It’s that time of the year again: I’ll be participating in Clarion West’s Write-a-Thon for the next six weeks. Well, five weeks. We’re already several days in now, and so far, it’s going pretty well.

Last summer, I began work on a project that I’ve been thinking about for, oh, I don’t know, a whole bunch of years now. It’s my “a group of amnesiacs wake up trapped together with a dead superhero” murder mystery–or, if you like comp titles: Six Wakes meets Justice League, with a healthy dose of philosophy a la The Good Place. I had a really great time working on it last year, too, but unfortunately, I had to set the novel aside to focus on a higher priority project. One year, one novel rewrite, a couple short stories, and a few very important fanfics later, and I’m ready to begin work on said Amnesia Murder Mystery again.

So far, I’ve primarily gone over and reorganized all my notes. (I have lots of them. There was a Twitter question recently about your favorite part of the writing process. Mine has always been the “so, let’s play with this idea” and “ooh, but what IF” notes.) I’ve also reread everything I’ve written so far and sharpened up Chapter 1 a bit. I was really worried I’d have difficulty sinking back into this story after nearly a year away, but so far, my interest levels are still high.

While I normally post a regular weekly progress report here on MGB, I haven’t decided if I’m going to do that for this year’s Write-a-Thon. After all, I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll just end up repeating whatever the hell I wrote last year. I might post a few semi-regular updates, or maybe just talk about mysteries in general and what I find so compelling about them, particularly in regards to this project. Time will tell.

Either way, I’ve officially hit the part of the program where I ask for your hard-earned money. I participate annually in this fundraiser because I’m incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to go to Clarion West; it quite literally changed my life, giving me the tools to become a much stronger writer and introducing me to people who have become some of my closest friends. Any money I can raise that might help fund this program or allow another writer to attend feels like the very least I can do.

So. If you’re interested and able to donate to Clarion West, you can sponsor me HERE. There are some incentivized rewards for sponsors, like, I will recap and review an episode of your favorite TV show, or your least favorite TV show, or the TV show that has disappointed you the most bitterly. You could force me to hate-watch some terrible movie and analyze what, if anything, works about it. I could write a Genderbent Wednesday film essay for you, if that’s more your thing. Or I can simply help you discover your hidden mini super power. The choice is yours. Full details at the link.

If you’re interested in donating to Clarion West, but not so much my superhero-murder-shit, you can also browse all these other participants and read about their writing goals and incentives. And if the financials are tight and you feel your money is best spent on a non-writing cause, I totally get it: the world is a pretty terrible place right now. What’s happening at the border is particularly unconscionable, so if you haven’t already, may I suggest Raices? Your money will be going towards helping separated and detained families.

For now, I think, that’s all I have for you. Happy Friday, everyone!