{"id":207,"date":"2026-03-19T15:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/?p=207"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:40:07","slug":"writing-rituals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/?p=207","title":{"rendered":"Writing Rituals"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I try to write something here every month, but this month I feel I\u2019m scraping the bottom dregs for anything to say. I\u2019ve started this blog a few times, but petered out as I realized it\u2019s just a bunch of whinging with no real purpose. This could be general malaise on my part. In these last few months before the weather breaks for good, I usually try to travel and give myself a chance to refresh before summer.<\/p>

Unfortunately that wasn\u2019t possible this year, and I do think I\u2019m a little worse for it. I have tremendous creative energy, but very few places to exercise it. My work on The Patron<\/em> continues, though I\u2019m currently deep in a scene that is giving me some trouble. This story seems to come in fits and bursts, and I think the fragmented nature of my time lately is to blame.<\/p>

I prefer to write in a flow state- and that requires a significant investment of time. I prefer to write during the day, with ample time to stare into space. It\u2019s best if I do not have to cook dinner, and can rely entirely on coffee, girl dinner, and occasionally, wine.<\/p>

I think of how I spent two weeks away working on my early draft of The Last Dawn<\/em>. I was house-sitting in South Carolina, completely left to my own devices with a stocked fridge, and no need to do anything except wake up, make coffee, write, eat some avocados, write until I couldn\u2019t stay awake any longer, and sleep. Repeat.<\/p>

The tremendous amount of focus I achieved in those two weeks was absurd. I took a meandering manuscript that had been doddering along for months, and in two weeks I had a completed 83k draft. I was writing 5k-8k a day in South Carolina, and being in such a flow state let me explore so much depth for my characters. I had the freedom to spend a day in abject misery and guilt over the death of a character I didn\u2019t even think I liked. I was extremely invested.<\/p>

I told myself I should make a ritual of this, a book a year, with a two-week hyper intense focus period where I can push a manuscript home. I feel now, I should have taken my own advice. But when you aren\u2019t a career writer, taking two-weeks away from home and work to write is quite the luxury, and I won\u2019t pretend it isn\u2019t. I basically had to eat two weeks pay in order to take the time last year, a significant sacrifice for me- but worth it in so many ways at the time.<\/p>

However, this year I hesitated when the opportunity arose. It\u2019s been a hard year of querying The Last Dawn<\/em>, and while I was willing to make the sacrifice for my first novel, I had a hard time justifying doing the same for The Patron<\/em>. Especially now that I know how to avoid some of the time-consuming pitfalls I had writing my first novel.<\/p>

Still, I think I underestimate the creative clarity it gave me. I also, sadly, would think very differently if I was currently preparing a book for submission with agent guidance. I think certain sacrifices are easier to make when you feel you are going somewhere definite. But maybe I\u2019m just making excuses once again.<\/p>

In my heart of hearts, I think finishing The Patron<\/em> in Paris, staring out from a tiny balcony in Montmartre would be fitting. I feel somewhat disingenuous writing a novel set in a place I have never seen. Instead I take Google Map tours, and virtual tours of landmarks, I listen to French poetry, and watch performances of Giselle<\/em>, but I know it\u2019s still too far removed from what I wish to capture. At one point, writing a scene at the Palais Garnier, I became very depressed, realizing I may never get to feel the velvet on the balcony of a box seat.<\/p>

In any case, I am forever a romantic, and I do think if the winds should change in my direction any time soon\u2014a stipend for a retreat to Montmartre would be non-negotiable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In writing updates; I am starting to shop around a couple short fiction pieces, one absurdist and one thriller which I\u2019m hoping will find homes soon. I think my poetry and fiction that\u2019s already accepted this year probably won\u2019t appear until June\/July.<\/p>

Next month I\u2019m attending the Writing Day Workshop<\/a> locally and pitching live to one (or possibly two) agents and seeing how that goes. I am forever a nerd about publishing so I\u2019m equally excited for the panels, especially since this is taking place post London Book Fair and AWP.<\/p>

I\u2019ve hit 20k on The Patron<\/em>, and I\u2019m starting to slot out longer chunks of time on the weekend to really get it drafted before summer. I was hopeful it might be done before April, but only because my expectations for myself are utterly unreasonable. In any case, Summer here tends to chew up all my time whether I want it to or not, so I\u2019d like to be mostly done before that- and look at querying possibly around the end of summer\/early fall.<\/p>

A last thought that\u2019s been buzzing in my brain lately is poetry readings. I know there are a couple here locally, so they might be something I try. I at least enjoy hearing other people\u2019s work. Reading my own I\u2019m unsure of. Still, I\u2019m tempted enough to listen and see what\u2019s out there.<\/p>

With the faintest hint of exhaustion\u2014SMH<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Currently Reading:<\/h6>
Temeraire Series: His Majesty\u2019s Dragon, Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>

On paper, Napoleonic Wars + Dragons shouldn\u2019t be my vibe. In reality, Naomi Novik can write ANYTHING and I will kiss her feet. I think something of the pre-teen book nerd in me fell in love immediately with this story. Growing up on Dragonriders of Pern<\/em>, Dragon\u2019s Milk<\/em>, and a heavy dose of Diana Wynne Jones\u2014I am somewhat the target audience. Also, since reading Dan Simmons\u2019 (RIP) The Terror<\/em>, I\u2019ve developed a strong love for stories of the British Navy for some odd reason. Suffice to say, I devoured the first novel, I\u2019m finishing the second, and I am beyond excited to know there are six more to go.<\/p>

Also, on a very nerdy note, His Majesty\u2019s Dragon<\/em> being Novik\u2019s debut is absolutely gutting. This is the standard. I am humbled.<\/p>

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>

This is my bookclub\u2019s current pick, and as usual I have not started reading it yet. Yes, I\u2019m that bookclub member. However my TBR stack is getting somewhat easier to manage, so I\u2019m sure I can finish this one in time.<\/p>

Brimstone by Callie Hart<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>

This one is interesting. I think, for the most part, I struggle with romantasy. However, I think Callie Hart gets a lot of things right here and overall it\u2019s an enjoyable fun read that never gets too hopeless or frustrating. The overarching plot is compelling and driven. I think the thing I notice the most about her writing is how incredibly tightly paced it is. There is no downtime. It\u2019s literally crisis after crisis. However, and it\u2019s hard for me to turn off writer brain, there are many highly interesting side moments that I would\u2019ve enjoyed a closer look at. All in all, it\u2019s an addictive sequel that stands out in a genre that unfortunately I find most stories and characters blur together into an amorphous book-boyfriend shaped blob.<\/p>

On Writing by Stephen King<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>

I finally bought a new copy of this, after my original one that I purchased in highschool got damaged. It was the first piece of \u2018writer advice\u2019 I ever read, and yes it still holds up. I\u2019ve always been partial to no-nonsense, common sense approaches and this will always have a place on my shelf.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I try to write something here every month, but this month I feel I\u2019m scraping the bottom dregs for anything to say. I\u2019ve started this blog a few times, but petered out as I realized it\u2019s just a bunch of whinging with no real purpose. This could be general malaise on my part. In these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,17],"tags":[34,65],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements-updates","category-creative-process","tag-author-updates","tag-fiction-writing","post-preview"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samanthahund.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}