Wit & Travesty

We are professional writers, editors, readers & nerds.

Monthly McGruder Updates: June

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monthly mcgruder updates

Hey, Leute! Here are some updates on how the month of June went for us. Thanks for reading!

Whitney:

This was a great month for indie books for me! I got to review Hammer of the Gods by Christine Ochs and Storm Born by Amy Braun. Both were fantastic reads. I also got my hands on Red Queen—now that book was a mixed bag for me. I recommend reading it and telling me what you think of it.

Blogging has become more manageable for me. I sat down with my husband and we basically made a plan for the rest of the year of what types of posts we want to write for you guys! We’re excited and more motivated than ever.

My main focus this month will be a healthy dosage of Camp NaNoWriMo. As of today, I’m already past 1500 words, and I plan on reaching 10,000 this month. It’s a soft get-your-mind-in-your-novel goal. I’m writing a short story, Rathma, to get myself back into writing. I’ve been stuck in editing mode that I wanted a fun project to work on and flex my writing muscles again. She’s my RPG character for a new campaign I’m doing through Edge of Empire, so it’s my first time writing Sci-fi! EoE is basically a Star Wars version of D&D, so the story is my character’s backstory. She’s a Tagruta, by the way.

I finally got the rest of some much-anticipated edits from a beta reader, so I will also be working on sifting through her words before I finally go through the last proofread! What?! #neverthoughtthisdaywouldcome

Goals for July

  • Read & review an indie novel
  • Write 10,000 words
  • Go through edit suggestions for Destiny Seeker part 2
  • Participate weekly in #StorySocial
  • Blog weekly
  • Try out some new blogging tactics

Travis:

Well June absolutely flew by! But definitely in the best way possible. I’m eagerly looking forward to what July brings. I kept on top of my goals for the month of June, so I’m pretty happy about that. I’m feeling a bit of the squeeze from school and work assignments though, so I’m going to take things a bit easier for July. Calamity was solid, by the way; I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Goals for July

  • Weekly writing group submission

So those are some of our quick little updates. How about you? What’s in store for you in July? Wishing a Happy 4th of July to all our American writing friends (and a belated Canada Day to our Canadian buddies)!

wit and travesty disneyland

Beginning of Week 3 of Camp NaNoWriMo

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eef28d7dca6dde683e8ce4fa28f0d3c2Hey readers—

In case you’re wondering, the current Camp NaNoWriMo word count is approximately 6,270 words. For those of you keeping score at home, I am so behind the goal of making it to 50,000 in 19 days. However, I’m pretty proud of my word count, because I’m writing every day, and that’s what it’s all about, right?

There are two things keeping me motivated to write: stubbornness and regular scheduling. I basically try to write at the same time every day—for some reason, the juices flow just before bedtime (isn’t that when you start thinking about the answer to life’s mysteries? It certainly isn’t right when you wake up.) So in the evening, if I have the remote desire or excitement, I write whatever I can before the good feeling is gone. I don’t let anything else or any excuse pop into my head, or else I end up losing that spark for the day.

I also just really want to be done with my book. With writing every day, it’s become easier to actually make some decisions on what happens next. I’ve made outlines, but they change a lot. I’m used to just going with the flow and seeing where my characters lead me—so far they’re far more intelligent than I am.

What are your go-to strategies for consistent writing? Share them with us through comments! We would love the extra motivation kick.

Also, we have lots of ideas of future posts that have to do with writing and editing tips. What questions do you have for us that we could write about? If you’d like to learn more about writing, editing, or even publishing, shoot us a comment below as well.

Happy writing!

TESTIMONIALS

Whitney McGruder has created a vast and imaginative world in Destiny Seeker with surprises to delight the reader at every turn. Readers can settle in to devour the diverse and ingenious magic Destiny Seeker has to offer. I highly recommend it.
Jessica Frazier
I won a contest via Wit & Travesty in the summer of 2017. The prize was a professional edit of the first 100 pages of a WIP. My middle grade fantasy was only 90 pages, so she read the entire manuscript. She was communicative and positive about the project. Her edits markedly polished up my manuscript and were easy to understand.
Rachel Barnard
Whitney helped me with two short projects written for children, and she was very pleasant to work with. She has an eye for detail, helping me with small grammar errors as well as insights about adding scenes that would enhance my story. Her turnaround time was extremely quick, which I really appreciated when on a deadline!
Brittany Olsen
Whitney and I worked together in a writing feedback group some years ago and have remained in touch since then. From the beginning, I was struck by her absolute responsibility as an editor. Even in the capacity of a group member, not even being employed or contracted by me to edit my work, Whitney was unerringly punctual, thorough, and accurate with her feedback. Her advice is genuinely insightful and I believe the marketability of my work was noticeably increased due to her guidance. I so value her skills that I still turn to her as a resource after three years of working with her in-person have passed.
Jonathan Baker
Whitney did a copy-edit on my third novel, Checkmate. She was a pleasure to work with, and helped me give my novel that final polish that it needed before publication. Put her on your list for editors that help your work shine!
Angelika Offenwanger
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