Book Haul + Life Update + Bloggish Revision Ideas

I got bookies!!!

From top to bottom:

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Pretties by Scott Westerfield

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson

So, yeah. I’m excited! My dad said I could only get three books (and only one hardback!!!), so it was very hard for me to choose. I will hopefully read The Scorch Trials next, if my classmate lets me borrow it, then Pretties, then The Bane Chronicles, and then Looking for Alaska.

I haven’t been posting as frequently as I’d prefer to, mainly because life (and YouTube) have been grabbing me and not letting go. If you missed me, I missed you, too! *hug* And if you didn’t, well, that’s FINE. Anyway, I just thought I’d do a quick update on my life.

School just started up again after Thanksgiving break, and I am feeling the workload. Homework and projects and studying for tests have caught up with me. In math, we have a test next week, I just finished a project in humanities, and we’re doing a project in science tomorrow. AND I have to memorize my monologue for English. [It’s about this girl who is lesbian and her girlfriend committed suicide two months ago. Every day she wakes up, not sure if she wants to live.] Thankfully, I only have two weeks of school and then we have winter break! YAY!

I had my choir concert on Tuesday night, and we. Freaking. Killed it. It was so much fun and I think we sounded great! We performed in a church, and one pew was made up entirely of people who came to see moi. So awesome. I’ll be starting choir again in January 2015. We’re going to perform at Great America! [For those of you who don’t know, Great America is an amusement park with rollercoasters and lots of fried food. Fried Twinkies, fried Oreos, fried funnel cake–you name it, you can fry it. (Sadly, I don’t like rollercoasters. Or fried food.)]

We will be beginning the mandatory science fair soon, so I am bound to be slammed with work. One of the ideas I had for my project is how sustainable ereaders versus paper books are. Fun?

As you probably know, I wrote a [short] novel during NaNoWriMo, and I am planning to edit it. I thought I’d share with you some of my ideas for revisions!

My order of editing/revising:

1. Look at scenes and figure out which ones to keep, edit, and trash. Also add scenes as needed.

2. Pick apart scenes and get to the technical stuff.

3. Focus on wording and how it flows.

4. Repeat until perfect.

I think I’m going to be cutting some characters. There are some who just don’t move the plot along and don’t really say anything, and I can easily delete them. I will be keeping Cait, Jaz, Belle, Brandon, Kai, and Dean, though. :)

That’s all for now, my lovelies. Happy December and soon-to-be-official winter! Have you read any of the books I bought? Do you want to read them? Tell me in the comments below.

Weekly Wrap Up #13|The Finale of NaNoWriMo

Happy Sunday!

Hey, you. Yes, you. Right there. Guess what? I won NaNoWriMo! With an ending total of 40k, I won. So I will be posting the winner’s badge in the widget section. I was up pretty late last night because I was so close to finishing. A lot of it is pretty terrible, but I’m proud of myself. Before I post the last excerpt of Bloggish and a few announcements, here is a list of things I learned from NaNo/what I want to do next NaNo:

1. Use a USB drive. This saved my life several times, considering the fact that my computer has charging issues and crashes on me at random times. I believe we’ll be saying goodbye to Della soon. :(
2. Story time: Once upon a time, two years ago-ish, we had fitness testing in PE. [Which I despise.] My best friend at that time was my partner. I was doing sit-ups, and she was pushing me on. Back then, I thought she was saying “It’s all on you,” but now I realize she was saying “It’s all in you.” As in, you’ve got it in you; now let it out. This is very true for NaNoWriMo, too. Everything is in you already; you just need to let the words out.
3. Don’t even think about giving up. I was planning to not reach 40k. That was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever thought. Yeah, maybe I was behind and had only three days left to finish, but I was going to reach 40k. Push yourself. If you’re reading this today, on the last day of NaNoWriMo, and you’re procrastinating on the internet because you have 4k to write, go write! Leave! Now! Begone with you! Come back when you have 1k. DO NOT give up. DO NOT be okay with not winning. DO NOT procrastinate.
4. If you finally get that one push to write, keep writing until all that push is gone. It was nearing midnight when I was finishing up; I was on a roll. There was no way I’d go to bed. Now, I know, many of us have parents who don’t want us to stay up super late. If you really have that one push, just beg them. Bribe them. Tell them you’ll sleep in tomorrow [although Monday is tomorrow, so, uh, good luck with that…].
5. It is okay to write crap. Mainly, I’m just reassuring myself about my writing, but, honestly, IT’S OKAY. That’s what NaNo is about: just get words written on a screen, the basic plot idea. I have only a few true gems. And my ending…*shudders*…let’s not talk about it. It was the middle of the night, my eyeballs were going to die…Yeah. Fun stuff.

Now, here’s the excerpt: 

Epilogue

The tree was beautiful, sparkling with red, green, and yellow lights. The trees were always one of my favorite parts of Christmas. The evergreen, wintery smell, that couldn’t be replicated in a little neon green cut-out.

“Meow,” my cat, Pancake said, jumping into my lap.

“Meow to you, too,” I told her and stroked her arched back.

My panic attacks had worsened once I got back from New York. I could hardly stand a day without collapsing for ten minutes. But I was learning how to control them and my fears. I was determined to defeat them and not let them take control of me. That was not how I wanted to live my life, scared to death all the time. I wanted to be free and happy and beautiful, and learn to fly.

The doorbell rang, and my heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t the panic-attack-is-about-to-happen-oh-my-god heart skipping a beat, but the wonderful in love feeling. Because I knew who was behind that door.

I shoved Pancake off my lap. She frowned and meowed at me. I ignored her and dusted the cat fur off my lap. Was Emile allergic to cats? I didn’t know, and brushed myself off the best I could. Which meant cat fur anyway.

I opened the door and was immediately enveloped in Emile: the way his brunet curls bounce don his forehead, the quiet smile lines on his smooth face, the way his hands met my waist and spun me around, the scent of sharp, sweet cinnamon.

“And here he is!” my mom exclaimed, wiping her hand son her pants as she entered the doorway. “Prince Emile, known throughout the land but seen by no one. Until now, that is.”

He laughed and hugged my mom.

“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Everen,” he said formally. I grinned.

“Oh, call me Eva,” she insisted, then did a double-take. “I sound like exactly every single mom who meets her daughter’s boyfriend. I don’t give a damn what you call me!”

Emile smiled at me as my mom pranced off to the kitchen.

“You’re mom’s…chill,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed. “You should see her when I forget to clean my room. Then she’s a monster.”

We sat down on the couch by the fireplace. I snuggled up next to Emile and he hugged me tightly.

“I missed you, Caity,” he said, and kissed the top of my head.

I smiled and kissed him back. “I missed you, too.”

“Eww!” a voice behind us screamed. “Mo-om! Caity’s kissing a bo-oy! And he looks old!”

I grinned and kissed Emile again, right in front of my little brother.

My mom laughed from the kitchen. “It’s okay, Trev. She’s allowed to. And he’s not that old. At least I think he isn’t.”

“Why don’t we go to my room?” I suggested.

“Good idea.” Emile smiled.

I led him upstairs to my tiny bedroom. I was still hardly used to it after living in a large penthouse for so long. But it was good to be home.

“Are you okay, Cait?” Emile said seriously as we sat on my bed next to each other. “You’re doing okay with the…panic attacks?”

“Don’t worry.” I waved his concern aside. “I’m controlling it. Tell me, how are things in the Big Apple?”

Emile grinned. He seemed to always be smiling. “Same old, same old. I think Audrey’s dating Ben now.”

“Oh my god!” I squealed. “Why didn’t she tell me? I am so going to text her tomorrow!”

Emile laughed. “Besides that, everything’s good.”

“And you?” I asked. “You’re doing okay without me?”

He smiled again. “I keep remembering you’re here, and not there. I’ll think, ‘Oh, I should get Cait a latte’ and then I remember that I can’t.”

“Oh my god,” I said. “That is too adorable. And so Tumblr!”

He rolled his eyes. “Speaking of which, how’s blogging?”

“Glad you asked,” I said. “It’s been great. It almost feels like everything’s normal now, y’know? Whenever I get online I can just catch up with any of my blog friends. When I’m blogging, everything feels…just really okay. Like nothing’s changed at all.”

“Yet everything has,” Emile chimed in.

“Yeah.”

It was still awkward around Dean. Every time he was online, I deliberately avoided communicating with him, mostly out of fear that I would get another panic attack. I thought he was kind of sorry, because he set off the attack. I just wasn’t ready to face him yet.

We sat there, in awkward silence. It was kind of comfortable, but awkward all the same. Then my mom called us down for dinner and we went downstairs, hand-in-hand. My mom smiled when we came in. She looked so happy, so carefree. And I thought she was really happy for me, too.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked, noticing his absence.

My mom scowled. “Traffic,” she replied. “I swear to God, I will be so fucking happy when there are flying cars. I would sacrifice my firstborn for them!”

“Hey!” I said, but smiled. It was good to hear my mom passionate about something, even if it was traffic.

“Oh, my mom cusses a lot,” I whispered to Emile. “Just thought you should know.”

“Thanks,” he whispered back. “My life is now finally complete.”

I kicked him under the table.

“So, Trev, what’ve you been up to today?” my mom asked.

Trevor smiled widely. “I was playing ninjas with Lucas. I beat him five times.” He beamed again. “But then I helped Lucas, ’cuz he was sad he lost.”

Emile smiled at my little brother. “That’s very noble of you, Trevor.”

Trevor didn’t even say thank you, that little brat. He just glanced at Emile and asked, “So who’s that again?”

“That’s Emile, Cait’s boyfriend,” my mom replied, gesturing with a forkful of broccoli. “Say ‘thank you,’ Trev. Emile gave you a nice compliment.”

Trevor turned to my boyfriend. “Thank you. How old are you?”

Emile smiled a wide grin. “Eighteen. I’ll be nineteen next month.” Then he shoveled a giant bite of spaghetti. Somehow he made eating spaghetti seem graceful, when, in reality, everyone looked stupid when they ate it.

I went to bed full. Emile was sleeping on the couch, so I said goodnight to him and when upstairs to my room. I set the alarm on my phone to go off at midnight so I could set presents out under the tree without anyone knowing.

I changed into my pajamas and slipped under my covers, my phone on my nightstand.

One of the things that kept me up at night was having a panic attack while I was asleep. The doctor had told me it was perfectly probable. Which scared me even more. Just the thought of thinking I was dying while I was trying to sleep scared me. When it happened while I was conscious, at least I had people talking to me.

I would stay awake almost all night long, too afraid to close my eyes. I kept of store of chocolate-covered coffee beans under my bed in case I couldn’t sleep at all, no matter how hard I tried. Then I would just pull an all-nighter and finish homework or chat with my friends on the other side of the world.

I curled myself into a ball in my bed. I ahd promised myself tgat I wouldn’t have any panic attacks while Emile was here. Not even while I slept.

I just couldn’t sleep. It was those night-before-Christmas jitters when you so desperately want to look out your window to see the reindeer.

At midnight, I crawled out of bed and gathered up he presents for under the tree. I tiptoed downstairs in my socks and set them under the beautiful tree, which was turned off for the night.

Emile was asleep on the couch, his hair briefly fluttering as he breathed. Carefully, I sat down on the couch and stroked his lovely curls. His eyes opened and he kissed my wrist.

“Can’t sleep?” he whispered.

“Uh-huh.”

He lifted the blanket and I climbed in next to him, my head on his chest. I could hear his beating heart right next to my temple.

“Tell me a story,” I whispered.

“I don’t know any stories.”

“Tell me about your family, then,” I insisted. “I want to know.”

He laughed softly. “Well, my mother, she’s a big, round woman. Filipina. She loves to cook. She used to be a chef at a restaurant. Her name’s Philippa, which she hates. So everyone calls her Phippa, which she thinks is only slightly better. Apparently, I inherited her smile. She smiles a lot.”

“Like you,” I broke in.

He nodded, and his chin hit my head.

“My dad…well my parents are divorced, and I didn’t see much of my dad. I got his hair, though. I just remember the smell of aftershave when I think of him. And my brother tugging on his beard.”

“Tell me about your brother,” I prodded.

“He’s dead,” Emile said frankly.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“It happened a few years ago. But he was a great older brother. His name was Arnold. Sad name, I know. He had the best, biggest laugh, and was nice to everyone. He was going to be married, actually. He got killed in war, though. All I can say is at least he died fighting for our country.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“I have this one crazy aunt.” Emile paused. “You wanna hear about her?”

I giggled. “Of course.”

“Her name is Lolita. She has this frizzy black hair that shoots out of her head like she put her finger in a socket. And she can’t cook to save her life. She burns water.” I laughed. “And she owns, like, thousands, of mice. She keeps them well-fed and whatever, but it’s just so weird. I only have to see her if there’s a huge family event. Otherwise, she keeps to herself.”

“That’s pretty crazy.”

“You haven’t even heard about my cousin, Jonas!” Emile exclaimed. “That’s a freak. He collects rubber ducks and has like, a million of them on shelves. And he just keeps them. Apparently, he’s really smart, though. I’ve only met him once or twice, at like a wedding. And my mom forced me to talk to him.”

That was how we spent Christmas Eve. Telling stories about relatives and laughing. Finally, we got tired. Emile rested his head on mine and drifted off. And I was never happier, lying on that musty old couch, the evergreen tree quietly observing in the corner, Emile breathing quietly. It was better than any of my wildest dreams.

There was a feeling you could sometimes. Perfect. Sweet. Fluffy and happy. Maybe you got it when you shopped with your mom or went to the movies with your friends. Whenever you got it, wherever you got it, whomever you got it with, it was special. That glorious feeling that creeps up your chest and into your heart, seeping into your soul and warming you up.

I didn’t care if Christmas ever came, if Emile and I sat on that couch forever. I would be perfectly content and at home. It wasn’t any wild dream; it was reality.

Emile’s easy breathing and fluttering put me in a stupor. No panic attacks, I told myself. You’re fine. Emile’s here. It’s Christmas Eve. Everyone’s rooting for you. Somehow, I made it through that night.

THE END

Don’t judge me.

I am not going to write or edit or worry about my novel for the entire week. Next weekend, though, I’m printing it all out and busting out highlighters and pens and pencils. That will consume my time…for a while. I’ll be posting regularly on here and AGV now, so don’t worry about that.

But what will I do about Nakoma?

I’ve been thinking about Nakoma for a while now. I see potential in it, but it’s gotten so long and the conflict is just d r a g g i n g  o n. I don’t feel like finishing it. Which is completely unfair to everyone who’s reading it. I do, however, have an idea that I need opinions on. What if I posted as much of the story as I had, and anyone who wanted to could take a stab at the ending? This novel’s just for fun, and I think it would be fascinating to see how others thought the ending would be.

Tell me what you think in the comments below.

But, wait! There’s more! Precious @ Clockwork Desires has started a book blogging tag that’s really fun. I’ll be doing it later this week. It’s called the A to Z Book Tag. Click the image below to learn more and participate!

I hope everyone had a fantastic NaNoWriMo. If you’re still novelling, good luck, stop procrastinating, and change your time zone so you have as much time as possible.

Weekly Wrap-Up #12

Hello, blogglings. :)

It’s that time…the weekly wrap-up! At this current time, my word count is 25,858 and I have not yet written today. I will, however, be writing shortly. There are just a few things I’d like to mention.

I read Uglies by Scott Westerfield, which I thoroughly enjoyed and gave four stars. I am now reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner and loving it too. I’m about halfway through that. I won’t be doing any formal reviews until November is over.

Speaking of November…it’s almost over! I am barely holding on to my daily word count.

Kind of like Olaf holding on to his face. [Frozen is not old! I can still use GIFs of Olaf.]

And my computer is kind of being idiotic. IT’S NOT CHARGING!!! Which makes me very very very very very very very very very very very very very very angry. So I have my novel on a flash drive which I switch from computer to computer. It is highly annoying.

I am still extremely obsessed with 1989.

Do not judge me.

I decided that this week I would talk to you lovely blogglings about instalove. Because if you’ve read Nakoma, you know that instalove happened multiple times in that partly-finished book. And I am trying really hard to not have that in Bloggish. Cait and Dean have known each other for ages, so that’s fine. But, um, and I know all of you Cait+Dean shippers are going to hate me for this, Dean is not in the picture any more. He is gone. Adios. Enter, Emile, the cute taxi driver, and cue the instalove! Cait doesn’t even know his last name.

*is running away from the shippers an haters of instalove*

So yeah. That happened. And I swear it was an accident. I swear on Leo Valdez’s life!* Personally, I don’t mind instalove, because it’s like my every day fantasy, but IDK.

GAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, here’s this week’s excerpt:

“What’re you doing out in the cold?” a voice behind me asked.

            A shadow of an umbrella loomed over me. I turned my head and saw that the voice was Emile. My haunting, yet unfortunately charming, ghost. I noticed how a sliver of light hit his chocolate curls in just the right way so they were tinged golden. He had a soft half smile on his face and his voice was that morning brew, sexy and dark.

            “Are you kidding?” I spread my arms wide and smiled at the sky. “This is beautiful!”

            “Lemme guess,” Emile laughed. “You live in San Francisco. They never see the light of day there, and when they do, it’s still cold.”

            “Actually,” I corrected him, “I’m from Monterey. Close, though, and that’s pretty much true for both cities.”

            Emile laughed again, which made me smile.

            “So, what’s with all the umbrellas?” I asked.

            “Oh.” He closed his umbrella sheepishly. “I guess people thought it would rain. Silly, I guess, but…”

            The sun was glinting off Emile’s caramel-colored skin, along with his hair. His eyes shone in the light. He looked like an angel.

            “My aunt’s apartment is right there.” I pointed to the dirty, white-washed building next to us.

            “I’ll walk you up,” Emile offered.

            “Thanks.”

            He grinned.

            I led the way to the apartment complex. My heart was beating right out of my chest. What was going on? Was I falling for Emile, now, too? I tried to ignore my quickened pulse and knotted stomach. All my senses were on high-radar; Emile’s features seemed highlighted against the gray backdrop and I could see each hair. His breathing seemed to be right next to my ear. Emile’s cologne was sweet and sharp and reminded me of cinnamon.

            Emile opened the door for me and I stepped through. I hoped my face wasn’t red. He also let me enter the elevator first.

            “What floor?”

            “Three.”

            He pressed the button and we shot up, although that wasn’t the only reason my stomach decided to practice gymnastics for the Olympics. When we landed on my aunt’s floor, Emile took the liberty of saying hi to Shelly.

            “Hi,” Emile said as the door opened.

            Shelly was in her uniform on lunch break. She smiled brightly when she saw Emile.

            “Oh, you’re the taxi driver,” she remembered, grinning. “Come in. Hey, Caity.”

            “Hey,” I said.

            “So, Emile, what were you up to with Cait?” Shelly asked casually, going into the kitchen and pouring the three of us soda.

            Emile ran his fingers through his hair. My heart fluttered.

            “She was walking back here from Starbucks so I decided to say hi.”

            “How sweet of you,” my aunt praised him. “Did you see Cait on TV last night? She’s going to have her own reality show!”

            I rolled my eyes. “First of all, I’m right here.”

            Emile clapped me on the back friendlily. “Of course, Caity.”

            Alarms went off in my body. He touched me he touched me! He called me CAITY!!! I told myself to calm down.

            “And second of all,” I added shakily, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear, “most reality shows are shit and scripted. If I don’t get it, I’ll be okay.”

            Shelly laughed. “Well, hon, it’s true that reality shows are mostly crap-filled and unoriginal, but they’re entertaining! Just imagine, you get famous and then—Hollywood!” She did jazz hands at me. I cracked a smile.

            “But I don’t want Hollywood,” I protested. “I just want to be a book blogger and a writer and a cat lady. There is nothing more I want!”

            Emilie laughed, and I remembered his presence. “Those are some great life goals,” he said sarcastically.

            “You’re one to talk.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

            “For your information, the only reason I drive a taxi is to pay for my college tuition, okay?” Emile snarled.

            I held my hands up in surrender. “Whatever. I’m gonna go to my room. Thanks for stopping by, Emile.”

            I began to push him toward the door, which sent fireworks off in my fingertips.

            “Don’t be so rude, Cait,” Shelly scolded me. “Let Emilie stay if he wants. Invite him to your room.”

            I sighed. “Wanna come with me?”

            “If your aunt’s okay with it,” he agreed.

            Emile followed me to the guest bedroom, which was hardly clean.

            “Your aunt doesn’t think it’s weird that a guy is in your room, just you?” Emile burst out as soon as I closed the door.

            I laughed. “I’m basically a social recluse, so any kind of socializing is like gold to her. Even though I don’t live with her,” I added.

            “Right, you’re a Cali girl,” Emile remembered, and bounced onto my bed.

            “Heart and soul.”

            An awkward silence spanned the room, like a thin mist sheet.

            “So,” Emilie broke in, “you mentioned you’re a book blogger? What does that mean exactly?”

            I unplugged my laptop and sat next to Emile. I ignored my email and opened up my blog’s page. I was pretty proud of it. I learned coding and used advanced features to design it myself. I especially loved the logo, which Jaz made with a special program on her computer. She’d made practically all of our friends’ logos.

            I showed Emile my pages and the last few blog posts.

            “Being a book blogger means that you blog about bookish things,” I explained. “So I post book reviews, writing advice, fun bookshelve-y tags, stuff like that. I also like cooking, so I post the occasional recipe or cooking advice in here, too.”

            I handed my computer over to him and let him browse through the pages and posts. He examined my sidebar and the number of followers—everything. At last, when he was satisfied, Emile handed me the computer.

            “That’s pretty impressive,” Emile gushed in awe.

            “Yeah, I worked really hard on it,” I said, shutting my laptop’s lid and beaming.

            Emile ran a hand through his hair. I almost died.

            “I should get going,” he said. “Thanks for having me over and letting me see your blog.”

            “Anytime.” I smiled. “I might be in New York for another month.”

            His face lit up. “Awesome! Oh, hey, I don’t think I got your number.”

            We switched phones and I added myself as a contact in his. We also took selfies for the contact photos. I adjusted the light so I looked amazing and on point. Which was a bit hard to do, considering my hair was hardly brushed and I didn’t have on any makeup. Emile would have to see my natural beauty.

            When we switched back, I looked at his contact photo. And did a double take. Why was it that he looked like he’d just walked off a modeling shoot while I looked like a zombie unicorn with no horn?! Life was so unfair sometimes.

            “Bye!” I said to Emile as he exited the apartment.

            “See you later,” he replied with a wicked smile.

            And then he kissed me. It was too brief, just a second. Then he raced down the hall toward the elevator. I knew what he’d done. He’d made me not forget him, and text him later. Sneaky boy.

© Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved.

That just might be my favorite part ever. *insert emoji with hearts for eyes*

Weekly Wrap-Up #11

Week 2 of NaNoWriMo has happened, and my word count is sitting at 16,055. I made some very taxing mistakes this past week.

1. I watched “The Voice” on Monday night. I ditched my writing [I had only written a few hundred words] to go watch my favorite TV show. That was the main reason I got behind on my word count. Needless to say, I didn’t watch it on Tuesday or Wednesday because I decided to be disciplined.
2. I acquired writer’s block. I’m not using this as an excuse. But this week, my story seemed less fun and more work. My ideas were not working and I lost interest. I made a Pinterest board about my novel, though, to get inspiration, and one image actually inspired a scene! So that’s good.
3. On Thursday and Friday I wrote virtually nothing. On Thursday I. Just. Didn’t. Write. And on Friday, I watched “Catching Fire” with my mom because MOCKINGJAY P.1 COMES OUT NEXT WEEK!!! sorry; I’ll be calm now.
4. If you read my post earlier, “A Rant,” you know that my computer shut down this morning and I couldn’t find my flash drive and then I did find it and I hate my computer. >:( I missed at least an hour of writing time because my computer shut down, I was looking for my flash drive, and I was sulking. So yeah. That sucked.

But that is all in the past. I am determined to get to 20,000 words today. Because if I don’t, I will be SO BEHIND YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. ahem. [Does anyone know how to change the size and color of the text in a post?]

Did I mention: I updated my blog, as you can see. Unless you’re blind or reading this on your email. [I feel like bloggers are the only ones who check their email any more. All my friends just text and stuff, while I’m like, oh, what’s your email? and they give me “the look.” I don’t understand why people don’t email. It’s like a text, but easier to send and you can add long stuff.] But yeah, I got an upgrade for it [Thanks, Mom and Dad!] to make it prettier. I assume I can change the size and color of the text in a post but I DON’T KNOW HOW; SOMEONE HELP ME!

I am spastic this morning right now. See? I even forgot that it is technically the afternoon.

This week I will have three excerpts. They are all ships, OTPs, whatev.

He cracked a smile, and before I could take another breath, he swept me off my feet and kissed me, his breath hot on my lips.

“I love you,” Dean murmured into my mouth.

“Good,” I said. “I hate love triangles.”

He laughed lightly and kissed me again. We held each other close. Moonlight glinted off his pale face.

The thoughts that had run through my head only minutes before dissipated. But Dean’s muscles were still taught against my torso, like he was nervous. He leaned out of the kiss and I bit my lip. His beautiful blue eyes were set on me, only me.

I pulled him closer to me, until his forehead was resting on mine.

“Tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me what you’re not saying.”

There was something unsaid, a dark secret. There was more to the story than his supposed commitment issues. I saw it on his eyes. They were jaded and sorrowful, brimming with regret and secrets.

Dean worked his jaw nervously.

“I—I have to go,” he said suddenly.

“No,” I insisted. “Tell me.”

He pushed away from me. “You don’t deserve a boy like me, Cait; I don’t want to hurt you.”

Then he walked off, leaving me on the steps.

That is the Cait x Dean ship.

“Yeah,” Belle agreed. “You aren’t worth her time.”

Amanda turned around in her seat in the front. “But I know someone who is,” she said suggestively and wiggled her eyebrows. So someone else had noticed…

I grinned at Amanda and Belle and Jaz just looked confusingly back and forth between us.

“Wow, you’re clueless,” I said in exasperation, sighing. “Since my relationship didn’t work out, let me be a matchmaker.”

They were already seated next to each other. All it took was one little shove of Belle, who was closest to me, and they collided.

“Now, kiss,” I commanded. “C’mon, make the car steamy.”

Amanda giggled.

And they kissed. Belle made the first move, of course. But Jaz kissed her back. Then I looked away to give them some privacy. Amanda was practically dying of laughter.

“Finally!” she exclaimed. “I thought it would never happen. Except now Kai’s gonna be pissed off.”

“Oh, fuck,” Belle cursed. “I thought he knew Jaz was lesbian.”

I slapped my face. “Darling,” I said gently, “he’s trying to hit on you.”

We all erupted into giggles, and Jaz kissed Belle again. They were really adorable together. And maybe now the bickering would stop.

I realized I was now destined to be a third wheel. Crap.

[Sorry about the language. It is YA, after all.]

That is Belle x Jaz.

“Girl! If he’s making you like this, you need to stop caring about him so much. Oh, Goddammit, Kai wants to chat. Gotta go, sweetie. Just remember that you’re amazing.”

“I will,” I replied, smiling. “And tell that effing Kai ‘hi’ for me.”

Belle grinned, and the video chat ended. I knew she liked Kai, but he didn’t give her any trouble like Dean did for me. Kai was perfectly sweet and simple. We still analyzed him, though.

---

“Really?” Belle screeched. “We’re gonna freeze to death because it looks pretty?” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “I’m going inside.”

“While you’re in there,” Kai called after her, “will you take the trash?”

“Why don’t you?” she snarled before opening the Starbucks doors and disappearing inside.

Kai looked hurt as he gazed after her, as if in a trance. “Trash run!” He collected the trash and ran after Belle.

And that was Belle x Kai.

Which ship is your favorite? Tell me in the comments below.

TCWT November 2014 Blog Chain|Lots of Random Cool Stuff

[I know, I should not be blogging–I should be writing. But I just have to post stuffs! I’m really behind. Also, I apologize in advance for the length of this post.]

It’s that time of the month again–the Teens Can Write, Too! blog chain. This month’s theme is the meaning of being a teenager, expressed in words and images. I took this to a different level and added in not just personal and positive things, but the negative aspects of being a teenager that don’t always apply to me. I made a Wordle!

Yeah, how awesome is that? Now let’s get on with things. Oh, btw, here’s the list of other awesome peoples who are participating in the linkup:

5th – http://vergeofexisting.wordpress.com/

6th – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/

7th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

8th – https://freeasagirlwithwings.wordpress.com/

9th – http://clockworkdesires.wordpress.com/

10th – http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com/

11th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/

12th – http://www.kirabudge.weebly.com/my-blog

13th – http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/

14th – http://oliviarivers.wordpress.com/

15th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

16th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

17th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/

18th – http://quirkyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

19th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

20th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.com/

21st – http://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

22nd – http://paperdaydreams.com/

23rd – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

24th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for December’s chain!)

1. Be honest: how is your writing going?

I’m mostly on-target and I am trying not to be distracted. It’s fairly easy to write, but that will change very soon, I think…

2. What’s your first sentence/paragraph?

“Hey, honey,” my mom said, entering the kitchen, “your aunt, Lindsay, just emailed me to tell me that Jessica—you know, your cousin—has just reached the one year anniversary of her blog. Isn’t that great?”

I know, it’s a quite uneventful first sentence. But it’s in the prologue.

3. Do you have a book cover, and/or pictures that reflect your book?

 I know, it’s beautiful. I made it on PicMonkey and I’m so proud of myself.

4. Do you have pictures of each of your characters?

I have pictures of the main thirteen bloggers, but I will not show you all of them.

Cait, the MC; Belle, Cait’s BFF; Dean, the love interest; Jazmine (Jaz), the lesbian book blogger who wants to marry Starbucks.

[Guess who’s my favorite. :P]

5. What scene are you most excited to write?

The scene when Cait finds out about…the surprise, and basically the entire night. I get to describe beautiful gowns, a dazzling night, and an overall glamorous night.

6. Share a snippet or scene that you really enjoyed writing!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw shaggy black hair and blue eyes and shirt that very clearly read, “Hi, I’m Dean.” I dropped my purse and partially-full Starbucks cup and sprinted into his arms. I didn’t care that my friends were there, that they were definitely staring. It was him. Dean.

            “Caity?”

            “Dean.”

            I looked up to see him smile wildly.

            “Damn.”

            “What?”

            “You’re even better in real life.”

            I giggled, embarrassed yet relieved, and before I could catch my breath, Dean dropped his bags and picked me up by the waist—he was so strong—and spun me around. When he set me down, I was all smiles and blushing.

            And he kissed me.

            My world melted before my eyes into one shapeless puddle of color and noise. But the sounds of people were muted, just Dean and me, and his soft lips, the way he gripped my shoulder, my hands around his torso, my feet on tiptoe. My eyes closed, fluttering quietly.

            When we finally broke apart, I still hugged his body. I nestled my head into the crook of his arm.

            Annoyingly, Belle applauded. Several people whistled. I blushed a deep crimson, but Dean didn’t seem to mind. He just pecked me quickly on the cheek and picked up his bags. We walked back to our friends, my hand on his arm, his gaze mostly on me, like I was the only person in the world. And to him, maybe I was.

            Dean bro-hugged the guys, and one-armed hugged the girls. But he saved most of his affection for me.

            Jaz pulled me aside for a second and said quietly, “You were really worried?” before grinning and making her way back to the group.

            I got a good look at Dean as he gazed at me. He had a strong jawline, black hair that was the perfect balance of short and long. His eyes were an electric blue framed by long, dark eyelashes. His skin was pale, probably from living in Seattle.

            “Damn,” he said again, “you’re just so beautiful.”

            I blushed happily.

It’s just so adorable. <3

7. Now that you’re writing, have any of the plot details, or the process itself, turned out different from what you planned or imagined?

1. Shelly, Cait’s aunt who lives in NYC, is a bit strange. That was made up on the spot, and it seems to be working, so…
2. Dean is nicer. Grr. WHY IS HE SO NICE AND SWEET AND ADORABLE???

8. Is there a character or aspect of your plot that’s difficult to write?

I have thirteen characters interacting at one time, which is very hard to write because:

a) I forget that some characters are here

and

b) They all have to speak!

So it’s not easy. I have to check who’s there, and separate them more.

I also have a hard time writing humor, which I really want to be in this piece. I always love funny books. But I’m not very good at writing funny things.

9. What’s your favorite aspect of the novel so far? Favorite character?

I just love the romance. I am a total romantic, and this is everything I want in a relationship [Well, except the drama].

Choosing a favorite character is like choosing a favorite child! But I LOVE Jazmine. She’s lesbian/gay/whatever, which I really wanted to be in this book. And she’s the perfect mix of maturity and immaturity. She’s also Indian, so is a bit reserved because of her background. She was originally going to be a background character, but she has begun to be Cait’s good friend.

10. Have you drawn off any life experiences or people you know to create your novel and your characters?

Definitely experiences. I wanted to really be able to connect to Cait’s feelings when I was planning this novel, and her experiences are based off my own. I love to put pain and crying into words [is that weird?], too, and I try to draw from my experiences of that feeling of helplessness and dread.

I didn’t realize this until I started writing, but if you follow Notebook Sisters, an awesome blog, you know that the main contributor is named Cait. Like my MC. Oops. This didn’t even cross my mind, I swear! I just love the name.

Belle is kind of like Evi @ Where Books never End, because she is my good friend, just like Cait and Belle are good friends. :) In retrospect, I see similarities between Jaz and Engie @ Musings From Neville’s Navel. They’re both respected and accomplished bloggers, but have a silly side, too. Kat has Cait @ Notebook Sisters silliness. :P

11. Do you have a playlist or certain song for your novel and/or characters?

I actually have a playlist titled “Bloggish” on my iPhone. It consists of these twenty songs:

“All You Had to Do Was Stay”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“Amnesia”, 5 Seconds of Summer, 5 Seconds of Summer

“Back to December”, Speak Now, Taylor Swift

“Bad Blood”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“Blank Space”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“Classic”, MKTO, MKTO

“Come In With the Rain”, Fearless (Platinum Edition), Taylor Swift

“Enchanted”, Speak Now, Taylor Swift

“I Knew You Were Trouble”, Red, Taylor Swift

“If This Was a Movie”, If This Was a Movie-Single, Taylor Swift

“Jump Then Fall”, Fearless (Platinum Edition), Taylor Swift

“Mine”, Speak Now, Taylor Swift

“Out of the Woods”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“Red”, Red, Taylor Swift

“Round & Round”, A Year Without Rain, Selena Gomez and the Scene

“Shake It Off”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“The Story of Us”, Speak Now, Taylor Swift

“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”, Stronger (Deluxe Version), Kelly Clarkson

“Style”, 1989, Taylor Swift

“Welcome to New York”, 1989, Taylor Swift

12. Let’s have some fun: imagine you are transported into your book’s world. Which character are you most likely to be found hanging out with?

I would be at Starbucks with Jazmine. Duh.

13. How do you keep yourself motivated to finish your daily word count? (Pinterest? Internet breaks? Chocolate?)

A Tip: Don’t do what I’m doing right now. Do not blog.

I set my timer on my phone for 20-30 minutes, turn on my music, and write. Then I take a 5-minute break and play on my phone, check my email, etc. I am actually very disciplined, believe it or not. I do have chocolate that I eat frequently. Maybe that’s the secret.

14. What’s your favourite writing quote or piece of writing advice?

For NaNoWriMo: “It is perfectly okay to write garbage–as long as you edit brilliantly.”

I had to search on Google, but one that I remember seeing before and I love is: “If I waited till I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.” -Anne Taylor

It is so true.

15. How does this book make you feel so far? Are you laughing? Crying? Frustrated?

It makes me feel:

• nostalgic
• happy
• pink [there’s no way to describe it]

Basically, it’s a fluffy pink ConRom, and it’s absolutely adorable and heart-wrenching and unpredictable. >:)

You know what these tweets mean? Yeah, I only heard today.

ELEANOR AND PARK IS BECOMING A MOVIE!

I am sooooo excited. They better not mess it up. For more details, click here. I am just really scared that Eleanor will be Hollywood-thin, and the entire movie will be messed up. In the comments section of this article, some people suggested in the comments that Jennifer Stone be Eleanor, and I think that would be amazing. I mean, doesn’t it just work? Anyway, I’m just so excited about the movie. YAAY!!!!! Anybody else psyched?

See?

This blog will be experiencing some changes soon. Hopefully this week.

1. I am going to get the customizable thingy so my colors of text and size and stuff will be different. It will just look cooler and more amazing.
2. I will not be switching to a new domain.
3. I am considering changing my blog name to “Writerly,” so it’s a bit more bookish. It isn’t very bookish right now. Tell me what you think in the comments! :D

I have decided that if I win NaNoWriMo 2014, I will buy myself these three Stephanie Perkins books that go together.

I have heard good things about them and am eager to read them. So lets hope I win!

One last before I end this extremely long post.

Today was the first day of #MortalsMonday on Instagram! Assuming you don’t know, #MortalsMonday is a day where PJO/HoO fans look up hashtags like #hooverdam and #mtsthelens on IG and comment, “The mortals don’t even know.” If someone who is not in the fandom responds cluelessly, we respond with, “It’s a dam Percy Jackson thing, cupcake.” :)

 See? It’s hilarious! I encourage you to join in on the fun. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up #10

[Yup, I now have a button. :D]

Happy Saturday! Happy first week of NaNoWriMo! Happy first week of NaBloPoMo! Happy November!

So what’s happened in my life this week [besides bloggy stuff and NaNo stuff]:

1. I am still active on Instagram. Earlier, I said I wouldn’t be able to go on IG, but now I am on more than ever with more mindless posts tagged #nanowrimo2014 and #procrastinating.
2. I got married. Wait, whaaat, Chloe?! Hehe. I got you guys. In science class we’re learning about genetics, and we got “married” Wednesday for a lab we’re doing where you hatch a dragon and combine genetics and stuff. It was pretty awkward to get married…
3. I downloaded four more apps. I got PacMan Lite, which I still majorly suck at. Sadly. And I got Snapchat. Yay! I love it sooo much. Vicki [my bets friend] and I use it all the time. XD And I got MuggleNet, which is pretty cool. For those of you who don’t know, MuggleNet is a website and app that keeps you updated on Harry Potter-esque things. And lastly, and probably the best, I got Panem Rising, a game based on Mockingjay. You create a squad with characters, fight Peacekeepers, all that fun stuff. I’m playing as Johanna, whom I accidentally mixed with Katniss to get a better version of Johanna. Little did I know, Katniss would be deleted. Oops.
4. I am still very obsessed with “1989.” Yes, I am. I play it constantly. ;)
5. At choir, we are starting to memorize all of our songs! Which is pretty hard, considering we have about six. But they’re all Christmas songs and the lyrics tend to repeat, so it’s not as hard as I thought it would be originally.

NaNoWriMo is a bit daunting now. Which, I guess, is natural. I didn’t get the chance to write as much as I would’ve liked yesterday, and I didn’t hit my word count goal for that day, but guess what? I’m going to write 2,000 words today. That is my goal. I have candy and tea and Taylor Swift, so I will survive and I will not fall behind. Because the #1 Rule of NaNoWriMo, created by the most fantastic, the most honorable, the most intelligent Katytastic, is to not fall behind.

Here is Katytastic’s NaNoWriMo Day 7 video about not giving up. [If you want to just get to the main content, skip to about 2 minutes in.]

I have another treat for you, however: an excerpt from Bloggish!

“If I could, I would marry Starbucks,” Jazmine gushed, sipping her iced mocha. Her sunglasses were back over her eyes in the bright sunlight.

Kai looked up from his Frappuccino and grinned in that cheeky way of his. “But I thought you were lesbian?”

Jaz didn’t laugh. “Who ever said Starbucks was male?” she countered, narrowing her eyes and setting her drink on the nearest table. She was getting into debate mode.

“True,” Amanda agreed, her hands cupping her lemonade. “Technically, Starbucks is gender-neutral.”

“If you want to get really specific,” Belle put in, waving her strawberry smoothies around, “the emblem is a mermaid, so it is female. Therefore, Jaz can marry Starbucks.”

We all bursted into giggles. Kai laughed so hard that his Frappuccino came out of his nose, which grossed Kelly out and made the rest of us laugh even harder.

Once we all calmed down, we attempted to become serious.

“So,” Kat began, “I have this extremely pressing issue I need to discuss.” We all leaned in dramatically. “Which are better: unicorns or narwhals?”

I pretended to straighten my tie. I said in a newsperson voice, “Well, Ms. Gemm, this is indeed an extremely pressing issue, seeing that the narwhals and unicorns have begun to fight again. You see, narwhals have horns and can swim underwater up to a quadrillion miles per hour.”

Brandon interrupted me by clearing his throat. “But you see, unicorns have rainbow magic and horns. So they are equally matched. I say unicorns are better!”

“Narwhals!”

“Unicorns!”

“Narwhals!”

We continued to be silly and immature. It was just like our online conversations, but better, because we could hit another’s arm and laugh without typing “LOL.”

“Hey, guys,” Kelly stopped us. Even she, known for her levelheadedness and serious nature, had joined in on the fun and debating. She held up her silver phone with a simple blue case. “Xavier, Gracelyn, Loren, and Margot are here! They met up when their flights got in.”

We cheered like our favorite baseball team had just won, or better yet, our OTP had kissed. The latter was probably more accurate, considering the environment.

“Let’s go meet them!” Brandon suggested, and we agreed.

The rest of the team (excluding Dean) was camped out at a breakfast place near the airport, their suitcases surrounding them like a barrier. All four of them were from foreign places, and spoke with accents that us Americans couldn’t get enough of. Then again, they adored our supposed accents, too.

Xavier was prim and proper, an absolute gentleman. Gracelyn talked in Australian slang, and with her pink hair, was completely unique. Loren was cool and collected. Margot was funny and bouncy.

“Oh my god, you don’t even know how excited I am!” Margot squealed, hugging us all in turn. Her flaming hair made her look even more animated. “This is a dream come true.”

We all screamed and freaked out some more. Margot gushed over my outfit and Gracelyn, in a cool and calm way, commented on my “absolutely adorable” hair.

Then the bomb dropped.

“So, where’s Dean?” Xavier asked casually in his little British way.

My arms became stiffer at my sides and I could feel my face begin to redden. I pressed my hands against my cheeks to hide the blush. I averted my eyes and studied the cracks in the sidewalk.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Belle answered, but I heard the concern in her voice, saw her barely flick her eyes toward me. “Maybe his plane’s late.”

I didn’t know why I cared so much. He was just another person, after all. I wasn’t this distressed before Margot or Loren arrived. But he’s different, a voice in my head insisted annoyingly. Unfortunately, it was right. He was different, in a way I couldn’t explain to them, no matter how close they were to me.

“He’ll come in eventually,” Jaz reassured us. “Let’s go walk around town, check out the shops. They have some cute little indie places.”

We followed her command and walked around, Kai our pretend tour guide. He made up things about each place, and Jazmine corrected him not-so-gently.

© Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved.

Do you like? Tell me in the comments below.

My word count as of right now 9038 words.

I finished Clockwork Princess this week. I’ll mini-review it at the end of the month. I am now reading Crewel by Gennifer Albin, whom I met at the book signing I attended.

Weekly Wrap-Up #9

I know, I will write after this… I just need a tiny break. So what happened this week?

1. NaNoWriMo began! I’m a little jittery, a little scared, and mostly excited. Instead of 50k I’m lowering it to 40k, just because it’s my first NaNo. [I did Camp, but I just continued Nakoma and wrote 20k]. Yesterday I wrote about 1.85k, which exceeded my word count. :)
2. MHM got tons of people. Originally, I was going to shut down my other blog, AGV, for a month, but then Engie stepped in and offered to run it. So she’s now the blogger behind AGV! And she promoted my linkup, My Hero Monday, which now has, like, SIX people. I am STOKED. Thank you, Engie!!!
3. I bought Taylor Swift’s new album from iTunes. And, god, am I loving it. “1989” is one of my favorite by her. At first, I was a little shaky about it when I heard “Shake It Off,” but now I actually LOVE that song. My favorite, however, is “Blank Space.” This is gonna be forever / Or it’s gonna go down in flames.
4. Halloween happened. It was quite uneventful for me, seeing it rained and we couldn’t go trick or treating. :(
5. I reached 80 followers! [I actually, as of now, have 81.] Thank you soooo much. I am going to sound so cheesy, but I love you all. Thank you for reading my posts, even if you don’t like or comment. *ahem*

And my posts this week…

On Tuesday I posted some advice about life.

On Wednesday I reviewed Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.

On Thursday I freaked everyone out by reminding them that NaNo was in two days.

On Friday I showed you my NaNo survival kit.

NaNoWriMo started on Saturday!

And a NaNoWriMo update…

Technology-wise: YWP still doesn’t enjoy my computer, but I’m dealing with it.

Writing-wise: I haven’t written today, but I will after this post.

WORD COUNT TOTAL: 1854 words

NaNoWriMo Starts Today!

This is not off to a great start. YWP is not opening! So I’m making an account on the original site, and I am very very very angry. My username is CarpeLibrum<3, same as on the Camp NaNo website. I’ve got everything up, but if you’re on YWP, I won’t be able to reach you. :(

And now YWP just worked.

Crap.

Forget everything I just said above.

Okay. Now that that’s dealt with, let’s get on with things.

I woke up at 6-ish and read for about an hour, then looked for my phone and realized it had not been charging last night. YAY. So I checked my IG, plugged it in, and at about 7:30, made my tea ad got on here.

I’m aiming for a little over 1k today, but NaNo has not calculated yet.

I have my tea, inspirational quotes, candy… I’m set!

I guess I need to write…

I’ll do the wrap-up at the end of the month, and try to post weekly.

Good luck on your NaNo, and work hard!

NaNoWriMo Survival Kit + Happy Halloween :)

NaNoWriMo is in less than a day. O.O I will not be starting at midnight, but early in the morning.

I thought now would be a good time to make a survival kit for NaNo. Watch Kat’s video!

If you’re too lazy to watch, here is the list of her needs for NaNoWriMo:

• computer, tablet, notebook–something to write on
• USB drive–to save work
• notebooks–for other writerly stuffs
• caffeine–coffee, tea
• food–quick and easy, unless your parents feed you :P
• candy–people DIE when they don’t eat candy during NaNo [plus, all the candy’s on discount now :) ]
• phone–to play music and/or time writing sprints
• office supplies–highlighters, pens, pencils, index cards, colored pencils
• things to keep warm in–Snuggie, fingerless gloves, sweatpants

I like Kat’s list, but here is my own version:

My Computer

To write on. Duh.

Yup. That’s my awesome computer with awesome stickers. Jealous? You should be.

Scrivener

I’m using this to outline and write on. I got it 50% off for winning Camp NaNoWriMo, which was pretty awesome! I love Scrivener, even though I just started using it yesterday. XD

Music

I cannot write without music. But I have to turn it waaaay down, otherwise I can’t think. I’m using my phone to play music, so I can turn off my internet. I just got Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, which I’m listening to right now. I really like it! <3

Tea

This is my source of caffeine. I do not like coffee, and tea is a lovely alternative. What can I say? I’m British at heart. XD I drink Tazo Earl Grey infused with lavender. It’s sooo good.

Candy

I heard people can die if they don’t eat candy during NaNoWriMo. I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!!! I’m going trick-or-treating tonight if it stops raining, but otherwise we have a giant bag of candy to eat from. I will be hoarding it.

Nutella

I adore Nutella. It is a chocolate spread–how can you not like it???

That’s my list. :) Now on to the second part of this post: Halloween!

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays. YOU GET FREE CANDY. What’s not to like? This year I’m going as Piper McLean. :) Or just a demigod. At school, we had a dance, which was actually pretty fun. :D They gave us candy and other junk food and we got to dance. My best friend, Victoria [or Vicky] and I had a blast, especially dancing to “Shake It Off”–I love that song. It was way better than last year, wen they played a movie during it.

What are you doing for Halloween? And what’s in your NaNoWriMo Survival Kit? Tell me in the comments below.

NaNoWrimo is in Two Days–Are You Ready?

I don’t even know if I’m ready, to be frank. I have left Nakoma hanging for more than a week, and I feel terribly guilty. I have also given up on outlining–I have my character bios and some chapters’ topics and a map of NYC. I’m just going to jump in with what I’ve got. AND I DO HAVE SOMETHING. Okay?

Instead of going on and on and on about my novel for NaNo, I am going to talk about NaNo itself. Because I already talked [or rather, wrote/typed] about it in another post. If you haven’t read it, your loss.

How have you prepared for NaNoWriMo?

Well. I did bios of my main characters, to get to know them better. And I did about three pieces of dialogue. I know, it’s not a lot, but I got rather stuck and then school happened. So. I also brainstormed a bit. I also just realized I could have outlined on Scrivener, which I might do after choir today and after school tomorrow. I also uploaded all the stuff about my novel to the YWP site [because I’m a teen and PROUD]. Y’know, my synopsis, title, word count goal, and the bee-yoo-ti-ful cover.

How will you manage school and NaNo?

That is a very good question. I will do my homework diligently and quickly, try to stay focused during school, and get as much homework done in class as possible. Hopefully I won’t have any huge projects to do.

Is it possible to still go out with your friends and socialize? Or will you stay in your room and write every day?

I will still be going out with my friends and on outings and such, but less frequently. I will only use my phone for texting and calling, no editing or social media. I see my friends at school, so that’s okay.

How will you manage your blogs and social media?

I will post once a week here and give an update on how I’m doing, along with some uplifting quotes/videos/etc., but my posts will probably be very short. My other blog, AGV, is being managed by Engie @ Musings From Neville’s Navel. :)

Like I said, my social media [which only consists of Instagram and Goodreads, possibly] will be ignored.

Will you read?

I’ll read during school and once I meet my word count goals for the day, but otherwise I will write. I will probably take a while to read a book, and will just post the cover, bits of info, and the overall rating, unless I feel it has to be reviewed properly.

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo before? If so, what was the outcome?

I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo during July just to work on Nakoma. I wrote 20,000 words and it almost killed me. I am scared for November.

Are you on the Young Writers Program or the regular website?

I’m on YWP, because:

a) you can choose your word count

and

b) the website is for a younger audience, and I would like to meet people closer to my own age.

My username is CarmineRose [I attempted to change it to spreading_my_wings but it never went through]. Feel free to message me! Just tell me your blog alias so I know who you are.

Here is a video by one of my favorite booktubers, Katytastic. In it, she discussed 5 ways to prepare yourself for NaNoWriMo. Sorry this is a bit late, but I still hope you will find this helpful. :)

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Tell me in the comments below. :)