Summer Reading + Writing Bucket List

I have a whole list of blog posts to write on my phone at the moment. I looked at the list several times this week and none of the posts spoke to me. So due to procrastinating and seeing Audrey Caylin's blog post in my inbox this morning, I'm going to do something different on the fly here. Prepare to see my summer TBR, writing plans, and how I'm doing on my year's goals!

As I've mentioned before, my newsletter is the main place where I keep you guys updated with life and all the little things going into my reading, writing, editing, etc. Mainly because it's hard to fit all of that in here and feel like I'm doing a good job including you all.

But every now and then I can't help but post on some of what's up. I'm sure you don't mind. ;)

Summer TBR

Since I'm quite the list-maker, I was working on a Summer TBR the other day. Of course, it's ridiculously long. I've decided as a working high school graduate that getting more time to read in the summer is a myth. I'm going to have to make more time. Thankfully my reading accountability partner Lisa has been good at keeping up with me.

Here's what I've got on my list so far (in no particular order):

• War of Loyalties by Schuyler McConkey // I own it and it's beautiful and she needs more reviews but it's so long I haven't delved in yet. I can't wait!!!
• Where the Woods Grow Wild by Nate Philbrick // Nate's hilarious and his book is awesome. Life happened and I never finished it. I'm thinking it's a good read-aloud-to-the-brothers option.
• Out of Time Series by Nadine Brandes // Yes, I've already read this, but it is time to soak it all up again and to expose the siblings!
• Something by Flannery O' Connor // I talked about this with my pastor's wife because we're both trying to read more classics right now.
• Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore // In progress and loving it.
• Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge // On loan from Kelsey Bryant.)=
• Tarzan by Edward Rice Burroughs // Because I've owned a pretty volume of it from Barnes & Noble for a year now and it will give me an excuse to watch the new movie again.
• The Irresistible Novel by Jeff Gerke // Jeff has an excellent sense of humor and I've heard such good things about this book!
• book club // This will be two more books that haven't been chosen quite yet.

12 isn't excessive, right? I cherrypicked these hoping to not bog myself down but fly through some really great reads! What are you trying to read over the summer?

Writing Plans

These change all the time. And even though I'm back to making good headway on Martin Crossroads, I have two other story ideas that will. not. leave me alone. No matter how nicely I ask!! So I'm obstinately refusing to give them any writing time like a good, focused writer. :P

Here's what I'm hoping for:

• a freebie for my end-of-June newsletter peeps. You hear that? You're gonna want to be subscribed to receive this! I'd been struggling on what to include, but I had a breakthrough the other day and it's now awaiting the feedback of my critique partner, Ivy. It's an understatement to say I'm excited. :D
• something fun for Andora's Folly turning one in July. If you have any ideas or things you'd like to see, let me know! I've got two ideas I'm hoping to make happen at the moment. :) I'll also be doing Camp NaNo again this month (woohoo!).
• the Self-Editing Checklist in August. Remember when I shared my Self-Publishing Checklist? I really want to do one as an editor to give writers some tips and such that I share when I edit for people. Whoever your editor is will thank you for knowing some things in advance! This will probably be shared in a blog post so everyone has access and be kind of a promotional thing for my editing services I suppose.
• a complete first draft of Martin Crossroads by the end of September. I'm currently at 40k and aiming for 100k, so this should be feasible if I don't drop the ball! (August is my true goal but I'm guessing the summer will explode on me.)

There. That's nice to have down on paper for my own sake. What are your summery writing plans?

2018 Goal Progress

*hides* I'm so bad at checking my goals that I was a little worried for this bit. Here's how I'm doing.

• memorize 10 items // I memorized a lot of music for choir??? No? Okay ...
• publish something // Maybe I can do a Christmassy short story or something as I'm holding off Behind the Act for traditional publication (hopefully ... one day) and Martin Crossroads still has a way to go.
• read 40 books // I've read 17 and am currently reading 3 more which means I'm still on track! *phew*
• review everything // Um, I think I've reviewed all 17 books on Goodreads and even a few on Amazon ... I'll need to double-check that ;)
• 5 book buy limit // BAHAHAHAAA Yeah right, who was I kidding? I've probably already bought 12 or so -_- However, I have stuck to my goal of all those books being on sale when I bought them so I shall not be ashamed.
• travel // Oh oh oh! It's official I will not be attending any writing conferences this year because $$ ... but I just booked a flight to NYC for 5 days in September. *screams* I'm going with my aunt, cousin, and sister. While I'm sure the 10-year-old will control the itinerary since it's over her birthday, I'm holding out for a visit to Harper-Collins (because hello tax write-off), Hugh Jackman's coffee shop (say what?!), and of course Broadway (which is a guarantee).
• writing experiments // Thanks to flash fiction and the checklist I plan on publishing, I think I'm getting there with this one.
• finish writing lectures // Oh yeah ... xP I did finish one series but I have two more to go!

Did you make any goals for the year?

That got long, but you are officially in the loop and responsible for holding me accountible! ;) What are your summer plans?