Your Update Link: Whatever It Takes, Part 6

I’m working on the Bittersweet sub-site but I’ve run into a very strange problem. I test all my new themes on a different WordPress installation, but every time I try to upload it, the site stops working. I’ve put in a Support ticket, so hopefully that will take care of it, but for now — that’s been put on hold.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another flash fiction update 🙂

Your Update Links: An Everlasting Love, Part 6 and Desperate Measures, Part 6. 

With this update, we’re caught up to where I would have been if I hadn’t taken Monday off. I’ll be back to my usual one a day schedule for the foreseeable future. The newest series, Darkest Before the Dawn, might see some extra updates on random days because I can easily fit another 20 minutes in around 8-9 once I get my routine really set.  Remember to follow me on Twitter to find out when I start my timer — it’s generally in the morning!

I’m working on the Bittersweet sub-site. I’ve worked on the images, the layout, and ebook. All that’s left is getting the theme up and running and getting the pieces of the site organized. That should be done on Saturday or Sunday. After that, I’ll be taking a week off to just look at the site and doing some minor housekeeping things. After that, I’ll be overhauling The Best Thing, then A Few Words.

I’m also doing an open call for Patreon benefit suggestions. If you’re not currently a Patreon supporter, is there something that might change your mind? This post is open to the public, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions let me know.

Mad World is coming along well — I hit 47k yesterday and finished Chapter 8. We’re really getting out of the setup part of the story, the hardest part to write, and I’m about to launch into the huge stories so I’m hopefully that next week is our week to start churning out a chapter a day. That’s another reason I’m taking the week off from structured website work to make sure I give myself the time in the afternoon.

Your Update Links: Whatever It Takes, Part 5 and Darkest Before the Dawn, Part 1

Hey! You’re not blind — that’s a new Flash Fiction series I’m starting today. I was, in no way, planning to do this, LOL. But then Tania asked me to rewrite a story from 2016 yesterday, and my brain basically exploded. I couldn’t imagine waiting another month before one of my current series were done, so I’m going to update this new one Sundays and then pick a random day throughout the week to double up.

I’m really excited about this — it’s set in 2012 and is basically — what happens if Steve Burton doesn’t leave? Because we know that his leaving wasn’t planned and they had to cut a ton of story and rewrite things to make it happen.  I’m going to write this in three parts — each part rewrites a terrible Elizabeth story from 2012-2017, but it’s all set as if Jason doesn’t reunite with Sam and go off the pier.

In other news, I’m working on the Bittersweet subsite. I created the images and cover today, and started on the ebook. I suspect it should be done on Sunday. I hope you enjoy the new updates and I’ll see you guys tomorrow for another double update.

Your Update Link: Desperate Measures, Part 5

I honestly wasn’t going to write today, but then I got a great story idea from Tania (Thank you again!) and it just made me want to write it. I might be adding a Flash Fiction on Sunday after all because I don’t want to wait. The idea just made me want to write, so here you go! I’ll see you tomorrow for Whatever It Takes.

Another postponed Flash Fiction — sorry about that! I found out last night that I didn’t get the high school job, and this morning, got the double whammy of not getting the middle school job. This means I need to kind of regroup. I spent most of the morning checking other districts and making other applications as well as looking over my budget to make any cuts necessary to get through September. With COVID, I might not be working much in September, and bills still need to be paid.

With that in mind, I updated the Support page with some new options — you can also find a menu on the side with new donation links for Paypal and Venmo (@melissasmchugh). All work on Crimson Glass remains free but if you can toss me a buck or two, I can hopefully keep from crawling back to my night-time tutoring job during the school year and spend my evenings writing. For the Broken Girl was only written and released in seven months because I was able to teach all day and come home to write. Any one-time donation will earn you the opportunity to suggest an idea for an upcoming story or a flash fiction.

Flash Fiction will be back tomorrow annd I’ll be making double updates on Thursday and Friday to get back on schedule. I just wanted to make sure I was able to write Mad World today.

And because I do feel terrible about missing two days this week, I went through my draft for Mad World to find some Liason fluff that was spoiler free. Enjoy this scene of Liason on their honeymoon, picking baby names.

Your Update Link – An Everlasting Love, Part 5

Thanks for your patience and understanding yesterday about skipping Flash Fiction. I actually didn’t write anything at all yesterday, even Mad World. I’d been stressing about this particular job for over a week (my first interview was Wednesday, the second yesterday), and didn’t realize just how much stress and anxiety I was carrying until it was done. I came home afterwards and just basically vegged. I read three and a half Deanna Raybourne novels (the Julia Grey novels which are incredible), and I want to get back to her Veronica Speedwell series I had started.  It’s been a while since I took a day just for reading, and it was great.

Now I just have to wait to hear back. This is the same district where I had the ELA interview a few weeks ago, so I’m in the running for two positions. This most recent one — this is the dream job with the dream grade at my own high school.

With that out of the way, I’m eager to get back into my schedule. I’m thinking I might have some stamina issues with Mad World — I was hoping to start hitting 5k days this week, but I’m really tired today and didn’t write yesterday. I’m going to go back to making sure I’m writing 2-3k this week, and working on 5k next week.

I fixed the spacing on the Mad World, Book 2 ebook. The paragraphs were all smooshed together on my Nook, and I didn’t realize it. The new copies have been uploaded.

The next story to get the makeover will be Bittersweet. I’m not touching the story itself — the content is going to stay the same but it will get a new layout, an ebook, and I’ll set up a second to get ready for the sequel when I finally write it in, like, two years, LOL.

I’ll be sure to let you guys know if/when I get news about the job.

Hey! Just a quick note to let you know I will not be updating today. I had a job interview this morning where I had to put together a mock lesson. I spent most of the last three days agonizing over it and after it was over today, I just kind of don’t want to look at my computer anymore, lol. I’m also just still kind of riding the anxiety because I really want the job and it’s kind of hard to focus. I’m taking today off and staying mostly offline. I’ll post two updates some day this week to make up for it!

Your Update Link – Whatever It Takes, Part 4

Short and sweet today. I’m running around for errands today.

Your Update Link – CG Desperate Measures, Part 4

Sorry about the confusion yesterday — I made a timeline error in An Everlasting Love. Jason left town in 1868, and the story starts around 1875, which means it’s seven years after he left. Liz wrote him for two years, then married Cameron Lewis in 1870. Whatever made her stop writing happened five years ago. Cameron is not Jason’s son. I’m stating that now just because I don’t want it to distract you guys, lol.

The Flash Fiction is going to be a bit messy because I’m not going back rereading — so sometimes it might contradict itself. I try hard not to do that, but the whole point of this is to give me a first draft I can revise and clean up to post on the site as something more polished. Your feedback has been great so far, so thanks for letting me know where you’re confused or what you’re thinking might happen. I hope you’re enjoying the daily updates. Let me know if it’s too much and if I should scale back. (We’ll definitely be scaling back in August/September when I go back to work, just not sure how much at that point.)

Mad World continues to go really well — I broke the 35k mark this week and finished Chapter 6 yesterday. This means we’re firmly out of the Discovery phase, and the draft I’m writing is definitely going to be finished. I’m about 21% of the way to my 175k first draft goal. I’m hoping to pick up the pace and write more every day. I started small by trying to write 3 25 minute sprints each day and hit between 3-4k words. I managed that all week. Next, the goal is to add another 25 minute sprint and additional 1,000-1500k every day which means I can move into a chapter a day territory. Once I can get myself writing a chapter a day, the story really starts to move along.

Your Update Link: An Everlasting Love – Part 4

Lots of little things happening! Flash Fiction is up and moving along. We’re starting Round 2 of updates for week — meaning all the series had an update, so we’re starting over again. I post the Flash Fiction usually between 10 and 11 AM every day but Sunday, and will continue to do until sometime in August. I’ll reevaluate the schedule at the point once I know what my school year looks like. I don’t yet have a full time teaching position next year, so I have a lot of irons in the fire.

I also finished the Mad World ebook collection by releasing a trilogy version. Right now it only has Book 1 and 2, but will be updated in the fall with Book 3. I also slightly reorganized the sub-site and the trilogy section. I hope you enjoy!

The writing for Book 3 is going well. I’m meeting my daily targets, having a great time stitching together the first draft. I’ve got a progress bar you can see on the right — those weird dips that repeat are my Sundays I take off. I might write on Sundays, but I’ve created an option for taking the full day off if I want.

In other news, I launched a new sub section for the site — you can see it up in the menu. It’s a bits and bobs GH section where I’m posting graphics, writing resources, and just random things I’ve collected over the last twenty years.  It also has the beginnings of a Sims 4 Custom Career based on Daytime soaps, so give it a look and some feedback.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll for which story gets the makeover treatment next! Right now, Bittersweet is winning.