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Welcome to October 2018’s update for The Jittery Junebug. This was a month of emotional wake-up calls, reminiscing about fun memories, and a healthy dose of closure.
I’ve decided to start these monthly updates as a way to keep track of my site’s progress, and compare how far it has come. It’s so easy to forget that even a little progress is still progress because it may not strike all at once. Hopefully, these updates will serve the dual purpose of holding me accountable and tracking the blog’s growth over time.
If you’re new to The Jittery Junebug, welcome and I’m so glad you found us!
If you’re returning to these updates and want to skip over the intro and get to the juicy bits, by all means please do!
This all started out as a way to keep myself writing even when I was busy, but gradually evolved into so much more than that. In addition to writing my own stories, The Jittery Junebug (or JJ, as I like to call it) has become a source for other writers to find inspiration and hopefully encouragement to develop their craft.
The JJ has already changed so much since its creation several years ago. Some changes I remember, some I probably don’t, and others are still in progress. It’s fun to look back on old prompts and posts just to see how far we’ve come, and I know we’ll continue to improve as we expand.
Overall, this site—these prompts and articles—started out being for my own use, but are now by and large for you, writer friends. I hope you continue to enjoy my future posts, courses, books, and more!
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What’s happened in the past month?
October was a great month for The Jittery Junebug.
As I mentioned last month, I have big plans for the JJ, including the second installment of The Creative Catalyst and a new look for the prompts themselves. Since I redesigned the website, I’ve been looking to make everything else follow suit with a similar look. Starting in January 2019, the new prompts will have the new appearance as well!
Fortunately, the roadblock I mentioned in last month’s report is no longer and issue because my mother found my missing flash drive! I am so thrilled I don’t have to re-do everything I had on there, and I can still release CC2 on time!
My biggest goal is still to get the JJ to the point of a cohesive brand design. I’ve gone back and forth with the look over the past year, and I think I’ve finally settled on the appearance going forward. Getting all of the pieces together to look consistent is a big chunk of work, but so far I’m thrilled with how things are looking.
I’m back up to speed with creating new prompts for JJ, though I am still working on two novel drafts and a non-fiction book. Once these are all in a place where I feel comfortable sharing them, I’m going to add them to my Books page, so you can keep up with where they are in the process.
If you are interested in starting your novel, check out Scrivener on MacOS or Windows as a way to keep your work organized. I’d highly recommend reading Kristen Kieffer’s explanation about using Scrivener’s virtual corkboard for your work, too, especially if you’re a neat-freak like me!
What I accomplished this month — a breakdown
These are the things I worked on and accomplished during this past month:
- Scheduled prompts through the end of January 2019
- Explored possible photo locations for future image prompts or any other needs
- Continued work on the new prompt templates for upcoming sections for 2019
These new templates and designs will be covered in more detail in the next couple of month’s reviews as they are not yet finalized.
Below are some of my other articles and updates to show how the blog has progressed:
- Why You Should Write a Character Based on Yourself
- The Importance of Writing Crap
- Tips & Tricks: Part One
Blog news
The JJ is growing slowly, but steadily, and I’m happy with the results I’ve seen so far.
I started this blog in 2015 as a way to encourage myself to write more, but quickly found that I also love encouraging others in their writing. As the blog grows, I hope to help more people find their story and gain the courage to write it for the rest of us to enjoy.
Overall, traffic for the month was around 750 page views, largely directed from Pinterest. These are not huge numbers and actually lower than recent months, but considering I was lucky to get 100 views a month in a very niche subject a year ago, I’m OK with this level of traffic.
I am also currently working on:
- Getting The Creative Catalyst: Part Two prompt series finalized and ready for release on Amazon KDP.
- Drafting new prompts for the months of February and March 2019.
- Redesigning and adding pages to the JJ.
- Finding ways to grow the blog’s audience outside of just Pinterest.
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Popular prompts on The Jittery Junebug recently:
My current goals
Ways I’m looking to improve the JJ in the coming months:
- Set up a podcast plan. I’ve recently discovered the wonderful world of podcasting, and since finding some episodes that have been helpful to me, I have decided to tap into what I may be able to offer to others.
- Write at least 3 new articles for tips series. I’m aiming to have at least one Tips & Tricks article per month starting in 2019, and drafting/writing them now will greatly help me get ahead of the curve.
- Draft CC3. Though CC2 is not yet published, I want to start drafting the next installment now to keep the design consistent and start thinking on what to include for the third round.
- Finalize email course. I’ve been meaning to create this course ever since a friend asked me about the self-publishing process.
What I’m working on outside of the blog in the coming months:
- Finishing writing my current novel-in-progress. It has been neglected far too long, and since it is over halfway done, I need to buckle down and get it finished. I love the story, so I need to treat it accordingly.
- Finishing drafting my next novel. I’ve been moving my giant whiteboard all around the house, and it’s time to plot the whole book out from cover to cover instead of blinding writing without a plan.
- Finish writing my non-fiction book. I have several non-fiction drafts in the works, but one in particular has been really pressing on my mind lately. I’d like to get it done soon, so I can share it with y’all.
What writing project are you currently working on? What are you doing to keep yourself motivated?
The Jittery Junebug 