I come to you, eyes cast down, sweating, nervous.
For the first time in four years, I skipped two (!!!) blog posts in a row.
I had no reason.
No excuse.
I didn’t let anyone know.
I didn’t even panic post about it on Instagram.
Instead, I quietly and unceremoniously left my laptop shut.
And it was glorious….
…At least mostly.
The world didn’t end.
No one questioned me.
I only spent a few hours imagining all of you sobbing by your inboxes wondering where your sweet Sunday companion had gone…
That’s just the kind of chill, totally relaxed, cool girl I am.
Now it’s time to face the music: I’ve been cheating on this blog.
I know, I know. How could I?
…It’s not like it’s in the name of the Substack or anything…
Between my regular 9-5, freelance projects, Preptober, and an undying commitment to my true art (crafting Halloween costumes) my time has been divided.
I know everything I publish reads like a rambling fever dream, but these messy posts take work.
I slave over the obscure references, memes, and sentence fragments that litter these emails. All these typos aren’t going to write themselves!
And — as much as I love spending my Sunday mornings word-vomiting about toilet seats, worms, and my trauma therapy experience — your girl needed a breather.
TLDR: It’s not you, it’s me.
What’s Preptober?
I’m so glad you caught that very subtle, not-planted-at-all term.
I am once again participating in National Novel Writing Month this November.
From the 1st-30th, writers strive to hit 50,000 words on their works in progress. Preptober is — you guessed it — the month everyone spends prepping.
In 2022 I went into my first #NaNoWriMo blind.
No thoughts.
No ideas.
200 pages of pure vibes.
I hit my word count through sheer insanity and grit — a goal tainted by actually reading the pile of hot garbage I had written….
This year I’m not f*cking around.
Since January, I’ve been prepping and revamping my idea. I’ve enlisted the help of:
Sticky notes
Whiteboards
Virtual workshops
Accountability groups
Writing challenges
Story structure guides
Inspiration walks
Mood-setting playlists
An unsanctioned tour through my old university building….
Basically, I’ve exhausted all the classic “writing a book in a movie montage” tricks:
Now I’m about to dive into my third novel draft, and I’m still not ready(eek!)
200 pages in one month is crazy.
Writing a book is hard!
Like really really really hard!!
Like ‘why did I even want to do this in the first place?” hard!!!!
But, for reasons unknown, I feel the need to keep going.
Sadly, that means I need more time away from Substack.
Today’s post is a PSA and a plea:
My Side Piece will be on hiatus until December
Please pray for me next month
Look - I don’t like being away from you either, but we both knew this was a no-strings-attached relationship. I’ll be back in your inbox before you know it!
In the meantime, you can follow my #NaNoWriMo progress (and anxiety) on Instagram. There will also be a final My Side Plot book review next week for The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monkia Kim.
In summary….
ALSO PLEASE HMU IF YOU’RE DOING #NANOWRIMO TOO! STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!