Wednesday, June 5, 2013

What's Up Wednesday!

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.
 

What I’m Reading
As you could probably tell from my previous post, I love Sarah Dessen. She usually only releases a book once every two years, and the wait is always painful. Her latest, THE MOON AND MORE, came out yesterday! I’m on chapter four and loving it already. I also had a mini freakout because the book jacket is glossy (different than her past hardcovers) and beautiful.


What I’m Writing
I have officially started my new WIP! I wrote in previous What’s Up Wednesdays about struggling to find motivation and establishing a routine, but I think I’m getting it under control now. I’ve set a goal of 500 words a day. I wanted something that wasn’t intimidating, something I could knock out fast if I put my mind to it. I’ve surpassed the goal several times since setting it, which is just an added benefit for me. I think my initial struggle with finding excitement with the novel is that I’m basing it closely off a short story I wrote. So the first chapter is almost exactly like my short story…so it’s not the most exciting thing to write because it’s ALL a rewrite, pretty much. But now that I’m getting into brand new scenes, it’s getting a little easier.

Last night was the first night I didn’t reach my goal, because I spent my time after work buying/reading THE MOON AND MORE as well as exercising on the treadmill. It was kind of an even trade because I needed to work out, plus a Sarah Dessen pub day is kind of like a holiday! I felt okay about it, though, because I got at least a little writing done, it was something.

I’ve also started journaling. It’s in a Word doc, not an actual handwritten journal (because I find I never keep up with those), and it’s just my thoughts, things I’m worried about, things that happen during my day. Not super exciting reading, but I’m hoping it’ll help me get over some worries/troubles I’ve been having lately. Fingers crossed it works!
 
What Inspires Me Right Now
This is getting to be another Sarah Dessen-themed post, but I’m writing with renewed vigor because I want to be like her. She’s always been my author inspiration, and her life/career is my ideal. She’s still a normal person, but she’s super famous within her writing community and goes on book tours and shoots fun videos that get posted on the Penguin website. Plus her books are great! She said she published her first book when she was 25…okay, I’ve got three years. Tick tock!

 What Else I’ve Been Up To
-Ever since I moved back home after graduation, I’ve been having some driving anxiety. I’m a super cautious driver anyway, but my town is full of narrow, twisting back roads that apparently I’m not used to anymore (the roads at my school were much wider). I’ve been having a ton of trouble driving (mentally, my actual driving ability is fine) for the past three weeks. I’m not completely sure why, but I need to fix it!

-I recently learned how to operate the mail machines at work, and they always lead to an interesting time. Yesterday the machine that folds the letters and puts them into the envelopes jammed so often, my work took double the time because everyone in the warehouse was trying to fix it. Pretty frustrating, but when they work right, the machines are way cool.

-I’m realizing as I read over what I’ve written so far that my life needs more excitement (at least more than driving anxiety and mail machines). New goal: work on that! I always struggle during the summer to find fun things to do in my town (I live in the country and it’s a 12-15 drive just to get to WalMart), especially now that all my friends from high school are in college or graduated and on to big kid jobs. Hopefully I can come up with something exciting to do this summer!

10 comments:

  1. I have THE MOON AND MORE on my TBR list. It sounds really good. :) Good for you for setting a word goal in your writing! I find one of the best things is when I surpass that goal—it makes you feel awesome. Something I do with one of my CPs is take a day off each week from writing and take one sick day a month, kind of like a real job. That's helpful because then we can plan to use our day off when we know we'll be busy with other things. So far it's working well.

    My husband and I are trying to find things to do in our city that make living here more exciting. It's amazing what you can find! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mm...I live out in the country near a very small town, so I know exactly what you mean! I love being here, but there aren't many people around or places to hang out. My summer project right now, aside from getting somewhere on my WIP, is learning how to use some old film cameras I rescued from my dad's garage. I hope you are able to find some exciting things to do!
    And good luck on your writing! The word goals sound like a good motivator and a way to get that sense of accomplishment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahh, Sarah Dessen is just so good. I love that her books are stand-alone. I love how reliable she is-- I have only read 3-4 of her books but I enjoyed them all so thoroughly. She is just an excellent model of a writer who does fantastic, consistent work. Can't wait to check out her newest. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have fun with your new WiP! And I hope the journaling works for you ^_^ A lovely friend of mine runs a journaling blog (http://journalgirl.com/) if you're at all interested ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sarah Dessen is so delightful--I've only read a few of her books, but as others have said, she's reliable, so I always enjoy her work when I pick it up. Enjoy the new one!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just gonna throw this out there again: I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOUR WIP! I hope you have a total blast writing it and I'm already looking forward to reading once it's finished. :)

    We are opposites with the driving anxiety: give me a narrow road over a multi-lane one any day of the week! I do know how intimidating it can be, though, and I hope you're able to work through it soon.

    I think we all need an Ocean City day again this summer ... that would be exciting! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. The only Sarah Dessen book I've read so far is ALONG FOR THE RIDE. I liked it a lot, so I'll have to try out some of her other stories. My TBR list is just way too long and out of control these days. Congratulations on officially starting your new WIP! Five hundred words a day sounds like a reasonable goal. As for finding more interesting things to do, I totally get than, and hey, I live in a city. Not a huge one, but still. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sarah Dessen is the gold standard, isn't she? This is the first new release that I haven't run right out to buy, but that's because I'm on a book buying ban and I have so many books out from the library right now.

    Good luck with the journaling - I hope you find the answers you're looking for. I journaled for many years but that sort of stopped when I had kids. I hope you are able to get used to your narrow roads again and have a wonderful summer!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I haven't heard of The Moon and More, sounds great though, I'll have to put it on my list!
    Congrats on starting on your WIP, very exciting!
    Re. driving - I've been through that. Just relax, try not to overthink it and that may help more than you'd think!
    Good luck with your writing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congrats on starting in on your new WiP! I think starting a new project is my most favorite part of writing...meeting all my new characters and learning their quirks - I hope this is a great time for you, too!

    I've only read Sarah Dessen's ALONG FOR THE RIDE, but have so many more of her books on my TBR list - I'll definitely have to add THE MOON AND MORE, so thanks for the reco!

    Best of luck with your WiP - I look forward to watching your updates on future WUW posts!

    ReplyDelete