BuNoWriMo is nearly here ... !

It's nearly June. AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!

BuNoWriMo is in June.

My plan was to try and finish off some unfinished novels during June, but I think I am just going to have to kick my own butt back into revision gear. This last month has been terrible for progress, but I'll talk more about that in my Friday post for my "Do You Have Goals?" update.

So yeah, my plans have probably changed. Which is both disappointing and necessary.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to reflect on past BuNoWriMo achievements. In the past I have written, or mostly written, these novels and this novella during BuNo:

• SMALL TOWN
• Isabella and her mother return home after a ten-year road-trip and take refuge with their long-lost family. But things at home are increasingly strained, and Isabella is content to be left to her own devices. She ventures out to explore the town she lived in till she was six but hardly remembers.
  
  As a near-friendless loser, Isabella tries to uncover more of the town's history - and her own. With help from the only non-relative who doesn't mind being seen with her in public, she soon learns of the decade-old tragedy that still haunts the town. And she is shocked to realise that her own little family sits right at the epicentre.
  
  Isabella begins to regret her hunt for the truth. But whether she had sought it or not, the truth would have found her. Because Isabella's mother didn't just come home for some R&R, or to have a mental breakdown. She's here on a mission - to dig the past right out of the grave...

• IVY NIGHT
• When the earth begins to tremble one dim morning, Ivy awakes on her dirty prison cot, knowing instantly that the first day of Prophecy has arrived.
  
  As the prison crumbles around her, Ivy slips out and flees the town that condemned her as a child. Ivy is determined to fulfil the mission she's harboured since she was a child. But time is not on her side.
  
  Ivy must battle through nine long days of deadly prophecy, during which fire will fall from the sky and driving sleet will sear flesh. But Ivy is determined to do what is necessary to save the world, despite how badly it has wronged her.
  
  Hot in pursuit of Ivy is her twin sister Jasmine, who knows the prophecy as well as Ivy does. But Jasmine believes Ivy herself is the greatest danger the world has ever known, and is determined to stop her.
• LOST, MISSING, GONE
• Lily's life is pretty good, until she becomes the last person to see a girl alive before her murder, and until her boyfriend dumps her for a former high school cheerleader ... on Facebook.
  
  Haunted by the ex and the dead girl, Lily tries to get on with her life, but suddenly it's raining exes and her best friend is pestering her to go on blind dates. There's also the fact that the murdered girl turns out to be a serial killer's victim.
  
  At least there's a gorgeous cop to think about. A cop Lily keeps running into in unexpected places. This cop has a connection to the serial murder case, a connection that gets him kicked off it for being too close. He and Lily have things in common.
  
  She can't help developing a little crush on the guy.
  
  But pretty soon Lily's got bigger worries than hot cops and pushy bffs. Because the serial killer has a new target.

Those blurbs are pretty rough and haven't been critiqued or revised to within an inch of their lives. But they give you the gist of what the stories are about.

So that's my BuNo resume to date. This year I won't be adding anything new. But at least I can get back on track with revisions. I hope.

What are you guys doing in June?

A to Z ~ War of the Worlds, the (+ Cephalopod & Goals)

This year my A to Z theme harks back to 2012's theme, in which I listed an A-to-Z of books from my GoodReads "TBR" shelf. This year I want to revisit that list and report on which ones I've read, and what rating I gave them. Where the book hasn't been read, I'll mention other books starting with that letter I have read since 2012. ;)

"W" ... THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
Status: Read

Brief Review: It took me a long time to read this, but I loved the book. I saw the Tom Cruise movie when it came out, and remember enjoying it (though can't really remember much of it now), but I remember someone commenting that they'd like to see a new version that is set in the era the book was written in, rather than a modern-day take. This thought occurred to me as well while reading the book. In the book, there aren't many cars around, and most people ride bicycles. There aren't modern-era weapons of war that humans can bring to bear on the invading aliens, so there are a lot of slaughters. I think a movie set in the era of the book could have such great potential to be awesome. Anyway, this was the first and is still the only H.G. Wells work I've read, and I definitely want to read more. >> Full review

Some of my favourite "W" books read:

Witches of Santa Anna, the (#1-7) - Lauren Barnholdt. 4 stars.

Wicked Games (#1) - Jessica Clare. 4 stars.

What a Boy Wants (#1) - Nyrae Dawn. 4 stars.

Some "W" books still on my TBR:

World After - Susan Ee.
World According to Garp, the - John Irving.
White Oleander - Janet Fitch.
Watership Down - Richard Adams.

As it's the last Friday of the month, I'm here to post for the Do You Have Goals? hop (hosted by Misha and Beth), as well as the Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club (hosted by the Armchair Squid).

This month my favourite read was definitely The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

These days it seems to take a lot for me to give a book 5 stars, and it also takes a lot for a book to bring tears to my eyes. This book achieved both feats! I have not one complaint about this book, no little thing to criticise, so I guess that says a lot. I also found it pretty amazing that I could be reading about the finer details of a teenaged cancer patient dying one minute and then bursting into stunned laughter the next - this book is FUNNY.

I just loved both Hazel and Augustus - they are my kind of people! Their senses of humour were brilliant, and I loved their banter. Of course, their story is heartbreaking, but they sure did live life to the fullest when with each other. I also love their interactions with Isaac, like the Hazel-Isaac scene where they're playing the video game. That part had me laughing out loud.

Isaac's eulogy for Augustus, read out in the "literal heart of Jesus", was brilliant. And I love that Hazel spouted all that "bullshit" at the funeral, knowing the funeral was really for the living and not the dead.

Last month, I reported that I was making progress, but that it was very slow going. The same can be said this month, and I have to admit I've made very little progress. Last month I was up to chapter 8, or rather I was stuck on chapter 8. This month I'm up to chapter 13, which I guess is progress ... but there are more nights when I do nothing than nights when I do anything. It's a much harder slog than I ever anticipated. As usual, I blame this "edit the chapter until I'm happy with it" method. ;)

Next month is May, and my last month before BuNoWriMo starts. During BuNo this year, I want to work on finishing off some unfinished novels that are lingering. I really hope to make better progress with this novel revision by May's end. Even though I was meant to be moving on to editing SMALL TOWN by now. Oh well, I guess I'll see how I go during May!

I hope you're all doing well with your goals. :)

IWSG #5 - That "what's the point?" moment

I've decided to post this IWSG separately to my A to Z post which I'll put up approximately 12 hours from now. This month, I'm still going with my SQUEAKY edits, and they're going very slowly. Editing each chapter until I'm 95% happy with it is proving extremely time consuming (obviously?).

I made this chart of all my novels, because I'm like that:

Trisha's novel chart, colour-coded and all. :)

It maps out progress I've made over the years with each of my novels. There are columns for rough draft, second draft, etc., and with the editing I'm doing right now, I feel like I'm actually getting toward the fifth draft territory even though this is really only one single editing "round". Sometimes I've edited a chapter and reprinted it for more editing 4 times before being happy with it. But I will count this as one round of editing.

Anyway, I guess I should get to the "insecure" part of this post. With all this intense editing, I'm experiencing many moments where I think, "What's the point?" This mostly occurs when I'm staring down at a page that is so scribbled over with edits I can barely see the original printed words. But I do keep going. Even if I sometimes take a night off and pick it up the next night, I keep going.

I'd love to have SQUEAKY edited by April's end, because I want to edit SMALL TOWN by mid-year. But I don't know if that's going to happen. All I can do is strive towards it, I guess. :)

I hope you are all feeling very secure indeed this month!

Cephalopod Coffeehouse & Do Ya Got Goals? [Jan.]

It's the end of the month, and so time to post for the Do You Have Goals? hop (hosted by Misha Gericke & Beth Fred) as well as the Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club (hosted by the Armchair Squid).

Fave book of Jan.

This month it's an easier decision than I've faced in some past months. I read four books in January and my favourite was by my blogger buddy and all-round-groovy chicka, Mina Lobo. Her book is called THAT FATAL KISS.

Here's a modified version of my GoodReads review:

First off, I love Greek mythology (I even studied it at uni), so THAT FATAL KISS, a re-telling of the Hades & Persephone myth, was a blast from the past. I thought it was interesting how Lobo treated Artemis, who has always been my favourite goddess. Artemis was basically a petulant, whiny little sister at times, which was cute, even if I do love the mighty huntress Artemis of myth.

Lobo portrays Hades as a delectable kind of sexy, brooding dude, but of course the brooding guys are always much better in fiction than in reality. ;) Still, I tend to leap right on that type in the fictional worlds I immerse myself in - and I'm perfectly happy doing so.

THAT FATAL KISS was humorous as well as sweet and romantic and, now and then, just a little bit steamy. I also just loved Lobo's writing, and having read a lot of 'meh' books, including some really frustrating self-pubbed titles, I was seriously glad to read a highly polished self-pubbed work. In short, I found pretty much every word pleasing.

Now for my DYHG? goals!

It's been a pretty lazy start to 2014, even though I did strike one goal off my list already - finishing the rewrite of my novella. But in terms of the goal I set myself for DYHG?

publish at least 2 novels in the next 4 years

... I guess I can't say I made any progress at all this month. Except to clear my work desk, so to speak, by getting that pesky novella out of the way!

During March I will be participating in NaNoEdMo, and I will complete at least 50 hours of editing on one of my two chosen novels. Because that's not till March, I really don't know what I'm going to do in Feb! I do know that I can't just sit around doing nothing, 'cause that's a habit I am trying to break out of. Still, at least I have March to look forward to. I'm not sure which novel I'll be revising then, but it'll be either SMALL TOWN or DAPHNE II.

Wish me luck with both making a decision and sticking with it! And on having a productive February! ;)

Goals: 2014+

Today I thought I'd talk about this year's goals, and changes I've made to my "Goals" approach in general. You will see if you check out my Goals page that it no longer has a year attached. While I have listed a fair few goals, some of which I don't intend to accomplish this year, there are many more goals that aren't listed. But I thought I'd leave it how it is until I've achieved some of what's on there. :)

In the last two years, I think I've tried to achieve too much. In 2011, I managed to achieve every single goal I had set myself (and there were many). In 2012 I had less success, while still achieving many things. Last year was the "worst" yet, even if I did get two new novels written, as well some other goals achieved. But last year in particular taught me that what had worked well in 2011 wasn't working anymore. I guess I burned myself out. And I knew a change was in order.

As I've mentioned previously, 2014 will be a year of revision. During June and November, my traditional main writing months, I plan to write new stuff, but only to add to existing manuscripts that aren't finished. I have a few novels that aren't far off being finished, but some of them have been languishing in "unfinished land" for literally years now. So I want to knock those off. But the main focus of 2014 will be my attempt to get at least two of my novels revised, hopefully to the point that they can be sent out to beta readers.

For now, I am nearly done revising my novella, and when that's done I'll start reading through my first novel draft to be revised. True, I haven't decided which one to work on first, but I'll make that choice and then I'll use March (NaNoEdMo month) to revise whatever title I chose.

Obviously you guys will come along for the ride, if you so choose, and see how well I stick to 2014's resolution-style goal-setting. :P

SMALL TOWN, house move & a kitty video

SMALL TOWN
is 61% complete

30644 / 50000 words written

Hi folks! This is where I'm at with my BuNo novel. Pretty happy with my slow and steady progress, though I'd like to have actually hit 50k by now so I could fixate on other stuff (see the two paragraphs below). I'm pretty happy with how the story's going, even though I did find a stash of early notes I had written many months ago and realised I haven't done some stuff I'd planned on in them. So I have started incorporating some of those plot points, but other stuff might have to wait until revision time.

In cat news, the little guy is doing well and tomorrow afternoon I can take him to get his sutures out. At last!! No more bucket hat for the kitty! Still, he needs to be confined for another 2+ weeks, so the saga is not anywhere near an end. But he's getting better at not sprinting through doors he's not allowed to go through when I open them. Guess he's adapting, a little bit. Even if he still hates being as confined as he as (and so does his mummy!).

Here's a little kitty video from when he was a baby, just for fun:



And in house moving news, I did an inspection on Sunday and basically all I had to note down was nitpicky type stuff. Pretty soon I will be able to start moving some stuff over to the new place - hopefully sometime this week! I will be a very happy person when that time comes.

Hope you are all doing well!

What are you working on?

Are you moving house, or have you recently?

Do you have needy pets?

A BuNo update and some kitty pics.

SMALL TOWN
is 34% complete

17266 / 50000 words written

That's where I'm at with BuNoWriMo. I'm basically plodding along this year, though I got a bit extra done tonight. Not much extra, but a bit. I do love my idea, but this time around I actually look forward to this whole thing being over. See, I am actually supposed to be sorting through a house full of 'stuff' right now, to prepare for moving. But truthfully, even if I weren't doing BuNo, I wouldn't be getting much done. See, my cat injured himself recently and had to have a rather serious shoulder operation. And he's always been a rather needy, sooky cat. Now that he's cooped up inside the house and no longer free to roam the neighbourhood as he wishes, he's even more needy than usual, and is quite frankly driving me nuts! Luckily for him, he's totally cute:

Photo © Amanda Shannon.
Somebody called this a "postcard shot".

Photo © Amanda Shannon.
You can see his shoulder injury -
and gigantic paw he got to
keep due to the surgery - here.

So yeah, when I'm home I basically have to sit with the cat at all times, or else he gets up to mischief that could risk his shoulder - and result in the amputation we've managed thus far to avoid! He's a terrible patient, and he's really wearing on my patience. But like I said, he's cute - so he gets away with it. ;) Meanwhile, my house is a bit chaotic and I'm sleeping on a foam mattress instead of in my real bed, to keep my cat company. No, really, this is what I've resorted to in order to ensure I do actually get sleep. Otherwise he's in his room and I'm in mine and he's meowing all night and I'm not sleeping.

Anyway, that's an update for now. I'm enjoying my little BuNo story as it unfolds, and also looking forward to hitting 50k so I can let it lie for a little while. At least until I've moved house. Part of me is scared to lose momentum, but I know I can always go back later and finish it - I've done so before, I can do it again!

DISQUS is annoying!

I participated in two blogfests back on 31/5, and encountered two different blogs that required you to post via Disqus comments. Well, I have to say these are becoming my new pet hate in the blogisphere. For one thing, when I'm at home I can't even get these comments to load, so can't leave a comment! Then, on a PC at work where I can get them to load, only one of them let me post as a guest. With the other one I tried signing in with Google+ and Twitter, but they still required me to have a Disqus account. To me, this is just too much hard work, so sadly one blog missed out on a comment from me...and I really wanted to leave a comment there, too! I even have it still cut, ready to paste.

That's really all I wanted to say for today - but I may as well give an update on my BuNoWriMo writing while I'm here:

SMALL TOWN
is 13% complete

6746 / 50000 words written

And yeah, I am now calling it SMALL TOWN (formerly ELLA), but that is still a non-permanent title. I'm enjoying the story though I am having that familiar "this is crap...isn't it? maybe it's not" feeling as I write. But that's perfectly normal. ;)

Faerie Tale Princes & WIP It Good

In celebration of her book release for The Faerie Prince, book #2 in the Creepy Hollow (awesome) series, Rachel Morgan is hosting this cute little blogfest that I just had to get in on - it's all about faerie(fairy)tale princes, you see! I am a bit of a sucker for fairytales, at least the "Disney-fied" kind (I've found that the Grimm versions aren't quite so romantic for the most part). So I'm here to tell you that my two favourite princes are Aladdin and Henry. I won't say more, but please allow me to illustrate:

Dude!

Cute for a cartoon!

You're welcome. Right, now that that important business is taken care of, here's the even more important business: buy Rachel's awesome books, or if you're still waiting for payday, at least add them to your TBR on GoodReads!

Aaaand today is the WIP It Good Blogfest, hosted by DL Hammons and Elise Fallson. For WIP It Good, participants are sharing details of their current work in progress. Well, to be honest I haven't done much on any of my numerous WIPs in quite some time, but as of tomorrow I will be writing a new novel for BuNoWriMo. So I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the plans I've got for this June. Therefore, keep in mind that not only do I have no story yet, but the pitch and synopsis below are totally rough draft (and aren't really even a pitch or a proper synopsis).

WIP Title: ELLA (yeah, sorry, that's how I name my drafts)
Word Count (projected): 50,000+
Genre: YA Contemporary...yyyy?
How long have you been working on it?: Zero seconds.

Elevator Pitch:
(I'm not doing a real pitch or even a fake one... this is just meandering blather)
ELLA is (or rather, will be) a story of family drama, and I guess it has a dash of murder mystery in it as well. I also intend to ensure it has some sort of romance. And maybe some tears. But I dunno, maybe hold the tears. We'll see. Oh, and there will be friendship. And a wintery beach. Yeah, baby.

Brief Synopsis: 
Ella and her mother return home after a ten-year road-trip and take refuge with their long-lost family. But things at home are increasingly strained, and Ella is content to be left to her own devices. She ventures out to explore the town she lived in till she was six but hardly remembers.

As a near-friendless loser, Ella tries to uncover more of the town's history - and her own. With help from the only non-relative who doesn't mind being seen with her in public, she soon learns of the decade-old tragedy that still haunts the town. And she is shocked to realise that her own little family sits right at the epicentre.

Ella begins to regret her hunt for the truth. But whether she had sought it or not, the truth would have found her. Because Ella's mother didn't just come home for some R&R, or to have a mental breakdown. She's here on a mission - to dig the past right out of the grave...

(Yeah, that's a bit awkward. But I am loving the IDEA of the story! And that's all that matters at this stage.)

Are you looking for a Critique Partner? 
Ummm, not really. I wish I was. I mean, I have SO many finished novels that need help. But I really am a perfectionist and could never pass a work over to a new CP until I really, truly felt it was "polished". Most of my works are not polished. Not yet. Thanks, though. ;)

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?
Probably same as above, right?

Anyway, I'm excited about BuNo! :)