Writing Like I'm Running Out Of Time - March 11th, 2025 Newsletter
Happy near-mid March, everyone!
First: Thank you to everyone who supported me during the Smashwords Read An Ebook sale last week by sharing my posts about it on socials! I really appreciate it a lot, and every little bit helps to get my books seen by new readers.
Second: Yes, I took inspiration for the title of this email from the musical “Hamilton,” specifically from the song “Non-Stop.”
You may have also noticed by now - I changed the font for my newsletter! This is because Buttondown got rid of the previous font type I used. Let me know what you think of it!
What Am I Writing Lately?
As I stated in my newest writing update blog post, I wanted to spend this Spring 2025 season focusing on more writing and less activity on socials. I just have so many projects I want to work on that I couldn’t get to during the past two months thanks to preparing and releasing “Refilling The Well.” Writing a lot during the Spring season is making up for that, for sure!
I finished writing Draft #3 of my 2nd person narrative fairytale-inspired short story collection! I also gave it a cool working title: “Found: Fairytale Retellings And Stories Of What Happens After.”
I also outlined “One More Unusual Adventure,” which is the third book in the Unusual Adventure trilogy. You can check out more details about the trilogy on my website’s WIP page.
I also have a poem that was accepted for publication in a lit mag, and that’ll be available to read on April 5th, 2025! Stay tuned for more info next month.
I also:
Started drafting a new standalone LitRPG/fantasy book! (Yes, another one. It is not added to the WIP page yet but it will be when Draft #1 is complete.)
Submitted poems to lit mags and contests to be considered for publication!
What Have I Done Other Than Writing Lately?
Late last month, I wrote and published a blog post about how readers can help support me as an indie author & poet!
Many indie authors have their own way of getting support from readers, and I wanted to help make it clearer to new readers about how they can support me in my writing journey. Feel free to share this post with other readers who are interested in my work and want to know how to most-effectively support me!
In the past few weeks, I also have:
Made a new pinned author intro post for all my socials!
Promoted the Read An Ebook Week sale while it was going on last week
What Have I Watched Lately?
I finished watching EVERY SERIES of “Raven” in early March, spinoffs included. I started watching the series in early February... which means I watched 15 seasons in a month.
For those who didn’t read my last newsletter, “Raven” is a kids fantasy gameshow where the titular character leads groups of kids around to complete challenges to determine who is the Ultimate/True Warrior. I highly recommend watching the show, especially seasons 3 & 4 and the spinoff show “Raven: The Secret Temple!”
I also discovered a fandubbed version of Pokémon Scarlet by Theater On the Internet! It’s an ongoing series and fantastic to watch! So far they’ve covered the main story and some of the post-game content, but I hope they dub the DLC content in the future.
What Have I Heard Lately?
Podcast recs are back, and this time I’m recommending “Fantasy Writing For Barbarians,” hosted by Jon Negroni! As you can imagine, this is a podcast focusing on the host giving fantasy writing advice. given that I’m currently writing many fantasy novels, listening to this podcast came in handy.
Episodes I recommend include:
How to maximize your story’s marketability
How to avoid boring travel sequences
The risks and rewards of having multiple POV characters
What Have I Been Reading Lately?
I took full advantage of the Smashwords Read An Ebook Week sale and got many books at a great deal! I also went to the library for the first time this year, so that was great.
One interesting book I read is “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist” by Liz Pelly. The author discuses how Spotify changed the music industry - mostly negatively. I honestly do agree with most if not all the main points she makes. Streaming music is not permanent - if a piece of music is suddenly taken off Spotify and unavailable anywhere else, then it’s gone forever. You don’t own music that you stream, after all.
Recent reads include:
“King’s Quest: The Floating Castle” by Craig Mills (Fiction and reread, also previously reviewed this book before!)
“The Stinky Cheese Vacation” by Geronimo Stilton
“Wild Born” by Brandon Mull
Thank you for following my writing journey!
I hope you look forward to seeing more of my writing process and work. I also look forward to giving all of you more frequent updates as well, so stay tuned for more!
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at clarislamauthor@gmail.com! I’ll respond within 48 hours (except on weekends and holidays).