November 2020 Book Update & NaNoWriMo Recap

Yes, I do realize it’s January and this blog post is a bit late. However, I think I’m going to write a few blog posts in January, and I thought a book update was long overdue.

Honestly, since it’s been over a month since November ended, I don’t have a whole hell of a lot to say about it. NaNoWriMo was 100% virtual, and that was interesting. It was my last year co-ML-ing in my old region (I’ll miss you, Yolo County Wrimos!).

Oh yeah, and I finished my novel.

August 2020 Book Update

Hoo boy, you guys! August was a bit of a whirlwind for me. I quit my job, packed up our apartment, drove a moving truck to a different state, put a bunch of boxes in my mom’s living room, and have been trying to get the cats and dogs to interact in a civil manner. Oh, and I’ve been taking Sarra Cannon‘s Publish & Thrive course and helping my husband find a job. Needless to say, I didn’t get any writing done in August.

July 2020 Book Update & Camp NaNoWriMo Review

The one goal I had for Camp NaNoWriMo this month was to finish my book. That… didn’t happen. In fact, I only wrote each week because of the write-ins I hosted.

Now that I have discovered how to add gif blocks, you’re all in trouble. Be prepared for a lot of Supernatural because we have a gif for everything.

July 2020 Camp NaNoWriMo Goals

It is July, and that means it’s Camp NaNoWriMo! It’s a bit more laid back than November, but it’s still a great time to get some words in. I’m so excited for this month!

Things will be a teensy bit different, though. I often try to get in an actual in-real-life camping trip during Camp (both in April and July), but April’s wasn’t even planned because of the pandemic and July’s is now cancelled due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases (so also the pandemic… yay for people who refuse to social distance and wear masks… ‘MURICA!). I might have to console myself by setting up my one-person tent on our patio.

June 2020 Book Update

Guys. A lot has changed in the month and a half since I wrote my May update.

Something I first really noticed in November of 2016 is that current events have a significant impact on my ability to write. It takes me a great deal of time to contemplate and process everything that’s going on in the world. The most recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests has been no different.

Imposter syndrome (or the fraud police, to use Amanda Palmer’s fitting term) has been a friend to me these last few weeks. Who am I? Who am I to write a book? Who am I to follow my dreams and smash my goals when so many people in our country are unable to do the same because of systemic racism? Because they are dying?

A Peek at My Desk

I love seeing other people’s writing spaces, so I thought I would share mine with you this week! Forgive the horrendous pictures, for I live in a cave of an apartment and have no professional lighting.

I write and work my day job at my desk in our dining room. Until last August, I had a tiny desk that was just big enough to hold my laptop and maybe a small notebook, but while my husband and I were on our honeymoon, my mom got me this secretary desk! Yeah, it’s supposed to fold up to save space, but I always have my keyboard and mouse out.

Outdoor Play and Faceless Videos

I don’t know if you can tell, but I’ve been struggling recently with what to do with this blog.

One social media calendar says this week I should post a “day in the life of an author” blog or vlog. Another says that today I should share someone or something I’m grateful for. Could I write a blog post on either of these things? Of course. Those are actually pretty easy prompts to work with.

The problem is that it feels forced. It’s not like I would lie or anything. I wouldn’t say I’m grateful for the nice weather we’re having when it’s really reminding me that in a month or two it’ll be over 100ºF on a daily basis. I wouldn’t write that I had such a great day or week writing when really I struggled. I still doesn’t feel natural or like me, though.

May 2020 Book Update

Since stay-at-home orders were issued in my state, I have been both more and less productive in every aspect of life. I thought I’d take this opportunity to update you all on what I’m doing and planning for my writing life and career at this point.

Fantasy & SciFi Novels I’m Excited to Read in 2020

I know, I know. Four months of 2020 have already passed us by. However, I didn’t get a chance to make this list earlier in the year, so I’m making it now. The list is short because I’m a slow reader, but what is here promises to be gold. Because of quarantine, I’ve been using my Kindle a lot, and I’m so excited to get these downloaded as soon as I can!

Food, Revisited

I’ve always been confused about food. What is there to be confused about? You buy it, you cook it, you eat it, and your body is fueled. Do basically that process three times a day, and you’ll be healthy, right? Wrong.

I’m not sure if I can blame the melting pot of American culture for the loss of my ancestors’ European food traditions or if I should blame post-war food manufacturers and their marketing teams. Perhaps western diet culture and Hollywood are to blame for my confusion, not just directly, but indirectly through my mother and grandmother. Maybe I can blame Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network for allowing the emotionally manipulative advertisement of junk food when I was a child. Or perhaps it is all these things, muddled together with other aspects of my childhood and the white American culture in which I was raised.