...no way to be ignored...

I definitely slowed down a bit this month, but I did write. I even picked one of my other WIPs up for a little bit.

Works In Progress:

Little Red Thread: still making good progress with this one. Chapter 16 is done and I've started on chapter 17 -- wrote 7,369 words, for a new total of 94,171. I've written 88,546 on it just in the last six months. Still well on track to have it finished by NYE -- the plot begins to align with Defying Gravity again in a chapter or two, so I'll be able to refer more to the original story in a little while.

The Bones Underneath: my brain decided I needed to work on this one for a bit. Still working on chapter 3 -- 4,021 new words, bringing me to 18,678.

Challenges:

Either the cold I caught a couple of weeks ago hit me harder than I thought it did, or my hyperfocus has wound down, because the writing has been a little harder than I'd like the last few days. But I got a lot of writing done this month.

Works In Progress:

Little Red Thread: made some major progress on this one. Finished chapters 9 through to 15 plus an interlude, and wrote 40,525 words -- am now up to 86,802 words. Which means that the word count for this story has surpassed Defying Gravity's, and it's not even halfway done yet. It's the most I've written in one month in a very long time.

Challenges:

I'm still on a major roll with the writing, which has made for another very productive month. It's so nice to not have to fight my muse all time time.

Works in progress:

Little Red Thread: I've really hit my stride with this one. I've finished chapters 6, 7 and 8, and am around halfway done with chapter 9 -- another 18,933 words written, for a new total of 46,277. I'll hit 50K next chapter, which is when things will start going downhill for a little while. I'm seriously looking forward to writing my characters going through absolute hell. *evil grin*

Brothers In Arms: I hadn't even planned on writing this story up until a month ago. It's the prequel to Little Red Thread, and is set during the 15 months immediately prior to the beginning of that story. And it is seriously spoilery for Little Red Thread, so I'm not even going to share anything about it until I hit the part in Little Red Thread that it's most spoilery for. All I will say is that it fills in a fair amount of backstory. So far I have the prologue and the first two chapters done, and 12,110 words written.

Challenges:

This has been yet another productive month. I've found my writing rhythm again now that my Master's degree is well behind me, and my writing hyperfocus is in full gear lately (thank you AuDHD). I love it when that happens. :D

Works in progress:

Little Red Thread: I've made some major progress with this fic. Finished off chapters 4 and 5 (and started chapter 6) and wrote 12,418 words, for a new total of 27,344. Goal is 110K so I'm already a quarter of the way there. When you consider that I not only started this fic right in the middle of the final year of my Master's degree (I'm not even kidding -- I started writing it at the end of July last year), but that realistically speaking I've only really been working on it for five or so months, I'm doing pretty damn well on it. If I count the future scenes I've written and that I'll be editing and slotting in later (including the first sexually-explicit bit of writing I've ever done -- I had LOADS of fun with that), it's closer to 45,000 words. I'm pretty confident that I'll have it finished by the end of this year.

Challenges:

I have been seriously productive this month. This is even despite the fucking awful heat I've had to deal with -- the building my flat is in was built in the 1960s, is uninsulated and traps heat spectacularly well, and I don't have aircon. So I've been miserable as fuck and relying on two desk fans to keep myself cool while I'm on my laptop (plus my ancient box fan while I sleep). Hasn't stopped me writing though!

Works in progress:

Little Red Thread: chapters 2 AND 3 are done, and I've started on chapter 4. 7,624 new words written for an updated total of 14,926.

Challenges:

Get Your Words Out 2026: I'm not only counting what I write on Little Red Thread, I'm also counting all the supplemental materials for that story. Am now up to 23,637 words, or 32% done.

Between dealing with family (and the ridiculous restrictions placed on me by certain members of that family - put it this way, I HATE being forced to be quiet), spending the better part of 24 hours travelling home a couple of weeks ago and the heatwave I'm enduring at the moment (IT'S SO FUCKING HOT), I haven't been able to get as much writing done this month as I'd have liked. Especially considering the writing goal I'm working toward this year. Main thing though is that I did get some writing done.

Works in progress:

Little Red Thread: still working on chapter 2. Got another 1,687 words written - new total 7,302. Still really, really tempted to start posting it to AO3, but I just keep reminding myself that I'm holding it back for Very Good Reasons.

Writing challenges:

I don't see myself getting any writing done today, so I'm posting this now. Am planning for next year to be a big year writing-wise, seeing as I can now dedicate the majority of my energy to writing rather than studying most of the year.

Works in progress:

Little Red Thread: this is the rewrite of Defying Gravity that I've been talking about since July. (I told you all it had a title.) Got another 1,078 words written for a new total of 5,625 words.

(As penned by someone who lived through the peaks of tumblr ace, bi, and dysphoria discourse.)

You find yourself saying that XYZphobia either 1) doesn't exist, 2) is misdirected ABCphobia, or 3) isn't nearly as bad as ABCphobia, so it's not an issue, really.

You say everyone talking about XYZphobia is just ABCphobic, and/or is just repeating conservative rhetoric. (“Asexuals are all homophobic anti-sex prudes!” “People who think you don’t need dysphoria to be trans are transphobic!”)

One of your main issues include either the idea that XYZ people will confuse cishets, or that XYZ people are co-opting ABC spaces / resources (and are thus all inherently ABCphobes).

You find yourself giving them a stupid-sounding nickname to derogatorily refer to them with. (Think "asexies", "bihets", etc.)

You prop up XYZ people on your side of the discourse as "one of the good ones".