July Newsletter

Hello, everyone! How was your month? June was super busy for me. I got back from my Europe trip, printed out my novella, and my family moved!

Writing: Quick tip for starting a story

Do you struggle to write when you sit down and are faced with a blank page? Well, I have a quick, easy trick for this.

Forget about making the first line perfect.

When you’re writing your first draft, your story, especially your first line, won’t be perfect. I know it’s hard for us perfectionists to accept that, but it’s true.

The important thing is just to start writing. Next time you sit starting a blank page, don’t stay that way. Google good opening lines. You don’t have to keep that opening line, in fact, you shouldn’t! Start with the classic “Once upon a time” or the overused “(fill in character name)’s alarm clock beeped, jolting (him/her) awake”.

Just start. You got this!

Reading: Thawed - A Snow Queen Retelling

Thawed - A Snow Queen Retelling

Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling

Age rating: 11+

I did it! I finally completely finished a project!

Thawed was the first project that I ever finished the first draft of and now it’s the first project that I’ve printed it out in book form. It has been so fun to work on these last couple months. I can’t wait to share it with people!

Here’s a blurb: 

Princess Adalyn has been trapped in the Winter Palace for two years with no one but her servants and an annoying noble. When Tiron, a young peasant, manages to get in, he tells her that the curse that froze her family is now spreading to the entire kingdom. Now it’s up to Adalyn, Tiron, and their friends to save Serengalia. But is the enchanter really responsible?

FAQ

• Are you publishing it? No, I’m just printing it out for me, friends, and family.

• Who designed the cover? I used Canva.com to design it!

• Can I get a copy? Yes! Keep an eye out for my August newsletter to learn how you can get a copy of Thawed!

Spotlight: Europe Trip Part 2

I have been back from my trip now for around 3 weeks and it still feels unreal. It was so amazing to see all of the sights that I’ve read about all my life! I had so much fun hanging out with everyone and marveling at my cousins’ maturity.

Favorite city: Florence (followed by Venice)

Favorite activity: making pizza and gelato

Favorite food: gelato (obviously)

Quick summary of the trip:

• May 27th - We flew from home to Paris (France) to Florence (Italy).

• May 28th - We explored Florence and took a pizza and gelato making class.

• May 29th - We took a day trip to Rome (Italy).

• May 30th - We took a train to Montrosso (Italy) and explored the town.

• May 31st - We took a train to Venice (Italy).

• June 1st - We explored Venice.

• June 2nd - We took a train to Lauterbrunnan (Switzerland).

• June 3rd - We biked in Lauterbrunnan Valley.

• June 4th - We took a train to Chamonix (France).

• June 5th - We explored Chamonix and took a bus to Geneva (Switzerland).

• June 6th - We flew from Geneva to New York to home.

Quick Writing Update

• Worked on a couple side projects

• Started editing The Phoenix Pendant

• Finished Thawed - A Snow Queen Retelling

Do you have any fun trips planned for this summer? What’s one thing you’d like to see more of from me? Let me know by replying directly to this email or leaving me a comment of the website that corresponds to The Introverted Writer!

Thank you so much for reading! Have a great rest of your day!

Abby Henderson

P.S. Look out for a new piece of flash fiction in August!