June 2025 Newsletter

Hello, everyone! How was May for you?

May marked both an ending and a beginning for me.

The second weekend of the month, we performed Aladdin Jr., bringing play practice to a close. The shows went well, but it was still a little sad to see it all end. Those three nights on stage are when I feel closest to the rest of the cast. Everyone’s scrambling a little bit, trying to adjust to the new environment, and it forces you to communicate and rely on each other in a way that you don’t in rehearsals.

Around the third week of May, I wrapped up most of my schoolwork. Normally, I’d be thrilled—but this year, it feels a little bittersweet. It was my last year of regular high school. Starting this fall, I’ll be doing full-time PSEO through a local college. That shift makes everything—graduation, adulthood—feel a lot more real.

Still, with the end of school and play practice, I suddenly have a lot more time to focus on other things: diving into the third draft of The Phoenix Pendant and finally making a dent in the stack of unread books on my shelf.

Writing: The First Three Drafts

At the beginning of this month, I started working on the third draft of my novel, The Phoenix Pendant. As I’ve been revising, I’ve been amazed by how different each draft has turned out. It’s been fun to see how much the story has changed since that very first version.

Here’s what the drafting process usually looks like for me:

The First Draft

My first drafts are a complete disaster. The plot is a mess, the prose is a mess, the characters are a mess—everything’s a mess!

But that’s okay. First drafts are supposed to be messy. They’re all about getting the ideas out of my head and onto the page, even if they’re far from perfect. It’s where I start figuring out how the story actually works.

The Second Draft

Once I’ve got the mess on paper, I can step back and look at the bigger picture. In the second draft, I focus on fixing major plot holes, cleaning up character arcs, and refining the worldbuilding. It’s leaves me wanting to bang my head on my desk, but it’s where the story actually starts to make sense.

The Third Draft

This is where things start to really come together. Most of the big issues are resolved, and while my prose still needs polishing, it’s no longer completely cringe-worthy.

At this stage, I’m tying up loose ends in the plot and making sure the overall arc—both story and character—is as strong as possible. After two drafts, I have a much better grasp of who my characters are, so their voices feel more natural and developed.

What do your first few drafts usually look like? Do you have any tips for tackling a third draft? I’d love to hear your process!

Reading: Best Summer Reads

Am I the only one who tends to read until my brain hurts during the summer? I’ll wake up at 10 a.m. and read straight through until bedtime. It’s the best kind of day.

Even if you don’t want to read that much—or don’t have the time—I challenge you to read just a little more than you normally do this summer. Head to your local library or bookstore and browse until you find a book you can’t wait to dive into. Then read it! And if you finish it? Start another!

Make just a little extra time for reading this season. Bring a book out on the boat with your family (in a waterproof bag, of course), or curl up in a deck chair and get lost in the story.

With summer officially starting this month (who else is excited?!), I thought I’d help you kick things off with some of my favorite summer reads. At first, I could only think of romances, but I figured that’s not everyone’s type, so I made an effort to include a mix of genres. I hope a few of these catch your eye!

• Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth - MG Historical Fiction

• Instant Karma - YA Romance

• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - MG Fantasy

• 100 Days of Sunlight - YA Romance

• Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus - MG Contemporary

• Dragonfruit - YA Fantasy

• Simon Sort of Says - MG Contemporary

• A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow - YA Romance

• Anne of Green Gables - MG… Contemporary? Historical? Classic?

If you have any questions about my recommendations, feel free to ask—I’d love to chat books with you! And if you have any summer reading suggestions of your own, I’d love to hear those too!

Update on my Reading Challenge:

A Book that Makes You Think: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (This book was amazing! I will probably end up reading more books for this prompt— let me know if you have any recommendations.)

Progress on my reading challenge: 5/16

Spotlight: Meeting Marissa Meyer again!

By now, you're probably tired of hearing about Marissa Meyer and my experience with her—but I promise, this is the last time I'll bring her up for a while!

This past weekend, I went down to Phoenix to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins. While I was there, Marissa Meyer was on tour for her new book We Could Be Magic—and I ended up getting to go! The event was held at the cutest little bookstore with a restaurant attached.

I had printed out a nicely formatted version of the interview I did with her to have signed as a keepsake (you can kinda see it in the picture; it looks like I’m pointing at it). Her publicist was there, and as soon as she saw the interview, she remembered my name—which was such a fun surprise! Marissa even remembered me, which made my day.

I had an amazing time and can’t wait to read We Could Be Magic!

Quick Writing Update

• Started draft #3 of The Phoenix Pendant

• Wrote 2,500 in Project: Europe

What are your summer hobbies? Do you have any favorite summer reads? 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. Keep an eye out for my July Newsletter! I have some really exciting news to share in the near future!