March Wrap-Up

   What do you mean it's already a week into April this post is totally on time *sweats nervously*   

   This week/month/year is going by too dang fast! I can't believe March is over already. I still get confused sometimes when I see 2017, but here we are in the fourth month of the year. What is this.

   Reading went rather well in March, especially after the North Texas Teen Book Festival on the fourth. I also bought a lot of books...like, a lot.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - 4 stars of utter fluff

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi - 3 stars of confusion and weirdness, with a smattering of cuteness

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George - 3 stars of sweet fairy tale

Island of Silence* by Lisa McMann - 2.5 stars of bored disappointment

   I've also been thinking a lot about starting a booktube channel where I talk about, well, books. I always want to share my love for books but I'm so bad at expressing my feelings over text. I do much better when I can flail and moan and make awkward facial expressions. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in watching!

*technically i finished this on in April but shh

      I didn't write that much during March. That seems like the theme of my writing life, honestly. I'm always behind and always doing less than I want to. But my betas aren't complaining at least not that I know of and I am making progress, so that's good!

   I only missed one week in March! I'm really proud of myself.

My posts:

Beautiful People - Danica

NTTB Festival

Krissy Has a Lot of Plot Bunnies

Friends' posts:

A Spring in Your Step // Gianna Soderstrom @ Youer Than You

Dear World, Your Words... // Caroline Meek @ Of Stars and Ink-Stained Things

How To Write a Pitch (for editors and for friends) // Hannah White @ Ink Blots and Coffe Stains

How I Go Through Drafts // Aimee Meester @ To The Barricade!

   Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir was released on Netflix in March!! If you haven't heard of Miraculous, what are you doing with your life you should definitely check it out. It's cheesy and full of more tropes than I ever thought possible and I love it to death. 

   It's about about Marienette Dupain-Cheng, a teenager who's been given superpowers and saves Paris under the alias of Ladybug. Her partner in crime-stopping, Chat Noir, flirts endlessly with her, but she doesn't reciprocate his feelings because she has a crush on her classmate Adrien Agreste...who is Chat's secret identity. It's the most ridiculous love square to ever exist and I can't wait to see how it plays out. (if you're still confused, check out this post that sums up the love square perfectly.)

that's it that's the show

   As my friend David so eloquently put it, "Looks like 2017 is the year of our Lorde". Four years after her first recent album and three years after she was a part of the Hunger Games soundtracks, Lorde has released two singles (Green Light and Liability) and told us the release date for her album Melodrama (June 16).

to say that i'm excited would be a slight understatement

   I also freaking finally saw Moana this month, so I've been listening to the soundtrack a lot. And I've listened to a lot of mashups. I don't think I've ever mentioned this, but I have a big weakness for beautiful mashups. There's just something amazing about how two completely different songs can fit together. Also, my friend Emily told me about Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay, and it's one of the greatest things to have ever graced my ears.

   So, uh, the biggest thing this month was that MY MOM IS PREGNANT. This is a complete shock because my youngest and only sister is 16(I'll be almost 19 when the baby is born), but it explains a lot of my mom's recent health issues. My family is so, so excited!!

   Did you recieve any life-changing news this month? Have you found any good music lately? And my apologies for being so ridiculously late with this post. Life is weird and motivation is a limited resource but I'm doing my best. Thanks for sticking around with me, friends.

Beautiful Books ~ 2017 Writing Goals

   If you're one of the few people who frequently reads this blog, you already know this, but I'm SUPER EXCITED about it so I'm gonna say it again. For my birthday, my parents are paying for me to go to the Minneapolis Young Writers Workshop this summer! Which means I'm going to meet Aimee, Katie, Hannah, Caroline, and Olivia!! I am beyond thrilled to meet you* girls, as well as all the authors who will be at the conference(including Shannon freaking Hale oh my gosh).

*"you" because you're really the only ones who read this blog

   The only problem with this is that I have to have a draft ready way sooner than expected. Which is scary. So instead of actually writing, I'm going to blog about my writing goals for 2017 by joining the Beautiful Books linkup!

1. What were your writing achievements last year? 
I actually did a lot of writing last year, including the beginning of a few stories that I'll post about later. And, because I'm sure you want to know everything I did, I'm going to make a list.

• Children of the Nameless draft one (72,739 words) This is the first first draft I've ever finished, so I'm understandably thrilled. I also won Camp NaNo(the first NaNo event I've ever won) while writing this draft. Those 72k words were actually written over a two-year period of time, but I still finished in 2016 and I'm really proud of that.
• Children of the Nameless draft two (17,546 words) Draft two is a thing, guys, and I love it. I have wonderful betas, the plot is coming together, and the writing is infinitely better. And yes, some of that 17k was written in 2017. Sue me.
• Unnamed NaNoWriMo novel (10,695 words) I obviously didn't win NaNo, but it was really nice to focus on something other than CotN for the first time in 2 years. And, when I reread it the other day, it was a lot better than I remember. So perhaps there's hope for the future for this story.
• Rust, Blood, and Stardust (2125 words) This is a lovely sci-fi about three best friends that has aBSOLUTELY NO PLOT but I love it so much.
• We Are The Summer (3456 words) I normally don't write contemporary, but when it's a novella, I actually trust myself to finish. Also it's very fluffy and cute and summery(obviously) and I kinda love it.
• (also there was some fanfic, some of which I'm actually really proud of)

2. What’s on your writerly “to-do list” for 2017? 
Finish draft two by April 15 and then edit the first few chapters for the conference in June. I plan on finishing draft three as well, possibly working on one of my other projects, and writing more fanfiction because gosh dang it, fanfic is really fun.


3. Tell us about your top-priority writing projects for this year!
I kinda already answered that? I have several projects I might work on after CotN, but I won't decide until the time comes.


4. How do you hope to improve as a writer? Where do you see yourself at the end of 2017?
I want to get more consistent at writing. I'm coming to terms with being a slow writer, but my inconsistency is annoying and detrimental. By the end of the year, I want to be writing every day and have draft three(or maybe even draft four) of CotN finished.


5. Describe your general editing process.
This is kind of a complicated question, because the beginning of CotN was so messed up that I'm having to completely rewrite it in draft two. Draft three will probably be tightening up loose plot stuff. After that, I want to print it out so I can make notes on the actual manuscript like a cool person.


6. On a scale of 1-10, how do you think this draft turned out?
Honestly, 6-7. Draft one was such a mess, but it has lots of good parts and lots of potential and I'm SO PUMPED.


7. What aspect of your draft needs the most work?
The beginning of both drafts need some work. Draft one has a lot of plot holes and I'm working on fixing those in this draft.


8. What do you like the most about your draft?
Well the fact that draft one exists is pretty spectacular. And honestly I really like the kissing scenes, even if the romances were rather abrupt. *sighs at myself for not planning better*


9. What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever?
More edits! Take it to a writer's conference for people to look at! (*screams*) Even more edits! More betas! Repeat cycle until published! 

I couldn't get away with not using a gif in this post

10. What’s your top piece of advice for those just finished writing a first draft?
For the love of all that's holy, take a break. You won't want to, but you need to. Also, it's not as bad as you think. I promise.

   How did your writing go in 2016? What are your plans for 2017? Would you actually be interested in hearing about my many plot bunnies/future projects? Also, it's not midnight for be yet so this totally counts as posting two weeks in a row. #virtualskittlesforme

In which I talk about this year a lot

   So I tried writing this on New Year's Eve, but that obviously didn't happen. I'm blatantly copying Katie's end of year post, because what are friends for if not to plagiarize?
   Love you, Katie child.
   Also, I'm linking up with The Broke and The Bookish for Top Ten Tuesday, so you have to hear about what my plans are this year. So there.

Writing

   Well. I feel like this is the first year I started taking my writing seriously. I checked and apparently I wrote about 34k this year. Someone please explain how I did that because that is a lot of words.

Me being confused and shocked

   My plan was to finish the book at 60k by the end of 2015. That's not happening. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm also very proud of myself for how far I've come. Children of the Nameless is coming along quite nicely, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
   I also wrote several short stories and some angsty poetry. Some of the short stories are on the blog and some I'm keeping to myself, because, well,

Blogging

   So, blogging was actually a thing this year. I celebrated my blog's first birthday; that was fun. I tried to be better and have a schedule, but that died quickly. My post about not comparing yourself had the most pageviews(thanks guys!), closely followed by my first Music + MBTI post about Fall Out Boy. If you liked that one, never fear; there will be more this year! (oh look I rhymed)

Reading

This is the year I rediscovered Goodreads. Now I understand how you guys can keep track of alllll the books you read. I didn't, so I don't know how many I read. I know it wasn't as many as some people, because how in heck is a person supposed to read 200+ books in one year?! Excuse me while I am confused.

   Some of my favorites this year were The False Prince, Leviathan, The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet, and Challenger Deep. I also got Harry Potter books 2-6(I already owned number 1), and started a reread, but I only got about halfway through 4 before realizing that I was already reading about 5 books and should probably save the reread for later. It will happen eventually.
   I also read Pariah, We Caught a Vampire, and all that's written of Little Hero by the fantabulous Aimee. I'm also pretty sure I reread Havard at the beginning of the year, because reasons.

Mostly because of this face. I love this face. And this boy.

   I also started reading The Color Project by my lovely friend Sierra and The Ring Thief by my other awesome friend Carlyn. I need to catch up on all the beta reading. Because there's a lot.

Life

   I'm going to do a list of random cool things that happened to me this year, because lists are fun and involve the least amount of explanation. And it's not going to be in order, because how am I supposed to remember things like that.

• I flew to California by myself to stay with my aunt and uncle for a month. On the flight over, what should have been an hour long layover ended up taking about 5 hours. On the flight home, the stupid airport lost my suitcase. The actual visit was really fun and I got to see a lot of family, and I think that was only one day that I went to sleep before 1 in the morning. And I got to go to a baseball game, which was the best.
• I discovered Twenty One Pilots and fell deeply in love. 
• I went to EFY, a church camp. It was amazing. I made a lot of friends and had my faith strengthened when it was almost gone.
• I also participated in a pioneer trek reenactment with church. I now have a greater appreciation of anyone who had to live without AC. Or jeans. Or showers.
• I went to prom with my good friend Marcus and got to wear a pretty dress and look gorgeous. (I really like pretty dresses, okay)
• My band had its first performance(I have mentioned that I play bass in a band, right?)
• I started writing the Harry Potter fanfic that's been buzzing in my head for ages. And it's pretty fantastic if I say so myself.
• I participated in Camp NaNo and NaNoWriMo for the first time this year
• My family and I drove to Utah for Thanksgiving to see family we haven't seen in 4 years. I also got to see my best friend who'd moved away almost exactly a year before, and I got to meet my platonic wife Emily, who I met on GTW. (That was pretty much the best day ever.)
• I started my senior year of high school and turned 17(I can legally apparate and do magic outside of school, guys)
• I got to wear another really pretty dress and pretty steampunk jewelry as my costume for Halloween. Halloween is my favorite.

   Okay I'm done now. Onto my seven writing/reading/blogging related goals this year!

1. Finish Children of the Nameless and/or reach 60k by the end of February
    This is gonna be a thing, guys.

2. Edit CotN and send it to my betas
    I am equal parts nervous and excited for this. My betas are just excited.

3. Start the CotN sequel some time this year
    I'm scared, guys. SO MUCH UPCOMING ANGST.

4. Maybe possibly start writing one of my plot bunnies during the summer
    I don't know which one yet, because there's a lot. But it would be fun to write something besides
   CotN. Maybe one of my fluffy little contemporaries?

5. Start blogging more
    I'm not gonna hold myself to a strict schedule. I'm not going to try to post a few times each week.
    I am going to post more often, though.

6. Read 25 books
    Hopefully mostly new books, not just rereads.

7. Catch up on beta reading
    Adrianna, Caroline, Sierra, Carlyn, anyone else I'm forgetting: forgive me.


   Alright alright I'm done now. Anyone noticed that I like to talk about myself a lot? 2015 was kind of a rough year for me, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make 2016 way better.

Let's do the thing, guys.

How was your 2015? Do you have any goals for 2016?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten All-time Favorite Books

   I don't do favorites. I can't. There are too many wonderful books/musicians/movies/etc. out there.
   Ten favorites, on the other hand? That I can do. But in no particular order, because that's too difficult.
   (This fabulous linkup is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. I'm not doing the one from this week, but I'm still super excited about it!)

1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
 How could I not include Harry Potter? It's my soul.

2. Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
 This one's not as well known as Harry Potter, but it's obviously one of my absolute favorites. Magic and siblings and bravery, oh my.

3. Beyonders series by Brandon Mull
 If you couldn't tell, I really like Brandon Mull. He's my idol, and the Beyonders books have inspired me as I write CotN.

4. The Giver by Lois Lowry
 Oh how I love this book. It's sad and haunting and thought-provoking and absolutely wonderful.

5. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
 I mean seriously. A gearpunk alternate history murder mystery with chalk drawings that come to life and a possible INTJ/ENFP ship and chalk fights and one of my favorite MCs ever.

6. A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede
 Another fav MC. Kim is pretty hardcore. AND THE SHIPPING OH HELP ME THE SHIPPING. Also magic.

7. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
 Okay technically I cheated. I read an abridged Manga adaption. BUT IT'S GLORIOUS. And I want to write a modern AU version someday.

8. The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
 She's another favorite author. I've read most of her books, and I absolutely adore this series. Yay for good dystopian!

9. Havard by Aimee Meester
 Technically this one should have been up at the top. It might possibly be my favorite book of all time. Sadly I can't link you to it because it's not published yet but IT WILL BE SOON AND IT WILL BREAK ALL OF YOU LIKE IT BROKE ME. It's about Norwegian soldiers and psych ward patients and illegal experiments and blood and colors and snow and feels.

10. Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
 This whole series is good, but I really like the first one. It's about a girl in an alternate-history America who is always being told that she's going to turn evil, because she's the thirteenth child in the family. It's a very lovely story and Eff is a wonderful character(Mrs. Wrede writes really awesome characters).

So, what are some of your favorites? Are any on my list? Do you want to read any of these of course you do go read them now ?