Bookish News

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Goodness! It's been practically forever since I've posted anything, and I really didn't intend for it to be this long.

  Last month was...crazy? Insane? Nearly impossible? Hmm...possibly all those things.

 Last month, one of my sisters was married and I was in her wedding. It was beautiful. The weather was great which was a relief. The day before it was cold and windy. Since it was outside, I was picturing my sister, her wedding dress covered in dirt and dust, so I was relieved when the next day it warmed up considerably and there was just a light breeze.

 The second thing of note was that I participated in NaNoWriMo. 
I know...crazy. Wedding and NaNoWriMo? *deep breath* That was fun. I started eight days late and in order to make it work, got up every morning at 6:30 to edit, because of course I couldn't be normal and just write a fresh book. Nope. I had to be a rebel and edit. 
 I've never had the chance to edit anything properly. I've always been the "edit-as-you-go" type of writer, which is why I've never finished anything. 

Since I finished the first draft of   Harbinger (formerly Sybil's Tale), back in June, I now have something to edit the proper way. 

 So, I pulled through NaNoWriMo okay. I edited 50,000 words of an over 200,000 word document, so I'm 1/4 of the way done. Yay! Now I have 150,000 words to edit left. *stares at document* *cries*  Okay, I'm fine. I'm fine.

On to this month...ahem...*straightens jacket*

 Back in June I shared that I'm working on a second WIP, titled, Drops of Inspira. I'm happy to report that I have a title for the first book, which is still in plotting/planning stage. 
 The title for the first book is Tear and will be the first in a trilogy titled, Drops of Inspira. Yes. Like this blog. That was totally intentional. 
 As time goes on I'm hoping to share a synopsis of the first book with you, hopefully by March.

 In the world of Harbinger, which by the way, is called,  Iruni, (it's a world I've been building for fourteen years and every year I find a new facet to explore.), I have two more stories in the planning stages.
 One is unnamed and features a character that I introduced at the end of Harbinger and the other has the working title of Outcast and is about a young girl who has to learn to forgive those that hurt her in order to accomplish her role as a healer.
  I'm super excited to get to work with these stories!

 So, what are my goals for December?

  • I want to edit another 50,000 words of Harbinger. Whether or not this happens during the holidays is something that I'm okay with, but I aim to try anyway.
  •  I want to work on the story skeleton for Tear. I usually try to have at least a loose story skeleton for a book before I start. That way I know where it's going.
  • Start outlining the "Unnamed Story". I want to get going on that. I have a couple of ideas where I want the story to go and even a short story written from inside the main character's head that I wrote about three years ago, but I want something more permanent. 
  • Continue to brainstorm Outcast. This would be the 3rd Iruni story so it's got a ways to go before it gets its turn in my writing realm. 
  • Continue to write poetry. I love writing poems! Right now, I have a notebook with over 200 poems that I've written over the year and I'm continuing to add to them. 
  • Read. During November, I didn't allow myself to pick up any new books until I finished NaNoWriMo, so I'm very happy that I can read new stuff now! I would like to read 100 books by the end of this year, but I realize that life happens, so I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen.
  • Work out more. I feel like this year has pretty much been a wash for working out, so I'm determined to be more active during December in the hopes that I'll start a good habit that will carry me into the new year.
 So, what about you, reader? Do you have any December goals? 
 If you feel comfortable, please leave a comment in the "Comments Section" below.
 I'd love to see what you've been getting up to and cheer you on.

 Happy Writing!

 -AristaeH

Comments

  1. ellastasiaDecember 11, 2018 at 8:50 PM

    I'm so glad your sister's wedding day turned out beautiful. God has blessed them both, and I wish them the best happily ever after.

    And I'm so glad you won Nano, even with the late start and big events during the month. You rock! I knew you could do it! I love editing, and I do hope that the rest of the WIP flows well. 200k words is a heck of a lot to edit. Have there been a lot of major changes, or are they more or less line edits?

    Your world of Iruni sounds so interesting! I have a WIP whose worldbuilding is a neverending venture... and it's the best feeling ever. Creating a world gives birth to so many stories. I really hope you get the time and opportunity to work on all the stories you're going to put in your world! So many stories, so little time! T.T

    100 books?! I've just barely made 40-something this year, and it was a good year for reading, lol. What was your favorite book of the year? Maybe you could make a post of your top 5 of the year almost past?

    I haven't even given any thought to December goals other than to just get through it without going on strike! Still working on the WIP, but, as mentioned on Twitter, the art commissions have taken precedence. I hate it, but I have to follow the money... at least until the Christmas bills are paid!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arysta Henry March 28, 2019 at 2:39 PM

      Hi Jessica!
      Sorry I haven't replied to you yet; I'm still learning on how this whole blogging thing works.
      I have another sister and a brother getting married within the next 2 months so my life has been crazy!
      So far as "Harbinger" goes, there isn't a whole lot of major plot edits, but a lot of typos and reworking of sentences and such. Almost done with the first round of edits, but the rest of it is gonna take some heavy work.
      I'm gonna have to take a look at all of my reads last year and choose 5. Probably too late to make a post on it, but maybe I can do a post of my favorite books that I've read the first quarter of this year.
      I get you about bills taking precedence. My car is having problems so with that and all these weddings everything is going in a sinkhole.
      Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

      Delete
  2. UnknownFebruary 3, 2019 at 8:00 PM

    One of your "sisters" was married, not "sister's." You meant a plural, not a possessive. And it's "Comments Section" not "Comment's Section." Again, it's not a singular possessive. It's a plural. Additionally, there is no such word as "anyways." Now that you know better, stop using it immediately.

    You desperately need some lessons in the basics of usage and style. Invest in these two books right now: Elements of Style by Strunk and White and The Chicago Manual of Style. These are non-negotiable. Stop reading random fantasy authors and read some actual classics of literature. Tolstoy, Dickens, Thackeray, Hemingway, Melville, Austen, Hawthorne, Wilde, Woolf, Orwell, et al. From the looks of things, you read a certain genre only. That will do you and your writing no good. Exposing yourself to other things will only help your writing and your mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arysta Henry March 28, 2019 at 2:52 PM

      Hello Cordelia,

      Thank you for your helpful suggestions. I often write so fast that I cannot see mistakes until after I publish even though I run things through a spell check.
      I agree with you that I need some lessons in the basics of usage and style. I recently bought The Chicago Manual of Style and already have the Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I've been going over several grammar books during the last month as well and I'm open to learning more.. Those are great suggestions! Thank you.
      Thank you for the literature suggestions. I actually read Pride and Prejudice recently and am going through some William Shakespeare right now. Dickens is not one of my favorite authors, but I have read some of his work and have A Tale of Two Cities on my TBR list for this year. I've heard some good things about it and am excited to read it.
      Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

      Delete

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