Writing Update for 3/4/2025 – Hopefully My Printer Won’t Overheat. It Won’t… I Mean… It Just Needs to Print out 66K Words and 127 Pages

Hey, guys!!! Isabelle Knight here again with a brand new writing update!!! First writing update of spring! Woohoo!!! Also, if the above title confused or worried you… Well, sadly, I’m NOT exaggerating. And if you’re wondering, “Why on earth would Isabelle’s printer need to print out 66K words???” the answer, my dear friend, is…

REVISIONS.

The bane of all writers!!!!

Well, perhaps excluding Gail Carson Levine and any other writer who loves revisions.

But yeah. So, earlier this week, I had this random idea to edit my book… like an editor. Not as the writer. And I wanted to have my book printed out in front of me, on paper, and make notes in the paper like editors usually (maybe?) do.

So I managed to convince my dad to use the printer to print out my novel, part by part, so that I could edit it!!! Hurrah!!!!! Of course, I won’t print it out in one go, since my friend kindly informed me this morning that printers can overheat and they need breaks. How was I supposed to know that?! (jk jk, of course)

But yeah. That’s what I’ve been up to these past few days. Honestly, the week before this was HECTIC. I was so worried and stressed about book four and I just quite literally dove into the manuscript without a plan to just start writing!!!

It did NOT go well.

The result?

Several discarded pages and a stressed out Isabelle freaking out while on video call with her writing buddy.

Not the best result, as you can see…..

But for some reason, I got the urge to print out my book, and now I am just pretending to be an editor, working at a publishing house, editing a book that is NOT my own. :)) Weird? I know. But it works!!! Maybe. I might jinx myself but…

And so I’ve been reading through the manuscript, leaving notes in the margins and in between the lines! And so far, I’ve identified several problems that, as the writer, I failed to acknowledge.

• I have a useless character and he’s gotta go.
• I have two useless battles!!! One of them while fun to read needs… a reason to happen! The other just feels forced.
• My characters accomplished nothing and I brought them all the way to Nyxria just to kill off a certain character who shall remain nameless.
• Elenora’s far too bitter and acted OOC (out of character) in one scene. As did Ariella.
• I killed off a character just for the sake of killing them off.
• Elenora is whiny.
• Very whiny.
• Elenora needs to care about someone other than herself!!!!!!
• ELENORA IS WHINY (this is such a big thing that it deserves to be listed twice!)

So……. heheheheheeeee……….. I’ve got a lot more work ahead of me. AAAND I’ve only gone through and printed out chapters one through six!!!!! OUT OF FIFTEEN!!!! 24K out of 66K words!!!!!!

And this is how much I must fix. (shakes head). But I’ll get through it. Right?? At least, FOR NOW, as the editor, haha, I don’t have to worry anymore! BECAUSE I AM JUST EDITING! AND IT’S THE POOR WRITER WHO MUST FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE NOTES AND HOW TO CHANGE THOSE!!!! AKA future Isabelle who might be fuming at me two weeks later so….

But that’s in the future!

And yeah. I finished editing chapters one through six yesterday and my dad is now tasked with printing out… what, just over 20K words. See? Not much at all! Right? 🙂

And in the meantime, I’ve been working on Island Keepers book three!!! Hurrah!!! It feels kinda nice to be back there again… In a familiar, magical world!!! Even if there’s a villain out there and Steeds missing! And mysterious envelopes and a song that’s a prophecy and I’ve told you too much already!!!!

And there’s also my ‘secret project’ that’s kind of like When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller. AND YAAARGH I DON”T KNOW WHAT TO DO THIS PROJECT IS GOING TERRIBLY DO I JUST ABANDON IT?!!!!!! THIS IS TOO HARD!!!!

That’s what my feelings about this secret project have been like for now, I’m afraid. (sighs) Now that project, I really don’t know what to do with. Because I really do want to write it, but at the same time, OH MY GOODNESS WHY DOES THIS STORY HAVE TO BE SO INFURIATINGLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!

But it’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Because, trust me, if I had a penny for every time a project went like this, I’d be rich. But yeah… I’m totally not panicking and freaking out about this project… Okay, my writing buddy said I needed to stop stressing myself out, but… umm… dat’s a lil hard haha.

But yeah! That is what I’ve been up to these past few days – trying not to overheat my printer, acting like an editor, writing, aaaaand totally freaking out. XD And I think this probably wraps up this writing update! Thank you guys so much for coming, and I shall see you again in the next post!!! Wish me luck with my project…. 😬

Isabelle