Wednesday, July 10, 2013

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 30th). 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/21st 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!

23 comments:

  1. WOOHOO!!! 20K is AWESOME!!! Congrats! And sounds like you had an amazing week in so many other areas - I love outlet shopping. I spend way too much, but I get so many good deals. And the kids always need clothes, so...

    I hope you reach that 25K! I'm cheering you on!

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    1. Thanks Alison! :) and I totally agree, outlet shopping is the best. I love looking at my receipts and seeing how much money I saved!

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  2. Yay for your WIP. I'm like you; I have to hit the 'round' numbers. And if you do hit a lull (which we all do from time to time) you can chop it out when you're editing. But get those words down on paper :D

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    1. Absolutely! I always obsess over making my drafts as perfect as possible, but I've slowly started learning that the DELETE key is on the keyboard for a reason, and it'll still be there when my draft is done. I'm trying really hard not to edit too much as I write. Saving that for later!

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  3. Congrats on 20K! That is fantastic! And you can totally reach 25K this week. We're all rooting for you. :)

    Love that blouse. It's so cute. :)

    I didn't know that about Randy Travis. That's really too bad. I've always loved "Forever and Ever, Amen". Such a great song. Hope he pulls through this.

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    1. I hope he gets through this, too. I was really surprised to hear he's only 54.

      And thanks for the support! :) I'm going to write a little in a minute, so hopefully I can get my wordcount off to a good start!

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  4. Yay 20K! And yay parties with your sisters--I wish I could have had the sorority experience, it always sounds so awesome. Revolutionary Road is one of my favourite books :) love it.

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    1. I've wanted to read REVOLUTIONARY ROAD for a while. I want to see the movie (Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet together in ANOTHER movie? Yes please!) but I always like to read books before I see their movie. :)

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  5. Congrats on hitting 20k words. Don't let the momentum die, keep going!

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    1. Thanks Kate! I'm doing my best...got some exciting scenes coming up that I can't wait to write. :)

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  6. Oh, I loved the Chocolate War! I read it for a Young Adult novel class I took a couple of semesters ago. Congrats on hitting your goal! 20,000 is awesome! Good luck with your writing goals! Have fun at the museums! Have a great weekend!

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    1. I'm excited to read it. For some reason, I never had to in school, and I feel like I've been missing out. Glad to hear you loved it! :)

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  7. Congratulations again on hitting 20K! I am so excited for you -- and for Bowie, too, since this means she's been on lots of awesome adventures already. :)

    And YAY for D.C.! Which museums are you visiting? We did both history ones when we were there in March and I absolutely LOVED the "First Lady" exhibit in the American History museum and the gemstone/mineral exhibit in the Natural History museum. So fascinating. Have the best time!!

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    1. Thanks Shari! Bowie is definitely keeping busy. She's turning into a middle school me since discovering how easy it is to check books out of the school library!

      And I'm super excited for D.C. I was never a huge history person in school but I always seem to love museums. We're doing a bunch of Abraham Lincoln stuff (Ford's Theatre, etc), American History, and Natural History as long as we have time. I'm dying to go to Natural History because I want to see dinosaurs. ;)I'll definitely be posting pictures when we get back!

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  8. Big congrats on hitting 20k and for beating your driving anxiety. You've had a super busy week! Yaaaaay! Enjoy DC too. It's a fantastic city!

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    1. Thanks! I'm so excited to go to DC. Even though I'm not a huge history person, I love being able to see history in front of me. I'm sort of obsessed with learning new things. :)

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  9. Love your cute GAP outfit! I also prefer the outlet's clothing to the actual store's. What's up with that? And hello... Yay for a fellow sorority girl. People always give me weird looks when I tell them I was in a sorority, but I loved it! Such an awesome college experience, and I'm still close with several of my sisters.

    Way to go hitting the 20K mark. 25K should be totally doable at the rate you're going. Best of luck with it, Kaitlin!

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    1. Thanks Katy! Most people think I'm crazy when I say the outlet has different clothing than the store. I'm so glad you understand! :)

      And I swear by Greek life now! My first two years of college, I thought I hated the idea of sororities, but then I decided to go through recruitment on a whim and wound up finding some of my best friends. It's definitely not for everybody, but I recommend the process to a lot more people than I used to. What sorority were you in?

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  10. YAY for 20K! That's fantastic! And I'm so glad you're still excited about the story; keep it up!
    I LOVE the outfit, by the way. So cute! It sounds like you've got some fun things planned this week. I'll look forward to the pictures!

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    1. Thanks so much! Writing is a million times easier when you're excited about where your story is going. Here's hoping it stays that way. :)

      Good luck with your writing goals for the week, too!!

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  11. I nominated you for a Liebster Award :) Go to my page for more info!

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