What's Up Wednesday! | 05/11/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Gunpower, treason, and plot. There is no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot...

What I'm Reading

I'm slowly making my way through The Count of Monte Cristo (you can still join in with my Count of Monte Cristo Read-a-Long here!) and this morning I started reading Marie Brennan's A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent which I'm really enjoying so far. I'm not much of a dragon person; I don't dislike them, but I've never gotten into dragon stories like a lot of my friends have. I tried reading Eragon and really didn't like it, so it's nice to find a dragon story I'm enjoying!

What I'm Writing

Well NaNoWriMo is here and, as per usual, I'm behind. Very, very behind. Mainly because I changed my idea at the last minute. I was totally prepared to write about Medieval dragons (ironic given what I just said about dragons), but then a new idea popped into my head and wouldn't go away so I'm working on that instead. As much as I'd love to write 50,000 words in one month one day, I'm not going to kick myself if I don't do it this year because frankly it's stress I don't need, and NaNoWriMo should be a fun experience as well as a tricky one!

What Works For Me

Saving/jotting down ideas. Very recently I've rediscovered an old notebook and a load of old files on my laptop full of the beginnings of stories or just little bullet points, and I'd forgotten about a lot of them. I love rediscovering old ideas, especially when I rediscover them and realise I still like them despite having forgotten about them in the first place!

What Else Is New

Honestly not much. I've just been reading and trying to kick my arse into gear for NaNoWriMo. Although I am also taking part in Sci-Fi Month throughout November, which is very exciting! You can read my introductory post here.

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday | 29/10/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've finished Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (loved it!) and read The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove, and Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders by Susanne Alleyn.

At the moment I'm reading Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield, which I'm really enjoying; it's like a subtle ghost story hidden in a gothic novel, and Setterfield has the most beautiful writing style. It's a great read for this time of year! And in the spirit of Halloween I'm going to try and finish Bellman & Black and Blackout by Mira Grant, and I'm going to attempt to read Half Bad by Sally Green too, all before November arrives.

Let's see how well that goes...

What I'm Writing

I should be plotting and planning for NaNoWriMo, but as is usually the case whenever I try to plan anything, a SNI has been tickling my brain and I've jotted down the odd sentence. It's only a short story, but it's been that long since I've sat and written a short story that I want to try and get a draft of it written this week.

What Works For Me

Being left alone. I know that probably sounds so grumpy and antisocial, but I've finished university (for now - with any luck I'll be able to do a PhD either next year or the year after) and I'm back to living with my parents because it's a very lucky person who can leave uni and afford to leave home, too. I love my parents; they're lovely and supportive and just genuinely some of the funniest people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting, but we live in a bungalow where it's very hard to find quiet, alone space unless I'm in the house when both of my parents are at work. I don't have a desk in my room - again, we live in a bungalow, so while my room is beautiful there's no way I could fit a desk in there - and I couldn't sit and write for hours with my laptop on my knee.

As great as my parents are, it's very distracting when I'm sat at the dining table and they want to talk to me or ask me what I'm doing. It's not that I don't like talking to them and don't appreciate their interest, it's just that I think they're still learning that even though it doesn't look like it, I am actually working when I'm sitting at my laptop and typing furiously. Even if I am still in my pyjamas.

So alone time. Alone time works for me.

What Else Is New

My degree certificate arrived in the post! My parents think I should frame it, but I'm not so sure; I can't help feeling I'd seem like a bit of a twat if I framed my certificate. (Apologies to anyone who has framed their degree!)

No, that's not a typo. That's really how you spell my name!

Yesterday I joined a new writing group and it was a lot of fun! The group meets on the last Tuesday of every month and everyone I met yesterday was lovely. I'm looking forward to meeting some more writers - I was wondering where they'd all been hiding!

Oh, I'm also going to be taking part in Sci-Fi November, hosted by Rinn Reads and Oh, The Books! I'm still something of a newbie when it comes to science fiction, which is why I decided to take part. I've already scheduled the majority of my posts for throughout November, which is a big weight off my shoulders considering I'm attempting NaNo this year!

Other than that it's been a pretty quiet week. What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 22/10/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

It's been a while! I went on a little hiatus while I finished up my MA and I've been rather busy recently, so it's time to catch up!

What I'm Reading

Since I last took part in WUW I've read Deadline by Mira Grant, Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier, Blood Sinister by Celia Rees (reviewed here), The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (reviewed here), American Vampire: Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Stephen King (reviewed here), and Printer's Devil Court by Susan Hill (reviewed here).

I've discovered my love for Daphne du Maurier and right now I'm just over halfway through Rebecca and loving it (Mrs Danvers - what a bitch!), and I've borrowed Jamaica Inn and The Parasites from my local library so I'll be reading those soon.

I'm also going to be hosting a Count of Monte Cristo Read-a-Long this November. There's a Facebook group here with all the information you need to know if you want to join in; I'd really love it if more people joined in!

What I'm Writing

After finishing my MA I needed to take a break from Bloodroot and Bracken, because by the time I handed in my portfolio I was ready to tear my hair out. So this year I'm attempting NaNoWriMo (again) and I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to complete a novel, I'd just like to write as much as I can, even if it's crap, about one of the many other novel ideas dancing around in my head. Now that I'm back in South Wales with my family it seems only fitting to write a story that's been in my head recently which is set in Medieval Wales and involves dragons!

If you're taking part in NaNoWriMo and you want to add me as a writing buddy, you can find me here!

What Works For Me

Films OSTs! I like listening to music when I write, but when it comes to music with lyrics I can often get distracted and start singing along rather than concentrating on what I'm doing. But when you find the right film score writing's a breeze! Recently I've been loving the Pompeii soundtrack.

What Else Is New

Okay, quite a lot has happened since I last participated in WUW so this section is probably going to be kinda long. I'll try to be as concise as possible!

Well I finished my MA, and yesterday I got my results and I PASSED WITH A DISTINCTION! I'm so pleased that all that hard work and stress has paid off, and now I can start looking into applying for PhDs which is very exciting!

I also have a new blog design after finally giving myself a kick up the backside and taking an afternoon out to make it look pretty - I'm very pleased with the end result. I think it looks slightly less amateur now!

Over the past month I've been doing an internship with a video game company in Wales where I've been helping them to write the script for a new sci-fi adventure game. My internship came to an end last week and I've been offered a job, starting in January, to work for the company as a Game Writer! I'm so excited - it's very rare to come out of a Creative Writing MA and be able to walk into a writing job, so I'm incredibly lucky and thankful.

On the 11th October, a day after my birthday, we welcomed a new person into our family when my older sister gave birth to her third child, Neive Autumn. We went up north to visit them at the weekend and she's absolutely gorgeous. She's such a good baby; she never cries, she just snuggles up and sleeps, and if she wants to let you know that she's hungry she tends to just start sucking on your shoulder. She has loads of dark hair and she's just adorable. I could eat her up.



So what's new with you?

Reading Wrap Up | March 2014

It's the end of another month and time for another Reading Wrap Up! I didn't get anywhere near as much reading done this month as I had hoped, and what's worse aside from Dark Triumph, which I was already half way through, I didn't read a single book from the pile I'd hoped to read in March. Oops!

(I did try and carry on with A Discovery of Witches, but I just couldn't get into it - I'll have to try again later!)

I wrote a lot more than I read this month, which isn't a bad thing at all, I'd just hoped to do some more reading before the start of Camp NaNoWriMo tomorrow!

Anyway, here are the books I read this month:

Dark Triumph

by Robin LaFevers

My Rating: 

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...

After I finished Grave Mercy last month I jumped straight into the sequel, and I loved it! Dark Triumph felt a lot more sinister than Grave Mercy did, which I think is why I enjoyed it a little more; as much as I enjoyed Grave Mercy, there were places in which it felt a little too fluffy for a book about assassins.

If you haven't checked out this series yet and you're a lover of YA, Historical Fiction or assassins then I highly recommend it! I can't wait for the release of Mortal Heart later this year.

Year of Wonders

by Geraldine Brooks

My Rating: 

Spring 1666: when the Great Plague reaches the quiet Derbyshire village of Eyam, the villagers make an extraordinary decision. They elect to isolate themselves in a fateful quarantine. So begins the Year of Wonders, seen through eighteen-year-old Anna Frith’s eyes as she confronts the loss of her family, the disintegration of her community, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit love. Based on a true story, this novel explores love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggles of seventeenth-century science and religion to interpret the world at the cusp of the modern era.

Once I was done with Dark Triumph I finally continued reading Year of Wonders, which I actually started back in February. This is the perfect read for people who like a slow-burning novel. Personally I thought this novel was gorgeous, and that's all I'm going to say about it. As I mentioned on Friday I'm going to be posting a lot of book reviews during April, and this is one of the books I'll be reviewing, so check back for that if you're interested in hearing my thoughts on it!

Strands of Bronze and Gold

by Jane Nickerson

My Rating: 

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

This book was actually one of the books I'd hoped to read in February, but I didn't get around to it until this month. I love a good retelling so I was looking forward to this read, and I liked it! Like Year of Wonders, however, I'm not going to say too much about it because I'll be reviewing it next month!

And now I leave you for a month with my scheduled reviews, though I will be checking in every Wednesday for a What's Up Wednesday post. Best of luck to anyone else who is taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo from tomorrow!

J.

Camp NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo is one of those events that I want to try each year, and yet each year I either try and fail utterly or something comes up that prevents me from taking part.

I hoped to take part in NaNoWriMo last year, but in November I was only a month into my Creative Writing MA and I just couldn't bring myself to start working on two projects at once. One of the main reasons I chose to do my MA is because I used to find it incredibly difficult to focus on just one project at a time, so starting my academic year writing two novels at once wasn't a good idea.

Last year I also had a go at Camp NaNoWriMo in July. I thought Camp NaNoWriMo would be ideal for me because it came at a point in the year when I wasn't busy. In fact in July I finished my undergraduate degree and graduated!

... And graduation ended up being my downfall. That and many other things. I hadn't really planned anything specific for Camp NaNoWriMo - in fact I'd love to go back to the novel I started working on in future because the idea has changed a bit since then and I'm still eager to write it.

I ended up spending a week of July away from home, visiting family and friends and graduating, and during that time I just couldn't find the time to write every day. Not much of an excuse, I know, but I couldn't just whip my laptop out and start typing when I was in the middle of a conversation with my sister or my brother-in-law!

One thing I did love about Camp NaNoWriMo, though, was the choice people had in regards to their wordcount. Writers could attempt 50,000 words or 5,000 words, anything that made them feel accomplished and helped them to write more.

Personally I'm fairly certain that I couldn't write a novel in a month - not even an incredibly rough draft - but I think I could write a novella, and I have an idea for one! So this year I'm thinking of giving Camp NaNoWriMo another try.

Rather than July, however, I'm thinking of taking part in April, over the course of my Easter holiday. By the time July comes around I'll be done with all of my seminars, but I'm going to need all of summer to hopefully finish my current WIP and then pick the best extracts, edit them and put them together for my portfolio at the end of August/beginning of September.

Are any of you taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo this year? What are your thoughts on the event?

See you next week! J.