Long Time, No See

Hey everyone!  It has been a while.  2019 has been a crazy year so far for me.  I can’t believe we’re already into the second week of October!

Notable things that have happened thus far: I’ve attended 6 different weddings so far and I still have 2 more before the end of the year.  I’m less than 2 weeks away from running another half-marathon.  We painted/rearranged our living room in one weekend as well as painted 2 bathrooms.  I’ve been working a part-time job 3 days a week since April.  Lastly, I finished my first draft of my book!

Writing is hard.  But writing a novel- that’s an entirely different level of hard.  Trying to remember every little detail and creating good flow is harder than I could have ever imagined.  Not that I didn’t already respect authors, but I have a hell of a lot more respect for them now and how much time and effort it takes into finishing up a novel.

I finished my first draft at the end of August at about 61K words and was over the moon! My friend/cousin-in-law Tessa warned me that my first draft would be terrible- in fact, most first drafts are pretty terrible.  I also saw things like that on Pinterest but I never believed that completely.  Boy, did I learn a hard lesson!

I took about 2 weeks or so away from my book once I finished and focused more of my attention on running and freelance writing.  But when I reread it for the first time a few weeks later, I realized how terrible it actually was!

There were plot holes and continuity errors and other details that I hadn’t quite worked out yet that made the story structure so awkward!  Not to mention entirely too much dialogue- some of which I literally had to skim through because it was extremely cheesy.

So I reread it a second time, this time making notes of things that I knew I needed to fix, and I came up with about 8 pages of notes!  Yikes!

I remember feeling immeasurably overwhelmed after writing those notes.  I mean, where would I even start?  How would I check everything off on my lists?  What part would I focus on first?

Well, I’m happy to say that, at least for me, I fell into a sort of rhythm and figured out how I needed to approach my first revision.

I’ve only been editing for a few weeks now, but I’m really just trying to embrace the whole process.  It’s absolutely daunting, but I’m feeling very motivated to get this book squared away.  I started writing this nearly three or so years ago and only got back to it last December, so it’s time this story is told.  I’m only into Chapter 2 right now so I still have a long road to go, but I’m looking forward to finishing it and sharing it with the world.

With that being said, I’m trying to start blogging more often from here on out (at least once a week- hopefully two), so you’ll likely see much more of me from here on out.  I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am!

Until next time,

Emily

P.S.- Are you a writer?  If so, I’d love to hear any tips/tricks you have up your sleeve!

 

Photo by Karen Lau on Unsplash

Long time, no see!

Well hello, WordPress world!  I am writing to you on this beautiful, snowy (wait? Isn’t it supposed to be Spring?) day in the northeast.  This is how it looks outside my house right now: 

So, since it has been a minute since I last updated this blog, I wanted to catch up and explain what has been happening in my world.

1. My husband and I bought a house!  Super exciting, right?  We’ve lived in it for just over two months now and we’ve never been happier (well, besides the mortgage and all of the responsibilities that come with homeownership- kidding!  It’s all great honestly).  Look at our cute picture at the house right after closing! 
2. The day after we moved into our house, we rescued a pit/lab mix named Oakley!  He’s turning 2 in April and he’s just the cutest, happiest little pup of all.  He was super skinny when we first got him because he was a stray found on the streets in Virginia, but we’ve given him lots of love and treats and food and exercise and he’s doing so much better now.  He likes to stare out windows when his daddy leaves for work.  He also loves to cuddle and loves to play with his friends Stella and Odin (our friend’s dogs).

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3. I’ve recently had this creative urge and it has been making me want to write again.  It’s the best feeling and I’ve missed it.  I try to embrace it as much as I can as I’ve had an endless bout of writer’s block (I know, you other writers out there are probably shaking your heads right now).  Luckily, it has been slowly subsiding.  So every day I’m looking up writing prompts on Pinterest or old fanfiction I’ve written for some inspiration.  Not to mention I’ve been rereading the Harry Potter series (aka the series that inspired me to write in the first place) since October and I’m finally a third of the way into the Deathly Hallows. I’ve been making notes of the parts that are so interesting to me and how Rowling foreshadows throughout the whole series without us (okay, maybe just me) realizing it.

So with the above being said, I wanted to ask you guys:

1. Do you think fanfiction is dumb?  Do people even still write fanfiction, let alone about Harry Potter?
2. How do you cure your writer’s block?  Do you listen to music, travel, read/watch movies?  I’m interested to see what helps you!
3. To go off my last questions, what type of movies do you watch, books do you read, and music that you listen to?  What’s your favorite place you’ve ever traveled, and how did it inspire you?
4. Have you rescued any animals?  If so, what kind?
5. Is it snowing where you are now, or is it warm and sunny?
6. How have you guys been?  What’s been going on lately?

Short blog today, my friends.  But I look forward to hearing your responses and I’ll be back again soon.

Em

 

October: National Book Month

As you may know, October is National Book Month and everywhere bookworms are rejoicing!  Reading is one of my absolute favorite pastimes, not only because I get to immerse myself into another world to get away from real-world problems for a little while, but also because it’s relaxing (well, for the most part- I suppose it depends on what book I’m reading!).  In honor of National Book Month, I’d like to share with you what I’ve been reading so far this month.

Back in September, I started reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I never finished it.  Never in my life have I stopped reading a book because I disliked it until now.  Okay, you caught me- with the exception of required novels during school, I have never stopped reading a book because I disliked it.  After a few weeks hiatus, I decided to give it another go.  I had only heard good things from people I know who have read it, so I really wanted to give it another chance, but I just couldn’t get past the strange first-person narrative with abnormally long paragraphs that held conversations within them rather than in separate paragraphs.

Maybe that’s because that’s what I’m used to when I read books- conversations being broken up into separate paragraphs for each person talking.  However, I realize that there is no “correct” way to write and that rules are meant to be broken when writing.  Even so, I placed the book back on my shelf last week for good.

I have been entranced with reading lately, however.  So late last week, after I set Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close aside, I decided to pick up an old book and visit some old friends.

Perhaps my desire to reread the Harry Potter series was due to the cool fall air (finally!) infiltrating the east coast.  Maybe it was because of the incessant previews for Freeform’s (many) Harry Potter weekends playing relentlessly on the TV.  Or, simply enough, perhaps it was because it has been several years since I’ve reread them in their entirety.  Regardless of the reason, I’m ecstatic about my decision to restart this journey.

I finished the Sorcerer’s Stone in just under six and a half hours, which must have been a personal record.  I believe it would have taken me less time if I didn’t have a full-time job and several other distractions (or responsibilities) that had to be completed prior to my reading binges.

Kyle came home from work Friday afternoon/early evening and could hardly believe I was on the last few pages of The Sorcerer’s Stone.  “How?!” he asked, astonished that I had somehow found the time to finish the book so quickly.  Without even asking, he went into our bedroom and grabbed The Chamber of Secrets from our bookshelf and laid it on the end table beside the couch where I was sitting at the time.  He just knew that I’d want to start the next book as soon as I was finished the first.  That, my friends, is true love.

Anyway, I started reading the Chamber of Secrets on Friday and I’m still currently reading it.  Not because I’m not interested in it or because it’s taking a long time to read- Kyle and I were just incredibly busy over the weekend so I had limited time to read.  But I’m truly enjoying every page of the series thus far and I’m loving it even more now than the first few times I read it.

Harry Potter holds a special place in my heart, and it remains high on my list of books that I love.  Rowling’s series is the first series that I can remember that truly inspired me to write.  Whether it was HP-related fan-fiction, online roleplaying (Neopets, anyone?) or even an original story of my own, I was writing almost every day when I was younger because I was so inspired.  I wanted to create a world as mystifying, extraordinary and magical (pun intended) as Rowling created.  It’s still my dream today.

I’ve realized over the past few weeks that maybe the reason I’m having difficulty writing anything of substance lately (creative writing, that is) is because I’ve been lacking inspiration.  I have been told that in times of severe writer’s block, I should revisit a favorite book’s world and find the reason why I wanted to write my own story in the first place.  Then, I should explore new worlds in the same genre that I’d like to write about and write down what makes them good and what makes me love them.  I’m currently on the first part of that with Harry Potter being my first stop.  I’m excited to see what happens while on this ride and what potential stories come out of it.

Now that you know what inspired me to begin writing and what I’m currently reading, I’d love to know what you’re currently reading (or rereading) and what’s on your list of books to read prior to year’s end.  Also, if there are any writers/authors out there, let me know what books truly captivated you and inspired you to write.  I’d love to discuss this with you and add to my list of books to read- and perhaps they’ll inspire me, too!

Until next time,

Emily

P.S.  If any of you are interested in my re-read of Harry Potter, check out the hashtag #EmilyrereadsHP on Twitter!

 

31 Fun Activities To Do This October

Can you guys believe we’re already 5 days into October?  Where has the time gone?!  This year is definitely flying by.  To make the most out of your free time this month, I’ve created a list of all fall-themed activities you can do (almost) anywhere in the country!

1. Visit a pumpkin patch.
2. Have a Halloween movie marathon.
3. Write a scary story.
4. Visit a haunted house.      
5. Carve pumpkins.
6. Go trick-or-treating or hand out Halloween candy.
7. Have a sleepover with friends and tell scary stories.
8. Go hiking.                                                      
9. Visit a state known for beautiful fall foliage.
10. Bake pumpkin pies.
11. Bake apple pies.
12. Go on a hayride.                                                               
13. Decorate for Fall.
14. Craft a fall wreath.
15. Go to a football game.                        
16. Jump in leaves.
17. Toast pumpkin seeds.
18. Go to a bonfire.
19. Make S’mores.              
20. Go to a corn maze.
21. Go to a fall festival.
22. Watch Hocus Pocus.
23. Burn a fall scented candle.
24. Buy a warm sweater.
25. Eat Chili.
26. Drink hot cocoa on a chilly night.                      
27. Read a book.
28. Get fall photographs taken.
29. Go apple picking.
30. Host or go to a Halloween party. 
31. Visit a cabin for a weekend getaway.

What is your favorite fall activity?  Is it on my list?  Let me know in the comments below!

Emily

My October Goals/Bucket List

New month, new goals!  Too often do I find myself creating goals for myself, but I never write them down!  Instead, I end up remembering them a few weeks later and try pushing them off until the next month.  That’s about to change starting now!  Take a look at the list below for all of my goals I wish to accomplish this month.

1. Incorporate more yoga into my fitness routine.
2. Write consistently on my blog.
3. Read at least one book.
4. Build my portfolio site.
5. Gain 3 new followers.
6. Exercise consistently.
7. Go to sleep earlier.
8. Have weekly date nights with Kyle.
9. Declutter and organize!
10. Research for NaNoWriMo.

To add to my list of October goals, check out my October Bucket List!

1. Watch 5 different Halloween movies.
2. Carve pumpkins.    
3. Watch a horror movie.                             
4. Go hiking.
5. Eat S’Mores at a bonfire.
6. Decorate for fall.    
7. Buy a fall candle.
8. Host or attend a Halloween Party.
9. Visit a pumpkin patch.
10. Write Halloween-themed short story and post to my blog.

So what are your October goals and/or bucket list?  Feel free to share in the comments below!

Consistency is Key

I turned twenty-five on the 15th of this month, and with my birthday came feelings of discouragement, hopelessness, and fear. Over the past eleven days, I came to the realization that I brought these feelings upon myself. That was a hard realization to come to, but one I had to come to nonetheless. All of these feelings came from the realization that I’m the reason that I’m not where I want to be in terms of my professional life.

I graduated college truly naive in believing that even in the tough market I’d land my dream writing job within a few months. I also assumed that, by the time I turned twenty-five, I’d be living comfortably and doing what I love most: writing. Fast forward to, well, today and I’m a part-time freelance writer with a full-time job as a legal assistant.

Granted, I do enjoy my job at the law firm I’ve been working at since March. I work with great people and I feel like I’m making a positive impact on our clients’ lives. However, in college, I believed that by this point, I’d be doing nothing but writing and editing and making a steady income from it. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case.

I have admitted to myself that this is my fault. I cannot put the blame on anyone or anything else except me. To be frank, I have been slacking. I haven’t been giving writing the time or attention it deserves, which is terrible for something I love so dearly. Why would I give my time and attention to running, which I love, but not to writing, another activity that I also love and actually want to build my future on?

Going forward, I will be working hard on blogging differently. I have always known that consistency is the key to success in many different aspects of life- relationships, job searching, health and fitness, etc. Consistency in writing is also crucial to success, and I have failed thus far. My blog has been neglected (its inconsistency unmistakable), and I’m writing this purposefully in hopes that this post will hold me accountable. If I want a life filled with writing, I need to write more often.

I have high hopes that an editorial writing calendar will help accomplish this feat, and I have already started working on one for next month. Stay tuned, my friends (well, the ones who haven’t given up on my reading quite yet), for a content-filled October. I value your readership, and I hope that you have stuck by me and continue to stick by me as I continue doing what I’m most passionate about.

Until next time,

Emily