Plans! Decisions! Beds!

You know what, Sears? Maybe if you didn't sell such comfortable beds, I would be able to do something with my life.

Yes, we bought a new bed last weekend, and it's so beautiful. If I could move somewhere new, it would be this bed. I would cook here, work here, do everything here. But society frowns about that behavior, so I have to be a regular human being and do stuff sometimes that isn't on this bed. It's absolutely terrible.

But this whole post today isn't about my wonderful, beautiful, perfect bed. Nope, today is about the fact that I actually made a plan this week and followed through. I know, two decisions in a row! I'm almost like a real adult! Anyway, I went through on all the stories on my laptop this week. I had more than a dozen of them, and some were double files. I know, even in my computer life, I'm a mess. So, after deleting the ones that were doubles or the ones that made no sense, I put the keepers in one file, changed them to PDFs, and saved them to Dropbox and Google Drive. Why did I embark on this seemingly pointless endeavor? I'm glad you asked! Now I can access my writing from my laptop, my phone, my Kindle, anywhere, really. The reason for this is that, sometimes, I have ideas for a story I wrote a year ago. I can't really remember what it's about, and I'm at work or shopping or something else when I have this idea. Now I can pull it up on my phone and read through it to see if my idea will work or not.

It's kind of lovely, I have to admit.

Also, being the absolute narcissist that I am, I love to read my writing. Some of the stories are ridiculous, of course, because I started them years ago and I obviously just threw it all together. But I kept all the stories that I felt like I wanted to keep going on, the ones that I felt had the most potential. Some are YA, some are actual adult-like, and others are...strange. But I love them all. And I'm excited to develop them further.

But I have to finish this one I'm working on before I can touch any of those, I know that. I have an ending in mind, but while driving to work the other day, I suddenly thought, Oh, that sounds an awful lot like the ending to Harry Potter. So. Hm. That could be a problem. But, at the same time, it doesn't sound like Harry Potter, and I'm hoping that when I write it out, it's different. My plan is to finish it up this weekend, and since I've been on such roll lately with plans, I hope it's going to pan out. The house is going to be semi-quiet this weekend, so I should be able to accomplish my goal without problem.

Oh, right, I also have half a dozen books waiting for me on my Kindle and more than that on my bookshelf.

I'll be back Monday and let you all know how I did. Also, my first book review (sort of) goes up Monday, and it's Consumption by Heather Herrman. I had to put it aside for awhile because my file was missing a chapter, but...

Well, I guess that'll have to wait for Monday.

Building Steam

As I was trying to figure out what my schedule on this thing was going to be like, I realized that I had a lot of books. Like, A LOT. And that's not bragging. That's almost anxious sounding. I signed up for NetGalley (kind of awesome place, check it out) when I was offered to review one of Katy Evans's books. I never really used it after that, but then NetGalley kept sending me emails about books that I could read before they came out, and some of the books sounded awesome. So, within the last six months, I've been really active on it, and I went a little crazy the last few weeks. Some of the books on there are books I've been wanting to read forever. Some of them are from authors I've never heard of before, but they sounded interesting. NetGalley is like a bookstore where everything is free and the only down side is that you might not get picked to get the ARC. I've been rejected several times, but who's counting?

Anyway, I have three ARCs waiting for me on my Kindle right now, and I think I have another three waiting for an answer.

That all being said, I figured out a schedule. I know, you were expecting differently, right? Sorry to disappoint you! Since I do most of my writing in the morning during the week, I figured Friday would be the best day to write about my experiences with that. So that leaves Monday. Well, Monday is a beautiful day for book reviews, really, because all the new books come out Tuesday (or, in the case of Harry Potter and the such, Saturday). Many of the book reviews I already have lined up with other websites are on a Monday, so it would be best if I started it early to get into the groove of things.

I'm not starting today, obviously.

I also don't have enough books to fill up every Monday for the rest of my life. That means that while some of the books I review are going to be new, there will be some that have been out for awhile (anywhere from a few days to a few thousand years), some that you might have even read. Sorry for the redundancy, if that's the case. But there are some books that are just so amazing that my review on Goodreads isn't enough. Besides, I always like reading reviews on books that have been out for awhile or that I've already read, because it gives me a new perspective on it.

Still, I try not to let it influence my reading, and I hope that mine won't influence yours! I hate reading bad reviews about books I haven't read yet, and then I go into that book with a sense of doom. That's not what this is about at all. This is mostly going to be gushing, I swear. There are very few books that I end up hating, and, thankfully, I'm not about to review any Hemingway on here (sorry if you adore him, but...really).

So that's the deal. Monday: book reviews, Friday: my life. Hopefully it'll go over as well as it did in my head.

A New Blog

Well, I promised some big changes, and one is already up: the new blog title! As I started signing up for book reviews, I realized that my blog title was a little...odd. Sure, if this was just about writing and me, that would be fine. Which it was. For awhile. But now...

When I started this thing, I had two options: it could either be about my journey of writing, or it could be about book reviews. I chose writing because, honestly, setting up a book review blog sounded incredibly difficult. There was a lot of junk to go with it all, and, at the time, I did not have the energy to do everything. Then, as I became more comfortable with blogging, I realized that I could add some book reviews every now and again. About two months ago, I thought about starting an entirely separate book review blog. But then I had to wonder; would I be able to handle two blogs, when one blog was already suffering? So that's one reason why my posts were few and far between for awhile. I was moving and I had a lot on my mind, and I was also wondering if I wanted to continue with this thing.

Then, about a week ago, I had the brilliant idea of making this a two for one deal. Since my writing has taken a backseat while I get the house and the rest of my life in order, I thought why not add some more book reviews while occasionally updating about my writing progress, whenever that happens? It made sense, and it sounded really fun. It still does.

But then I realized that this blog is way overdue for a face lift. I tried to keep it simple so that I would love the set-up for a LONG time. Yes, I'm lazy like that. I still love this set-up because it's pretty and it's simple, but now I think it's time for a change. I have ideas in mind (OF COURSE), so I just have to learn how to get what I want on the page. I'm not exactly tech-savvy, but I can read directions well and follow them. So, for the next few weeks, this page is going to be undergoing some serious renovations. I'm only saying this because I'm sure there's going to be some confusing things around here and I don't want anyone to think I'm insane. Well, more insane than usual.

That's it for now. The writing has been postponed, but I did get some done last weekend. I didn't post on Monday because that was a holiday for me (Dead White Men Holiday), but that was the only one this month. I'm back to Monday and Friday, and maybe a Wednesday. I haven't really finalized the schedule, so we shall see. Have a good weekend everyone!

Stuffy Noses Are Best For Writing

You know what I love most in the entire world? Allergies. The way your nose just plugs up so beautifully that when you try to lay on your back to sleep, you choke a little because you can't breathe. I love the way my eyes itch at every possible moment and the fact that I still wear mascara during these times. I love using an entire box of Kleenex in a space of a few minutes.

Yeah, being positive about allergies isn't helping.

I hate allergies. They are the worst. Especially when they interfere with all the things you want to do. The weather here in gorgeous Southern California is a total mess. One day it looks like it's going to rain and then we wake up to the next morning where it promises to be in the low 90s. Gross, hot, dry wind blows. I'm sweating at some points, but still in jeans because of the stupid wind. And work. Because I'm not wearing anything nice around those crazy children. Anyway, the weather is stupid here and my allergies have been coordinating with it.

Still, I have pushed through and now have a very sketchy outline for my story. That sounds weird considering I have about 64,000 words down, but after reading it through once and adding things, I had a ton of questions. Instead of sitting on those questions for months, I figured it would be in my best interest to answer them quickly if I wanted to get going on this thing, and that's what I did. Now I have a list of questions (and their answers) written in a notebook that I have to apply to the story. I also have to write an ending, but I figured it would be best left until, surprisingly, the end. When I conceived this story for NaNo, it had a real ending, but it was more underwear gnomes stuff. Girl finds problem, {BIG BLANK SPACE}, girl saves the day. So I guess I'm going to have to figure that one out.

Since I have a three day weekend coming up, I figured I would do some writing and reading around the housework that is inevitably to come. What that translates to is that I'm hoping to get to Amory. I guess I keep pushing her into the background because this story I'm working on is so fun and interesting, and even though there are magical elements to it, it's fun to write a story about a "normal" girl for once. I can let her gasp and bleed and faint and do all that normal human-y stuff. That's the hardest part write about an angel: she comes across as so freaking stoic because I can't make her do any of the junk I mentioned above. So, right now, I'm having a good time hanging out with a real human girl.

But now back to my book and the dog, because we both want to procrastinate a little more before we're forced to get up. Well, not so much the dog.

Wishing and Hoping

You know, I have never once been in a situation where I thought, "Be careful what you wish for." Every time I wish for something - and eventually get it - it's always turned out rather lovely. But then I made the mistake of wishing to live in a house. Nope, condos and apartments weren't good enough for me. I wanted a house with a yard and rooms to display all my nerd stuff and a huge bookshelf for my books and a garage for cars and storage.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

We spent all day Saturday cleaning on the garage. Well, I say "we," but really, I mean my boyfriend. He did all the heavy lifting and the organizing; I was just there for moral support and to pick up boxes every now and again and to pretend like his basketball was a soccer ball and to go on little rides on my lovely bicycle. Still. It was hard work. By the time we were done, all we had energy for was pizza and sleeping. Then Sunday was a mess because we were both sore and tired, and I had to go grocery shopping, and there are about a thousand and one more things that we need to do that we didn't do, and then...I read for the rest of the day.

Oh, Bree, so good, did you read about Amory?

Oh, no. No, I did not.

You can't see me, but I'm wagging my finger at you. Not because you're in trouble, but because wait. Just because I didn't get to Amory doesn't mean I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING this weekend. I still woke up early on Saturday and managed to get some writing done. I even have the book open right now and it's just sitting there, waiting for me to finish this thing. Well, and after I sneak around on the internet for a little while.

Even though the next four weekends are kind of crazy (and we still have those thousand and one things to do that I mentioned above), I'm starting to fall back into my normal routine of writing in the mornings, so that's a good thing. I told you things would turn around once my computer desk found a home. Now I just have to create a better office space for me so I'm not going insane while writing. I'm already trying my best to focus on the computer screen and not look around because this room is still a mess, and I want so bad to do so many adorable things to it. Maybe I'll turn into a home redecorating blog for one day once I finish. Then we can all pretend like there's a purpose to this rambling.

Desk! Desk! Desk!

Guess where I'm writing from?

Yay for my crappy little IKEA desk! Okay, ignore the litter box next to it and the completely empty walls. I just finished moving and emptying boxes yesterday. I couldn't even wait to set up the room before I plunked my laptop on my desk and started writing. It's amazing how such a little thing makes me so excited that all I want to do is write because of this flimsy white thing. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

But now to the real reason for this blog!

As I mentioned above, I did start writing yesterday. While at work (yes, I write whenever I have the chance), I realized that I have some glaring plot holes and that some parts of my story make no sense. That's okay, though, because, like I said, it was a NaNo effort. Most of the time, I have no idea where my NaNo stories are going and I just write to see what's going to happen. So, since I had some downtime, I decided to think some of the problems over. What I did was fill up a piece of paper with questions and answers, and I think I may have solved a lot. I'm going to have to rewrite large chunks of this novel, and that's okay. I have the structure down now and I know where I'm going. Right now, it's going to be a lot of writing and inserting, rewriting and reinserting. Then I'm going to have to learn how to sew to make sure that it all goes together seamlessly.

Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Besides that, I'm going to finish reading a book today and then (this house willing) I'm going to get back to Amory this weekend. We still have a lot to do on the house, but now that my boyfriend isn't dying and our dog can be on his own a bit more, I'll hopefully have some time to myself. I figure if I can get through a few chapters a day, I'll be okay. Of course, I know I'm going to start reading it and then cry because it's so terrible and then want to rewrite the whole thing and then spiral into some kind of existential crisis about not wanting to be a writer.

That's the best case scenario!

Really, this is all so I can have fodder for my blog. I don't want to have to turn this thing into a home makeover blog. Really, I don't, because the home makeover is really just unpacking boxes and trying to shove a random stuffed Dug in the most out of the way place. Don't believe me?

Best 1000 points I've ever spent at Disney Movie Rewards. It even talks.

A Weekend From Hell

Wow, if it's not one thing, it's another. Friday was shaping up to be a great day: I didn't have to work, no one was going to be home to bother me while I moved things, and I had a strategy set up for getting the most done in a short amount of time. So, like all my best laid plans, pretty much none of that came to fruition. Not only do I still have a dog with a recovering leg, but then my boyfriend became so sick that we spent a few hours at the hospital. He's better now, but it was a careful dance trying to move things, take care of him and the dog, and not injure myself.

Still, I made some headway on things. Two of the bedrooms are done (or 95%, at least), and the third room (my cat's room) doesn't look like a bomb hit it. Much. Our books are alphabetized and on the shelf. The DVDs weren't so lucky because I found a huge spider over on that side of the bookcase, and there's no way that I'm going back until said spider comes out and tells me it's cool, he won't scare me anymore.

I guess the DVDs are never getting done.

One surprising thing that came out of this weekend is that my desire to getting back to writing has returned. Between moving three mattresses, I found myself thinking about Amory and my other story. While we all know that Amory is getting pushed back, this other story could be finished by the end of the month. I said that it started off as a NaNo story, and usually most of my NaNo stories end halfway through and then I abandon them because my word count is way more than 50,000, and that's the point, right?

Sigh.

But this one I actually made to the semi-ending. For the last few months, I've been reading through it and making some changes, adding some things that I didn't or just discovered that I wanted to. All I really have to do is write the ending and then I can edit it a second time. I don't know what it is about this story, but it's stuck in my head for almost two years now. I'm hesitant to say what it's about, because it was one thing at the beginning of NaNo, another at the end, and still another now. It has the same premise as when I first thought of it, but then twists happened that even I didn't see coming, but I liked them. So I'm going to ride it out. See what I can do with it. See if anything comes out of it. Fingers crossed!

I'm hoping to get back to it sometime this week, and hopefully I'll have an actual writing update on Friday. I might even clear off my desk and ignore the several boxes piled up in my cat's room so I can write on there, We'll see. That might be too much to ask.