Favorite Things: January

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I'm not reviewing books anymore, but I still want to talk about my favorite reads, and other favorite things in the month that passed.

Falling in Love With English Boys by Melissa Jensen

If you love Stephanie Perkins' books, you should give Falling in Love a shot. Cat moves to London for the summer with her mother and finds the diary of Katherine, who lived 200 years ago.

This book is funny and sweet and I really enjoyed it.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

This one had a lot of hype surrounding it when it came out last year, and I'm happy to say it lives up to it. It's pretty rare for me to think about a book when I'm not reading it, for it to capture my imagination that way. This is one of those books!

I love how it's high fantasy, but different from any other high fantasy I've ever read. If you haven't read this one, you should definitely add it to the TBR ASAP!

A Brush of Darkness-Allison Pang

If you're in the mood for urban fantasy, pick this book up! It was funny (seriously, she has a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer) and it's also sexy. This is one of the best urban fantasy books I've read in years, and I can't wait to read the next in the series.







Non-Bookish things:

January was a great month for TV.

The second series of Sherlock aired (in the UK, American version airs in May, I believe?) This is one of the most brilliant shows on television. If you haven't seen it, series one is on Netflix instant. You won't regret it, I promise!

Downton Abbey came back! I fell in love with Downton Abbey last summer while sick. I watched the entire first series in one day, and I've rewatched several times since then.

If you're not familiar, it's essentially a well-written historical soap opera. I have yet to meet one person who didn't watch it and fall in love. Series 1 is also on Netflix!

I've heard great things about Misfits for about a year now, but I only recently discovered that you can watch this great British show uncensored on Hulu (yay!) It's about five teens who are caught out in a freakish storm and end up with super powers. Awesome is too tame of a word to describe this show. Think of it as a really great paranormal YA book come to life. Well, come to life with sex and copious amounts of cursing. It's not a show for everyone, but if you find vulgarity hilarious as I do, you should check it out.

All of my favorite shows aren't British! I love Once Upon a Time. I watched the pilot when it aired and thought it only so-so, but after my mother told me I needed to watch it, I watched the whole series in a day.

Even though (spoiler, mouse over to see) they killed off my favorite character, the hotty McHotson Sheriff Graham, I still love this show a lot.

Spartacus Blood & Sand


My husband watched the entirety of the season while I was gone for a few days earlier in the month. He raved about it, and I thought it wouldn't be my thing. Oh, how wrong I was. This show has it all. Humor, imaginative profanity, and romance. I look forward to the new season of Spartacus, although it won't be quite the same without the great Andy Whitfield in the lead role.




What were your favorite things in January? 

Two Years On

I've wanted to be a writer since I knew what a writer was. That said, for most of my twenties, I packed the dream up and put it on a shelf. I wasn't interested in going after the dream, because it felt silly. Also, because I felt there was no way I could handle the stress of being published, and being "out there".

Well, two years ago, that all changed. It's almost as if my fairy godmother visited me overnight and whacked me upside the head with her magic wand. I changed everything about my writing process. Before, I would only want to have one draft. I would agonize over one chapter until ever sentence was perfect, and once it was done, I could finally move on. I also had a horrible time with others reading my work. I remember sitting in a college English class, and being paired up to critique each other's work. My partner said my story was amazing, and went on for a couple minutes, and then added on one thing he didn't like. You can bet I only remember the one thing he didn't like. If I couldn't handle that sort of criticism, how could I handle thousands of people reading my book?

But two years ago, I had a really good idea for a book, and while that book will never be published, it was the one that changed everything. I spent most of 2010 practicing, 2011 growing as a writer, and learning to take criticism from my first readers.

I didn't get the answer to everything overnight. I know I will still have a hard time being out there, for my name being a subject of Google searches, and my book the subject of reviews. That said, I continue to learn, from authors that have already achieved my dream. I'm strong enough to take it. Two years ago, I might not have realized that.

Not all writers need this time. Some can write a manuscript in two months, revise it in another three, query and get published all in a small amount of time. That's great for them, but not for me. I needed the time to work on my craft, but more importantly, work on building up the toughness of my skin. Prepare to understand that when people point out flaws in my work, it's to help, not hurt, and ultimately, that rejection won't kill me.

It's a long journey, and I'm not there, but a hell of a lot closer than I was two years ago.

How long have you been working to get published?

Tune In Tuesday (18)

Each week I participate in Tune in Tuesday, hosted by GReads!

So, there are some songs that I probably wouldn't be as into if I wasn't a writer of young adult fiction. I first heard this song when I was plotting my novel Anna Begins and it screamed that story. So much that I bought it immediately and listened to it over and over again while plotting.

Writing on More Than One Computer

I've been writing on more than one computer for some time now. Back when I had a job that was only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry, I would write stories for my own enjoyment. I put everything on my USB drive at the end of the day and carried it home with me.

Now, I do most of my writing on my trusty iMac, but for Christmas, I finally had enough money to buy my own Macbook Air. Why do I need both?

Well, you know the answer to this question. I don't. But, I will say a big reason was that I can only spend so many hours sitting in a desk chair before my back and other extremities start to ache. I used to call it a day at that point. Now, I give myself a break, and come back to writing later in the night on my Macbook. I sit on the couch with my cushions, pillows and laptop stand. It's WAY more comfortable for me. I also have portability, I can write in the car, (not when I'm driving, obvs) or when I'm traveling.

Before I got my computer, I checked a few things. The first was that Scrivener has an open license and I could put a copy on my laptop without paying again (yay!) then I researched the best way to write the same story on two computers.

The answer? Dropbox. It syncs my novel as I write, and it's just worry-free. I've only run into one brief period of downtime, but it lasted less than an hour. Long gone are the days of the USB drive, my friends!

Do you write on multiple computers?

What's Your Writing Speed?

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When I started writing, I was a 'pantser'. I had a general idea of my story, but I usually figured out as I went along. I'm still somewhat of a pantser, but now I'm an outliner. I can't live without my little note cards in Scrivener, and I plot out every chapter before I write. My inner pantser still lives, because major things usually do change along the way, though.

Now when I sit down to write, I have a general idea of what needs to be accomplished, and generally, I can type out a chapter in about 40 minutes. My chapters are on the short side, usually between 1,500 and 2,000 words, sometimes longer. I usually spend the forty minutes typing, then a further fifteen reading it over for clarity and typos. I don't set daily word counts, I set chapter goals. Once in awhile I'll write a partial chapter, but for the most part I write chapter to chapter.

Because I work this way, it usually means I spend longer revising, which is okay. I like getting a rough draft and adding and subtracting to it through several drafts. My style would probably drive some writers nuts!

What's your writing speed?

Don't Breathe a Word Tour Wrap-Up

The Don't Breathe a Word Tour is wrapping up, but it's not quite over. Here are the contest winners!

Indigo

Rose

Brandi

Lysette

Michelle

Congratulations to everyone that won!

Tune in Tuesday (17)

Each week I participate in Tune in Tuesday, hosted by GReads!

My fifth novel is a sweet romance that was so much fun to write. The characters are musicians, and meet at a local talent show. I was debating which songs they should sing at the talent show when this song came on Pandora. I love the original version, by Tom Petty, but John's version fit my vision perfectly.




What are you listening to this week?