Alright, I’m back! Only a week late, so I’m calling this a win ;P Let’s get started shall we?
Once More Unto the (Writing) Breach
- Camp NaNoWriMo
- The Goal- Write 50k words and finish the first draft of Clarity, my Loki/OC fanfiction.
- The Results- 63,554 words written! Woohoo!
As for finishing the draft… well… That didn’t actually happen. I don’t know if you guys recall from last month, but I expressed some doubts as to whether this fanfic would actually make 50k as a story. I should never doubt things like that. As per usual for me, the story has well exceeded the 50k word mark in its (very rough) first draft stage. Most of this will probably be cut and modified in editing of course, but the plot and the characters have grown and evolved into something I never would have guessed when I started (and in the process I have learned more than I thought I would ever want to know about Norse mythology). Again, I really shouldn’t be surprised, as this has frequently happened to me in the past. I am apparently incapable of writing a short story 😛 But still, I am very pleased with what has been vomited onto my hard drive so far and I’m planning to work very hard to finish the first draft before I go on vacation at the end of August! It can be done!
- Changing History
- Well, if any of you are following this on Archive Of Our Own, you will already know that I did not post as many new chapters as I’d planned. I think I managed to post one. Sorry about that. Loki took over my mind and soul and I could not let him go, but never fear! Now that Camp has finished, I am planning on getting back into the swing of posting semi-regularly again! Stay tuned!
- Speaking of plans, I have one! Or, at least I have the beginnings of a plan. I’ve decided I really need to start taking this writing thing seriously, so I’ve made up a couple of guidelines that I’m hoping to follow:
- Write 1000 new words a day (Monday thru Thursday).
- Work on editing for one hour every day (Monday thru Thursday).
- If I don’t manage this, work weekends (hey, just like a real job! ;P)
It’s that simple really. I’ll be keeping up with my social media/comments/other writing related internet shenanigans as time allows, but I’m hoping that if I at least stick to these two things, I will be able to make more significant progress, not just in my fanfiction work, but in my dreams of publishing my original work as well.
- To help with the planning and keeping myself accountable, I bought a new notebook!
Look at those gloriously blank pages… They’re already filled with my month to month plans, as well as thoughts about months previous and how to improve my productivity, and there’s a page devoted to ideas regarding my publishing model and costs.
- One last very important note: This past month, I discovered Jenna Moreci. You should watch her videos. For reasons. Yes. Here, I’ll even get you started!
**Warning: Adult Language and Hilarity included!**
Have You Hugged a Book Today?
My reading challenge goal didn’t get met, but that’s okay, since I was writing. I did finish a few books in July so it wasn’t a complete waste, and I’m getting back into it for August. I’m also going to try a new format for this portion of the program. The links I’ve included will take you to my review for that book on Goodreads, rather than just repeating it all here and wasting precious internet bandwidth (Save The Bandwidth!). I am going to include my star review for each book so that you know what you’re getting into. For reference here is how I determine stars for my books:
Five Stars: This book changed my life. It was so profound and wonderful that I can think of no way that it could possibly be improved upon. All the old favorites get this rating. You should read my Five Star books immediately if not sooner. Why are you not reading them yet?
Four Stars: This book was really good! No, really! I liked it! I might even read it again! But there was just that One Thing, you know? That One Thing that bugged me. Maybe it was the writing. Maybe it was a particular character. Maybe it was some unquantifiable vibe that the book just exudes for no discernible reason. You should pick it up and see if you can figure it out for yourself. If you do, let me know.
Three Stars: Eh, *shrug*. This book was okay. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever read. But hey, I finished it! That should count for something, right? Probably not gonna read this one again. It might even end up in the free bin at Second and Charles. Probably not worth your time, but hey, what do I know?
Two Stars: Okay, this one was bad. No other word for it. It was bad. But there was at least one redeeming characteristic, just one glimmering thread of hope that brought it just a step above being a complete waste of my time. Maybe the writing was beautiful, but the plot sucked. Maybe there was just one stand-out character in a sea of insipid cardboard cutouts. Either way, this was not my cup of tea and I feel a little bit of regret about that. Because it could have been so much more…
One Star: Do I really have to spell this out for you? I feel like it should speak for itself. I don’t give out this review often, but when I do you can bet that the book deserves it.
Okay, now we’ve gotten all that out of the way, on to the books!
- Books I finished this month:
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett– Five Stars
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie- Four Stars
- Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World Prelude- Four Stars
- Inuyasha #2: Family Matters- Three Stars
- Marvel’s Iron Man 3 The Movie Prelude- Four Stars
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum- Four Stars
- Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile- Five Stars
- What I’m currently reading (In order of Date Started):
- The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett– Still didn’t get to this one. Maybe in August… ;P
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson– I honestly forgot about this book, you guys. I guess I’m gonna have to finish it this month!
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling– I’ve actually finished this one, but I was currently reading it at the beginning of August, so it’s going here until next month. All the feels!
- Book to Screen (New Section! Devoted to movies and/or shows I’ve watched based on books I’ve read)
- Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban: I rewatched Prisoner of Azkaban this month, and once again, I somehow felt a little cheated. It’s not as bad as I remember when I first watched it (I vividly remember being so disappointed the first time around that I didn’t watch the movie again for years), but still something felt a little… off. I still can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s probably the little details I miss, but whatever it is something about this movie just feels slightly off to me. I still love it, mostly because REMUS AND SIRIUS! They are, and always will be I think, my favorite Harry Potter characters, and they are nearly perfectly portrayed in this movie and in subsequent movies. I really want to know which member of the production team sold their soul for that perfecting casting. All in all, I was still a little disappointed, but not so much that I would not watch the movie again.
- Daredevil: I FINALLY finished this show! 😀 It was amazing! Quite gory in spots, but all in all the story telling was amazing and I loved all the characters. I was actually upset when one of the villains was killed close to the end, that’s how invested I was in these characters. Amazing show, I’m looking forward to watching it all again in a marathon eventually, and I hope they come out with Season Two soon!
- Also this just in, SHANNARA IS GOING TO BE A FREAKING TV SERIES OH MY GOD STILL NOT OVER IT NEVER GETTING OVER IT WATCH THIS TRAILER!!!
If you have not read the Shannara books by Terry Brooks, the link in the FREAK OUT above is a suggested reading list on Goodreads from the author himself. Read them! DO IT NOW! And then come back and freak out with me because THIS SHOW IS GONNA BE AMAZING!!!
#Hashtags and other minutia
I have really been putting forth some effort to stay out there and available on all my social media gizmos! Here are some highlights from the month.
- My Favorite Tumblr Reblog: I love Labyrinth. I swear one of these days I’m gonna finish that fic…
- My Favorite Tumblr Post: I sang a thing, you guys!
- Instagram: I made yarn!
- Twitter: Because this deserves a mention ;P
- Just For Fun: Have you guys seen the Marvel DubSmash War? Because it is amazing and I’m a little bit in love with Hayley Atwell right now 🙂
Do I Actually Have a Life?
- I joined a gym. I did this for several reasons, not the least of which is what might possibly be the worst case of social anxiety I have ever experienced. In June I started running at a park that is close to my place, and it was nice… but then people started talking to me. Now, I have no problem with a friendly “Hi, how you doing?” in passing. But I am not outside, sweating my butt off and jiggling my fat rolls around, to socialize. I actually would prefer it if no one noticed that I was existing in these particular moments of my life. There is a reason I wear bright pink headphones and prominently display my phone on my arm. I don’t want to talk to you. It’s nothing personal. I don’t want to talk to anyone. But if you speak, I have this weird Pavlovian instinct to respond, even if on the inside I’m thinking “WHY DID I DO THAT? ARGH!”
Plus, really, triple digit weather is just too dang hot. Even going in the evenings. Too dad-gum hot.
So, yeah, I joined a gym! I haven’t done much with it yet, I’ve been really busy writing, but I’m hoping to get back into my C25k again, hopefully regularly now.
- Speaking of C25k, I made Week Two! Of course then I immediately backslid and the next time I went to the gym, I didn’t make it. I’ll have to keep trying until I can keep it up, but I made it once, I can do it again!
- Under the heading of “Weirdly unrelated news that is apropos of absolutely nothing” I’ve started playing My Singing Monsters:
God help me, but I love their cute little stupid faces… Peggy Erickson, I blame you!
“And In Conclusion…”
- Writing Goals- Keep up with the new writing plan (which has already changed a few times since I decided on it). Post three chapters of Changing History a week. Finish the first draft of Clarity (Loki/OC fic).
- Reading Goals- Since the end of August will officially mark the three-quarters mark of the year (HOLY CATS, WHAT?) I’m going to make a sincere effort to hit that mark on my reading challenge. This means I will be reading A LOT of comic books. Starting with the rest of the volumes of Fables that I own, plus whatever else I can get my hands on because I NEED IT. Be prepared for a Reading section like you’ve never seen before in next month’s Wrap-Up post ;P
- Social Media- Twitter probably won’t see much action in the coming months, but I’m going to be trying to stay active on Tumblr and Instagram at least. Feel free to hit me up there with questions, comments, random pictures of furry animals (because YES PLEASE!), anything really, I love hearing from you guys!
- My Personal Life- Keep up with the Couch25k. No, really. NO EXCUSES! Also, I will be going on VACATION the last week of August! WHOOPWHOOP! I will still be mostly available, but be prepared for an Epic Vacation Post of Epic upon my return!
And that’s it! This is still a huge post, but I’m working on that! I’ll get it whittled down, little by little until it’s manageable. Until then!
FogIsBeautiful 