” sort of deal on my own self.
I’ve found, over the years I’ve spent living in tandem with my brain, that the best I can do in situations like these is simply to do something else. Most people would say, watch a TV show or play a video game! Or, It’s okay to rest! And as much as I know that to be true, I can’t. I’m chronically on that grindset.
What else have I been doing?
I’ve bound together nine copies of the anthology I ran with my friends (and I still have plenty more to do). I’m really glad I decided to organize this little thing, because it’s SO cool to see my friends’ writing in print, and everyone’s stories are amazing! I could gush about these people all day. They’re so cool. It’s been so inspiring to see this project come together. They ARE getting a whole paragraph in Blood of the Gods’ acknowledgements page, and there’s nothing they can do to stop me.
Applying for jobs… yippee, capitalism!
I’m drawing TDA #2’s “main” trio (main in quotes because… it’s complicated) as Huntrix from Kpop Demon Hunters. That movie rotted my brain. Stranger, Elaine, and Novika. Those names mean nothing to 90% of folks reading this, haha, but Elaine and Novika are Stranger's primary support system through the bulk of book two.
Stranger’s name, at this point, is no longer Stranger (that name gets ditched pretty early in book 1) but for the sake of promotional intrigue, I’m keeping their primary name under wraps. Elaine and Novika’s stories are also something I’m also keeping mostly to myself. But the general gist: Elaine has a problem she may never be free of, and Novika is aching in the face of betrayal. They’re a fun bunch.
Elaine’s a POV character, though a bit more minor of one, and as such I’ve curated a playlist for her. That playlist is full of “fuck men, all my homies hate men” type songs. “Feminine Rage” by Peggy and “Sweetheart” by Rebecca Black are a couple.
Great songs, by the way. I’m constantly pushing the Rebecca Black agenda. Most know her for her viral flop Friday, but I promise, she’s ACTUALLY good.
I’m going on a wild tangent. Not that there’s much to focus on. This is a pretty stream-of-consciousness newsletter. I’ve got a cold that’s too mild to warrant calling out of work, but enough to throw me off my game a smidge, so my brain’s all over the place.
That’s probably a sign to wrap up this newsletter. Thanks for giving it a read! Onto the signoff and TDA #2 metrics.
Catch ya next time!
Wren Rivers
@corvidarcana [Bluesky, Tumblr]
@corvid.arcana [Instagram & now TIKTOK!]
TDA #2
Current word count: 24,000
Number of chapters: 10
Kiss count: 0
Kill count: I find it hilarious that I put this in my metrics because I cannot stress enough how uncountable this is
Funniest typo: No funny typos recently, but I did write a line that immediately got Epic the Musical stuck in my head. Again. (It’s not my fault that music is so catchy!)
Number of times Jonah has cursed: since I started my rewrite, the number of times Jonah has cursed out loud has gone down to 2. I’m actually surprised it’s that low.