Social Distancing

Being an introvert, I should love social distancing. That whole "I've been practicing this my whole life" meme and whatnot. It's been three days. I'm already done. Well, I want to be done.

Because I can't take a joy-ride trip to Starbucks or an I'm Bored Lets Go To Target shopping spree. I mean, in theory, I could, but I won't. I'm not risking those I love.

My work, like so many others around the country and around the world, had elected to shut down for two weeks to try to stop the spread of corona, to flatten the curve. I miss my kiddos. Like a lot. Like a lot a lot. Eleven more days to go (at the very minimum).

I've cleaned the house. The entire thing. Top to bottom. Every inch. Scrubbed, washed, dusted, swept. Every freaking part. It's clean.

And because I'm totally avoiding everything I could be SHOULD BE getting done with all this unexpected free time:

Writing.
Reading.

So like...how to does one motivate themselves to get things done? Any advice?

Maybe I'll make macaroons tomorrow. Or, well, I've always wanted to try to make croissants.
Can't go on my trip to Europe anymore (well its postponed until October), might as well read and eat like I am there.

#socialdistancing #coronavirus #nomotivation #reading #writing #writerproblems #baking #avoidingwriting #books #bookstagam #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Only Mostly Devastated

What's the absolute best way to describe "Only Mostly Devastated" by Sophie Gonzales? Grease (the original High School Musical) but with a fuck ton of rainbow sprinkles.

It's also described at a "Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens' Agenda" meets Clueless. But I like my description better. ;)


["Will Tavares is the dream summer fling―he's fun, affectionate, kind―but just when Ollie thinks he's found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairytale ending, and to complicate the fairytale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realizes it's the same school Will goes to...except Ollie finds that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn't the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted―and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk.

Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn't ready for a relationship, especially since this new, bro-y jock version of Will seems to go from hot to cold every other week. But then Will starts "coincidentally" popping up in every area of Ollie's life, from music class to the lunch table, and Ollie finds his resolve weakening.
The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again.

Right? Right."]

And fuck, this book was so freaking good! I cried, quite a few times actually. All sad tears.

The beginning was a little predictable, only the second and third chapter, though. Only because it followed the movie Grease very, very to the original plot. But then, it quickly changed (or I was just sucked that much into the story).

Honestly, it was so freaking great. So great. I loved it. Read it now. Like now, now. Pretty much everyone is in quarantine, so you really have very few excuses.

#onlymostlydevastated #sophiegonzales #grease #greaseremake #greasewithafucktonofrainbowsprinkles #clueless #simonvsthehomosapiensagenda #yabooks #books #LGBTbooks #bookstagram #bookphotography #Ilovebooks

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