This week I'm back to participating in WUW after taking a week out last week, purely because last week was so boring there was nothing worth sharing with all of you lovely people!
What I'm Reading
After a horrible slump brought on by a sudden onslaught of uni work, this week I've slowly started to get back into reading. On Monday I read Polly Bloom's Old Wives' Lore: A Book of Old-Fashioned Tips & Remedies, which is a little non-fiction book that does what it says on the tin. It probably sounds like a bit of an odd read, but for someone who's currently writing a novel about a woman who works as a healer this book was actually full of some pretty useful information. Not to mention it taught me that haemorrhoids may have played a part in the outcome of the Battle of the Waterloo...
I'm hoping I'll get back into Mira Grant's Deadline this week as I haven't continued with it for over two weeks now! It's not the book's fault at all, I'm loving the Newsflesh trilogy, uni just got on top of me for a while and every time I considered reading for fun I felt as though I wasn't allowed. It's not a good feeling.
What I'm Writing
This week I'm actually going to be having a go at writing one of the climactic scenes of my WIP, which seems a little crazy considering I'm not there yet in terms of where I am in the draft. Not only have I been advised to include one of the climactic scenes in my portfolio for my MA, but recently I've been really stressed (thus my lack of reading etc.) and it made me fall out of love with my WIP. My wonderful coursemates have made me start to fall in love with the idea again, and I think writing one of the scenes I'm really excited to write will help me to write the rest of the novel, too!
I'm also working on a steampunk short story, in which a middle-aged librarian mistakenly sets an assassin on himself, which has been lying around unfinished for far too long!
What Inspires Me Right Now
The other writers on my MA course - they're amazing!
What Else I've Been Up To
Today one of my friends turns 24, so we're spending the day in town looking at all the pretty things we can't afford before a group of us go out for some Thai food this evening - I'm really excited for a stir-fry!
I haven't been up to too much this past week, other than stressing about the future as I so often do - there's something so uneasy about being in your 20's and having no idea where you might be a year from now, but when the thought of life after uni isn't making me want to be a bit sick it's pretty exciting. I just hope I can find a job I can dive straight into; the last thing I want is to be moping around in unemployment.
Other than that, I've started watching the second season of Orphan Black, and I've been incredibly excited since I discovered that Marissa Meyer will be releasing a new book, Fairest, in January, which will delve into the backstory of Levana. You can find out more about it here!
What have you been up to?
Orphan Black is one of the best shows on right now. I love it :D
ReplyDeleteI'm in my 20s and I've never known a damn thing about where I'm going. You kinda get used to it after a while. It's all an adventure ^_^
Have a wonderful week. Your steampunk idea sounds amazing, by the way!
It's a brilliant show, isn't it? :)
DeleteHaha, I don't think any of us really know where we're going, but I suppose that's part of the fun!
Thank you! ^_^ You have a lovely week, too!
Yep, I remember that feeling from uni all too well! Glad to hear you're getting back into your WIP. I know some other writers who write scenes out of order and it seems to work for them! :)
ReplyDeleteYour short story sounds really intriguing! Sets an assassin on himself? Heh.
I'm excited for Marissa Meyer's new book! Even if it means waiting longer for WINTER. I just love the series!
It's been a while since I wrote any short fiction, so I figured I might as well get back into it by writing something bizarre! ;)
DeleteThe weird thing is when I first heard Winter was coming out in Winter 2015, I immediately assumed November/December time rather than February, so it feels kind of weird that it has been pushed back after all!
It's really a trip to read about old-fashioned remedies. People in the past used some really scary things, even for children, like bichloride of mercury, cocaine, aluminium, and heroin. It's even scarier to read about surgical procedures and extreme medical interventions, like craniotomy hooks for babies who got stuck pre-C-section.
ReplyDeleteYou know what? I write out of order all the time. Veronica Roth, author of DIVERGENT, said once that when she sits down to write she takes a look at her outline and writes what she's in the mood to write on that particular day, wherever it falls in her story. I decided to write that way, and it *really* worked for me! And the funny thing is, I managed to get into every scene that needed to be written. So, hey, all of that to say that if you want to write the climax, write the climax! It just might be the very thing that gets you excited about your WiP again, and there's nothing bad about that! Hope you have a wonderful week, writing- and otherwise! :D
ReplyDeleteI think every now and then I need to remind myself that I'm supposed to enjoy writing my novel as much as readers would hopefully enjoy it if I were to get it published! I definitely want to get into the habit of writing the scenes I feel like writing and then going back, putting everything in order and doing a mass edit later - I wonder how much more I'd get done!
DeleteThanks, you too! :)
I understand about being too stressed to work on a wip. Lately, I have been feeling down about a few things and it caused me to distance myself away from my current project for a little bit. I'm glad you had people to help you fall in love with your wip again.
ReplyDeleteI'm turning 20 in a few days and though I still have two years left of undergraduate school, I think about where I'm going to be after I graduate all the time. It's a scary excited thing and while I like to think I have a plan, not knowing if things will work out the way I want them to really scares me.
I hear so much about Orphan Black on twitter because a lot of people I follow watch it and I really wanted to jump on the bandwagon but I don't need another show to get addicted to haha.
I hope you have a fantastic week!
Oh dear, I hope you feel better and get back into your project soon!
DeleteEnjoy the rest of your undergraduate study - I can't believe how quickly mine flew by. The future's scary, but everyone has the potential to be fantastic whether things work out the way we thought they would or not. :)
Haha, I don't tend to watch too many shows - in fact now that Hannibal and Game of Thrones have finished Orphan Black's the only one, though I'd like to watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand soon!
Thank you, you too!
Oprhan Black? I've never heard of it! I'd better go look it up...
ReplyDeleteOh and I love Thai!
I say work on whatever part of your story keeps you motivated. I'm glad to hear you've fallen back in love with your WIP and that your classmates have been instrumental in that. Sounds like you have a good writing support network!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy that delicious Thai stirfy tonight (yum!) and I hope the writing goes well this week! Your steampunk story sounds so fun!
It's so hard to stay in love with your manuscript, all the time. Especially when you get into the middle, and with everything else going on, it feels like trudging through mud sometimes. I'm glad you found that spark again though, and I hope you can keep it up :) It can be scary having an unknown future (I'm in the exact same position as far as school and my future) but I try to look at it as positive! I have limitless possibilities :) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteOrphan Black is brilliant!! :) Also, I'm so glad your course people have helped you fall in love with your WIP again. It's always sad when you don't love the idea anymore.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I get you on the uneasiness of being in your 20s. I'm actually fast approaching the end of my 20s (how??) and I still feel untethered. But for all the uncertainty, there's a lot of great, fun stuff happening too. So don't worry too much! We're all more or less in the same boat, I think.
Thanks for the legging love. ;) Have fun with your friends tonight!