Since it’s been almost three months since I began writing my new work in progress, you’d think I would have given y’all an official WIP Update here on Authoring Arrowheads by now.

My bad.

BUT, for those of y’all who follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been posting mini-updates each Wednesday there. My lack of posting here doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. And y’all, I’ve definitely been writing.

Writing Tales of an Awkward Turtle is fun! Compared to how heavy my last few books were, it’s a much-needed break.

So, what are the nitty-gritty details you’ve been waiting for over the past three months? Well, let me tell you…

October 2023: Humble Beginnings

I finished writing my previous WIP, On the Flip Side, on September 30th, 2023 and did not yet have anything for Tales of an Awkward Turtle planned other than some haphazardly written plot points and dialogue I had written down anywhere from my phone’s notes app to random Word documents to pieces of paper wedged in a folder somewhere. So, in October, I made it my mission to bring all those little notes together and plug them into a cohesive plot document.

My plot document is a breakdown of the Three Act Story Structure into different scenes, and the document’s faux sticky-note style is formatted based on Abbie Emmons’s video on creating an aesthetic chapter by chapter outline document. Be sure to check out her video here! I used this method for On the Flip Side and now Tales of an Awkward Turtle, and I absolutely love it.

How far did I get in outlining? Well, I had hoped to outline the entire book before I started writing the first chapter, but I didn’t have enough time before my intended start date (November 1st) to get that far. I think I made it up to the All is Lost beat (around 75%) before stopping. Right now (3 months into writing) I still have not finished the outline. Hopefully, I’ll remember to set aside some time to do that before I write up to that point.

November 2023: Writing the First Few Chapters

Even though Tales of an Awkward Turtle had been simmering in the back of my mind for years, unlike Speak Your Mind, The Crush, and On the Flip Side, I didn’t have any previously written chapters for the book before the first official day of making it my dedicated WIP. This made me nervous, because the most intimidating part of writing, for me, has always been writing the best first chapter I can. So much rides on Chapter One, and I want to do the best possible job.

For the first time in my writing experience, Chapter One for this work in progress wasn’t a source of anxiety for me. On the first day of writing Tales, God allowed me to write almost 600 words, and I made it to Chapter Two on the second day of writing. Of course, I’m sure Chapter One has its issues, but just being able to power through it and continue writing without spending too much time obsessing over every detail is freeing.

November proved to be a fun-filled writing month as I crafted the first act of Tales of an Awkward Turtle. With this project, I went in with the intention to write “like it’s my job”, meaning that I wanted to develop a more consistent writing habit of around five days a week. Doing this, in the first full week, I had written just under 4,000 words. I know this is possible by prayer and God alone, because, like I said, I normally struggle through the first few chapters. To Him be the glory!

By the end of the month, I had reached Chapter 10.

I used to strive to reach 10k words a month without celebrating the little milestones along the way, and since the beginning of this WIP, I’ve made a mission to acknowledge them.

On November 10th, God allowed me to reach 5k words.

On November 17th, God allowed me to reach 7.5k words.

My ultimate goal of 10k words was met on November 28th, and the final word count for the month was 11,121 words. I’m beyond thankful that God allowed me to exceed my hopes for this WIP’s word count within the first month!

Number of November Writing Sessions: 20

December 2023: Still Chugging Along

December was a busy time for me personally, but after seeing how much consistency paid off in November, I strove to continue the streak as much as I could in December.

Looking back at my word count log, I struggled more with writing in December, with the counts coming in low some days and higher on others. Overall, I wrote Chapters 10 through 15 during this month, and broke into Act 2 according to the Three Act Story Structure. This book feels like its flying by.

For the word counts, God allowed me to reach 15k words on December 12th.

On December 20th, He allowed me to reach the 17.5k words goal.

Even though I was off work for over a week, I didn’t get any writing done between December 21st and December 29th, and ended the month with 18,650 total words written on Tales.

Number of December Writing Sessions: 14

January 2024: Staying Consistent Amongst All Anxiety

Though January has been tough on me anxiety-wise, writing has remained a priority.

Despite having some very off days, I’ve made a mission to remain consistent with writing this month. As of writing this post, a couple days before month end, I’ve written for a total of 19 writing sessions and plan (Lord willing) on writing for two more today and tomorrow. I’m so thankful for my Heavenly Father enabling me to write despite the stress and anxiety I’ve dealt with. On former WIPs, I would have forfeited those writing sessions and spent that time crying or overthinking instead. The Holy Spirit has definitely worked on me in that area over the past several months and is helping me overcome those destructive habits. Yes, I still cried and spent time worrying about the situation I was going through, but I’ve decided not to let it stop me from doing the work God has laid on my heart to do through writing this book. Circumstances aren’t controlling me anymore, and that, again, is freeing.

Story-wise, I’m in the Fun and Games section of the Save the Cat! Writes a Novel three act story structure method, and it has definitely been full of fun and games. XD I’ve managed to make Brandon very angry over the past several chapters and reveal things that he needs to work on as a Christian. His little brother, Aiden, has been extremely sassy and hilarious. When I last left the two, Aiden was smacking some sense into Brandon. Literally. 😛

As far as word count goals go, on January 4th, the 20k words goal that eluded me in December was met.

On January 17th, God allowed me to reach 25k words.

On January 24th, God allowed me to reach 27.5k words.

As of January 29th, the total word count is currently 28,830 with two writing sessions left for the month. Can 30k be met? I have faith that it will get there. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a writer, how is your work in progress going? Name one thing about your WIP that you’re excited about in the comments!

If you’re a reader, yes, I’m still editing The Dream! It has been slow going lately, but, Lord Willing, I am still anticipating it to be a 2024 release with more details to come. Thank you for your patience. ❤

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

-Allyson 😀