No, I'm not dead. Just a monumental slacker.

 So, yeah, still alive, just haven't been that productive on the writing front. I will say, though, in some small defense I have moved to another state, taken on a new job, bought a house, and got a puppy, so haven't been just sitting still. That said, I have had spare time, so no real excuse for not getting some writing done. But here's hoping I can get back into the swing of things (something I am being held accountable for thanks to a friend who also needs someone to shame her into doing some hobbies she oft ignores). 

What's new? Well, funny you should wonder. I am in the rewriting phase (finally) for my Angel story so that I can take the feedback I was given and incorporate it into the story to make the characters a bit more rounded and the plot a little richer. It's taken me this long to get enough distance to be able to absorb the feedback and get to a point where I can actually start making some updates. It was hard to think how to even go about it until recently. Apparently I was pretty attached to the way I had described the characters, haha. But I realized I was attached to the characters I had imagined, and could still be, I just needed to make sure I described them as I saw them. Which it turns out wasn't always the case. It seems as though I left a lot unsaid just assuming others would instantly get what I got, but that didn't happen, obviously, because they weren't told some key things that I took for granted. That shall be remedied in the new version, or at least a valiant attempt shall be made at doing that.

In the mean time, while in between edits of my Angel story, I am working with the same friend referenced above to come up with some ideas for some children's books. I have had a few ideas for some over the years, so we're working off some of those ideas. And we're using this opportunity for me to get back into storytelling and for her to get back into drawing and doing some art in general. Hopefully they two efforts will come together nicely and we'll have some quality products to show at the end of it. At the very least, we'll be more active in the blogosphere because we're holding each other accountable through weekly blogs. Fun! And you can see how well I keep up my blogging through my super dependable and regularly delivered postings. Here's hoping I do better with that, too. ;)

Now for a progress report - I started brainstorming a new opening chapter for my Angel story which will do a better job of giving insight into my main character - Amelia - and some of her important childhood relationships that are hinted at in the broader story but never detailed, thus leaving some questions about her past. Hopefully this will help round that out a bit more for her and setup a different perspective of her moving forward. Fingers crossed it works, because it's important to understand how much her past shaped her and several other characters. We'll have to see if I pull it off better this time around. 

Other progress - I completed a rough outline of one of the children's stories we're working on. It's about a little angel getting excited about the birth of Jesus and his POV of how things unfold that night. It's a bit of a challenge thinking in terms of a children's book. The images needs to convey so much and the words are sparse and simple, so it's a bit limiting on what you can say or if you need to say anything. I like the challenge, and hope we can make a go of it. Only time will tell, but at least we have taken the first step in that direction!

Love that we're working on it now! Just in time to get really into the Christmas spirit! Especially in a year that really needs some cheer and some happiness to look forward to. #2020stinks