Author • Reader • Weirdo
Hey guys!
It’s been a real fun month with Camp NaNoWriMo and I’m glad I wrote the 4k that I did. I hope that everyone had a very interesting month too! Anyway, I’m going to be absent until May 9th because….
Drum roll
My 21st birthday is this Friday!
I’m going to use the week to relax and write!
I’ll comment on your posts when I can.
You and I have something in common. Want to know what it is?
We made it to the finish line.
Whether you participated in one of the national events (NaPoWriMo, Camp NaNoWriMo, or A to Z Challenge) or accomplished something else–you did it! Sure the road was rough. Sure you made a mistake or two…or three? Who cares! You did it!
Give yourself a pat on the back!
Here’s what happened at the Tavern:
Here’s what happened last month.
What’s are your goals for May?
It’s hard to commit words to a page when inspiration is so far way. Without it, I’m like a runner at the start line or a horse snorting impatiently behind a derby gate.
Like chocolate to a dieter, inspiration’s aim is to taunt you. It avoids and gives empty promise that it’ll show up tomorrow.
It wont and you don’t have time to wait for it either. You need to write something. So what do you do?
If inspiration wont come to you…then you go to it.
Don’t walk up to it and politely tap it on the shoulder–get in its blindside and TACKLE it! Growl in its face and make it fear you!
A lesson that I’ve learned about writing is that you have to forge a lot of things out of nothing. Inspiration is one of those things.
I saw this quote on Raevenly Writes and it sums up the writer’s relationship with inspiration:
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
― Jack London
There’s a snobby space-elf at table three, dwarves are brawling in the bathrooms, someone set a bonfire in the middle of the Tavern…and an old guy is swinging a shirt over his head screaming “ANARCHY!”
This is the type of stuff gray hairs are made of!
Ok… I am not really dealing with a tavern in the state of anarchy but I do have a lot going on. I’m dealing with a book report, term paper, presentation, research paper, critical analysis, finals, not to mention the four quizzes coming up and a nasty fever. So yeah, I’m a pretty busy gal.
Don’t feel sorry for me, that’s all apart of being in college.
Aside from my studying aka legal torture, I wanted to share a few things about my WIP(s).
First, my Camp NaNoWriMo project is going…okay. I planned on writing 50k this month but it was an utter mistake didn’t work out. However, I am glad with what I did write!
On a brighter note, I’ve been using April to critically read another WIP that I finished in March. I don’t see it being sent off to editors or beta readers any time soon but I am happy with how far I’ve gotten it.
My big goal this week is to see some progression in both projects. Whether that’s writing 20 words a day or critically reading ONE paragraph (or even a sentence).
So what’s your big goal this week?
Last week I said to always find the time to write. But how much are you suppose to write? Should you write your entire quota of words? What if you can’t? Is that being lazy?
I mean…everything we do is drizzled with perfection! Every human on Earth had or has straight A’s. We are all star athletes. Heck, I’m next in line to be the President of the United States! Surely we are all flawless people who can always write our entire quota of words.
Pssh!
We aren’t perfect.
There will be those does where you can’t (or just don’t feel like) fulfilling your daily word quota. It just happens. However:
No words means that your story is going nowhere. Some words means that your story is going…somewhere.
Write! Even if it’s just 100 or 50 words. Make your story go somewhere.
Where has your story gone this week?
Books. How do I love thee?
Enough to go on a book buying frenzy!
So after abusing the “BUY” button on Amazon’s website, I began to wonder what possessed me to buy a virtual truck load of books? What about them drew my attention?
The first few sentences.
It’s said that these sentences are the most important part of the book and I agree. It’s usually what readers use to determine if they want to buy your work or not. For me, the first sentences simply have to grab my attention and make me wonder what’s going to happen next.
Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn
“A zero like me shouldn’t take public transportation.
The hunched driver wrinkled a frown before I even got on the bus. Her attempt to read my mind would get her nothing but the quiet of the street corner where I stood.
Defiance Rising (Book 1 of the Rising Trilogy) by Amy Miles
“I’ve been told that this world used to be a beautiful place, filled with
twinkling electric lights and tables overflowing with food. A place where children played in parks and couples took leisurely strolls on Sunday. A time when humans weren’t slaves to aliens or nature. Staring out over the concrete graveyard before me, I find that hard to imagine.”
Artificial Evil (Book 1 of The Techxorcist) by Collin F. Barnes
“In 2153 the lottery didn’t just change lives, it ended them. And Gerry Cardle’s numbers were up.”
What steps do you take before buying a book?
“He pulled the trigger just as she drove the heel of her hand into his face. The round missed her head by an inch, striking the wall and ricocheting away, stone chips drawing blood as they pinged into the nape of her neck.”
While I received this book for an honest review, I do not have an actual cover image. However, I can direct you to Mark Dawson’s blog where you can read up on all of his upcoming projects. Now for the book review:
Beatrix is a caring mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter. The catch? She’s an ex-assassin out for revenge. Years ago, when he daughter was young, others like Beatrix (assassins) were sent to her home to kill her. They took her daughter from her and killed her husband. Now, after finally being reunited with her beloved daughter, she’s out for blood. But there’s a time limit! Since Beatrix is diagnosed with lung caner she only has a year to enact her revenge.
I enjoy all of Mark Dawson’s novels because of the vivid imagery. Here’s an author that takes the time to set you up in his world before pushing you over the edge. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind a bit of gritty action or enjoys a good thrill, then this definitely the novel for you.
Lastly, you can check in on Mark Dawson’s blog for the cover reveal as well as the actual release date. I may post it up on the Tavern too so be on the look out.
