Ha… this isn’t as much of an update as it is an explanation for procrastinating…

During my last update, I was super excited about the last year being my most productive writing season to date. Well, April and May have kind of put a damper on my writing productivity, but for good reasons.

Well, a good reason and a me-kinda-being-lazy reason.

April 2020

Technically, I did reveal in my last update that April’s writing productivity began rather sluggishly… and it ended the same way. I did get some words in, but it felt like pulling teeth every time I sat down to write.

I made my way through Chapter Four and broke ground on Chapter Five, though at the point of writing this post, I still haven’t typed up what I’ve written, so I don’t have an accurate word count to provide. The number you see below falls 3,500 short of my 10,000 word monthly goal… so yeah, things aren’t going perfect right now, but at least they’re moving forward.

April’s Estimated Word Count is: 6,500

May 2020

Well… things were moving forward, until Josh asked me to marry him (though I’m definitely not complaining! 😀 ), and my brain completely switched from Author Mode to Fiancee Mode and prioritized wedding/future planning over writing.

We’re not planning on getting married until Fall 2021, but I’ve been waiting 26 years (4 years with him) for this season of my life and am pumped to start living out my dream of soon becoming a wife! ❤

That being said, at the time of writing this post (May 7th), I haven’t written a word for The Dream this month. The crazy thing is, I don’t even feel guilty about it.

I’ve been pushing myself for the past year to “get ahead” in my writing, successfully creating a backlist of two books gearing up for publication while continuing to write more. I took advantage of the productive writing season, and it’s served me well, but just like in my unofficial anthem for 2020, seasons change. (P.S. If you haven’t listened to Scotty McCreery’s latest album, do yourself a favor!)

I knew when this amazing season of life hit that my writing, though still a priority in my heart, would need to take a backseat for a bit so I can thoroughly enjoy this time with Josh, and my family, before the wedding.

The past couple weeks not writing have been amazing. The living room furniture for the house came in, Josh bought a guest bedroom suite from his friend, and I went to Hobby Lobby for the first time as an engaged girl and bought some farmhouse decorations for the house (even though I won’t be living there for another year and a half XD ).

I’ve been able to talk about future plans with Josh, research local wedding venues with him, and just enjoy being around him and our families without the ever-present stress of writing-related things.

Don’t get me wrong, writing is my first love. But during April I noticed signs of potential burnout from working on The Dream, and this temporary break is something I know I needed.

Moving Forward

So, will I still be publishing book one, The Crush this October? That is a definite yes! My ducks on that one seem to be lined up in a neat little row (for now anyway), so be prepared for it to hit virtual shelves on October 24th!

Now, as far as my word count goals go… I may shorten my goals to 5k a month for now, just to not put as much pressure on myself. Of course, this means the books will take longer to write, but I want to continue enjoying this Engagement Season without adding too much exterior stress, if that makes sense.

Anyway, we’ll see how this goes. 😉

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

What season of life are you currently in, and how has it effected your productivity as a writer? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀