Hey, I'm back! (Momentarily)

Hey, y'all! I haven't posted anything in a loooooong time, so I thought I'd just stop in and say hello.

SO.

Hi there. :) How is 2020 going for everyone? For me, it has been going... pretty much the same as 2019. The main difference is that I have to remember to write 2020 instead of 2019, which is kind of a pain. Some years I'll prepare my mind in advance, to the degree that I'll start writing the upcoming year's date several months before that year arrives, but I totally slacked this year. Maybe I'm mellowing out. Or just getting apathetic. Who knows?

As a quick life update, I am currently working two days a week and taking twelve credits of college (*panics*). I took thirteen credits one term last year, but most of the time I didn't push myself that much. This time is a little different, since I chose three four-credit classes, when I usually go for one or two harder classes plus at least one easier class. My usual practice is to hold myself back to make sure I can handle everything on my plate, so this is a little scary for me, but I need to learn to give myself room to fail. Otherwise, how can I expect to learn and grow?

As a quick writing update, I'm discouraged and worn out. Last night I dreamt that I reread the draft of When the Runner Meets the Fight and was thrilled with it. I was so disappointed when I woke up and realized that it was all just a beautiful fantasy. :'(

I've taken a break for about a month, and it's been good for me. I'm not sure yet if I should let myself come back to my drafts, or if more time away would be good, but at the very least, I'll probably work on fleshing out characters for backburner projects, just because my brain can't help but go there.

The main story idea that's been swimming around in my brain lately is one in which a loose alliance of peoples has to band together to fight an invasion made by an unknown enemy practicing magic. I'm not much of a fantasy person, so I haven't sorted out the exact nature of the threat yet, but I do know some about the people groups being invaded. There is one main empire that has many of the surrounding tribes under its thumb through right of conquest, plus an independent nation that has been allied with it for several decades. At the time of the story, the invaders have decimated the majority of the allied forces, so the nation declares a draft of women so that the cities that the enemy is approaching won't be left defenseless when the men leave to drive them back. All of my POV characters will be women called in to fight during this tumultuous time. They'll come from all different cultures and walks of life, so the dynamics of their group should be pretty interesting.

And yep, that's about it. With everything going on, chances are I won't post again in a while, but I didn't want this site to be completely dead. Thank you for taking the time to read my little ramble, and happy 2020!