Adara VS Summer 24: New Me + New Desk + New Writing Ideas!
Today I'm unveiling my new anime look, as I look back at my writing endeavors over summer. The good, the bad, and how I turned things around.
Visual Description:
Shows a desk, with a laptop and monitor on a stand. There is an anime avatar representing Adara. Adara has short purple hair and light blue bangs. She has white feathers covering the ears, a black collar with a heart emblem, and a dark green/blue checkered shirt with white t-shirt. Periodically shows black cats on a windowsill and on the desk. Intermittent generic backgrounds including an old fashioned black and white computers and close ups of Adara typing at the desk. The ending screen shows a banner advertising Drawing Red, with a link to www.adaraspence.com/books. The paperback and ebook cover of Drawing Red shows a teenage girl drawing in a notebook with a large protective red and white wolf standing protectively behind her. It's set in a moonlit forest. The hardback cover is black with a grey outline of a tree on it.
Transcript
[Music starts]
Hello readers and writers! It's the 1st of September and I'm embracing the vibes of the new academic year.
I even got a new look, just like a new uniform. What do you think?
Chronic illnesses mean I'm not really well enough to be in front of the camera that often, but as a lover of anime I figured this was a good compromise.
My big update is that my debut novel Drawing Red is now available in libraries! The sophisticated hardback version is now ail available in the six legal depository libraries in the UK and Ireland. While I knew about needing to send one copy to the British Library, the request from the other five took me by surprise! So if you're in London, Dublin, Oxford University, Cambridge University or Edinburgh, and you fancy reading a paranormal romance and sci-fi fusion with a tinge of disability rep, then check it out!
You can also ask a local libraries around the world to stock it too.
Over summer I noticed it became available in digital libraries too, through places like BorrowBox so happy reading guys! And remember, large print is also available.
Moving on, I kitted out my writing area with a new setup. I was determined to revive the use of my desk so I've got an external monitor now. It was officially retired a few years back thanks to a condition called POTS. I covered this on my very first Vlog on this channel.
TLDR: gravity is my enemy. I can't stand or sit with my feet down for very long. Can you believe I wrote and edited an entire novel, Drawing Red, on a chaise longue?
Anyway! Productivity vibes were in the air and I would not be defeated, so I pulled my desk away from the wall and stuck a foot stool under it. My cats took to it instantly. Impressively in the first 5 minutes of having the setup I got straight to work, instead of saying, "Ooh, shiny thing!" and then walking away, so I'm taking that as a positive win!
Way back at the start of summer I set myself a challenge to write 500 words every day in June.
Days after I started, life happened, and the challenge was swiftly abandoned. Things got dark and heavy, and with subject matter of Drawing Red's sequel kind of hitting close to home, it went on hiatus.
And after a few weeks of no writing, I swapped tracks completely and started writing something new. Something lighter.
A paranormal romantic comedy, which I'm affectionately dubbing Project Angel for now. I made it my job to work on it while waiting at numerous Health appointments.
Well, that boosted my mood and I picked up drafting the sequel again too. Add in a secret work in progress and I've got a full term ahead of me. With one in the plotting phase, one in drafting, and the last in revisions, it's enough to give me variety and still be productive when I'm not in a particular mood to work on something. Having options goes a long long way, when you have autism and demand avoidance.
So to go with this multi-project approach, I've created a giant spreadsheet to track my progress. I love a good spreadsheet. I'm a spreadsheet geek. I would also like to get a physical planner, but this will do until then.
At the end of each month I'll be reviewing the amount of time I've worked on each project and reviving an old celebratory tradition on this channel: the end of the month's star giving ceremony! It's like a rewards tariff for my efforts, for time and words written, and if I get enough stars, then I can kind of trade them in to myself for a prize.
Most of the time the prizes are books. We'll see what I come up with this time. So I'm juggling three projects this Autumn. What are you working on this term? Personally, I'm looking forward to the much cooler weather.
In terms of more specific goals, well... my plan is just to plod on with the projects. As an indie author with various health issues and a sporadic calendar right now, I'm happy to not have any deadlines, and just simply celebrating progress as progress.
In terms of books and media over the summer, I've been hopping through genres quite honestly. I've read fanfictions, listened to romance audio books, and tried to make my way through a fantasy bestseller in drips and drabs and stops and starts. I've been leaning a lot into comedy, and I've definitely got a new found appreciation for it.
In anime I finally watched Mob Psycho 100. It was a good change. A lot more wholesome than I thought it would be, while still off the wall and strangely action-packed. I recommend it for something different. Consuming media as a storyteller is an interesting experience to say the least. I'm half entertained, half tracking story beats as I go. I've somehow fallen into watching House M.D. after clips kept popping up in my YouTube shorts feed. Very addictive.
Coming up: how I get on in September, and things I learned in my publishing journey, as I continue to write my story... one day at a time.
[Piano music]
Credits:
Credit: Picrew avatar by Faelions on X/Twitter
Thumbnail and ending image created free using canva.com
Music Credit 1: ending theme – Adara Spence Music
Credit 2: Beloved - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3ji1zZc
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/omTgn4GQcKA
