NaNoWriMo Week Two Update

So it's been a week since my last NaNo update.

...not much has happened.

And yet, here we are.

Unfortunately, school takes priority over writing in Mom's mind, and thus not much writing has taken place as I've been working on a massive project for one subject.

But I still need to update y'all on what has happened.

Because big stuff happened this past week.

First, here is my novel playlist. In case you're curious. (slight language warning on "Wait For It")



Basically the soundtrack for the 2011 film adaptation of Jane Eyre is the soundtrack of this novel. Seriously.

This week, I've only added just under 1000 words to my word count. But I shall not be discouraged! (...ish)

As far as the big news goes... I PASSED THE TEST TO GET MY LEARNER'S PERMIT. SO I'M LEARNING HOW TO DRIVE, Y'ALL.

Now you may ask yourself, wait, I thought you were 18... why aren't you already driving?

That is a long and convoluted story for another time, but let's just say that now it's kinda important that I drive. So I go for my road test on my brother's birthday (weird, huh?), and hopefully will walk out of the DMV with an official driver's license in hand. I'M SO EXCITED.

I also got to vote for the first time which was pretty cool.



But back to my story.

I finished chapter 3 (if you're on OYAN, you should go check it out *winks*).

Whitney is understandably freaked out by the giant black bear.

Mrs. Mills the housekeeper is probably my favorite adult character I've written.

THE LIBRARY IS GORGEOUS IN MY MIND'S EYE, Y'ALL.



Would you like a sneak peek at chapter 4?

I think you would.

     “Th- th- I… what?”  I couldn’t even form a sentence, just pointed in disbelief at the bear, which stood and lumbered toward us.  Mrs. Mills was acting like this was a totally normal occurrence, and even cast the creature a scowl.

     “Now look what you’ve done, you’ve frightened the poor thing.”
     “You let the thing into my house.” Its voice was rough and gravelly, like you’d expect a bear to sound, I suppose.  Somehow that comment snapped me out of my stupor.
     “I’m not a thing.  I’m a person.”
     It looked me over with what was almost a disdained expression.
     “Indeed.” It turned back to the housekeeper. “Why did you let it in?”
     “Because it was cold and wet and I took pity.  And I won’t have you saying anything against having her here.” She wagged a finger at it as if it were a misbehaving dog.  “She was looking for you, anyhow.”
     That was when it clicked.
     “That’s… that’s the Musta Hirvia.”


And now I think I'd best finish this up so I can get back to writing.



How's your NaNo going?

NaNoWriMo Week One Update

It's that time of year...

The air turns cooler (or not, if you live in Florida like me),

Cinnamon scented things appear in stores with a vengeance,

And writers world-wide start tearing their hair out.

That's right, it's NaNo!

Like so many of my OYAN brethren, I too am attempting to, if not complete, then at least make progress on my current novel.  Though this is not the first year I have tried NaNo, if I when ('scuse me, when I win... I'm thinking positive...) it will be the first one I've completed.  I did conquer Camp NaNo last July, so that gives me a boost of confidence. 

So Grace, you may be asking, what novel are you writing this month?

I'm glad you asked.

Title: Bear
Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale Retelling
Synopsis:
     Whitney and her twin sister Rose are best friends who couldn't be more different.  Rose loves nature, and is often sought out for help with the hunt; while Whitney prefers to spend her days by the fire, keeping their blind adopted mother Katherine comfortable.  The day after they turn 19, Rose decides to seek work in the capitol city.  But months later, she returns, speaking of a curse she must suffer.
     Legend says that the Musta Hirvia, a bear with ebony fur and dagger-like teeth, lives deep in the wood, hunting any Ardenian that ventures past its borders.  Believing it truly to be a duke vanished mysteriously years ago, Whitney takes her sister's place.  But can she free the man behind the beast?



So if you couldn't tell, it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast mixed with Snow White and Rose Red.  I've been working on it for over a year now and it's probably my favorite project (don't tell the others).

So far this week, I have 9,288 words (but, I will be honest, only about 400 of those have been written this past week, I was working on the story before that point xD)

This week has been crazy, so I haven't written all that much, but I'm hoping and planning for this week to go better.

What about y'all? Are you doing NaNo? And if so, how's it going?



(also if you would like to be my buddy on the website my profile is here)

~ Mia

October Wrap-Up and September TBR

Welp. It's November.



October just whizzed by like nobody's business

Let's just jump right into this, okay?

What I Read:

I read four out of the five books on my TBR for this month so hey, there's something. And the only one I missed was because it had to go back to the library. Poo.

Navigating Early ~ Clare Vanderpool

Overview: When Jack's father sends him to a military boarding school at the end of World War II, he meets a strange boy named Early who reads the number pi as a story and chases a mythical bear.
Rating: 5 out of 5 (OH MY GOSH, IT WAS SO GREAT)

Violet Eyes ~ Debbie Vigue

Overview: When a storm brings the prince to her doorstep, Violet finds herself falling for him.  He is to marry soon, but she isn't a princess... or is she?
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (a bit cheesy, perhaps, but a quick read)

Masterminds: Criminal Destiny ~ Gordon Korman

Overview: The sequel to "Masterminds", finds our heroes on the run from Serenity, off to find the few who may be able to help them.
Rating: 5 out of 5 (I need book 3 NOOOOOOWWWWW)

Fridays With The Wizards ~ Jessica Day George

Overview: In the fourth book about the Castle Glower, the evil Wizard Arkwright has escaped! It's up to Celie and her family (with some help from their griffins, of course) to stop him.
Rating: 5 out of 5 (I can't wait for book 5!)
Random Thought: Okay, technically, I finished this one on November 1st, but it was the first thing I did, and I read most of the book in October and this is my blog I can do what I want.



What I Watched:

Girl Meets World

Yes, okay, I don't watch a ton of Disney Channel shows, but I had watched some of the few first episodes and related on a personal level to Riley Matthews. So when I found the first two seasons on Netflix, I pretty much marathoned the whole thing.  What I found was magical.  It's just a feel-good show, but there were still parts that made me cry.  Riley is a ray of sunshine that must be protected and Farkle is my precious child and Maya is so sassy and Lucas is wonderful and the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the FRIENDSHIP and AAAAHHHHH.  It's so great.

Timeless

So this is NBC's new time travel show and if you haven't gotten into it yet, I highly recommend it.  I mean, they've already met Lincoln, Ian Fleming, and Davy Crockett.  What more could you want?



What I Listened To:



To be completely honest, I've been mostly listening to my novel playlist, but these are the songs I was listening to otherwise.  (and "We Need a Little Christmas" is what my dance class is doing for our Christmas performance... so yes, I now have all the words memorized... what else would you expect? xD)


What I Did:

I spent another week at Walt Disney World for my little sister's 16th (!!!) birthday.  When did she get this old?  This is not allowed.

I started working on a new story idea (super-heroes, anyone?) and kept working on my Beauty and the Beast retelling (NaNoWriMo, here we come!).


What I Posted:

Well... ouch. The only thing I posted is about why you should watch Leverage.
Please don't kill me.


What I Plan to Read:

The Book of the Shepherd ~ The Scribe
(just started this one and it's pretty great so far.)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ J.K. Rowling
(I will finish this book this month JUST YOU WAIT)

The Beautiful Pretender ~ Melanie Dickerson
(for realz this time, guys.)

Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark ~ Ridley Pearson
(I need to reread this for the 2016 reading challenge, plus I just got book 2 and I don't remember like anything that happened in this first one... so yeah)


I'm more than a little disturbed that there are only two months left in 2016.

Big things are happening this month, which I will let y'all know about as they happen.

But overall, November looks promising, and I look forward to what God has in store for this next month.



Any plans for November? What was your favorite book you read this month?

(also, happy Halloween/Thanksgiving/CHRISTMAS in case I forget to tell you later)

~ Mia