Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Goodbye July

Obviously the pressures of life have cured me of the need to post wrap-ups on the last day of every month. I hung out with my family this week instead :)



Life


First came Camp NaNoWriMo. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hit my 30K word goal! I had some very awesome people in my cabin (you know who you are) and really valued getting to know them all better. I have such amazing internet friends! I would not have hit my goal without them :) I'll hopefully have a whole post in detail at some point.

My family went out of town for the 4th of July as usual. We spent the 3rd hanging out with even the most distant of epic cousins and shooting fireworks off a dock over Eagle Mountain Lake. Thank goodness there were very few mosquitoes, and it was hot enough that nobody was outside for too long. The same thing happened last year, so we came prepared with Scrabble this time and at least 8 of us were playing at once . . . on a bed. Yeah, that's how it goes around the two room lake house ;)

The next weekend my wonderful mother drove me to Tyler for a writer's conference. I've already managed a post about this one. It was so refreshing and encouraging. Besides all the lessons I mentioned in my post, I also learned that it's never too late to begin writing. I have actually felt like I could/should have started earlier before. I mean, I've always written. So why didn't I try to finish something sooner?! But I shared the room with primarily senior adults, so it was a cool experience. I may have to reread my notes to get some energy for the great editing project that awaits me :) As part of this trip, I got to meet my pen pal again and do lots of catching up. Late nights, Barnes & Noble, DSW, going to church with her. It was all super awesome. And her mom makes incredible food.

I'm taking guitar lessons! I tried once years ago, but my grandfather bought guitars for the kiddos 10+ and is giving us lessons every week. We just had our second lesson, and it's been so much fun for all of us to figure it out together. In some ways, it's so much easier than piano (duh, chords). But playing individual notes is so much harder! But I'm loving it nonetheless. Even if it does kill my fingers, making typing painful.

I won a giveaway this month! This was my first time to ever win . . . anything, really :P That sounds silly, but from birthday parties to drawings, I've never won anything except spam. So this was super exciting. Check out the goodies from Cara Putman!



On a random note, it rained (what?!) which was great relief from the 100+ heat index. Our front courtyard was so much perkier after the deluge! And I also got contacts. I'm still adjusting, but I'm sick of wearing glasses, and my eyes show no signs of improving! Besides, I want to be able to wear sunglasses when I drive :) My littlest brother also turned two and totally soaked up the attention like he was special or something.

Words

~Vocabulary~

chanterelle ~ noun: an edible woodland mushroom with a yellow funnel-shaped cap and a faint smell of apricots, found in both Eurasia and North America.

Is that word not awesome?! It was new to me in July and I adore it! It is a goal of mind to smell one of these at some point ^.^ If there were other words new to me this month I failed to record them.

~Quotes~





That first one isn't from a book (that I know of), I just love what it says about books :) 

Books

~Cover to Cover: 3~

Purple Moon by Tessa Emily Hall
A Solitary Romance by Violet Sparks
Where Do I Start by Molly Evangeline

~Middle to End: 1~

Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

~Front to Middle: 2~

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Lousia May Alcott

Writings

~Words: 30,010~

Editing was on hold for this month. So I did Camp NaNo and wrote an entire short story. I also hit my word goal, which was 30K.

~Chapters: 6~ 

My short story I believe is going to consist of chapters and a prologue. It's all written, I just haven't divided it up yet. I was surprised when I heard people write this way, but it worked really well.

~Progress Update: 100%

I finished the entire story!! This was a secondary goal and I had no feel for how long it was going to end up being. I hoped it would end under 40K and lo and behold, it did. It feels so great to have written something that fast. Quality can come later.

~Biggest Problem: Life~

What, I can't just whole away and write 30K? I can't just wave my hands and my novel will be edited? Lies!

Blogs

~Followers: 53~

That's +6 without any effort on my part. It's so nice to see people joining the crowd ;)

~Views: 12,234~

That's +2K. What? That's so cool to me. I mean I know I post a lot, but still. Two thousand views in a month? Not bad, you guys. Thanks :)

Goals

My July goals were:

1~ Edit for myself and others
I did spend some time reading through my first 3 chapters again and formign a checklist. And I kept up with Gloria's story.
2~ Read 3 books
I actually had no idea that I hit this. Thank goodness Goodreads is keeping track of my reading life XD
3~ Win Camp NaNoWriMo
CHECK! I'm so proud of this ^.^
4~ Go to a writer's conference
Totally happened. And I wrote an entire post on it here.
5~ Remember to post at least once a week
Doubled!

My August goals are:

1~ Completely edit my novel
Ambitious? Yes. But it must be done!!! That averages out to about a chapter a day. Or more D:
2~ Complete Jesseca's "A Question of Honor"
I'm really enjoying this story so far, and I want to knock it out before September comes. Because I have no idea what it's bringing.
3~ Read 3 books (cover to cover)
I'm doing a Twitter Readathon and have pledged two books while it runs this weekend. So I should be able to reach this, especially since I just got 5 library books.
4~ Share a bad review
People only ever share good review on blogs. The bad ones just go on Goodreads. So I'm gonna share a more negative review on Thursday :)
5~ Do a Camp NaNo post
You all want to hear about my ventures, right?

~~~~~

Did in rain in July for you? Did you win Camp NaNo? Has school begun for you? Have you ever read An Old-Fashioned Girl? I highly recommend it! I'm learning so much, even on my 5th read :) I hope your Julys treated you kindly and August doesn't cook you!

21 comments:

  1. Congratulations on NaNo!!! And I LOVE those quotes! I'm such a quote nerd.

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    1. Thank yooooou! I'm still so happy about that ^.^

      Haha, a quote nerd. That is totally a thing now!

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  2. Yes, I do believe it did rain here. Almost unheard of for a Texas July, am I right?!

    Congrats on winning Camp! Unfortunately for me, life got in the way of my Camp project (that, and the fact that the majority of my school is on my laptop so by the time I have empty time I have nil motivation to write).

    I haven't read "An Old-Fashioned Girl," but I've heard that it's good.

    Hopefully August doesn't run me over like July did. The real break will come in September.

    Definitely do a Camp post! Good luck on editing!

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    1. You are definitely right!! Glad it spread all the way to your house :D

      Thanks! Ugh, I know how that goes. I put life on hold and now it's beating me up for it. But the Olympics are my excuse right now ;)

      I will! . . . eventually. :P Thank you :) You can make it to September!!!

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  3. Wow, Abi, your month was busy! How exciting! Contacts are wonderful once you get used to them. I hardly ever wear my glasses anymore since I got contacts. But I must say, glasses look very good on you. And you're so pretty! :)

    And CONGRATS on finishing your second novel! How does it feel? And when do I get to read it? ;-) (I'm so selfish... *sheepish grin* ) Good luck with your editing this month. You can do it. :)

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    1. Heheh, yeah, but what else is new? That's good to hear! It has taken me a while to adjust, but I am loving them now!! Oh my goodness, you're so sweet! *blush*

      Thank you! It feels amazing!! I suppose I could send it to you now if you'd like, but I'm warning you, I'm not even sure it's coherent XD I mean I think it is? I dunno. I'm shelfing the draft though, so if you want to read it anytime soon and are brave enough, I don't mind sending it to you :)

      Thanks, heheh. It's going fairly well so far. Just gotta peel myself away from the Olympics XD

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  4. It sounds like you had an awesome month!!
    Congrats on finishing NaNo! That is so exciting an your story sounds so awesome!
    I have to say I completely forgot about NaNo last month...or I wouldn't have sent you my story last month. Soooo sorry about that.
    I'm looking forward to your camp NaNo post!!! I always love hearing how NaNo has gone for others! :)

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    1. It was awesome! Crazy. But awesome :)

      Thanks you, I'm glad it appeals! I was surprised to find there was nothing quite like it on the market. Guess that means I'd better not shelf it for too long, huh?

      Oh, no worries! I can never have too much writerly/editorly stuffs in my life :D That way I can do one as a "break" from the other and still feel productive!

      Oh good! It's one of those things that EVERYONE posts, but if you guys will enjoy it, I will calculate my stats tonight :)

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  5. You know, we actually have found chantrelle mushrooms in our own woods before! And they do NOT, I repeat, they do NOT smell like apricots! What even?!
    Anyways, I'm so excited that you got past your word goal! I was cheering you on the whole time...whether I commented in the cabin or not. ^_^ <3 I knew you could do it! *high five*
    If you have time, I'm looking for readers for my book "The Princess & I". Would you be interested? No pressure, I totally get it if you're already swamped. I know the feeling. ;)

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    1. *is so jealous* Whaaaaaaat?! Google lies -_-

      Thank you!! I'm so glad you were able to join us, because that was super fun :D *high fives you back* You totally smashed your word goal!

      I would love to read your book! It might be better for me if I waited till September to read it, but if you need it started sooner, I can manage that. Seriously, all it means is sacrificing a little sleep which I am all too willing to do :D

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  6. so awesome!! I got to 30k as well, although, I'm only halfway through my novel. Hoping for around 50-60k. :D :D

    is your book finished from nano? xD

    sarah » the introverted extrovert

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    1. Good for you!! Halfway is still a great milestone! I would not have finished a manuscript had I not been going for a short story ;)

      So, yes, I finished an entire short story (Andora's Folly) start to finish with Camp NaNo. But my novel that I'm trying to get published got no attention or service from that little excursion :)

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  7. Your 4th of July celebration sounds like so much fun! My family and our next-door neighbors set of tiny street fireworks, but it was still a lot of fun. :D

    YAY FOR REACHING YOUR CAMP NANO GOAL! You should be really proud of 30k. o.o I seriously DON'T know how those others manage to do 50k+, but... yeah. :P My goal was 20k.

    So neat that you went to a writer's conference! I really want to go to Realm Makers one day, or any other type of fantasy-writer's conference. *crosses fingers*

    Guitar! I love it. <3 I'm not THAT wonderful at it yet, but I am dutifully practicing... er, was. Now I'm on a move. But my dad brought out his guitar, and I've tried practicing more now, move or no move. Let me just say this - the callouses I had before are no longer there. :P But YES, I agree with you that individual notes are much harder. Frustrating, at times, even though lots of chords are easy. (well, excluding bar chords...)

    RAIN. It never really rains in Nevada, but now that we're on the road to Alabama... I'm really hoping it's going to rain a lot more. *is obsessed with rain* ;)

    Hope you have a good August! :D

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    1. It was fun! Even street fireworks count for something :)

      Thanks!! Congrats to you, too! 20K is an admirable goal! ^.^

      Ooh, I'm looking at going to Realm Makers next year. I don't know if it will work out, but a local author friend of mine goes and wants to take me next year. It would be so cool to meet you there!! I think it's in Nevada this time (since you're moving away of course).

      Yeeep, trying to keep up my callouses. I only practiced twice last week XD But I do enjoy it when I take the time. I've conquered the E and B string individual note songs. So now it's the C and G cords that my fingers don't want to cooperate on XD

      *is obsessed with rain also* I hope you find more in Alabama!!! I hope you have a great August as well! :D

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  8. Going to a writer's conference sounds like such fun, great quotes!

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    1. Yes, it was one of the best things I've done! Thanks! Pinterest, of course ;)

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  9. You did so much this much! I should start focusing more on my goals xD

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    1. I guess so, haha! In hindsight all it feels like I did was write. But I guess this post proves otherwise :) I've gotten bad about making sure I'm actually going to hit the goals I've set of late, so no worries XD

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  10. OHMYGOODNESS. I WROTE 30,010 WORDS TOO!!! XD Your retelling sounds fabulous! Great post! :)

    *can think of nothing else to say*

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    1. What, no way!!! That is so awesome XD Thank you! What did you write on?

      Hehe, no worries. I know the feeling XD

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  11. Sounds like you had a full (possibly more productive than mine) July as well! Congratulations on Camp NaNo. I'll really have to try that someday...
    Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store for you!

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