I entered my first ever writing contest a month ago, the results came in today and I wasn't on the "podium"--which is totally fine with me. But my story was listed as an honorable mention! It was a fun contest, I'm not sure if I will or will not do it again. It was mainly just a means to exercise my writing muscles (or exorcize my writing demons, who's to say). 100 word limit, based on three prompts. I've attached a pdf of the story! If anyone is interested in giving feedback, please do! I was also given a rubric that showed me with scores how I did in different categories and I scored lowest in the Style category (meaning sentence structure, variety, and flow; as well as formatting). So if you need something specific to critique, I am looking to improve on that front!

Anyone who's experienced StoryCon knows it's a massive source of inspiration, community, support, and fun for writers. If you're feeling like treating yourself this upcoming year, join us there (and let's do an in-person meet-up!!) Individual Adult and College Student Tickets are 20% off as part of our launch sale with the code EARLYBIRD27. This is the only significant discount we're running all year, so if you want to come, now's the time to commit! The sale ends Sunday night at midnight. Learn more at https://www.storycon.org/ See you there!

This Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m. MDT, StoryClub will be hosting an author Q&A with Brandon Mull, New York Times-bestselling author of the Fablehaven, Beyonders, and newly released Guardians series! A kinetic thinker, Brandon enjoys bouncy balls, squeezable stress toys, and popping bubble wrap. Brandon loves meeting his readers and hearing about their experiences with his books. You can learn more about Brandon's books on his website here. What questions do you have for Brandon? You'll also be able to ask questions real-time during the Q&A, but post any advance questions in the comments below 👇 Along with answering questions and giving general writing advice, Brandon will be talking about the upcoming film adaptation of Fablehaven by Angel Studios! By attending the event, you are also entered into a book giveaway contest to receive one of Brandon Mull's books 📚🏆 See you there!

I had a very busy week with many different things going on and unfortunately did not write as much as I would have liked. Today is my 30 day mark and my final word count is 16,608. Honestly, I’m still happy with the progress! I really like what @Angela Griffin said about posting when she hits 30k, so I’ll do that too! A big win I just experienced this week was: since I had finally pushed through the writer’s block I had, I have now written perhaps one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever written! It felt so cathartic to write it out, especially after all the toiling. It made me excited to keep going!

Ummmmmm maybe I should have waited to update Week 3 because I FINISHED! My first draft is currently capped at 70,148 words. I wrote a little less than 30k during these few weeks I have been doing this challenge, but my goal was to take this challenge and finish my book and I did it!! 🎉🎉🎉 I'm going to follow Erin Stewart's advice and give myself a week to catch up on a few other things that I've been putting aside while I've focused on this. Especially since I have 25 days until I move to the other side of the planet! Then I'm going to do a spelling/grammar revision before I send this off to my alpha readers (Because I also followed Ayana Gray's advice from the video and just got it out--regardless of how good or bad it was). I would love some beta readers in a little bit to help. If this story sounds like something you would be interested in reading and workshopping with me, please let me know! So here's my pitch for my YA Coming-of-Age Romance, LOST AND FOUND: Kate is about to begin a pre-college tour of Mexico and Belize, but she's not here for the opportunities to get to know her future classmates or professors. She's found the journal of her late mother containing clues that lead to the father she's never met. There's only one problem: the journal is written entirely in Spanish. Desperate for help, Kate looks to the charming Sebastien to translate the entries. Together they go on a scavenger hunt through unfamiliar cities and ancient ruins searching for the only family she has left. But the closer she gets to her father, the more difficult it becomes to ignore what she's been finding with Sebastien along the way.