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March Writing Update + Big Changes to My 2026 Plan
- Ceara Nobles
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
author update · writing progress · creative goals
Well, March has entered the chat.
And with it… sheer chaos.
Before we get into the dumpster fire that is my 2026 plan now, let’s start with the headline:
I finished the rough draft of Book 1 in my new series.
Not only did I finish it, but I drafted it faster than any book I’ve ever written before.
Cue dramatic lightning strike. Cue celebratory THE END graphic. Cue me staring at my word count tracker like it personally validated my existence.
I’m really proud of this one.
February Recap: The Season of Focus
January and February were intense in the very best way.
If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you know that prioritizing my writing hasn’t always been easy. I balance freelance editing work and being a full-time mom to two small humans who need snacks approximately every 11 minutes. Time is precious, energy even more so.
But for these past two months, I made a decision to put writing in the front seat.
Not forever. Not in an unsustainable, burnout-y way, but intentionally.
I tracked my words. I protected my writing time. I showed up even on the messy days.
And it paid off.
The draft came together quickly—not because it was perfect (oh, we’ll get to that), but because I stayed consistent. It’s the fastest I’ve ever drafted a book, and that feels like a breakthrough.
The Original 2026 Plan (RIP)
Now let’s talk about the plan.
Because I had one. A very organized one. A very exciting one. A plan I have talked about on social media, in newsletters, and probably in passing conversation with anyone who made eye contact with me.
The idea was this:
Fast-draft Book 1
Immediately fast-draft Book 2
Then draft the companion novella
THEN go back and revise all three as one giant cohesive project
No editing between books. No stopping to polish. Just forward momentum.
I loved this idea. It felt bold, different, like it might truly level up my writing game. I was going to treat the duology like one massive story instead of three separate products.
I thought it would be efficient and creatively freeing. And honestly? It still might be—for a different project someday.
Because then I went to StoryCon.
StoryCon: Inspiration + Destruction
This past weekend, I attended StoryCon, a local writing conference that was absolutely stacked. I got to hear from authors like Soman Chainani (The School For Good And Evil), Tricia Levenseller (The Shadows Between Us), and Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn and The Stormlight Archives).
It was inspiring. Energizing. Craft-deepening.
And also mildly catastrophic.
During one of the workshops, something clicked. Well, actually, a lot of things clicked.
And I had a realization that hit like a truck:
Book 1 is broken.
Not in a small, tweak-a-few-scenes way, but in an 80%-of-this-needs-to-change way.
Which is both devastating and… clarifying?
The “Oh No” Moment
Here’s what happened internally.
I’ve known for a while that revisions would be substantial, but I thought they would be structural adjustments. Tightening. Clarifying. Deepening. Instead, I realized the emotional spine of the book isn’t aligned yet. Some foundational character motivations need to shift. Some early plot decisions ripple incorrectly through the entire arc.
In short:
If I move forward and draft Book 2 right now, I risk building on a shaky foundation.
And that’s when the panic hit.
What now?
My entire 2026 strategy was built on not stopping to revise. But if Book 1 isn’t structurally sound, then pushing ahead might just mean creating two broken books instead of one.
Suddenly, my plan doesn’t sound so strategic.
The Big Question: Draft Forward or Fix First?
This is the crossroads I’m standing at.
Option A: Stick to the original plan. Draft Book 2. Trust that revisions later will fix everything.
Option B: Pause. Rebuild Book 1 properly. Strengthen the foundation. Then move forward.
Right now, I’m leaning heavily toward Option B.
Because here’s what I keep coming back to:
If I want this series to truly land with my audience, it needs a solid base.
Rushing past foundational issues just to stick to a plan doesn’t feel wise.
The Unexpected Twist: Traditional Publishing?
As if that wasn’t enough upheaval, StoryCon also planted another seed.
I attended a few sessions about querying agents, and something shifted. Up until now, my assumption has been that this project would follow my usual self-publishing path.
But the more I sit with Book 1—with the themes, the scope, the potential—the more I wonder:
What if this has traditional publishing potential? What if this story could thrive in that space?
And if that’s even a possibility, then it absolutely requires my full focus.
In order to query it, this story needs to be the best it can be. Which means no rushing into Book 2. No half-measure revisions. No building ahead before the first book is strong enough to stand alone.
If I query, Book 1 needs to be undeniable.
So… Everything Is on Fire?
A little. But in a productive way.
Here’s the thing about creative plans: they’re hypotheses. You try something, gather data, and adjust.
My experiment—drafting quickly and delaying revision—worked beautifully for getting the story down fast, but now I have new information. The responsible, growth-oriented move is to pivot. And pivoting doesn’t mean failure. In fact, writing is all about pivoting when it matters.
What Happens Next?
Right now, my focus is shifting to:
Re-evaluating the structure of Book 1
Rebuilding its emotional core
Strengthening character motivations
Possibly preparing it for querying
That doesn’t mean the duology plan is dead. Just evolving. If I revise Book 1 and decide querying isn’t the right fit? Great. I can still self-publish later this year, exactly as planned.
If querying opens doors? Also great.
Either way, a stronger Book 1 benefits every future version of this story.
What Worked in February (That I’m Keeping)
Even though the strategy is shifting, some things absolutely worked.
Consistent writing schedule
Visual tracking systems
Protecting focused drafting time
Treating writing like a priority, not a leftover
That discipline got me to “The End.”
Now I get to apply that same energy to revisions.
The Bigger Lesson
If I zoom out, here’s what the month of February really taught me:
Creative growth requires flexibility.
You cannot cling to a plan so tightly that you ignore new insights.
The version of me who created the original 2026 plan didn’t yet know what I learned at StoryCon.
Now I do, and I would rather pivot early than stubbornly march toward a flawed outcome.
This is part of the process. Every experienced author I admire talks about this stage—the breaking, the rebuilding, the recalibrating. It’s not glamorous, but it’s necessary.
Am I Panicking?
No.
(Okay, maybe a little. Or a lot.)
But there’s also excitement in this chaos.
Because if I’m seeing structural issues, that means I’m leveling up my craft. If I’m considering querying, that means I believe this story might have bigger potential. If I’m willing to scrap a plan I publicly shared, that means I care more about the work than about being “consistent” online.
And that feels like a step in the right direction.
Final Thoughts
March has been a reminder that finishing a draft isn’t the end.
I’m proud of what I built, and I’m also ready to rebuild it better.
The plan changed, but the goal didn’t. I still want to create something powerful, lasting, and worthy of the world it lives in.
So for now, I’m heading back to the drawing board. Revising, reimagining, rebuilding, and reminding myself (and maybe you, if you need to hear it):
Pivoting is not failure. Experimenting is not weakness. And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is set your old plan on fire and write a better one.
Everything is fine.
I’m not panicking. You’re panicking.
Right? 😌🔥
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