What's Up Wednesday: Shopping, Not Writing

WHAT I'M READING
I finished Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour. It had a very vivid world which was lovely in the beginning but all the description started to bug me midway through. For example, I didn't need to know what EVERY character was wearing EVERY time they came on the scene. Also, I got to this point where I felt like I should be FEELING more and I just wasn't. Otherwise, the book was good. No, it really was. I'm just being nitpicky. Now I'm reading The Hobbit, in prep for the last movie coming out oh-so-soon!

WHAT I'M WRITING
I did a bit. A tiny bit. Just a wee small amount of words. I swear, I've had no time lately. I have no clue what exactly I've been doing to take all my time, but somehow it's disappearing down a dark hole of nothing. Also, I'm just not feeling this WIP right now (which is surprising since it's a retelling of a story I LOVE). So I've decided. I'm not going to force it. If I'm feeling the inspiration, I'll write. If not, I'm not going to beat myself up. For December only though. Once January hits, I will kick my WIPs butt.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Normally, I'd say GOALS, but 1k a day has been my goal since November first and I'm only at 16k, so you can see how well that's going. I blame Christmas.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
Shopping! Black Friday is still becoming a thing here in Canada (which is fine because it's not Thanksgiving so no big deal), although the weather here was terrible over the weekend. I wouldn't have gone out at all on Friday except that I had to get a present for treat bags for my daughter's birthday party, which was Saturday. I took her and her friends swimming and then out to dinner Saturday night. Then Sunday, the kids did their annual presentation at church which went really well (thank goodness, since I was one of the adults who organized it all). I've also done some Christmas shopping, Christmas party clothes shopping, looking for White Elephant gifts, and buying things for my daughter's new basement bedroom and bathroom, like a shower curtain and a bed frame (among other things).

And of course, I need to give a shout-out to the Calgary Stampeders who won the Grey Cup, not that I watched. ;) What have you been up to?

Reading Moods

How much does your mood affect your reading?

I wonder about this a lot, because I go through stages. There's the times where I devour books and luuurve everything I read. Then there's the times where I read slower, where I'm just not that into reading, or into a particular book, and where I notice flaws and things tend to annoy me.

Am I just in a bad reading mood? Is this totally unfair to the books I read when in said mood? I could easily say yes. But at the same time, something usually pulls me out of that mood. Something, as in, a great book.

A really great book would pull me out of a reading funk. I really believe that. If the book is AWESOME, I'll WANT to read it and I'll be EXCITED about it and ta-da! No more bad reading mood. So I think there's something to be wondered about the books that don't get me all revved up, bad mood or not.

But mood definitely plays a part. If I was in one of those la-la-all-books-are-wonderful moods, I end up loving a book which maybe doesn't deserve quite so much praise. And while I'm in the reading dolldrums, good books get picked apart a little more thoroughly than normal.

So my mood affects my reading. What about you? Does mood affect your reading? Or is it only about good books vs. mediocre ones?

What's Up Wednesday: Mockingjay and Christmas

WHAT I'M READING
I read Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl- it's the last of the Beautiful Creatures novels, and again... argh, I just wasn't that into it. My reading mood is really wonky right now for some reason. It's almost unfair to any book I read. Right now I'm about halfway through Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour. I'm enjoying the book, but I have a few pet peeves. Again- wonky reading mood.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I made a little progress on my WIP this past week. A little over 3k. I have a feeling it's going to be slow through the holidays. But anything is better than nothing, right? RIGHT? I also figured out my outline through the break into act 2, so there's that.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
It's hard to come up with something that works for me when it's been a fairly unproductive week therefore, nothing has been working. Ergh. But I'm gonna take inspiration from all of you who've been knocking your WIPs out of the park and hopefully get more done this week!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I saw Mockingjay Part 1 on the weekend! I really enjoyed it, more so than I did the book (SHOCKING). It was a little slow- not much action, but as usual Jennifer Lawrence totally nails it. She had me in silent tears a few times. I'm just disappointed that we have to wait a whole year for the last one.
Me and the kids put up our Christmas tree on Sunday. Fun, but crazy! And I've had a lot of church responsibilities this past month, so that's been keeping me busy.
What's up with you?

What's Up Wednesday: Headphoes and Hunger Games

WHAT I'M READING
I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and it was as good as I thought it would be, although not as good as I wanted it to be. Maggie Stiefvater is an amazing writer, and I love her characters (and wish they were my friends), but I wanted to be blown away by the book and sadly, I wasn't. Honestly, I think it has to do with my reading mood more than anything.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I've hit just under 12k with my WIP and I'm happy about that. I just wrote the 'inciting incident' which was lots of fun although in my outline I originally had it as my break into Act 2 so I've got some more planning/figuring out to do.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Headphones. On Saturday, I really wasn't in the mood to write, but I had time so I forced myself. My computer is in our family room and my kids were in there as well as one of their cousins. They were playing and the TV was on and it was very loud. So I popped in some headphones, put on a playlist, and managed 1500k in one hour, even with the occasional kid-shaped distraction.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
Doctor Who withdrawals. Carne Asada fries. Carpet in the basement. Christmas decorations. Baking cookies. Querying. The Hunger Games. My oldest daughter just read the first book and I'm seeing Mockingjay on the weekend, so we rewatched the first movie.
Oh, and I've joined the YA-NA Sisterhood. I'm excited to join this great group of women and I'll be blogging over there occasionally. You can check us out here.

What's Up Wednesday: Failure

WHAT I'M READING
Last Wednesday I found Blue Lily, Lily Blue at Costco for less than twelve bucks!!! So of course I bought it and cancelled the book I had planned to read. Surprisingly, I'm barely halfway through right now. Reading fail.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I'm at a pathetic 5.5k right now. Writing fail. I just haven't had time, which makes me glad I decided not to do NaNo this year because I would have bombed. On the other hand, I wonder if I had committed to it, if I would have MADE the time to write. Who knows.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Right now? Nothing. I'm bombing, which I know is okay because I'll get back on track, but I can't help feeling a bit perturbed at myself. (I love that word, perturbed. It's so wonderfully awkward.)

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I'm doing better at life than writing/reading. I took the kids to Big Hero 6 on the weekend and it was great! Super cute and the kids loved it. While I was doing that, the hubs and his brother tiled our basement bathroom. Our basement should be done soon and I'm sooo excited to have that space! I've also got more than half of my Christmas shopping done (woot!).

Yesterday of course was Remembrance Day and I made sure to take a few minutes to remember the sacrifices of our veterans and those who serve now. Lest we forget.

Here's to the Heroes

It's not until two minutes in that the song really gets started, but it's a good one. Gets me teary eyed every time.

What have you been up to?

What's Up Wednesday: Halloween and Fury

What I'm Reading
I just finished Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir. I read the first book, Timeless, a couple of years ago and I remember loving it. Timekeeper was... good. I love the premise. Both books remind me of my own time travel series I was working on awhile back. I also loved the New York setting in different times. The plot was solid. Buuut, it just didn't resonate. The dialogue was a little off to me, and I wonder if that was it, or if there was more that I just can't put my finger on. Who knows. (I also wonder if Timeless was the same but I just didn't notice it back then?) 

What I'm Writing
I started a new WIP, YAY! I'm not officially doing NaNo this year because my November is going to be a crazy month, but I'm aiming for 1000 words a day. I still haven't figured out the end for my outline, but I wanted to get writing and I'm hoping the end will come to me before I actually get to it.

What Works For Me
A goal. Sometimes it's a deadline, but usually it's a word count. Like I said, 1k a day with the hope that I finish by Christmas.

What Else Is New
Halloween! My kids dressed as Tris, a Stormtrooper, Elsa, and Anna. The kids got quite the loot. I also saw FURY on the weekend, the World War II movie starring Brad Pitt. It was extremely gory, there were lots of F-bombs, and I had trouble understanding one of the characters at times because he had such a thick accent, and there was one scene I thought was a little odd. However, it was interesting to watch a WWII movie focus solely on a tank crew and I thought Logan Lerman was fabulous. Also, I'm pretty sure I've never jumped as many times as I did during this movie. It was seriously heart-pounding.

What's up with you?

What's Up Wednesday: North and South and Taylor Swift

What I'm Reading
Still reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's a classic so there's a lot of long descriptions and unnecessary scenes and drawn-out dialogue. Despite all that, I am enjoying the book.Especially getting more into the characters heads than you can watching the four-part BBC movie.  (Although this is one of those rare times where I prefer the movie over the book. Shhh, don't tell anyone.)

What I'm Writing
Still trying to prep for NaNo. I'm outlining more than I ever have before, using this template similar to Save the Cat (but more detailed) that my sis-in-law emailed me. I'm good through the midpoint and I know the end, but I've got issues after the midpoint that I need to work out. I'm not sure I'm going to be ready in time for Saturday so I haven't officially signed up for NaNo this year and I don't think I will. But I will use the month to keep to a daily word count, once I can get the book outlined anyway.

What Works For Me
A few of you have said this too, but it really helps me to have someone to brainstorm with. My (aforementioned) sis-in-law and CP loves to edit (she's an editor intern with The Zharmae Publishing Press) and she's really good about responding to my random messages. She always has great ideas and even if I don't end up using them (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), talking with her alone helps to get my creative juices flowing. This is seriously one of the best things ever and I'm very grateful that she's willing to chat with me at random times of the day.

What Else Is New
I bought Taylor Swift's new CD on Monday and I've been listening to it on repeat when I'm in the car. It's definitely different from her other albums but there are a few songs I'm already loving. It'll probably only take a few more listens until I love the whole album.

Out of the Woods- one of my early faves

What's up with you this Wednesday?

On Retellings

So here's the question of the day: What do you think about retellings?

For me, I like a retelling that stays true to the story. I don't mind a twist, I don't mind changes. I don't mind if certain characters are cut or if scenes or plot points from the original are missing. I don't mind if a classic becomes an epic fantasy story of if a fairy tale turns sci-fi. But I like my retellings to stick to what makes the original good. It's taken me some time to learn that staying too close to the original isn't a good thing to do, but I'm not a fan when retellings go completely another way until it's really not much of a retelling at all. But that's just my personal opinion.

Some of my favorite retellings

 

What are your thoughts? For example, what if the ending is completely different? What if one (or more) of the characters is changed in a fundamental way? I think it's safe to say that setting can be a total free-for-all, but again, maybe this is just my personal opinion and someone else might not like it if the setting is way out there from the original.

 

Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About Nothing (part one)

I watched this recently. The end was different from the original but made total sense for this retelling.

What kinds of things stay the same and what changes in your favorite retellings? Is everything about the story safe for the author to change, or should some things automatically be included? I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions.

What's Up Wednesday: Disneyland

What I'm Reading
I'm reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I didn't get a lot of reading done this past week because I was on vacation so I've already been at this book for more than a week. Ah well.

What I'm Writing
Planning for NaNo but unsure whether I'll be ready in time.

What Works For Me
The first thing I do when I'm prepping a new WIP is start figuring out the characters. What they like/dislike, what they look like, their characteristics, what they're interested in, the MC's voice, and if it's an adult book like the one I'm writing next- their jobs. For me, characters always come first.

What Else I've Been Up To
DISNEYLAND! We left two Friday's ago and drove to Vegas first. Spent Saturday afternoon there, then drove on to our resort in Carlsbad, California on Sunday. We spent three long days at Disneyland last week but it was a lot of fun. My girls got to get done up at the Bippity Boppity Boutique, my son built his own light saber, we went on lots of rides, and met a lot of characters and got their autographs. We also did some shopping, swimming, and I got to spend an afternoon with my sister and her kids who live nearby. It was a great trip, but exhausting- especially with all the driving. I need a vacation after my vacation!

It was crazy trying to meet Anna and Elsa but worth it in the end. They were so good with my girls!

Family pic in front of Fantasyland. I got asked three times that day if I was dressed like Princess Jasmine. (The answer: no. It was a total fluke.)

We were with Tigger when Winnie the Pooh came up and grabbed my daughters hand. So cute.

On Radiator Springs Racers.

 

What's Up Wednesday: Halloween Decorations

What I'm Reading
I read Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee and I thought it was great- such an imaginative world and different than anything I'd read before. Then I read Strange and Ever After, the conclusion to Susan Dennards Something Strange and Deadly trilogy. It was good but I was super disappointed by the ending. Ergh.

What I'm Writing
Queries. That's about it. I've been doing a lot of brainstorming about the project I want to tackle for NaNoWriMo, but I'm nervous because I haven't figured out the HOW yet. Double ergh.

What Works For Me
Breaks. I try not to take too many, but it's nice to have a little break now and then. I'm glad I finished up my revisions in enough time to give me this little break before NaNo starts.

What Else I've Been Up To
We're going to Disneyland soon! Me and the hubs went on our honeymoon but we've never taken the kids so it should be lots of fun (and so so tiring). Any tips? It's been so long since we've been that I have no clue what's good to see/do/eat.
I've decorated the house for Halloween!

What have you been up to? Link up at Jaime or Erin's blogs.

What's Up Wednesday: There Is No Else

WHAT I'M READING
I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and it was excellent. It did take me a bit to get into it, but most fantasy is like that for me. Once I did, I loved it! Can't wait to read the next one!
Last night I finished Isla and the Happily Ever After and I loooooved eeeeet. Stephanie Perkins writes such swoony romances and wonderful characters. However, I liked Anna and Lola better than Isla. I think I just connected more with Anna and Lola as characters. I never really got a clear sense of Isla. Maybe I was too distracted by all the hot kissing scenes!
WHAT I'M WRITING REVISING
I finished my revisions on Jar of Hearts yesterday! *dances* Now I'm going to let it sit awhile while I revamp my Eponine query, and then start planning for NaNoWriMo.
WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Schedules. I started writing "seriously" when my youngest was six months old and the best time was always during her early afternoon nap. I've kept that same time since then (5 years later), only straying from it on the weekends or when I've wanted to keep going at night. I'm a pretty scheduled person and this is my scheduled writing time and I'm keeping it because it WORKS.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Else? Sometimes it feels like there is no "else" when I'm neck-deep in a WIP. But I did have some more family time with my sister and her baby and my parents, and me and the hubs snuck in a movie date.

What's up with you?

What's Up Wednesday: ERGH

What I'm Reading
I read Landline by Rainbow Rowell and I've got lots of thoughts about it. First, I'd read anything Rainbow Rowell writes. She does characters and dialogue SO WELL. However, and I hate to even say that word, but I felt like there really was no character arc for the MC whatsoever. It felt more like reading about a week in someone's life. Things happened, but nothing changed by the end. I just got to know a couple of characters really well, that's it. The ending was REALISTIC, but this is a novel I'm reading here and I expected some sort of real resolution and didn't feel like I got that. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say any more than that. Except, ergh.
Then I read Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison. I saw the movie awhile ago and always wanted to read the book. It was funny like I thought it would be but I felt like something was missing, probably because of the diary format. (Spoiler coming: For example, Robbie suddenly likes her in the end but we get no real reason why because he's barely there and they barely interact and he has maybe five lines of dialogue the entire book.) I did like it enough that I do want to read more of the books sometime.
What I'm Writing Revising
Still JAR OF HEARTS. It's going good. And that's all I've got to say about that.
What Works For Me
Music is huge for me. I know I talk about it all the time. Sometimes songs come up that remind me of my WIPs, but sometimes I hear a song that I want to write a book around. Like Jar of Hearts. I heard the song back when it was first performed on SYTYCD and loved it. Later, I thought it would make a great contemp YA book, but not one I could write. Then on one random listen of this song, I got an idea. I got a wonderful awful idea. (Bonus points if you know what that's from.) And last NaNo, I ran with it. It's YA magical realism instead of contemp and it's been wonderful and awful all rolled into one.

The song that inspired it all

What Else I've Been Up To
My sister has come for a visit from Ottawa which is awesome because she brought her 6 month old son whom I've never met before! It's been great to spend a little time with her and the baby and some other family members this week.
Also, I finished watching the last season of Being Erica. I'm a little sad to say goodbye to the show, but it wrapped up nicely and now I can go back to Doctor Who!

Fan made trailer of Being Erica season 4

What's Up Wednesday: The Tenth Doctor

What I'm Reading
I finished A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris which was really cute, although I liked My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century better. (They're companion novels, MSSSC came out first and takes place in the past while AToTC happens present time.) Then I read Sisters' Fate by Jessica Spotswood, the last of the Cahill Chronicles. The book was great. I liked how even though I could barely remember what happened in the first two, I jumped back into the series no problem. She wrapped it all up nicely and I wasn't disappointed. (Still liked the first one better, but that's just me.)

What I'm Writing Revising
Still working away at JAR OF HEARTS.

What Works For Me
I'm a very visual person, and I'm also rubbish at describing things. So when I'm trying to describe a character or setting, I like to look up pictures to help me out. On Monday, I got a little side-tracked doing exactly this thing. There's a lot of characters in JAR OF HEARTS and I've already "cast" the four main ones. But there are also four girls who are important to the story and very different from each other in both looks and characteristics. So I looked up actresses to "cast" these girls because I really wanted to SEE their physical differences before moving onto their character differences. It was surprisingly hard, but this is what I came up with... for now.

What Else I've Been Up To

Doctor Who! I watched the first season last year and thought it was just okay. I DID NOT get what all the hype was about. When I finally got around to starting season two, I was hooked almost instantly, and the seasons have just gotten better (so far). I've finished season four and right now I'm waiting (anxiously!) for the specials that happened between seasons 4 and 5 to come in from my library. I'm really going to miss the Tenth Doctor though. I almost don't want to start season five because there will be no more David Tennant. Boo.

What have you been up to?

What's Up Wednesday: SNOW!!!

What I'm Reading
I finished The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell. It was sooo good! The first chapter threw me off a little- it read a lot like an epilogue- but once I got past that, the story swept me up and took me away. Such a great surprise. Then one night I read Just One Night by Gayle Forman, a great little wrap-up to Just One Day and Just One Year. Now I'm reading A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris.

What I'm Writing Revising
Last week wasn't the best for revisions, but I'm back in the swing of things this week with JAR OF HEARTS. (Which is almost exactly what I said last week, but this time, I SWEAR, I'M REVISING.) I'm hoping to get my revisions done before November so that I can do NaNoWriMo again. Also, I have a bigger self-imposed deadline hanging over my head that I talked about here.

What Inspires Me Right Now
Well, I can tell you what DOESN'T inspire me. THIS:

Stupid Alberta Weather

 

What Else I've Been Up To
Trying to get back into the swing of things with school starting and all of the kids after school activities. I also spent three hours yesterday rearranging my kids closets thanks to the unexpected snowfall. That was not fun, and it cut into my revising time. NOT. COOL.

What have you been up to? And don't tell me you've been enjoying hot and sunny weather or I may just send you some evil vibes.

DEADLINE

School started this week and there's something about this that makes me verrrry nervous. I'm not talking about the fact that my ten-year-old is starting in a school grades 6-12 (although this freaks the crap out of me, not gonna lie). And it's not the fact that my youngest started kindergarten. What scares me is now I have a DEADLINE.

I've been lucky these past almost eleven years to be a stay-at-home mom to my four kids. But next year, when my youngest starts grade one and therefore is in school ALL DAY, it'll be just me. I'm not nervous to be alone (NO SIREE). It's the fact that since the kids are in school- I should get a job.

But I don't want I job! she wails. I want to write. This is what I want my job to be. But so far, that ain't happening. And I can't selfishly stay home when the kids are all in school at this point in my writing *career*. Which means... DEADLINE. I've got a year to make it further than I am now. Otherwise, job.

This is super scary because while I've progressed in this whole writing thing, I'm still at the same spot I was, oh, a couple of years ago or so. Querying, full requests, an R&R, then nothing. Querying book two, full requests, nothing. I've just started querying book three. This book could be the one. Or I could be in this exact same spot next year. Nothing.

In some ways- this is all up to me. My writing has gotten better. I'm going to keep at it- querying EPONINE, revising JAR OF HEARTS, and then writing the SNI I've had floating around in my brain for forever. I will be working at it, and working at it hard so that hopefully, I can move forward. But that's all I can do. After that, it's out of my hands. And I just may very well be in this same spot next year.

I want to write. It's my dream job. And I feel like time is running out. I know that isn't true- many people juggle writing/kids or writing/dayjob and even writing/kids/dayjob all at once. I'll do that if it comes to it. I'm not quitting writing just because I have to work in an office again. But I still have this deadline I can't escape. It hangs over my head making me all twitchy and nervous. It makes me anxious to get writing and make it happen and at the same time fearful that I'll blow it.

Deadline. It's scary and it's not even real- I've given it to myself. Hopefully I can turn that fear into motivation, into creating my best work possible. Hopefully I can look back at this in a year and laugh at myself for freaking out about it. Either way, I know this deadline will teach me something. Either way, I'm going to make this next year count.

What's Up Wednesday: Back to School

What I'm Reading
It's been a couple weeks since I did WUW but I actually haven't read that much. I finished City of Heavenly Fire- the last Mortal Instruments book by Cassandra Clare. I liked it, but it was too long. I found myself getting bored in the middle, but the end wrapped up the series nicely. After that, I read Teen Idol and then How To Be Popular, both by Meg Cabot, both books I bought from my library for a whole $0.25 each. They were really fun reads. I forgot how much I love her as an author. (PS, I thought Teen Idol was better.) Now I'm reading The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell.

What I'm Writing
The last week of summer vacation was really busy and I did no revising whatsoever. Now that the kids have started school though, I'm getting back into my normal routines. Yesterday I did querying research and today, it's back to JAR OF HEARTS.

What Inspires Me Right Now
So this is the same thing I did for the last WUW I participated in, but I love this song and I think it's especially relevant for querying writers. I'm about to step back into the trenches for the third time and I know rejections are on their way. What am I going to do about them? I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake, shake it off, shake it off. (PS, I found out late last night that I did not make it into Pitchwars. What am I doing today? THIS.)

What Else I've Been Up To
I participated in WriteOnCon, had one last beach day with the kids, did some back to school shopping, am making my way through the seasons of Doctor Who (I'm on 4), saw If I Stay (loved it) and When the Game Stands Tall (also good). The kids started school yesterday except the youngest who starts kindergarten tomorrow. I can't believe it- all four kids in school! That means my mornings will be JUST ME. O.O

What have you been up to?

Ready. Set. WRITE! Last week!

It's the last week of Ready. Set. WRITE! and I think I'm supposed to recap how I did on my goals for the summer.

Since I missed the first week, I never did make a big goal or goals for the summer. Mainly, I participated in RSW so I wouldn't get sucked into the laziness that is summer. So I think I did pretty good. I finished multiple revisions on EPONINE, not to mention writing the synopsis and revising the query. It's now on the WriteOnCon forums, and I'll be starting to query for real in September. I've also started revisions on JAR OF HEARTS. I'm nowhere near done- I have LOTS to do with this MS- but I've started and I know once I get back into a schedule come September, I'll be able to make better progress.

So that's it! I'm really glad I participated in RSW this year because if I hadn't, I don't know if EPONINE would have been query ready by now. So it was a great kick in the pants for me this summer.

How did you all do?

What's Up Wednesday: Shake It Off!

WHAT I'M READING
I read Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. I thought this book was really great... once I got into it. But it took me like 150 pages to get into it. If I wasn't a patient reader, I probably would've given it up around page twenty. Now I'm reading the final Mortal Instruments book which is good so far but I'm wondering if it's also unnecessarily long. This is becoming one of my pet peeves. My reading time is precious people!

WHAT I'M WRITING REVISING
Working on JAR OF HEARTS. I have lots of revisions to make and I'm pretty unconfident (is that a word?) about the whole thing. Here's hoping I'm making it work, at least a little bit.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
The new Taylor Swift song. Love it, love her.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
I finally submitted to PitchWars and made my bio which you can find here. I also went and saw Expendables 3 with the hubs and friends. NOT my movie choice but it wasn't bad. Antonio Banderas totally made the movie for me. He was hilarious. Also, sharing time lesson, hair appointment (I love getting my hair done!), kids dentist appointments, and lots of Doctor Who watching.

PS: I won't be around for What's Up Wednesday next week because WRITEONCON!!!

Ready. Set. WRITE! (Week 11)

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK'S GOALS
I didn't revise as much as I wanted to on JAR OF HEARTS, but I did do some, so there's that.

MY GOAL FOR THIS WEEK
Revise revise revise! A little bit each day is the goal.

A FAVORITE LINE FROM MY STORY
I wish I could tune the beats out, snuff out every heart so I can finally have peace.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED THIS WEEK
Time. Always time. I need a time-turner. Or to be a vampire and then I wouldn't need sleep. Also and again, PitchWars. I've got my bio done and you can check it out here.

SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MY WIP
There's this certain character. And he's mysterious and quiet and looks something like this:

My PitchWars Bio

It's my first year participating in PitchWars and I'm super excited to...

Wait, what? I have to write a bio? And it has to be clever and make me sound awesome and all accomplished and stuff?

I never signed up for this!

 



No, okay. I can do this. So here's a little bit about me.

I started writing in grade two. Title of my first masterpiece: Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Bloody Mary.

Yeah, I don't know why I wrote that either, Simon

 

I didn't really take writing seriously until after I had four kids. Because, yanno, suddenly it seemed like the right time.

My kids, every time I sit down at the computer

 

I've been at this for five years. Sometimes it sucks.

 

Most of the time it's awesome.

 

I'm Canadian, eh!

 

I collect t-shirts. Like this one:

 

Even though I'm thirty-cough-cough, I still like boy bands. Don't judge me.

 

I sing loud and badly but play the piano better. I used to take dance (jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, swing) and I often dredge up old dance moves in my kitchen, bathroom, while driving, cleaning, ANYWHERE ANYTIME.

I think I look like this.

Or this.

Or this.

But I probably look more like this.

 

I don't like to be touched. So please don't hug me. Unless it's virtual. Those I can handle.

 

I'm a bit of a genre whore. I've written YA time-travel, YA magical realism, and Adult romance/retelling. My PitchWars manuscript is YA Urban Fantasy. It's a loose retelling of Eponine, the character from Les Miserables (in case you didn't know).

 

So there's a little bit about me. Now we're besties and you can pick me as your mentee- I'll do anything you say. Just, no hugging.

I mean pick me. PICK ME.