This is a July 2026 writing update. I will also discuss some other stuff that I got up to this month.
Time Audit
I spent most of the last month and a half observing how much housework I do and how much time I need for non-writing activities throughout the week. My housework behaves quite well – I have a lot of productive work time available to me. I still need to work on not doing laundry in the morning, because I have a hard time multitasking, even if it is just listening for a machine to be done.
I need to limit the bulk of the time I spend on non-writing creative activities, such as knitting, baking or reading, to the weekend. Those activities can take over if I do them before I have done enough writing for a day or a week.
I got back into exercising first thing in the morning which I haven’t really done since my grad school years. During my grad school years, I would go out for fair-weather jogs. It was not consistent, so I have spent my time over the past few years trying to find exercise I can be more consistent about. I am more consistent if my exercise is not weather-dependent and if I don’t have to go anywhere. I am following Blogilates and loving it so far. I love that there is a calendar and a new playlist of workout videos for each day. I like the novelty and I am not good enough at working out to do so without some guidance. I have invested in ad-free YouTube, a new yoga mat and a pair of light dumbbells. I have worked out 8 mornings so far. I like how it fits into my daily routines and I like that I am building my muscles.
Writing Updates
I decided on some things for my main character that make the story a bit more complex and interesting. Thus, I was able to get a proper start on the second draft of my first novel. I wrote just over 10,000 words and am nearly done with chapter three. These first chapters have needed to be nearly completely rewritten with the changes I made to the main character.
I did a lot of world-building “research” along the way of starting this draft of the book. I think that world-building “research” will become less common as I get further into the draft. I have a hard time calling that research because of my scientific background.
I figured out how I want to track my writing work in my bullet journal a couple of weeks into the month. I made a Pinterest board with word count trackers that I copied into my journal.
Life Fun
We went for an overnight trip up to Wisconsin over Fourth of July weekend — we house sat the house that did not house sitting but it was fun to have a casual overnight trip. When we got home on the Fourth, we stayed up extremely late to watch the DC fireworks in the TV.
I tried making homemade granola for the first time and we really like it in this house. I got on a kick for a few weeks making Steak Queso Rice and Tuna Hot Dish for supper.
I got a new bookcase and put it in the dining room. It helps to have more shelf space for my books since my graduation shelf is now being used for DVDs. And I like having that top shelf available for resting a laptop charger on top of when I decide to do computer stuff at the dining room table.
We put up one of the bird-feeders. We now have 3 or 4 blue-jays and a few woodpeckers that visit regularly. Below is a picture of a blue-jay feather stuck among the grass in the backyard.
As far as reading goes, I caught up on Sarah A. Parker’s Crystal Bloom series, reread Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and am nearly done reading Another Gospel? By Alisa Childers. I am loving Sarah A. Parker’s books. I had wanted to reread Big Magic since I am embarking on my writing career this summer and wanted those reminders about the creative process. Alisa Childers is my current favorite podcaster.
We are going on vacation for the last week of July. I am hoping to have fun with new friends and go swimming and maybe finish my current knitting project which I am calling my unicorn shawl. I am bringing two books for “research”, the other Alisa Childers book, and a fun-looking memoir from one of the county’s spring book sales.
Near-future Writing Plans
August: draft 2 of book 1 and outline for book 2.
September: draft 1 of book 2. Use back to school energy to do a first draft.
October: draft 3 of book 1 and outline for book 3.
November: draft 1 of book 3. Use NaNoWriMo energy to do a first draft.
December: to be determined but draft 2 of book 2 or draft 4 of book 1.
The intention with this plan is to put some buffer time between drafts of the same book and to have a full series on the page instead of just in my head. 2027 can be for polishing this series, publishing it potentially and diving into the next series.
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