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Does YA Need Romance?

9.13.21

Does YA Need Romance?

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In September, I either read constantly or was too

In September, I either read constantly or was too busy to read at all. But every single book I read knocked it out of the park.

As an aspiring author, it can be hard to know how

As an aspiring author, it can be hard to know how much to share about your writing. So far, I have only posted on here about completing a first draft and sending a fourth draft out for feedback. But while I haven’t talked about it on here, I never stopped writing.

The fourth draft I got feedback on turned into a fifth draft, which eventually turned into a final (for now) draft. That’s the draft I started querying agents with in April of this year. I have gotten some nibbles, but I haven’t gotten any bites. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and there will be many more as I continue querying.

Simultaneously, I started working on a second novel. Whereas the idea for my first novel started with a trope (second chance) the idea for my second novel started with a place (a lake). (Can you see why I’m obsessed with @carleyfortune’s Every Summer After?)

I spent the summer discovering what this lake looked like, who lived there, what trouble they were getting into. I used @jamiattenberg’s mini #1000wordsofsummer challenge around Labor Day to dive in deeper, brain dumping at least 1000 words a day and filling in the holes in my plot spreadsheet. And on September 8, I started the first draft. For five days soon after, I got to write in the place that inspired it all: my grandfather’s lakefront cottage in the mountains of New Hampshire.

I have written first thing in the morning every day since then, and I am currently at over 25,000 words, which is more than a quarter of the average romance novel. First drafts are messy, full of nameless characters, tagless dialogue, and a seemingly insurmountable amount of unknowns. But while there is still so much work to do, while there is no way of knowing what will happen with my first novel or my second, I am having so much fun.

Because I love it. I love writing.

And I hope that one day, whether it’s years down the road or sooner than I can imagine, I get to share it with you. But for now, I am enjoying the journey. Because at the end of the day, I can’t create anything that anyone else will enjoy if I don’t enjoy it myself.

Whether you love or hate the classics, chances are

Whether you love or hate the classics, chances are you’ve read them. And you’ve probably got a favorite of the bunch. Which is why I paired favorite classics with modern reads that have just as much staying power. Head to my link in bio to see the recs!

Due to a lovely but packed trip to Oregon, August

Due to a lovely but packed trip to Oregon, August was a slower reading month. But I loved so many of these books, including a literary fiction with so much to it, short but powerful stories from two favorite authors, the perfect nonfiction to read on a plane to vacation, and a romance fans of 2000s teen dramas need to read. Oh, and I hit my goal of 100 books in 2024. 💁🏻‍♀️

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