Hello my lovelies! Welcome to Ren’s Scribbles: a blog for my writing journey and fans of romantic and fantasy fiction. As most of you know, I’m Lauren O’Brien. A storyteller, content creator and book lover.

Happy you’re here! I’ve been doing a lot of backend work for my novels release. This includes websites, social media content and figuring out the logistics of how I’m doing this. Proud to announce I feel less like I’m in over my head! All along, my plan has been to release monthly newsletters. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to write an update while I felt like there was nothing to update you on. The process of writing is a lonely, secluded one. Just myself, my computer and my thoughts. It can feel grueling and anti-climatic, but here’s a summary of the past 2 ½ months.

*Stick around to the end for the title of my debut novel & blurb reveal at the end*

JANUARY I decided to take on this crazy endeavor of publishing my novel on December 26th, 2023. So I spent the entirety (and I mean every waking moment outside of my full-time job) writing the ENTIRE first draft of my novel. We’re talking 115,000 words in 45 days. I’m incredibly proud of how fast I wrote this month. I believe your first draft will never be important and that its existence itself is powerful. I created something, start to finish, which I have since been improving.

FEBRUARY On February 8th, I sent my novel to beta readers. I should’ve called it an alpha read, but it’s too late now. The feedback has been incredibly helpful. It’s crazy how much this process taught me to trust my gut, since a lot of the feedback solidified my own fears & concerns about the novel. Some recurring themes (without spoiling) were my characters arguing too much, inconsistent pacing and a lack of depth in my world building. The most exciting part of the beta reader following is seeing some of the lovely comments you guys have made! Seeing your favorite (and least) favorite moments makes the future of marketing a lot easier.


MARCH I’ve dedicated this month to revising this draft of my novel. The process is considerably slower than the first draft because I’ve traded quantity for quality. At the time of writing this, I am currently 23% through the draft. I use a revision move in Scrivener, the writing program I use, where everything you rewrite is written in red ink. This shows me exactly how heavy my edits are and 60-70% of these documents are red. I’ve also cut almost 5,000 words from the draft, effectively fixing some slow pacing moments and cleaning up the storyline. Like I mentioned at the start of this email, there have been tons of other things going on in the background. A website, rebranding my social media accounts, creating a batch of content for Tiktok & Instagram.

Moving Forward Excited to announce we will be having a synopsis reveal at the end of March! Keep an eye on all of my socials for some teasers and an exact date. There will be a second round of beta reading taking place in April, with a deadline of the end of the month. If you’re interested in beta reading a more polished copy of the novel, I will be emailing out an interest form around the same time as the reveal.

Indi Creates
COVER REVEAL APRIL 15TH

My illustrator, Indi Mari at IndiCreates, started working on my cover on March 5th. This process included multiple sketches for the front cover, deciding on the color scheme and then she got it finished in a week and a half! As of now. As of now, we’re deciding on fonts and then it’s done. This means, cover reveal will be posted on all of my socials for April 15th. There will be sneak peaks on my social media. Working with Indi is an absolute delight. She’s incredibly sweet and completely understood what I hoped to achieve with this cover. She specializes in fantasy and dark art and has been wanting to branch into more cover designs. If you want to check out Indi’s work, here are some helpful links.

TITLE REVEAL!!!!