Kristina Atkins
WUW: Snowy Writing Days
What’s Up Wednesday is an easy and fun weekly blog hop that’s hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. All you do is answer the four main questions, then visit the other participants’ blogs to see what they’re up to this week. Join us! Jooooiiiin uussss!

We read Enchantment by Orson Scott Card for book club in February, and I’m terribly behind because I decided to try audio books. Aha! I thought, I can listen to books while I fold laundry and clean the kitchen! Except I hate folding laundry, so I kept avoiding it. Anyhow, I’m really enjoying the book. I read it back in high school and liked it a lot. I love re-reading books from my teen years because you respond differently as an adult, and it’s interesting to compare. I definitely recommend it.
WHAT I’M WRITING + A GOAL
Drafting is coming along swimmingly for THROUGH CLOUDED EYES. I’m at 46k words (out of a projected 80k), with a clear path to the end and good word counts every day. To finish the book by the end of the month, I need to write 1,161 words every day (except I missed Monday, so I’ll have to make that up sometime this week).
I also finally figured out how to fix ILLUMINATE THE NIGHT, and did a fairly-tight (for me) outline. I’m pitching it in May (ack!) and will start on my next draft in April. BECAUSE I WILL FINISH THE FIRST DRAFT OF TCE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH!!
For my weekly goal I’m going to continue on my 1,161 words a day, which will put me at least at 54k words next Wednesday. We’ll see if I check in though. I’ll try! 🙂
WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Okay, so, personal deadlines rarely work for me, to be honest. There’s no consequence if I don’t meet them. But with my pitch session in a couple months, I’ve found my fire. Something else I’ve done to keep me trucking along on TCE has been to have a friend (who is a reader but has no inclinations to write) read a few chapters every week. It’s good motivation because I have to get her something new every week(ish). I’ve been pleasantly surprised how well this has worked out for me. I’m not sure if she agrees, reading the very first draft and the accompanying terrible writing, but I’m certainly benefiting. ^_^
WHAT ELSE I’M UP TO
January and February were rough months, the kind where you keep your head down and plow through. The Mister worked every single day from December 28th to February 18th (with the one exception of Sunday February 1st), and worked past Turbo’s bed time most nights. Single parents and military spouses: I’ve always saluted you, but now it’s even more fervently. That was exhausting and I wasn’t the best mom all the time. But we made it through with a lot of play dates and LOTS of Chick-fil-A visits. We’ve had a ton of snow recently, which I don’t mind, but I’ve got an eye toward spring, my very favorite time of the year!
#youngadultbooks #fantasybooks #creativewriting #youngadultauthor #orsonscottcard #youngadultfiction #fiction