Saturday, September 3, 2016

Goodbye August

Well that month passed much faster than it needed to! Welcome to September :)

Life


The Olympics. *happy sigh* You may have seen a lot of things on Twitter about them and I have no regrets. I can't even tell you how much I love Olympics. And I think I've decided that I like summer better than winter. You just can't beat swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball. Which is good, because that's basically all that was aired this year xD Figure skating is the only thing that comes close :) And our women's gymnastics and beach volleyball teams are some of my favorites. So I thoroughly enjoyed that lovely excuse for procrastination ;)

Well, it was August. That word invokes sweltering heat with absolutely no moisture. Not so!!! This year we only broke 100° for about a week and then . . . right before my birthday: RAIN!!! It has rained off and on for the last two weeks of August, significantly lowering the temperatures. I was so excited!! I don't think you understand how much it means to have my favorite sort of weather on my birthday :D


Obviously, my birthday happened, too! I turned 18, which meant that after a full day of gift shopping (I got new makeup, typewriterly stamps, awesome clothes, a great movie, a laptop bag, an orchid, and money) I was faced with registering to vote and renewing my permit.


After I renewed my permit, Mom made me order at Starbucks. In the drive-thru! I don't think you understand how much drive-thrus scare me. It had no turns, which is the only reason I agreed to do it. But talking to people through a speaker is almost as bad as talking to people on the phone AKA an irrational fear of mine!! But I had a frappuccino at the end of it all, so it was okay :)

Then my big piece of news: I hired an editor!! I decided to go ahead and check into October dates since September is devoted to my betas and I found one lovely, Christian editor with extremely reasonable pricing and flexibility. I am so thrilled to have that squared away satisfactorily. And since she's not available until late October, that gives me plenty of time to square away this lovely editing thing. :)

Words


~Vocabulary~

lam ~ verb: hit someone hard; attack

marquee ~ noun: American: a rooflike projection over the entrance to a theater, hotel, or other building. British: a large tent used for social or commercial functions.

cathartic ~ adjective: providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis; chiefly (of a drug) purgative.

~Quotes~

"Soldiers are humans in a pressure cooker."

"I take pleasure in pointing out the bright sides to Molly, because when I do, I remind myself they exist."

"'It's just . . . if I can't be a hero in my own life, maybe I can be one in someone else's.'"

~ Terri Blackstock, If I Run

"Some things you cannot wish away or think away. They become part of you when you remember them." ~ Alice Hoffman, Incantation

"One of the greatest things in human life is the ability to make plans. Even if they never come true-the joy of anticipating is irrevocably yours. That way one can live many more than just one life." ~ Maria Augusta von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers


Books


~Cover to Cover: 2~

If I Run by Terri Blackstock
Incantation by Alice Hoffman

~Middle to End: 2~

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

~Front to Middle: 2~

Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debbi Jones
Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
(had to return this one to my library before I finished :( )


Writings


~Words: -----~

Words? What are words? I began a short story and that's around 1,500 words. And I edited 16 chapters of my story. So I don't really have a number for you because  that's how lazy I am xD

~Chapters: 16~ 

Again, I edited 16 chapters of my novels because IT'S GOING TO BETAS!

~Progress Update: 50%

The other half that I'm supposed to be editing? It's going, too, I just . . . yeah. Betas may not get the second half until the second half of September. Hehe. Sorry guys.

~Biggest Problem: Olympics~

In other words, distractions xD I am in a major reading/writing/editing slump and I'm going to have to heave myself out of it. Having my betas zipping through my book should be motivation, right? ;)


Blogs


~Followers: 59~

That's +6 again without any effort on my part. Thank you guys!

~Views: 14,493 ~

I think I'm the first one to care about this sort of thing, but I love this stat! :)


Goals


My August goals were:

1~ Completely edit my novel
Weeeeeell, the Olympics got in the way of this. Major time. I totally did not figure them in.
2~ Complete Jesseca's "A Question of Honor"
I forgot this was one of my goals, and I'm only about halfway through :( But I'm loving it and told her I would finish in two weeks :)
3~ Read 3 books (cover to cover)
I did a Twitter Readathon and pledged two books while it ran this weekend. Those were the only two I managed cover to cover, but I got to a lot else! Hehe . . .
4~ Share a bad review
So it wasn't tooooo bad, but it was a low amount of mushrooms :) You can read it here.
5~ Do a Camp NaNo post
Check! This one was super fun. You can read it here.

My September goals are:

1~ Have fun with beta readers
I am so excited about this!!! I have 16, I think? We'll see what happens :D
2~ Complete Jesseca's "A Question of Honor"
Again :)
3~ Figure out Martin Hospitality's cover design
This is the one thing I don't have ironed out yet.
4~ Do a vlog
*screams* I love these, but videos scare me so much. Ivy Rose has tagged me for a link-up now, so it's gonna happen. I'm accepting questions! (I'll emphasize this in a later post).
5~ Figure out how to install a "Tweet this" link
Putting this on my to-do list means it will get done, right?

~~~~~

Did your August FLY?! Did you watch the Olympics? Did it rain for you? What are you looking forward to this fall?

27 comments:

  1. I loved our Twitter chats about beach volleyball:)

    18- that's so exciting, oh my goodness!! Happy birthday again:)

    Oh my goodness, I would be terrified ordering in the drive-through. But hey, getting a frappuccino out of it makes it almost worth it;)

    YAY BETAS!!! I'm three chapters in and absolutely loving it, Abi. So excited to be beta-ing! <3

    Psh, you're not the first one to worry about pageviews;) I watch mine like a hawk! Your blog is seriously doing so well, oh my goodness!

    YOU'RE DOING A VLOG??? YAY! Literally so excited now, eep!


    Have a wonderful September!

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    1. YES! Those were awesome ^.^

      Thank you! It still feels a little surreal to be that old ;) Right?! The drive-thru was petrifying. But it was really rather flawless, so I feel better about that now. xD

      THANK YOU! I'm so glad to see you all enjoying it (and giving me instructive feedback!). It's been so much fun so far :D

      Haha, glad I'm not alone! Thanks! I try not to compare too much, but I am beyond satisfied with its stats :)

      Hopefully! Just gotta get over my fear of video and get my dad's permission. Mom said yes, so surely he will too, right? ;)

      Thanks, you too, Grace :D

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  2. YES! The Olympics were super distracting. I mean, how could I write while people were having fun winning medals for the USA?!

    It sounds like you had an awesome month! I'm so excited for your book to come out! I can't wait to see the cover!

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    1. EXACTLY!! Every time I watch, I am more amazed by what humans can do. It's incredible. /I/ can't do any of it, but that's okay ;) (No, seriously. Like not a somersault, doggy paddle, or bike ride.)

      I did! I'm glad you're so excited!! <3 Got a friend on the cover today, so hoooopefully all will work out ;)

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  3. Oh, sounds like you had an awesome August! Happy 18th! Such a big number. If I had a blog, I would love to do a vlog. I'm super excited for that now. (no pressure;) XD
    This whole year seemed to fly by super fast, and we are now super super busy.
    (yeah I found your blog so yay!!)

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    1. I did, thank you :) I'm excited about a vlog, but I was testing laptop versus phone video quality earlier. 0.0 It's gonna be really hard to talk to a screen with my face on it xD Probably should have gotten Dad's approval before I included it in my goal list, but Mom's okay with it so hoooopefully we're good to go ;)

      I know! I feel like I've been trying to play catch-up this entire. year. What even? NOT OKAY! Glad to know it's not just me though ;)

      Haha, yay! You made my 60th follower. *cheers*

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    2. I was wondering kind of the same thing. Laptop doesn't have great quality I don't think though.
      Haha!
      Cool! *claps for you*

      Delete
  4. HAPPY 18TH!! And yes the Olympics were definitely one of the highlights of my month :D August was such a quick month, where did it go? No one will no. YAY BETA-ING I have to get started on reading the book I'm so excited i just haven't found the time oh no

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    1. Thank you! :) Yes, I forgot to count on their disastrous effect on my life xD I don't know, it's gone! And we're already a week into September! *dies* No worries, you'll be awesome :D

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  5. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABI!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day! :)
    The Olympics were so fun! I spent (wasted) more than one day watching them. ;)#SimoneBilesisAwesome!

    That is so awesome about your editor! I wish I could of been a beta reader, but I didn't think I would have been that much of a help. :P I CANNOT wait to read it though! So excited!!!! :D
    God bless!

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    1. Thank you, it was wonderful :)

      I know!! I was so addicted to the Olympics this year XD And yes, Simone Biles!! <3 What else is there to say?

      Thank you! I'm very excited to wrap things up for and with her :D Aw, that's okay. But I'm sure you would have had good tips and observations ;) I'm so excited /you're/ excited!!! Gotta schedule out all the tiny details before I forget something xD

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  6. Oh, and you should totally do a vlog!!!! That would be so fun! :D

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    1. I would really love to!!!! My mom's okay with it, but my dad hasn't agreed yet XD *crosses fingers*

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  7. I nominated you for the Wisteria Writer's Award!

    xoxo Morning
    http://theworldthroughmywindowsill.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-wisteria-writers-tag.html

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    1. Oh awesome! Your questions are phenomenal! I'll have to work this in :D

      Delete
  8. Wow, what an eventful August for you! :D Sounds like fun, and congrats on officially being an adult! o.o

    My August FLEW. Moving and settling in while diving right into school can do that to my mind. xD I REALLY WISH ALL THESE MONTHS WEREN'T FLYING, but my life is passing me by, and I am powerless to slow it down. I just can't words about it. xP

    I DID WATCH THE OLYMPICS! They are the best thing of ever, and I was so sad when they were over. :(

    It did rain a lot! Well, now that we've moved away from Nevada where it hardly ever rains... we've had to get used to quite a bit of moisture and humidity and bugs! :P But there has been quite a bit of rain, which I love so much. <3

    What am I looking forward to in the fall? I'm just looking forward to fall itself so I can cozy up with sweaters and fuzzy socks with books and writing and hot cocoa. <3 Come soon, autumn!

    I hope September doesn't fly by, for the sake of both of us and probably almost every other peep out there. ;) Hope you have a good one!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yeah, no kidding! Thanks o.o

      It's no wonder /your/ August flew! How are you liking the new state? Rain is such a plus, but unfortunately it does bring humidity and bugs :( Not my favorite.

      So glad you love the Olympics as much as I do! I couldn't believe how addicted I was this year xD

      ME TOO! I just want sweaters and boots and a need for blankets xD I would move somewhere with an eternal fall in a heartbeat.

      Ugh, yes. SLOW DOWN SEPTEMBER! Thanks, you too :D

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  9. My August absolutely flew by and no, I sadly didn't get a chance to watch the Olympics while working at camp, lol. However, I am happy that you enjoyed them so much and got to use them as an excuse to procrastinate. XD And that you got rainy weather for your birthday! Summer birthdays FTW!
    So exciting that you found an editor and with such good timing, would you mind telling me where you found said person? I'm kind of half in the market as well... :P

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    1. I know! *whoosh* There goes August >.> Bummer you couldn't watch the Olympics at all (but Canada did pretty well). ;) I hope your camp was/is fun!

      *fist bump* Yes, it really paid off, having a summer birthday this year :D

      I know!! I was so thrilled. Sure, I don't think she'll mind the publicity. Her website is http://kelseybryantauthor.weebly.com/editing.html She seems really great and hopefully everything will go smoothly! *screams quietly*

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  10. Oh, happy, happy birthday to you, Abigayle!! I’ve always dreamed of being 18 ;)

    How are you finding An Old Fashioned Girl? It’s one of my favourite Louisa May Alcott books :)

    Okay, so I had a bad feeling about this for awhile, but I wasn't too sure. Have you sent the copies of your story out already for beta reading? I signed up, but I haven't gotten an email from you yet, so I don't know if I entered my email address in wrong?

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    1. Thank you! Oh my goodness, I LOVE "An Old-Fashioned Girl"! It's so incredible. Probably ties with "The Scarlet Pimpernel" as my favorite book ever *sigh* I've read it so many times and I get something new out of it every time ^.^

      Uh-oh. I have sent the chapters I have finished editing out already (19/33). But only a couple people have actually read them all and some still haven't begun. I messaged you through your blog, so I'll get them to you once you reply :)

      Delete
  11. Ahh hasn't all this rain just been amazing? Congrats on hiring an editor!! Big step but you're totally ready for it :)

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    1. Yes!!! I love it so much ^.^ Thank you! I think I'll be ready after my thorough betas :) It's exciting and scary at the same time!!!

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  12. I freak out in drive throughs too they are so nerve wracking.

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    1. Yes! It wasn't as bad as I thought, but the girl was easy to understand. I hate when you can't understand them or vice versa. It goes along with my fear of talking on the phone D: Having to decide what to get only adds more pressure O.O

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  13. August was more relaxing in some parts and more stressful for me in other parts haha. I'm glad you got some writing progress in despite distractions! Happy September! Great visiting your blog!

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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  14. August went by waay to quickly :( But at least it wasn't a complete waste for me :P Belated Birthday Wishes and congrats on finding an editor!

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