Lately I’ve been thinking of what comes next once I finish the fourth and final story about Vanessa and Kento (Kenessa 😉). I’m going to miss those two, but I’m ready to move on. 👋🏽✌🏽

Next year I’m going to start writing my first novel 😬 which is somewhat scary, 😧 but exciting. 😁 I’m not sure how much I’ll reveal here on my blog, but I won’t keep you in the dark. I’m excited to write it and anxious to publish it for all to read.

My plan is to read for pure enjoyment once I’m done with Kenessa. I’ve read a few books while working on my assignments and this blog, and I wasn’t as immersed in them as I would’ve liked. So I’m going to do some pleasure reading and some research reading.

There’s always room for improvement and I want to gear up for this suspenseful thriller I’m writing next year. This is a perfect opportunity to read some Karin Slaughter, Walter Mosley, Tana French, and a few others. I know Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series may not qualify as suspense, but I love Detective Bosch, so I’m adding him to the list anyway. I might read some works by a few new authors. 🤔 It depends on how I feel. 😂

I definitely want to finish DIY MFA by Gabriela Pereira and I think K. M. Weiland has a few books on character development, story structure and plot that I might look into. Again, it all depends on how I feel. 😉 Once I’m done reading, then comes the hard part 😩: research, outlining, and WRITING.

These past several months I’ve spent some time figuring out what kind of writer I am. I can honestly say, I still have no idea. 😂 I know I’m my own worst critic and I’m a perfectionist. Stories that should’ve taken no more than two months have taken several months because 1) I was overthinking things, 2) I wanted everything to make sense even though I was writing fiction, 3) I’m a procrastinator who had to learn how to stop being one (just stop it already 🤦🏽‍♀️), and 4) life happened – over and over again. 😂

My mentor placed goals for more that were more geared for her or what she thought I should be able to do. I don’t think she took into account my personality or my life. 😂😂 She eventually realized she was rubbing off on me and she didn’t want me to miss out on what was happening around me or obsessing too much on writing. It was funny. Before she told me that she didn’t want to rub off on me, I already saw that she was rubbing off on me. I knew I needed to find my own way and go at my own pace.

In 2018, the training wheels are coming off and I’m going to really take charge of my own writing. It’s important that I do what works best for me. In the end, these are my words that came from my imagination based on some of my life experiences or whatever craziness is happening in my head. It all comes back to me. So why be someone I’m not? 🤷🏽‍♀️

I still plan on focusing on the readers I don’t have easy access to. When I think about my purpose, what I’m doing goes beyond those closest to me, as it should. I want to have a great impact. In my opinion, the only way for me to do this is to think about the people outside of my inner circle, my hometown or my country. I love writing and I want to share my voice with those who want to hear one like mine.