Goodbye February

February almost flew past.
     Off and on again warm weather. Off and on again colds. Off and on again progress.
Strengthening my resolve for March.
     Hold on tight, y'all.


Just like 2019, I wanted to make some resolutions and (try to) stick to them. As a reminder, here were my updated resolutions.


2020 Resolutions:

     (1) Write [almost] every day

     (2) Don't stop reading

     (3) Complete something (e.g. a manuscript)

     (4) Share love of books/writing
     (5) Be kinder to myself

(1) I did poorly in the beginning, did better in the middle, and poorly again in the end. Not keeping a journal like I had for over a year, has not helped me keep track of what I did/didn't do each day. But I have a new system, and it's been working...mostly. March will be better (fingers crossed).

(2) Well, I started some, abandoned a few, finished several. Books read this month: 3 (and a few more halves). But I did buy like 10 new ones. And signed up for the YA BOTM. ;)

(3) Manuscript coming well. Twenty-ish new pages. Somehow. I honestly don't remember writing that much. But I guess I did.

(4) I've done much better this month with keeping up blog posts, too. Go me! Posts this month (including this one): 7.

(5) February has been a roller coaster when it came to eating better and exercising more and holding weight steady. I do really well, then hit a plateau, and lose all resolve. But my mental health has been pretty steady. All in all, could be worse.


Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?


Any exciting March reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyefebruary #hellomarch #hello2020 #keeplearning #writeeveryday #dontstopreading #completesomething #getprofessional #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Upside of Falling

Can you say yet another fake-dating-trope?

Look no further than Alex Light's "The Upside of Falling." A little bit of a "Romeo and Juliet," with the star-jock fake dating the anti-love book-nerd. A little bit of "To All of The Boys I've Loved Before," with the sweeter than real star-jock-Peter-K character.

 ["It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse."]

Except, it lacked a little something. There was a subplot, but a minor one. I was left wanting more. Needing more to drive me through to the end.

But what I did love? The fact that Alex Light originally published this book on Wattpad! So cool :)

#theupsideoffalling #alexlight #wattpad #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Heartstopper Volume 3

Alice Oseman's "Heartstopper: Volume 3" was just....just as great as the first two volumes.

Like, you think it can't get better, it can't get cuter, it can't get fluffier, it can't get more educational.

But my god, she did it.

Again.

Plus a class trip to Paris. <3

#heartstopper #heartstoppervolumethree #aliceoseman #book #bookstagram #LGBTbook #graphicnovel #LGBTgraphicnovel #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Spring Time Dreams

Dreaming of pastel colored skies.

#whatifitsus #waywardson #heartstopper #theupsideoffalling #maybethistime #princecharming #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #spring #pastelcoloredskies #ilovebooks

Writing Slump

I'm also in a bit of a writing slump.

It's not the editing, necessarily, which is a still a hell in of itself.

It's the stop and start of it all. I get in a serious rhythm of editing, cranking out quick edits here, quick additions there, deleting crap everywhere. Then I get to a section where I need to add a whole new scene. Its hard switching back and forth.

I've been avoiding writing because of it. Its hard. I feel guilty for not writing. I feel guilty for barely putting anything on the page.

But a good thing I've been doing lately? Reading for craft.

I picked a few of my favorite books and decided to reread them to figure out why I loved them and chose my favorite parts and analyze them for areas in which I need help in my manuscript.

Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom: plot and more importantly subplots

• each and every character as their one individual plot/motivations separate of each other and separate of the major heist plot

Red, White, and Royal Blue: fluff, love, sappiness

• yes, there is a line in which too much fluff becomes overwhelming and cheesy, but RWRB has not crossed that line--it made its own

Carry On: point of view

• my grad school advisor said that when I get to the point in which my novel is almost complete, I should be able to read through it using just one POV, and it should still make sense. So I decided to do that with Carry On. Do you like all my little tags?

I'm also using RWRB and CO to analyze very, very simple things like tense (past/present) and passive voice to see how much those authors use it versus how much I can/will/have used it.

So, I mean, this post in of itself has made me feel a little better about myself. But I still need to get down to that writing grind again. Any tips?


#sixofcrows #crookedkingdom #leighbarduo #redwhiteroyalblue #caseymcquiston #carryon #rainbowrowell #writerproblems #rereading #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Reading Slump

 I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately. I want to read new stuff, be inspired by new plots and new authors, get my TBR pile shortened.

But what do I do instead of reading?
Buying new books, rereading old books, not reading at all.

I have a pile of books that need to be read. A pile that won't stop growing. A pile that I said would not get any larger until I read a few of them. A pile which I recently betrayed and bought a bunch more books.

I have another pile of books that need to be finished. I start one and get distracted. I start one and another calls to me. I start one, feel the need to avoid confrontation, and put it down again.

I have a third pile of books that I'm in the middle of rereading. At least these I'm rereading for craft, looking at specific aspects of the book that I'm in need of extra research assistance in my own manuscript. At least that's a justifiable pile.

How does one get out of a reading slump? Especially when the weather just really wants to drag you under its gloom?

#TBRpiles #rereadingbooks #readingslump #readingproblems #booknerd #problemsofabooknerd #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Adorkable

Adorkable by Cookie O'Gorman was absolutely fabulous. Amazing. All of the cute, fluffy, rom-com/fanfic tropes.

All of them. Well most of them. You have your friends-to-lovers, your childhood-sweet-hearts, your high-school-sweet-hearts, your fake-dating. All of it.

The adorable in Adorkable was definitely there. in very high levels. Very. See: list of tropes above.

However, the dorky was...a little lacking. I get why, as a writer. O'Gorman had to stick to vague references as to not alienate readers. But I was left wanting more.

See the full back-of-the-book-description below:

["Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she's done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There's only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.
Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.
Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally's best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He'd do anything for Sal--even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she's "more than pretty," and expertly kissing her at parties.
The problem: Sally's been in love with Becks all her life--and he's completely clueless."]

#adorkable #cookieogorman #adorable #dorky #yabooks #books #bookphotography #bookstagram #ilovebooks

Goodbye January

January took...forever. And then some.
     But according to the memes, everyone knows that.
Here's to a (slightly) shorter February.


Just like 2019, I wanted to make some resolutions and (try to) stick to them. As a reminder, here were my updated resolutions.


2020 Resolutions:

     (1) Write [almost] every day

     (2) Don't stop reading

     (3) Complete something (e.g. a manuscript)

     (4) Share love of books/writing
     (5) Be kinder to myself

I did....okay in January. Not great. Well, it started off great. But then the month draggggged on, and on, and on. As it dragged, so did my resolve/determination.

(1) I...started off very well. I wrote every day. I read almost every day. When I wasn't writing, I was reading. It was progress....it stuttered. February will be better (fingers crossed).

(2) I haven't stopped. I started rereading a few books (halfway done with one--one-third of the way done with the other). I even read a full book, a new book (review/post to come). Books read this month: 1 (and a few halves)

(3) Manuscript coming well. Forty-ish new pages. Somehow. I honestly don't remember writing that much. But I guess I did.

(4) Blogs have...n't happened this month. Posts this month (including this one): 1.

(5) I've lost weight. Well A little. But I have gone down in pants sizes, which is progress. I've been eating better and exercising several times a week. My mental health has been pretty steady. All in all, not bad at all. :)


Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?


Any exciting February reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyejanuary #hellofebruary #hello2020 #keeplearning #writeeveryday #dontstopreading #completesomething #getprofessional #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks