Where I'm At; Writing, Reading, and the Like

Hey guys! Just wanted to share what's been going on with me in my writing, reading, and other, less writerly lives. 😂

Reading:

Right now, I'm on the lookout for some more Christian fiction and nonfiction novels. (If you have any you love, I'd totally appreciate it if you would comment below!) At the moment I'm reading A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes on my kindle. It's Christian dystopian, (which I LOVE, by the way) and is totally different than what I was expecting. I'm at about 80% and plan on doing a review on here once I'm done.

I'm currently anxiously waiting for a few books to come out this fall, including Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) by Shannon Messenger. This is one of my absolute favorites and a totally obsessive series that I CANNOT stop fangirling over.

Ummmmm.... also........ have you heard???? SUZANNE COLLINS IS RELEASING A PREQUEL TO THE HUNGER GAMES IN MAY 2020!!!!! Did I scream when I found out... maybe? Midnight release party?- SIGN ME UP!!! 😁😉👍

Ok, fangirling session officially commencing.

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My Writing:

So, I just started writing my first novel. Eek! Kind of terrifying but really fun and satisfying.😬😊 (Yeah, I know, I'm just a writing baby!!!)

So for a while, I've been writing short stories, poems, essays, etc., but I decided that it was finally time to start on a big, real, project. I joined Camp NaNoWriMo in April to start the very beginning of my novel, but I think that at the very beginning of writing my very first novel, this was just too overwhelming. I didn't end up writing much at all and definitely didn't meet my goal. For a while after that I just wrote a few words here, a few there, but at the beginning of the summer I joined Go Teen Writers' 100 for 100 challenge. Basically, you write 100 words for 100 days (with grace days built-in). This was actually so much more beneficial for me than Camp NaNo for a few reasons. One, I'm a procrastinator. Big time. So making me consistently write 100 words every day and not saving it all until the end of the challenge was really helpful. Second, any words contributing to your story, not just words directly on your novel counted. I needed this since obviously there's a lot of character-building, world-building, plotting, outlining, etc. at the beginning of any project. I really love this challenge and was going strong until around day 50. I ended up dropping out but was super proud of myself for having such a consistent writing schedule for so long and am considering it a win, even if I didn't "officially" complete.

Also, starting to write my first novel means doing a ton of something else; learning. Like, a lot. Binge reading blog posts and scouring books for examples. I've actually enjoyed learning about the craft so much so, that when I sit down to write I often finish without adding a word but soaking in so much info!!! I've mostly been reading through Go Teen Writers posts, as well as listening to podcasts and scrolling through other sites. The more I learn, I realize just how much more there is to learn!!!

I'm also doing some teeny tiny projects, for examples, writing exercises. I'm doing some research on flash fiction because that sounds really fun and I want to try my hand at it. Overall, though, I'm doing less small projects because of my big one. 😉

And then, there's this blog. It's new but super fun and I can't wait for it to get going strong. By the way, if you like it and have some friends that you think would like it, I would be so, so flattered if you shared it with them.

What God is teaching me:

I am with you ALWAYS.

Call on me in every situation, I have the strength you often lack.

I love you ALWAYS, so ALWAYS love others, no matter what.

Hide yourself deep in Me, and remember I'm with you. Make every action and decision out of this sureness of having Me by your side.

Other Random Stuff:

I started water polo! It's fun, crazy, and really, really, hard. But I love it. My summer has been so jam-packed and amazing and I DON"T WANT SCHOOL TO START AGAIN!! I know, I know, I sound like everyone else, but I really don't. I am excited for this year though.

How's your writing, reading, etc. going? Anything especially fun you want to share? Drop a comment below!