What's Up Wednesday? I'll tell you what's up...20k!

Linking up with Jaime and Erin for an exciting edition of What's Up Wednesday!

 

What I’m Reading

STILL working through READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN. It’s taking me a while not because I find the book dull, but because I’m not reading every day. I need to establish a time every day to read. I also bought my first three books for my grad school classes: REVOLUTIONARY ROAD by Richard Yates; THE BRIEF AND WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz (has been on my to-read list forever); and THE CHOCOLATE WAR by Robert Cormier. I found them all at a used bookstore for under $15 total. Can’t wait to search for more!

Have I mentioned I can't wait for grad school to start?

What I’m Writing

I’m pretty excited because I hit my goal of 20,000 words in my WIP! As of now, everything is lining up well because I’m approximately a third of the way through my draft and I wanted to land above 50k, preferably between 60-70k. I know word counts fluctuate like crazy during revisions, but I want a solid foundation to work with when I’m done with draft one.

Since I just reached this goal and am feeling confident (maybe a little too confident), I’m setting my goal for the week to 25k. I like round numbers like that. :) I wrote a scene a while ago (out of order) that I’m finally able to put into its proper spot in the draft, so that’s about 600 words right there. Plus there’s a lot happening in the next two chapter with Bowie’s school, her sister Caroline, and her new circle of friends that I’m excited to explore. Hopefully I won’t hit any boring lulls.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Surprisingly, myself! I’m really proud of hitting 20k in under six weeks (I started my draft May 30^th). I usually abandon projects around this point, and the fact that I’m still excited to explore the story keeps me going.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

-My family went shopping on the Fourth (I know, I know, we’re totally contributing to the nation’s

consumerism issue, but my family is SO BAD with holidays. We go to the movies on Christmas day every year.), and we got some super great deals. The Vera Bradley outlet was having a 50% off sale (50% off the already discounted outlet price), and I got a laptop case, a wallet, and a mini hipster bag for my mom…all for $60! I was in heaven! We also did some shopping at Gap. For some reason I always like the clothes they sell at the outlet more than the ones in the store (They sell different ones…no idea why).

-Last weekend I went to a Fourth of July/21^st birthday party for my Little (my “little sister” in my sorority), wearing my brand new Gap outfit. It was a Zeta Tau Alpha family reunion of sorts, because our entire line of bigs and littles came (my big, my little’s little, our crazy “aunt”). It was a little crazy but fun at the same time, and we all crashed in the basement overnight. I had fun reuniting with my sisters for the first time since the end of the school year. I miss them so much already!

-I’ve done a lot of driving over the past few weeks, and I think I’m FINALLY over my driving anxiety that I had at the beginning of the summer. It was pretty bad for a while (couldn’t drive on main roads because they were too crazy and busy, but I also hated back roads because they were so narrow), but between driving all over creation during my friend’s wedding week and going up to Pottsville for my little’s party, I had to get over it. I’m still looking for a  city/town where the drivers are nice and don’t honk at you or cut you off so I can move there and be happy forever. Suggestions welcome!

-Sending positive thoughts to Randy Travis, the country music star who is in critical condition because of a viral infection in his heart. I sang his song “I Told You So” at a show choir audition in high school and sing along when “Forever and Ever, Amen” comes on the radio. I hope he heals soon. <3 (I got into the show choir, by the way.)

-My mom, brother, and I are going to Washington D.C. for the day on Saturday to get our nerd on at the Smithsonians, so next week I’ll have lots of fun pictures to share! (I’m hoping to see the dinosaurs, but it all depends on how much time we have)
 

Happy Wednesday to you all!