NaNoWriMo 2016: Update #3

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I have another update about NaNoWrimo!

I’m doing really well so far!  I ended up doing a bunch of scenes set in Romania, since Hermione and Charlie take an unexpected detour.

I did skip quite a bit of the middle, because I was doing only the slightest variation on the same thing, and I was just so bored writing it.  I definitely wasn’t getting anywhere with it, and I knew if I wanted to keep going, I had to go for the stuff I wanted to write.  And that, apparently, was Romania, so I went for it.  I jump back to the story, and I ended up writing the last few chapters I had outlined…only to realize that the story was nowhere near done.  I, of course, had planned for the story to be over and done with on November 30, but clearly, the characters have other plans.  They always seem to go off in their own direction, and never mind what I wanted them to do.

I did add on an extra chapter, and it actually gave me some ideas for the middle part of it. Assuming I actually go back to it, but let’s be honest here:  I’m probably not going to go back to it or keep going once November is over, and this time next year, I’ll probably be on some other new idea (or ideas, because that’s what I usually do) and completely forget this one ever existed.

There is a part of me that wants to actually finish this one, but I know I’ve said that before.  And there was that one year where I did keeping writing after November.  If I remember correctly, I was still working on stuff in December or January before I stopped.  And the novel I did last year was a re-write of the one I did 2 years ago, so it’s possible I could keep going.  Who knows how I’ll feel after 50k/November 30.  Maybe I should just get through this month first before deciding.

I have noticed something interesting this year with my writing- Mondays and Tuesdays seem to be the days I have the least motivation.

I was willing to write it off that first week (because being on my period combined with not taking the election results well meant my writing took a hit).  But last week?  It made me wonder if maybe Mondays/Tuesdays weren’t my best days for writing.  The only way to know for sure is to see what happens the next couple of weeks, but two weeks isn’t going to give me a definite answer.

Still, I’m way ahead of where I’m supposed to be, so I’m not at all worried about falling behind.  I was a little bit nervous a few days ago, knowing that the last few days of the month are the days I’m the least motivated to write, but at the same time, I write the most on weekends.  Especially Sundays. And with Thanksgiving this week, I have a couple of extra writing days.  There’s nothing like a 4-day weekend to (hopefully) reach 50k.

And speaking of word count…

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I’m at 43,343 words!  I can definitely reach 50k this week.  That’s the goal.  Which means I won’t need to worry about trying to finish when I’m potentially not motivated to finish.  Because anything I write after 50k will be icing on the cake.  And I will be eating cake when I finish.  Because cake.

That’s all of the update I have for today, and hopefully I’ll have a really awesome update soon.  In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving if you’re in the U.S., and a great week if you’re not!

Top Ten Tuesday Movie Freebie: Top Ten Holiday Movies

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Top Ten Movies To Watch October And Christmas

From October all the way to Christmas, there are so many movies I love to watch that are only on this time of year! These are my top ten movies I have to watch during the fall/winter

Halloween/Thanksgiving:

  1. Hocus Pocus!  I love Hocus Pocus, and it’s so fun to watch in October!
  2. Basically anything by Tim Burton.  His movies are the perfect Halloween movies.
  3. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  I watch this every single year.  EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.
  4. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  It’s definitely one of my favorites!

Christmas: 

  1. The Nightmare Before Christmas.  I know it’s Tim Burton, and I know I said I love to watch his movies in October, but this is the only one I love to watch at Christmas.  Because it is not a Halloween movie.  I repeat IT IS NOT A HALLOWEEN MOVIE.  That is all.
  2. A Charlie Brown Christmas.  This is another one I watch every single year.  I have a soft spot for the Peanuts specials.
  3. All of the stop-motion Christmas movies.  Especially Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.
  4. Home Alone.  I just love Home Alone!
  5. A Christmas Story.  How can you not watch this every year?  It’s on the t.v. all the time!
  6. Love Actually.  I think this is the only time of year I actually watch Love Actually.
  7. Harry Potter.  Because I always associate Harry Potter with winter.

NaNoWriMo 2016: Update #2

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It’s been a busy week!  NaNo is going pretty well so far.  I think last time I mentioned having really bad back pain, and I am really glad to report that it went away.  Writing is a lot easier when you can actually sit long enough to do it.

Last Sunday was a really good day for writing, and I ended up being really glad I had a buffer.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn’t have a lot of motivation to write.  The results of the election really got to me (more than any other year) and as much as I wanted and hoped writing would be a good distraction, it wasn’t.  By Thursday, though, I was starting to feel more motivated to write, and now my writing is back to normal.

I did go to a few fun write-ins that I really want to talk about.  My co-ML and I hosted one at the Ghiradelli store we have in downtown San Diego because chocolate and ice cream and writing go together.  I was on a little bit of a sugar high, since I had an eclair for breakfast and then the sundae and root beer float.  I was glad I arrived late to a friend’s birthday thing at Extraordinary Desserts and didn’t order anything because as it was, I went to bed at, like, 8:30 which is insanely early for me.  The sugar crash was not fun.

That worked out well, though, since a bunch of us took the train up to L.A. and I had to be up early.  I did look out the window for a while, looking at the ocean, but then I settled into writing.  A few of us ate at the train station at this really good crepe place, and I took a writing break.  I did crochet, just because I needed to clear my mind and do something creative that I didn’t have to think about.  It turned out to be a pretty good idea, because I was super-focused on the way home and got a lot of writing done.

We also did this cafe hop last week, and went to four different coffee shops.  That was a pretty productive day too, but I had a massive caffeine crash when I got home because I had like, 4 cups of coffee.  I could barely stay awake during Once Upon A Time, and I ended up not watching Walking Dead because I was too tired.  But I know they have re-runs, so I know I’ll catch the episode another time.

As for the actual writing (since I’m talking more about the stuff going on around the writing), I’ve definitely hit the middle part of the story where I just feel very blah about writing quite a few chapters.  I mean, Hermione and Charlie are wandering around, the way Hermione, Ron and Harry wandered around the Forests Of Dean for months, and I’m just bored writing it.  I normally write out of order anyway, because sometimes I don’t want to write certain scenes or chapters, but I’m jumping around a lot more than normal.

I did want to include Hermione and Charlie hiding out in Romania on the dragon reserve, but I wasn’t sure how to work it in.  I still don’t, but for now, I’m just writing it.  I can always fit it in later- assuming I actually go back to the story at some point, and that’s not likely.

*But it is possible.  At least writing random scenes are helping, and it’s a nice change from what I was writing for the story.

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As for my actual word count: I’m currently at 30,021 words!  Which is really good, and I have a pretty good buffer. I’m a good 5 days or so ahead of where I’m supposed to be, and I’m really proud of that, considering some of the things going on this month.  Writing wasn’t always the distraction I was hoping it would be, but I’m glad that I’m still writing something every day.

Hopefully I’ll have another update next week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’ve Added To My TBR Recently

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

I really like this topic because it means I get to revisit some of the books I’ve recently decided I needed to read.  All links go to goodreads!

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NaNoWriMo 2016: An Update From The Trenches

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I can’t believe I’m 5 days into November!  I thought I’d give an update today so everyone knows how it’s going so far.

I went to the midnight write-in/kick-off party in my region (which is good, considering I am one of the ML’s and help plan events).  It was super-fun, and I got a bunch of writing done.

I also took the 1st off, since I knew I was going to be up late, and I figured sleep was more important than going to work exhausted because I either got no sleep or very little sleep.  I also figured I’d get some more writing done, and try to write ahead as much as I could.  I didn’t write as much as I hoped, in terms of the novel, but I was able to get a couple of blog posts done.  If I can manage to get the day off again next year, I definitely plan on doing it again.

I know I mentioned not being sure what I was going to write- I was deciding between an alternate 7th year fic where Hermione gets separated from Harry and Ron but ends up with Charlie Weasley instead and a post-Deathly Hallows but before the epilogue Marriage Law fic.

I literally decided what I was going to write an hour before midnight by rolling dice.  True story.  It’s easily the most interesting way I’ve picked what to write.

So what am I writing?  The alternate 7th year!

It helped that I was okay with writing either idea and that both ideas were vaguely outlined.  I was definitely prepared no matter what I decided to write.

I’ve been writing during my lunch break, and it’s been working really well so far.  I’m sort of surprised by how much I can get done, but it’s a good thing because it means I have less to write when I get home.  I think that’s part of why I’m ahead of where I should be- I end up writing more than I plan to, and even though I could probably take a day or two off of writing completely, I’ve decided to keep the momentum going.

I’m particularly glad that I’ve been writing during lunch because I’ve had horrible lower back pain the last few days, to the point where sitting has been super-uncomfortable at home.  I know it’s going to resolve in a few days (because PMS, not that anyone wanted to know or cares, and I’m sorry if it’s TMI), but it’s sort of something that’s going on right now.

MOVING ON: I was still able to write (even though I did have to write standing one night), but at least I’m enough ahead that if I only write at work, I’m still in pretty good shape.

It’s why I like having some sort of buffer- it’s great for when the unexpected happens, or when I can’t write as much.

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I am currently at 12,833 words!

It’s a really good start, considering I’m only writing one novel this year.  If I keep up this pace, I’m supposed to hit 50k on November 20…at which point I will stop writing, keep going or start one of the other ideas I have.  Assuming I finish early, of course, but I’ll figure it out if/when that happens.

I’ve also had some really funny/interesting sentences, and I’m going to have to share those.  When you’re writing and not paying attention to your inner editor, you end up with really random things. At least I got a laugh out of it!

That’s all I have for an update, but I’ll definitely be back with another update!

Book Review Round-Up: Crooked Kingdom, My Lady Jane And Tumbling

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Since I’ve finished a few books recently, I thought I’d share some of the books I’ve been reading!

crooked-kingdom-coverBook #1: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Published September 2016 by Henry Holt & Co|448 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Six Of Crows #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

What It’s About: Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets—a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

What I Thought: After reading Six Of Crows, I knew I would be anxiously waiting for the sequel!  It didn’t disappoint, and even though I didn’t love it, I still really liked it!

It’s such a roller-coaster and I was glad that I was along for the ride.  There’s a lot of craziness, but in a good way, because I wanted to see what happened next.  There’s a lot of action and adventure…which I expected, considering it’s fantasy and a heist novel.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I swear, her writing is getting better and better.  And the world is completely amazing.

I loved the banter and it made me laugh, and yet, my heart broke a couple of times.  So many feels!

I will admit that I was surprised by how complete the story felt.  I honestly went into this book assuming that it was the 2nd book in a trilogy, and was surprised to find that there is no book 3 planned.  I really wanted (and was expecting) more to this story.  At the same time, though, she wrapped up the story really well.

My Rating: 4 stars.  I really liked the story, and I’m a little disappointed there are only 2 books, because I really wanted more books!

my-lady-jane-coverBook #2: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

Published June 2016 by HarperTeen|512 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Alternate History

What It’s About: The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

What I Thought: I had really high hopes for My Lady Jane.  I love the time period, and I love Hand and Meadows. I have yet to read anything by Ashton.  But I was really disappointed in the book, and I hate that I didn’t like it, because I really wanted to.

It felt like it dragged on, and the pacing seemed insanely slow.  It felt like it took forever for me to finish the book, and there were a lot of times where I didn’t want to pick it up.  It seems like they were going for a Princess Bride sort of feel with the book, but it felt more like an alternate history than fantasy.  I wasn’t particularly amused by anything that happened, even though I feel like they were trying to be funny.

For me, I don’t know that using history as a springboard necessarily worked for the story they were trying to tell. It’s an interesting idea, and I can see why people like the book so much.  It makes me wish that this book were for me.  I am curious to see how this book would work if it were entirely made up of original characters.

My Rating: 1 star.  I wanted to like it but it didn’t work for me.

tumbling-coverBook #3: Tumbling by Caela Carter

Published June 2016 by Viking Books For Young Readers|432 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

What It’s About: Work harder than anyone.
Be the most talented.
Sacrifice everything.
And if you’re lucky, maybe you will go to the Olympics.

Grace lives and breathes gymnastics—but no matter how hard she pushes herself, she can never be perfect enough.

Leigh, Grace’s best friend, has it all: a gymnastics career, a normal high-school life… and a secret that could ruin everything.

Camille wants to please her mom, wants to please her boyfriend, and most of all, wants to walk away.

Wilhelmina was denied her Olympic dream four years ago, and she won’t let anything stop her again. No matter what.

Monica is terrified. Nobody believes in her—and why should they?

By the end of the two days of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, some of these girls will be stars. Some will be going home with nothing. And all will have their lives changed forever.

What I Thought: Gymnastics is my favorite thing to watch when the Summer Olympics on, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it.

I really liked that this book takes place over the span of 2 days, and you follow several gymnasts in their quest to go to the Olympics.  I really liked seeing their stories, but some stood out more than others.

I really felt for Wilhelmina, who missed going to the Olympic trials 4 years prior because she wasn’t old enough. You can see how much she wants, and for a while, you’re not sure if she’s going to make it onto the team because of politics.  Which is completely horrible, but not that surprising.

Monica’s story also stood out to me- it seems like she has a coach who isn’t at all interested in coaching her because he pays a lot of attention to his daughter.  I really hated that he didn’t seem to be a good coach to her, and with all of the time and money that’s going into her training, it seems like a waste of time.  She could be great if she had a better coach.

I felt like Grace and Leigh were the typical mean girls, and I didn’t care for Grace’s story.  She felt very flat, and not as rounded or developed as the other characters.  I also felt like the fact that Grace doesn’t eat a lot was super-stereotypical.  I felt that to a certain degree with Leigh and her secret, although I felt like that was understandable, given Leigh is lesbian, and she’s worried about people finding out.  We do see some of her thoughts, but I wish it had been explored more.  Given how the book focuses on 5 different people, each character could be developed more if the book had focused on less of them, but all things considered, they were more developed and had more depth than you’d think.

Oh, Camile!  I almost forgot about her.  I did like her story and how she wanted to make her mom happy, but at the same time, I’d place her in between Grace and Leigh as one of my least favorite stories.

The one thing that kept me from loving this book was how drama there was behind the scenes.  I have no idea how accurate this was, but it seemed like there was some research put in, if the lengthy glossary at the end of the book is any indication.  I get that these girls are under a lot of pressure and one little mistake can cost them the dream they’ve been working so hard for, especially given female gymnasts seem to peak at around 16 or 17. And I get that it’s a way for the reader to be invested in these girls, but something about rang a little bit true, but not completely true.

My Rating: 4 stars.  I really liked it, but with 5 different narrators, you didn’t get to spend a lot of time with each of them.

Currently Obsessed With: October 2016

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Currently Obsessed With is a once-a-month (but sometimes more) feature where I talk about my favorite things from the last month.

Currently Obsessed With

Crochet:

I don’t know if I mentioned it last month, but I started another blanket.  It’s going pretty well, and it’s a good time for blankets.  I was going to take pictures but then I forgot, and then I remembered, but at that point, I was too lazy and slightly distracted.  Maybe next month I’ll have pictures of the new one I’m working on and the one I finished.

I made a white infinity scarf.  It was originally going to be part of my Halloween costume, because I was going to dress up as Sadness from Inside Out.  I ended up making a last minute change to my Halloween costume because the hat was a disaster.  The pattern for the hat in the original pattern was working, and my stitch count seemed to be off no matter what I did, so I tried a different hat pattern.  That one didn’t work at all because the sizing was completely messed up, and based on the comments, I wasn’t the only one having a problem.  It was supposed to fit a teenager/small woman, and even after going up a hook size, it barely covered the top of my head, so I found a third hat pattern that actually worked.

Until I went to assemble all of the pieces- the eyes, the glasses, the eyebrows, and the hair.  Because I went with a different pattern for the hat, all of the measurements were completely off because the hat was too big for the pieces. At around 10 pm on the day before Halloween, I gave up and decided I was going to dress up as Fleur from Harry Potter since I had everything I needed.  I may try the hat again at some point but not for a while.

Books:

There was not a lot of book buying- the only thing I got was Kiss Of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick from Audible.

T.V./Movies:

I didn’t see any movies but I’ve been watching Blacklist.  And for some bizarre reason, I starting shipping Ressler and Keen and I have no idea why.  (It may be time to find some fanfic for that).  I’m also glad Walking Dead is back, even though the season premiere was brutal and heartbreaking and I’m not kidding when I say that I was crying.  So many tears.

Around The Internet:

I can’t imagine having a stroke at the age of 26.

Cosmetology schools in prison is an interesting idea.

I LOVE bath bombs but I’ve never thought about making my own before.

I thought this post about diversity was interesting to read.

As someone who has read and written fanfiction, I completely love this list of why people should read it.

I also love this list of things you shouldn’t say to non-readers.

I need these bookish beauty products in my life.

November may be the perfect time to listen to Harry Potter Ambient Sounds.  I’m totally starting off with the Hufflepuff Common Room.

As someone who listens to both audio books and podcasts, I totally understand the dilemma of not having enough time for both.

Speaking of Harry Potter, here are 7 weird quizzes to take.

October Stuff:

  • I got ready for NaNoWriMo!  I already talked about it here, and I had the hardest time picking an idea.  I narrowed it down to two ideas, and I literally picked my idea an hour before November 1 by rolling dice. I’m not kidding.  It’s going well so far, and I have a little bit of a buffer.  Not as much as I was hoping for, considering I took November 1 off so I wouldn’t go to work exhausted (with either no sleep or very little sleep). But I did catch up on some old blog posts I needed to write, so it balances out.

Things Happening In November:

  • NaNoWriMo!  The one time I year I write 50,000 words of fiction.  It’ll be interesting, and that’s going to be my life for a month.
  • Fantastic Beasts is coming out!  For when I need a writing break.  Because I’ll definitely be needing some sort of break.
  • Also Thanksgiving.  Because pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes are really good!

Music:

I’m too lazy to actually put something together, but I’ll share my NaNo playlist next month.

Happy November!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books If Your Book Club Likes…YA Contemporary

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Top Ten Books If Your Book Club Likes YA Contemporary

I wasn’t sure how easy this list would be, because there are so many good books that I could pick!  I knew that by picking some sort of theme, I would have an easier time picking some good book club books, so I settled on YA contemporary because that seemed to the one with the most recommendations.

  1. George by Alex Gino.  This is actually middle grade and not YA but it’s too good of a book to not include it.  I loved Melissa’s story, and if you haven’t read it, you should!
  2. None Of The Above by I.W. Gregorio.  Putting this book on my list suddenly makes me want to re-read it.  I hated how Kristin’s classmates treated her after they found out that Kristin is intersex, but it’s a good book to read, and it could be an interesting book club pick.
  3. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonelle Clayton.  Ballet is pretty cutthroat in this book and you see the pressure these girls are under.
  4. Tumbling by Caela Carter.  Speaking of cutthroat, gymnastics is pretty cutthroat in this book.  It’s my favorite thing to watch in the Olympics, and I liked following several of the gymnasts as they aim to make the Olympic team.
  5. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older.  Shadowshaper is more urban fantasy than contemporary, but it’s rooted enough in reality that I had to put it on the list.
  6. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.  This book is such an important book to read right now, and with everything going on lately, it’s definitely a good book if you’re looking to have a really good discussion.
  7. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone.  This book, for some reason, is a good book club book.  I love that the main character is in therapy, because I feel like that’s really rare for books that deal with mental illness.
  8. Gabi, A Girl In Pieces by Isabel Quintero.  If your book club liked The Princess Diaries, this is a really good read alike.  Gabi has a really unique voice, and she’s a great character.
  9. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.  I felt for Simon, and it’s cute and funny and sweet and good for book clubs.
  10. The Anatomical Shape Of A Heart by Jenn Bennett.  I love the focus on art in this book, and how different it is. There’s Beatrix, who likes drawing cadavers, and Jack, who is a graffiti artist.  That makes it stand out, a lot, but it’s also such a good book about all kinds of relationships.

I Still Have No Idea What I’m Writing For NaNoWriMo

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In just a few days, I will be starting NaNoWriMo!  It’s a little bit weird because this will be my 11th year doing it, and I can’t believe it’s been for that long.  Definitely long enough that I actually have to think about how long I’ve been doing it.

For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it is National Novel Writing Month.  It’s a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days, and while it can be intense, it’s also something I look forward to doing every year.  I love the community and hearing what other people are doing, and this year in particular, it will be a good distraction and a way to focus on something else for a while.

It’s definitely not for everyone, and even writing something is so much better than writing nothing.  I really do believe that by just deciding to go for it, and to just write something, you’re a winner.  And I’m totally cool with having buddies, so if you’re participating…you can friend me.

I usually have an idea of what I’m writing, and for quite a while I was consistently doing two 50,000 word novels at the same time.  Then came the year I did three, then I did a few different ideas because I burned out after the insane 3 novel year, and since then I’ve stuck with one.  I know I listed fanfic as my genre this year, because that’s what I’m leaning towards, but if it changes, I’m totally going to have to update my novel.

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Idea #1: The only original idea I have- a YA in which I have not picked a genre.

I randomly got an idea for a novel set in a boarding school, and my main character is new there.  There are a lot of secrets and mysterious/weird things happening, but I haven’t decided if it’s going to be more either contemporary, mystery, horror or if I want to do paranormal or urban fantasy.  It’s vague enough that if I do it, it can go in any direction, and it could be fun to see where it ends up.

My only hesitation with doing this one is that I don’t know if I’m in the right frame of mind for something completely original.  Even though things are a lot more calm now, I’m still feeling sort of blah and not motivated to do much of anything, and even though I like this idea a lot, I just don’t feel interested enough to actually do it.  I feel like I’d start it and then abandon it for something else.  I do have an outline, though, so maybe I’ll do it for a Camp NaNo or save it for another November.

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Now for all the fanfic ideas…which involve shipping Hermione with different Weasleys that are not Ron.

Fanfic Idea #1: Hermione and George

I’ve read quite a few Marriage Law fics, and I always thought the idea was interesting, so I figured I’d try writing my own.  Hermione also goes back to Hogwarts, so there’s also that going on.  This is actually one of the ideas I’m leaning towards, now that I think about it, so there’s a good chance I could pick this one.  I also have this one outlined- at least enough to (hopefully) get me through November.  Where it ends is not the end of the story, but I honestly wanted enough to get me through a month.

FanFic Idea #2: Hermione and Charlie

This one is totally an alternate 7th year where Hermione gets separated from Ron and Harry at Bill and Fleur’s wedding and somehow ends up on the run with Charlie.  It also has what I’m officially calling a NaNo outline- I have enough outlined to get me through the month, even if it’s not completely finished.  It is more finished/complete than my 1st idea, but it’s not completely finished.  This is the other idea I’m leaning towards, so apparently I have narrowed things down without even realizing it.

FanFic Idea #3: Hermione and Percy

This is post-Battle, and the wizarding world is trying to get itself together.  At least, that’s the basic idea.  I only have about half a NaNo-outline, because I sort of hit a wall with outlining.  Which is fine, since I have a couple of other ideas I’m leaning towards.  I think it’s one of those things that just needs to be written.  If the other two fanfic ideas don’t pan out, I think this will be a good back-up.  Or I might do it during Camp NaNo, where I can set my own word count and not have to worry about writing a 50k (or beyond).

blog-graphics-plot-bunnies

And the plot bunnies that I never got around to thinking about!  Well, I do admit to thinking more about some of them than others, but considering how little I’ve done with them, I’m still going to consider them plot bunnies.

Plot Bunny #1: More FanFic…this time with Fred and Hermione

I swear, Weasley twins + Hermione is my favorite non-canon ship, but I’ve been shipping Hermione and Fred since high school.  HIGH SCHOOL, PEOPLE.  That’s a long time, and I did start a Hermione/Fred fanfic at one point in high school.

For this one, I was thinking maybe something starting in her 4th year, around the Yule Ball, but that’s it.  I got distracted by other things and never got around to doing anything with it.  Maybe in December, I’ll come back to it.

Plot Bunny #2: Something YA Contemporary, preferably during summer 

I tried doing this one year, and it didn’t work out, but I so want to do something like this.  I don’t know what exactly, but I’ve had the idea just floating around for ages and I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  I don’t have enough of an actual idea to actually do something with it, so maybe I need to go back to YA Contemporary to see if something will spark an idea.

Plot Bunny #3: New Adult Romance?

I don’t read a lot of it, and it’s TOTALLY out of my comfort zone, so I’m nervous about doing it.  I have a vague idea of how it ends, and for some reason I want to start with the ending and then you see how things got to that point. But I’m sort of nervous to write romance because I’m not at all comfortable writing it, even though I really like books with romance.  Maybe it’ll end up being more contemporary?  I don’t know but I need to think about it.  Oddly enough, I got the idea to write something in this genre the first time I heard Hello by Adele, so maybe I should think more of the mood I’m going for instead of a genre?  Because contemporary could work for it too, I think.  It depends on what I end up deciding.

Not Exactly A Plot Bunny But It Also Doesn’t Fit Anywhere Else:

Plus the story I’ve worked on for the last couple of NaNo’s.  I still want to do a lot more with it, but my noveling efforts tend to be in November, with some prep in September/October and maybe a half-hearted attempt during a Camp NaNo session.  At the same time, I want to write something different, and I also know that right now, I just want to write fanfic and not focus on something original, because I think that’s where I’m at this year.

I think I’m going to end up deciding which idea I’m going with on Halloween, right before I start writing at midnight. I’m definitely not doing two 50k novels, but maybe 25k of each if I absolutely cannot decide.

Is anyone else doing NaNo this year or has done it in the past? What’s everyone writing this year, if you are?  Maybe you’re not writing but instead doing some other creative project?  I definitely want to hear what really awesome things you’re working on!

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween-Related Freebie

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Ten Books/Authors To Get Me Into The Halloween Mood

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year, and I still like dressing up in costume!  There are some books and authors I associate with this time of year, and these are my top ten books/authors I associate with Halloween and fall.

  1. Harry Potter.  I swear, Harry Potter is my answer to everything.  But I always associate the series with Fall/Winter, and it’s the perfect series to get me into the Halloween mood.
  2. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.  I totally admit that I like the t.v. show a lot better than the books (the repetitiveness of the books is what made me stop the series halfway through) but the mystery and craziness of A is something I associate with fall and Halloween.
  3. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I recently read this one and it’s really creepy and a good Halloween read.
  4. Stephen King.  If he’s not Halloween, I don’t know who is.  Seriously.  The man screams Halloween.
  5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  This circus seems very much like a book that will get you in the Halloween mood.  I think it’s because it’s a very different circus, and the magic seems very Halloween to me.
  6. The Dreaming by Queenie Chan.  This manga is perfect for Halloween!  It’s weird and creepy and this school seems very isolated.
  7. A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray.  I’m not completely sure why I associate this series with Halloween, but I think it’s the magic and the Gothic vibe that the series has.
  8. The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson.  This series about ghosts and the people who can see them is perfect for this time year.
  9. Anne Rice.  I’ve read a few of her books, and yet she is someone I associate with Halloween.
  10. Beautiful Creatures/Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  The secrets and curses and history make me think of Halloween.