Hello, hello, dear friends! *very reluctantly sets down my copy of Orphan Island and waves thee in* This shall be a rather long post, so do get settled and cozy! *hands you all a mug of warm, steaming jasmine tea, which I firmly believe is the best of all teas* My goodness has it been a while since my last writing update! See now, somewhere around summer of 2025, I attempted (note the word attempted) doing monthly writing updates where I would share how writing went and such. But I have fallen out of doing those updates due to one rather terrible reason.
I have also fallen out of writing.
I have avoided it like the plague.
And I am not at all proud of it.
I have been very much frozen, unable to write a single thing. And then I get inspired to write… and then don’t.
And so, today, I sat down by the swimming pool, with no screens, no music, no one to really talk to, and nothing but one notebook to write in, a blue pen, a sketchbook, and pencils. I’ve been doing so much art lately that I’ve been growing a tad sick of it (if I have to draw, one more strand of hair, I swear I will combust), and so I had no choice but to write.
Did I write much? Not really. I did, however, write the two sentences that completed Chapter Six of Island Keepers: Draft I Don’t Know Anymore, so that was a win! However, the next few sentences have been going… terribly.
Writing has just been a slog for months now, and after taking a few weeks break before re-reading my manuscript multiple times (along the countless red notes I’ve scribbled in the margins of this thing!!!), I have decided….
I must rewrite this thing. Rewrite the whole plot to find the true heart of this story.
I am scared.
I am absolutely terrified to do anything with this story.
I have been for weeks.
But… it’s time, I guess.
And while I originally wanted to be able to release this book in January, that shall be completely impossible and would just break me if I attempted to write so fast. So when am I ever going to release another book? I have absolutely no clue and have decided not to even bother trying to think about that.
I have also been doing more art recently (and finally did some watercolor paintings after leaving off in September), and so here are some pieces of art I did! ^^
Lol, I stuck this in a book to flatten it out due to the watercolor paper warping slightly, and now it looks like the book is illustrated, I suppose? I’m not mad about how it looks. XD
I had such a fun time doing this watercolor painting!!! I was getting ever so worried while applying the second layer of paint (because it looked all messy and splotchy), but it turned out amazing!! One must power through the messy stages, I suppose.
I’ve had a wonderful time reading recently as well! I’m currently on my re-read of The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr, and oh my stars, it is such a good middle-grade book!!! The characters are so so brave, and you really just have to love Rachel and Robert’s characters, and just… *chef’s kiss*
And speaking of reading….
Any fellow LOTR fans here? :)) I believe I may have found a new obsession with a book series (along with the Emma M. Lion series, of course. We all love Emma.) that I actually DNFed so many times in the past: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. It took my friends a very long time to convince me to finally give LOTR a try again, and after they managed to persuade me to give LOTR movie one a try…
I may or may not have severely enjoyed this movie and fallen in love with the world.
The world!!! The characters!!! The drama!!! THE CHARACTER SUFFERING!!! (And poor Frodo. I know all too well what such character suffering is like, seeing as I shoved the same character suffering upon Elenora for four books straight.)
It was wonderful!! I loved the scene in Lothlorien!! And I was also Very Pleased to discover that the edition of the movie I had was the extended edition!!
…And now I want my own bow and arrow….
My friends also then somehow convinced me to read the LOTR books, which I DNFed many times before over the years. And this time, surprisingly, I enjoyed them. I did not die of boredom halfway through the read! And oh my goodness, the books are so good!!! The movie does none of the history of the world any justice at all. At all! And some of the side characters I thought were boring in the movie (like Legolas and Gimli) were actually not as boring in the books. (Honestly! Legolas has more lines in one chapter than he does in the whole film!)
I actually did a character art piece of Frodo, and I have somehow made the outlandish goal to draw every single Lord of the Rings character…. And when I say every single one, I mean every single one.
Except the orcs.
Never the orcs.
Which may have been a horrible choice, but I made it a goal. So I suppose we shall see, shan’t we? XD
Do let me know down in the comments if you’d like to see a review of LOTR (and The Book of Stolen Dreams!), and also how your own writing is going!! 🙂 I’d love to hear from you!! And in the meantime, I shall head back to plunging through my manuscript… well, that and inventing a new fantasy language just for the fun of it.
Till next time,
-Isabelle
There was maybe a two week period last month when I didn’t write hardly a thing. Because of life stuff and personal struggles, I just didn’t have the motivation or the time.
And I felt really really bad about it. I was so guilty that I wasn’t doing anything to chase my dreams.
And then. . . I started writing again. At first it was just short things, silly stories and articles, and journaling. And now I am writing a couple thousand words a day again.
The point of all this is to say that sometimes you have dry spells. And that’s alright. It’s a part of writing life, I think. There are days when writing feels like the hardest thing in the world. But when your motivation returns, when you find it in yourself to start again, the words will come. And however long it takes you to find that again is fine. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that not all seasons of my life will be spent in a blaze of joyful productivity. To appreciate those times when they come and to keep my spirits up through the hard seasons. The times when writing feels like the last thing I want to do, and nothing is working.
I truly believe you will find a project that speaks to you, that needs to be written. Until that time, we’re willing to wait for you.
P.S. Hopefully my rambling makes some semblance of sense.
P.S.S. LOTR is the BEST!!! I’m so glad we were able to convert you,
P.S.S.S. I LOVE your art so much!! I feel like you need to illustrate a book now, because it looks SO pretty in the pages like that!! And if you do manage to draw all the LOTR characters, (a most impressive undertaking) then I need to see them!!! That would be amazing.
Thank you so much for this comment!! <3 I think I really needed it. I didn't know I wasn't the only one who was struggling to write due to life and personal struggles! And I was not aware that I wasn't the only one who felt so guilty about it! And thank you. I have really been going through a dry spell recently. That's really just filled with this pressure of "I must write. I must publish. They are all waiting for a new book." Which... is rather silly. But it was how I was feeling. And I was just feeling so terrible about it. And yes, I suppose so. I have honestly never really thought about it that way -- that not all seasons in life shall be spent in a blaze of joyful productivity. And no worries!!! Your ramblings made perfect sense (they made my day!). And LOL!! It is!!! I am most glad you managed to persuade me to watch the movies. *brandishes a sword* For Middle-Earth!!! And aww, thank you so much!! That means a lot to hear. Someday!!! Someday I shall illustrate a book!!! Someday.... *stares wistfully off into the distance*
And lol, yes it will be. XD I shall send you pictures!
I love this post!!! Did you seriously do those artworks?? Isabelle, they are INCREDIBLE!! Seriously, I thought you had an illustrated edition of Lord of the Rings for a second there XDXD For real!
And speaking of, major fan here 😀 Ooh I have drawn a few of the characters from Lord of the Rings: I took time on them, but its so fun!! I’ve done Arwen, Aragorn (from a VERy tricky angle, I recommend an easier one hehe), and maybe some others?? But yes, never orcs XD I also did Saruman’s eye (as in his literal eye, not the eye of Sauran) because a whole portrait would have been too evil for my taste lol)
And re your writing…keep taking those tiny steps to feeling safe in it again! We all feel scared of our writing and workign on our stories form time to time, but when the time begins to feel ripe, we have to trust we’re “piling sand to make sandcastles late”, and boy is it WORTH it. Getting back into a story I can’t alwasy see how actually good the stuff I write is, but weeks later I’ll look back at a scene I used to doubt and be like “woah, I’m so glad I got that down, I had no idea!!!”. So, I say all that to say, keep up the courage and go!! Cheering you on! 😀 (I also have an intention to read all your books one day ;))
Ending this very long comment, ahem. Trying to think of a LOTR reference to sign off with…..*nothign comes*….XD
Oh!! Thank you so much!!! Yes, I did!!! I’m so glad you like them!! And lol, if you don’t look TOO closely it does look like it!! XD (Although the book is Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder. those paintings wouldn’t fit in my copy of LOTR — tis a very small-sized paperback!! With small font!! Which… as a middle-grade reader, I am unused to. XD)
And yayyy hello fellow LOTR fan!!!! *waves* Ooh that sounds so fun! You have made me wish to attempt drawing Aragorn from a very tricky angle now. XD (I actually plan to attempt drawing him next. And after that, Arwen and Eowyn.) And yes, yes, never the orcs!!! One must not draw the orcs! And lol!! I understand that. I shall be attempting to draw a full portrait of Saruman (though it shall be tucked away in the very shadows of my closet once completed!!!). I shall have to attempt the eye of Sauron as well.
And thank you. I really appreciate it. <3 I hope so as well. (And thank you so much!! If you ever read the Enchantria series, do let me know! The more readers, the better!) Lol don't worry I don't mind long comments. And nooooo!!! ...Actually nothing's coming to my mind either, except for "Myyy preciouuuussssss...."
Which is not the most encouraging quote. Ah!!! "Not all who wander are lost." This feels like a fitting quote for this post. XD
Whoah…your art is so beautiful!
Also, I just want you to know that you are not alone in struggling with a story. I wrestled with a story for three years before finally completing the first draft. It took a long time, but eventually the story led me to the end.
I hope you know your writing is amazing, and that it’s okay to just breathe. It’s okay not to publish really fast. It’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to not be writing 2000 words a day.
You got this! You’re really talented, and you inspire so many people! 🙂
(Also-I seriously thought the watercolor paintings were illustrations in the books until I zoomed in)
Thank you so much for your encouraging words — I really appreciate it. ^^ And wow! Three years? That’s incredible! (That you stuck with the story to the end!) And yeah, I am going to be trying to slow down a bit, I suppose. I’m meant to meet with my friends tonight to chat about Island Keepers, so hopefully all goes well!
And lol!!! XD Haha I am glad to hear that they looked like illustrations in the books!
Oh that’s fun!!! Hope that’s wonderful!☺️
Sometimes we all do hit a moment where we must take a break from writing. I’ve had to do this over the past actually multiple times, just because I pushed myself too hard and started to detest writing. What I find helps me the most to get back Into a regular writing schedule is to write something fun, usually a short story with no deadlines. I do hope this next rewrite of Island Keepers goes better for you. Also your art is good, you’ve come so far! AND YES!!!! We have converted you to a LOTR fan lol!!!!
Thank you. I think this is honestly what’s been happening over this past summer (and also what happened during NaNoWriMo 2024). I’ve had periods of detesting writing over the past years, and I am at least glad to know I’m not the only one. ^^ And thank you! I hope so as well!! And lol yes!! XD For the Shireeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way, I tagged you for the Bookish Glimmers I Love tag! 😀
https://storyblossoms.uk/2025/11/26/glimmers-in-books-i-love-oddly-specific-tag-autumn-into-winter-edition/
Oooh thanks! I’ll check it out!