Update: Hits Different – Part 1

Feels like absolute ages since I started a new Flash Fiction story. I don’t know how long this one will be yet, so we’ll just see where the story takes us.  I’ll see you on Tuesday for more Signs of Life!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 29

Finally made it to Friday! Here’s the update I promised since I missed Tuesday and Wednesday. Only the first scene is from the flash fiction. The rest is new 🙂

I’m up to 3500 words for NaNoWriMo, adding on to the 8200 I had already written. Chapters 1-3 are now done, so making good progress. I posted a Tracker/Vlog for anyone who wants to follow along. At Patreon, the Stalker tier is getting regular updates – when I finish a chapter, I post, so feel free to check that out. ‘

See you tomorrow with the first part of the new flash fiction series!

Update: Signs of Life – Chapter 28

Meep! I didn’t mean to miss updates again this week. I got distracted on Halloween, and then yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment and then it was NaNoWriMo, so I was really focused on getting started there. I’ll update again tomorrow to make up for it 🙂

I hope everyone is having a good week. Things are cautiously good here. I left my brace off today because it didn’t fit well on my sweater and my arm isn’t really that sore which is a great sign. I’m going to wear it tomorrow and a little more next week though just to be on the safe side.

We had some tragic news in the soap world — another devastating loss. Tyler Christopher, who originated Nikolas in 1996 and played him the longest (and the best IMO) passed away. He was only 50. Coming only six weeks after losing Billy Miller, I can’t imagine what the cast is going through when you think that Sonya Eddy and Jacklyn Zeman have also passed within the last calendar year. Just tragic. I knew Tyler was dealing with addiction, but I wasn’t aware he was also suffering from bipolar disorder. And having that news only a few days after Matthew Perry on Saturday night — just a really rough week for fans of a certain age.

On a somewhat brighter note, I’m actually going to see Becky on Sunday! She’s coming to the East Coast for the first time in AGES, and it’s the first time since 2006 that she’s come to NJ at the same time I could afford to go. I bought my tickets ages ago, so I’m really excited. You guys know what the character of Elizabeth means to me and it’s so amazing to think I get to see my favorite actress in person. Plus, a lot of Twitter mutuals are going, so I always love to hang out with people who love the character as much as I do.

I’ll see you guys tomorrow for another update!

Update Link: Watch Me Burn – Epilogue

As promised — A short epilogue that I timed myself with today. Wrote it in about 27 minutes, though I set the timer for 25. I wasn’t really sure how long it should be, and I kept writing and cutting back, but I feel really good about what I included and where I left it, considering where this story started over a year ago.

Thanks so much for taking this ride with me. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Update Link: Watch Me Burn – Part 55

Well, the final part except for the small epilogue I’m posting tomorrow. 😛  Stay tuned around the usual noon time. 

Saying Goodbye to This Story

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey! This is probably the first Flash Fiction series I’ve written where I knew from the outset that I was writing the first draft of what would be a novel. When I began the other story that ended up nearly as long (Signs of Life), I anticipated that it would run maybe sixteen parts. But I always knew Watch Me Burn would take us a while, lol. Though once I got going this summer, we made a lot of progress.

I’m looking forward to taking this first draft and reworking it. Adding more Robin/Patrick in the first Act, spending a bit more time with our minor characters as they grieve the deaths of those lost. We brushed on Maxie, Dillon, Lulu, Nikolas, Sonny, and Alexis, but I think they could all play more of a role in making the story a bit deeper considering how they’re all connected to our major characters.

Thank you so much for embracing Lucky on this journey. I rewatched the kidnapping story last summer, and I was struck by how much empathy I had for Lucky. How he had actually tried to be the husband Elizabeth wanted — and where I thought his story should take him. He wasn’t perfect, but it was really lovely to see how many of the readers were rooting for him towards the end.

What’s Next?

I’m ready with our next story, Hits Different, which was voted on back in August. That will be posted next Saturday, and then you’ll get a few double updates on my holiday weekends to get us moving. I’m excited to play with this one! Here’s the synopsis:

Set 1996. Jason Quartermaine woke up from a coma without a single memory of his first twenty-three years. All he knows is that the family claiming to love him are so controlling and arrogant that escaping them is his top priority. But the Quartermaines won’t let him go without a fight. First, they cut off his access to a trust fund that’s supposed to be his. Then they get him fired from any job he can find. Just when he’s ready to sleep under the docks, he learns that there’s an apartment lease in his name that they’re trying to cancel.

When he investigates, he finds Elizabeth – a bartender from Luke’s – and apparently, Jason Quartermaine’s wife. And that’s not the only secret the Quartermaines have been keeping. What is he going to do with the wife he didn’t pick and the family he can’t get rid of?

As for Fool Me Twice, I was able to start writing again this week. I finished Chapter 83 which has been in limo ALL month, and I wrote half of Chapter 84 last night. Going to keep writing through Tuesday, then work on These Small Hours for NaNoWriMo, starting November 1. Stay tuned for a much more productive November! Thanks for your patience and support!

I’ll see you tomorrow with the epilogue for Watch Me Burn.

Updated: Signs of Life – Chapter 27

Look at me updating on time, or mostly, lol. We had PSAT/SAT testing today, and my school made it a half day for the kids. They got to leave between 11-12 and the admin gave us the rest of the day as a teacher work day which was really nice. In my last district, they made the poor kids go to classes and kept them. Just exhausting for everyone. I had hall duty and had to wander for three hours, but from 11-3, I was able to just work in my room which was great. I got a lot done and feel pretty good about the next few weeks.

Now that things are back on track with work, I’m looking to get back into writing which I know I say a lot, but it’s hard to force yourself to add something to your routine when energy is low. But you have to force it a bit to make it part of the routine. I’m still exploring what time is right  — at the last job, I used to do around 7 but I’ve been more tired. I still need a break when I get home, so I’m thinking more like 5-6? I’ll figure it out and play with a few times.

I wanted to use November as a break from FMT — because at the time, I thought I’d be writing more of FMT but then my shoulder got so much worse and I just couldn’t write at all. I’m contemplating doing both (hear me out — ) Doing a 25 min sprint on FMT and then doing the 1700ish goal on These Small Hours for NaNo. At least for a few days to see how it works out. I’ll keep you posted.

Anyway, let me finish this post so I can go write tonight and maybe finish a chapter.

Update: Signs of Life – Chapter 26

Hope everyone is having a better week than me, lol. My Phillies lost last night and our season is done. It’s always interesting to look at the social media reactions and see how unhinged people can be. I think it’s more sad that more people can’t just take a deep breath, acknowledge that it sucks, but that it was, in many ways, a great season that gave us a lot of entertaining games and fun with the players. No, it’s more fun to get on Twitter and call the players a bunch of names, sometimes even tagging them as if Nick Castellanos doesn’t know how he played or what his out in the 4th inning might have cost us in momentum or Bryce doesn’t know he had a moment for another swing of his life and fell short. People need to touch grass.

Anyway. Social media is usually a mistake, and I’m going back to spending less time there. People are great when things are good, but the toxicity is depressing.

See you tomorrow for another update!

Updated Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 25

Hope everyone is having a better Tuesday than I am. Tonight’s Game 7 of the NLCS, and if the Phillies lose tonight, our season ends. First Game 7 in our entire 141-year history, so who knows what’s going to happen.

Thanks for all the kind words after I posted on Saturday. I’m feeling better — sometimes things feel worse than you think they are. I sat down on Sunday, made out a list of what needed to be done at work, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Still a lot, but I’ve made progress, and I was even able to write a little bit on Sunday. I’m hoping to write more today, but I’ll definitely be able to write the rest of the week as I’ll be caught up with the big things today.

See you tomorrow for another update!

Updated: Watch Me Burn – Part 54

Hope everyone had a good week. Sorry for basically disappearing. I’ve been really struggling for some reason with focus and just generally staying on track. At work, I feel scattered and incompetent, and at home, I’m just…ugh, I don’t know. Just not altogether okay. I couldn’t write. I kept opening the file and staring at it, and just couldn’t concentrate. I’m horribly behind in everything. Laundry, household chores, work–just literally everything. Maybe it’s the frustration of the shoulder injury which is better but still not great.

Anyway, just got to find a way to shake it off. Reset. And not to think about it too much. Hoping Flash fiction helps me get back on track and be more productive this weekend and get some fight back. I’ll get back on track with Signs of Life, too, and schedule the chapters this weekend so it’s one less thing to do after work this week.

Update Link: Watch Me Burn – Part 53

It seems almost insane that I’m just about done this story! It’s the longest, most intense flash fiction story I’ve written, and I’m really looking forward to next summer when I flesh it out and rework it just a bit. We’ll finish this up in two weeks, just before the end of November.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I hate the shift in seasons! My allergies and sinuses make my life miserable, lol.

Hope everyone is having a good week! I’ll see you on Tuesday!