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Posted in Writing

Rolling with the Punches

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Two weeks ago, I received news that shook my life. Since then, I’ve had to reapply for my job but I’ve ultimately decided to go someone else. That still meant having interviews and needless to say, it’s been stressful. I’ve gotten an offer but I’m waiting on two others to make a final decision.

There have been a few good things happening. I’ve started crocheting again and made ten new keychains. I think all the stress made me want to be a bit more crafty than before. I’ve received news back on my queries but I still don’t have an agent. There are a handful of agents I’m waiting for to open their queries again.

I’ve been focusing on rewriting a dark fantasy novella into a novel. A huge part of it is changing first person to third person and of course adding more world building than I had before. This might also be the novel I’ll be working on during Camp NaNoWriMo this July.

A part of me wants to stream my prep work for Camp NaNoWriMo on YouTube/ Twitch and invite others to plan with me. Even streaming my writing during the event is something that I’ve considered doing. It would definitely be a challenge, but it would also help me reach the daily word count. Plus, it could also help others to sit down and write.

Overall, there are tons of decisions that I need to make this upcoming week. One of those is where I’ll be working in August. Not to mention Camp NaNoWriMo is right around the corner, and I need to double down and decide how I will implement everything I want to do.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates

Summer Plans

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

A lot has happened during the first days of June. Huge news have shaken up my life in regards to work and that future is uncertain. However, I plan to focus on the good stuff like visiting family and my nephew (only a few months old), and enjoying my summer break.

Queries

First things first, unfortunately, my novel hasn’t been picked up by any agents. There are still that haven’t replied yet but that is not always a good thing. I have continued to research and find more agents that are a potential match to my novel and sent out queries. There are still a couple of them that are closed so it’s another waiting game.

Crochet

This is a little different but it was part of my new year goals to crochet more. I have to say that over the last two days, I’ve done exactly that. Now, I need to give my fingers and joints a rest. Maybe I’ll start selling my little critters in the future. I don’t particularly have space for all the knot critters I’m creating. But overall, it’s good to relax, and be able to finish a project in one sitting.

Camp NaNoWriMo

July is less than a month away and that means it’s time for Camp NaNoWriMo. While I still have to decide what project I’ll work on during that month, I do want to participate. I’m going to try something different this year.

I want to stream the prep work for the project AND the actual writing portion. Mostly it’ll be streams of me talking about how I plan or maybe the lack of planning. I think it’ll be fun to do.

Posted in Uncategorized

Trying My Best

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been close to a few weeks since my last post and a lot has happened since then. Quite frankly, it’s been very tiring. Not to mention the end of the school year is near and everyone is feeling it. So much to do and so little time.

New things are happening going forward. Some have stayed the same. Query letters are being sent but I haven’t heard anything back (other than rejections). I decided to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo this July. It’s been a while since I participated in July but I have a novel idea that I want to get on pen and paper. More details to come closer to the start date.

I also started up my Dungeons & Dragons homebrew campaign. I can only managed every two weeks right now, but I think that works for all my players as well. That’s not all. With the new Avatar tabletop RPG game released a few months back, I was lucky to get invited to a game by a friend. So, that’s happening every other week as well.

I have definitely added more to my plate but the games have been helping me manage my stress. They offer me a break from work and let me enjoy myself with friends. I see it as a win-win situation.

Despite everything that has been going on, I’m still writing and still trying my best. Right now, that’s all that matters.

Posted in Uncategorized, updates

Overcoming Stress

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been some time since I managed to write a post. The last few weeks have been so stressful due to my work and the nature of said work.

While I won’t get into it, the situation boiled down to false accusations and that impacting my mental health and my reputation at my job. Needless to say, with support from family and friends, and my boss having my back, I was able to get through the situation.

I feel better now and hope to have a better schedule of keeping up with writing posts in general.

Posted in updates

A Little Disappointed but Hopeful

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been a few weeks since my last post. Needless to say, Spring Break came and went. It was definitely a much-needed rest. Plus, it was very eventful, from visiting the beach to visiting family and even attending a concert. I had so much fun that week. Plus, my cat Princess had a blast sleeping in my arms daily.

I managed to send a third round of query letters out as well. However, I wish I had better news to share. So far, all my queries have been rejected. A lot of the agents I want to send to have been closed and, the only thing I can do, is go back and check their availability.

While I’m not exactly discouraged since I know most of my queries will be rejected, it’s a little disappointing. The last time I tried to query, I had to give up because it was a year with so replies (I think?) and it was time to take a break.

I don’t want to do it this time. I want to keep trying. Sometimes it is tough to remember that it might not work out the first twenty or thirty times. Rejection is “normal”. But, nevertheless, I’m feeling hopeful. One of these days I’m going to have more than rejections.