.png)
What I've Been Reading
Definitely Maybe by Ophelia London: a contemporary New Adult which spins Pride & Prejudice into a modern college setting pitting an environmental sustainability student against a rich boy with his sights on big biz land development.
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen: a sweet companion novel to her magical realism cozy debut Garden Spells
Now reading Always Emily by Michaela MacColl about the Bronte sisters as teens solving a mystery!
Also listening to Amy Poehler's Yes Please which is fantastic.
What I've Been Writing
Does staring at screen shuffling words around count? That's about where I'm at. I have organizational issues to sort out before I can finish. This is not NaNoWriMo so I'm not bulldozing through the draft to get it done. Hopefully in the next few days I can get through this hiccup.
What Helps Me
Goals! Reading other people's books! Critique Group! I surround myself with motivating factors and hope something sticks.
What Else I've Been Up To
#PitchMadness is going on right now, and I'm reading through entries with my team over on fizzygirl's blog. The entries will post next week March 2-3, so it's a fast turnaround! If you didn't enter, it can still be helpful to see which pitches and first pages made the final cut.
Check out my post today on author Kai Strand's blog for one of her Three Times a Charm posts.
Posts
I'm in a similar place re organizing before/as I'm drafting. I'm setting myself deadlines - not as intense as NaNo, but they'll still keep me on track. I hope.
ReplyDeleteI find goals help me push through the difficult spots!
ReplyDeleteHave fun with Pitch Madness! :)
Staring at the screen and shuffling things around definitely counts in my book! ;) Hope you're feeling more motivated soon, have a great week!
ReplyDelete"I surround myself with motivating factors and hope something sticks." Yes! That's pretty much what I do, too. And different things work at different times I find. I do the shuffling words around this as well. Sometimes that's what you need to do before you can move forward. Finding that right combination is so tricky. Hope you're able to sort it all out without too much stress.
ReplyDeleteTotally loving your What I'm Reading section right now. I still need to read my copy of YES PLEASE and I will definitely be adding these other books you mention to my TBR list. Austen and Brontë retellings or stories featuring these ladies are pretty much like crack to me. Thanks for mentioning them. Hope you have an awesome week, Stephanie! :D
I always want to read what you're reading, so we're even :) I just need to write to the end and then I can keep shuffling stuff around.
DeleteI feel you on surrounding yourself with motivation! I am the same way. I really respond to positive reinforcement. :) Good luck this week! And hope you are finding some great stuff in the slush.
ReplyDeleteOh, I loved Garden Spells, so I will add First Frost to my reading list. I entered Pitch Madness, so maybe you will come across my name! I am actually trying to forget that I entered, as I feel that is the best policy for contests. LOL.
ReplyDeleteFirst Frost is a little slower, but it's nice to revisit the same characters and check in on their lives. It's great winter reading (though the story itself takes place in fall).
DeleteHere's hoping the writing hiccup passes quickly ^_^
ReplyDeleteHave fun reading all the Pitch Madness entries!
I loved Garden Spells. Need to get my hands on First Frost. Also, Yes Please is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. Having authors narrate their own non-fiction works is a great idea. I hear Martin Short's "I Must Say" is also brilliant that way.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in Pitch Madness.
I love your "What Helps Me" section today. I second all of those things. Making goals public is always a huge motivator for me. I don't want to fail on my blog! Best of luck with that hiccup this week, Stephanie. :-)
ReplyDeleteSame here. I try to do any of the challenge groups when I can because I hate not being able to say I made my goals!
DeleteWe're on the same page with Sarah Addison Allen. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the What Helps Me stuff. Setting goals is pretty much essential for me. I use the reminders app on my computer, too, so my goals pop up every night when it's time to write. Here's hoping you get past that bumpy spot in your writing! :)
I've done phone calendar reminders that with exercise! Thanks :)
Delete