Happy Wednesday!
How did your August go? Do anything fun? I can't believe August is almost over already! I probably say this every month, but I really do feel like this month went by so quickly. I'm not complaining though. September is almost here, which means fall is almost here! I know the first official day of fall doesn't come till later in September, but to me, September 1st signifies the start of fall. August is the last day of summer to me and September ushers in my very favorite season and my very favorite type of weather. I hope you're August has gone well and that you're looking forward to September too!
August Writing:
Writing this month has been a bit rocky. I started a new project and was super excited about it... until I hit the 30k mark and it sort of fell apart. I lost inspiration and motivation for it. It was just such a struggle to write. So then I decided to work on the sequel to IWWP because I was feeling excited and inspired about that... and I got about 10k words in before that also has sort of fallen apart. I think I'm just really struggling with direction in both projects. I don't know where I'm going with any of it and sitting down to write and work on anything has felt like such a chore. It really weighs me down and if I don't hit the word count I wanted to for that day I feel super bummed out about it.
To be honest, writing hasn't felt fun for me in a while. A lot of it feels like I'm dragging my feet to the computer and forcing words that are mediocre at best out onto the page. It's just not working for me and has been a real struggle, so I've decided to put all my big drafting projects aside and work on some flash fiction and short stories. It's really hard for me to do because all I want to do is finish this sequel. I've been working on it on and off since May. Usually drafting only takes me a month. I can usually plow through a finish a first draft in a set amount of time, but this book has been so on and off and it's driving me a little bit crazy. I just want to finish it honestly. I want to get to the end so that I can have the first draft under my belt and be able to edit and rewrite.
Anyway, that's been on my writing in August. Not great, but I have gotten words in and that's a good thing.
August Reading:
My reading this month has been pretty slow. I kind of got into a reading slump the past two months or so and to get myself out of it, I decided to read these basic romance books that are super predictable and easy to get into. Suffice to say, they did help get me reading again haha
The two books were called Blood that Binds and Blood that Reigns by Melissa Winters.
The first book was pretty good, the beginning really got me into it and the plot sounded interesting (if a little predicable). But somewhere between the first and second book, it got really hard to read. The writing went way downhill the second book and the characters became very inconsistent in their behavior. It kind of felt like the author got bored and just wanted this sequel to be over with. There were also a few spicy scenes. Nothing too crazy, but they were definitely there.
But now! I get to finish my August with a book I have been very excited for! A Lonely Dance by Selina R. Gonzalez came out last week!!
This is a spin-off stand alone of her A Thieving Curse and she's giving her Gaston character a redemption arc in this one! I love redemption arcs so much and I don't think I've ever read a Beauty and the Beast retelling that gives its Gaston character a redemption arc and makes him not an absolutely unsavable person. While A Thieving Curse was a Beauty and the Beast retelling following the two MC's Alex and Raelyn, A Lonely Dance is a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling (I've never read a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling so I'm very excited about this) following Tristan (the Gaston character in A Thieving Curse) and Illara. Anyway, so far it's very good and I'm loving it.
Then this week Becky Gaine's The Soul Crier comes out!! And The Final Gambit by Jennifer Barnes!! Guys, I'm going to be so busy reading the next few weeks. There are so many good books coming out so soon! Wishtress by Nadine Brandes, Stellarlune by Shannon Messenger, The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim, The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber, Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston. Just so many in the next few months. I am very excited for all the books haha
August Life Stuff:
This month has been really good. I got to see my long distance bestie Keturah! We got to see each other and hang out for a whole week and did a writer meet up between me, her and another friend of ours who lives near me. It was so fun and I had the best time getting to see her. I've gotten to hang out with friends and spend time with boyfriend and get to know each other better, which has been really great and so much fun.
My mom and I went to a Breaking Benjamin concert and had the best time together, though we did almost lose our car. We couldn't find it anywhere when we left the concert and we got so lucky when I happened across it haha That same week me, my mom and two younger brothers went to the beach in Michigan and met up with some friends there. Even though it was a little too warm for me, I still had a good time hanging out and talking and just spending time with everyone.
Oh! And of course, Heart of Xion came out this month! Though there were some technical difficulties with the paperback that I'm still trying to work out, it was a great release and I'm so thankful to everyone who made it a special day and expressed their excitement for it!
I also released the first episode of Sterling Silver on Kindle Vella this month, which I'm very excited for! Fingers crossed that it goes well and that I can get some readers to follow me over there!
My driving has also improved a lot this month. With getting better control over my anxiety, I've been able to branch out more and drive farther distances on my own. It's really amazing to see the progress I've made and how my anxiety and depression have improved so much.
Looking Forward to September:
I feel like I say this for the start of every month, but I don't really ever make plans in advance. I just kind of go along with whatever happens that month, whether we go on a trip or I get to hang out with friends or whatever. Something fun always comes up at some point.
The only sure plans I have is at the very end of September my young adults group is having a retreat during the last weekend of the month. I'm excited but also pretty nervous about it since I've never been on a retreat before and I don't know how I'll do. I haven't gone on a trip on my own without a family member ever, and while I know I'm 24 and should be able to go on trips no problem, it still just makes me pretty nervous. But I'm trying to stay positive and be excited and not worry too much about it. I'll figure it out.
I saw that Disney is going to be rereleasing Avatar into theaters September 23, so I really want to go see that. I didn't get to see it in theaters when it first came out, so I'm very excited.
Other than that, I definitely plan to hang out with friends, get to see my boyfriend more and take a break from drafting. I'm going to be writing a flash fic/short story a week in September to give myself a breather from drafting and hopefully focus more on reading too. There are some very exciting books coming out as I said earlier. I also have a college class to focus on too, so there's that.
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