Another Fine Myth - Book Review

“Take the Universe as it is. Add devils, dragons, and magic. Then stand back… Skeeve was a magician’s apprentice, until an assasin hired by an ancient enemy struck and his master was dead. Skeeve suddenly found himself alone with Aahz, a purple-tongued demon the old magician had summoned from another dimension as a practical joke just before he was killed. Aahz had lost his powers. Skeeve had just lost his job. So, together, they set out through a universe populated by Deveels, Imps, dragons, unicorns, and more, look for a way to get even…” (from inner book jacket)

I would actually disagree with the book jacket, they aren’t really out to get even exactly. Skeeve is terrified when he first meets Aahz. After all, he has just seen his master killed by assassins, and Aahz is the first demon he’s met. Aahz quickly sets the record straight, he’s not some scary monster, he’s merely a magician from another dimension, and he had a deal with Skeeve’s master that they could summon each other to scare the unwary. Unfortunately his magic’s gone for unknown reasons (they suspect Skeeve’s master did something) but he still decides to take Skeeve on as an apprentice.

They soon discover that the person behind the murder of Skeeve’s master is someone that Aahz has grappled with before, and that he wants to take over not just Skeeve’s dimension, but eventually, all of them. That’s why I say they aren’t really getting even (which the book jacket said) but on a quest to save everyone from this crazy magician, and to get Skeeve’s powers back if possible. Along the way Skeeve begins to take off in leaps and bounds as a magician, they use trickery and magic to fool first a demon hunter and then some demon assassins, and Skeeve gets his first taste of inter-dimensional travel.

I give this book 4 out of 5 cups of coffee, it is a great read, and the only thing that’s holding it back from that five is that while I loved this book I’ve read others recently that inspired me more to say “Go buy it, now!” However, if you love fantasy, and like some good humor mixed in, definitely put it on your to-read list!

~ Ruthie ~

Versatility

Apparently I'm a versatile blogger! What does that mean? Well first of all it means that I won this award!

Thanks AubrieAnne!

Out of random curiosity (cuz I'm like that) I looked up the word "versatile" on dictionary.com to see what the actual meaning is because I know that sometimes I have a good idea of what a word means but don't know the precise meaning. What I found was:

1.capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to anotherof various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.: a versatile writer

Isn't that awesome? They linked versatility with writing and my award is for being a versatile blogger...which of course means I write! And, I suppose, I do have some versatility in my blogging. I do try to keep this blog related to the writing and books, but within that I have some randomness and versatility. 



Now here's the rules for this award:


· Thank and link to the blogger that bestowed the award (see above)
· Share seven random facts about yourself (see below)
· Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers and to let them know

1. I'm currently wearing a skirt for the first time this year O_O

2. I have 6 piercings, three in each ear, on the lobes. 

3. I had a cartilage piercing but it closed and that's a long story. 

4. I got to help design my wedding dress.

5. I used to swing dance.

6. I got to help teach dance lessons at two different weddings.

7. My wallet (like so many other things) is purple.

Want to know more random facts about me?

Check out this post I did last time I received awards!

Who wins next?

I have a confession to make...

I haven't been following other blogs very well >_>

Oops.

So I'm not going to pass this award on this time.

Please nobody stone me.

~ Ruthie ~

WIP Wednesday - Moving Right Along

I'm still working away on my editing. Now that I have things reorganized in paper form I've been taking the digital copy and rearranging it, as well as inserting my notes, and copying the outline from the 3x5 cards into a single sheet. And I'm not done...

At first when I thought about writing this post I was a little embarrassed. I've had a couple of days - how long does it take to reorganize a file and type in notes? And isn't that a little OCD to do it all at once instead of as I go while editing?

That's when I had to sit back and remind myself that I am my own harshest critic. For one, I have at least worked on my book every day that it's been feasible since we last talked, which is nothing to sneeze at. For two, the reorganizing in digital form is taking a lot longer than I thought I would, so my original guess that it'd be done with an hour of two of work wasn't accurate and I shouldn't hold myself to it. Lastly, I've already seen this as being useful.

There are a lot of plot holes that I'm going to need to fill in this edit. Things where I just "made it happen" and now I need to go back and make it make sense. As I've been copying the old text into a new file, in the current "proper" order, I've come up with some of the solutions to filling those holes. It still feels like I'm being a little OCD about it - but as long as it's helping with the edit - I shouldn't complain right?

I've signed up for round 2 this year of ROW80! Round 1 went nothing like I expected, but that's ok, life does that some times. I don't have definite goals yet for this round, but the official start date isn't until the 2nd, and I should have something by then (maybe).

Don't know what ROW80 is? Check out the website! 

~ Ruthie ~

Ps. How's your writing going?

The Night Circus - a Book Review

“The Night Circus arrives without warning.” The Night Circus is more fantastical than you’d ever imagine. The Night Circus is the Circus as you’ve always hoped it would be.

In “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern we meet Celia and Marco. Each raised by a different magician to follow in their legacy, and to participate in a strange challenge that neither of the participants really understands until the end. All they know is that their skills are being pitted against each other.

The arena for this challenge is the Night Circus. The Circus starts as a dream by those who have a love for the incredible, and who have a burning passion to create the ultimate reactions from the audience. Marco joins in the production as the assistant to the man orchestrating it all. Celia joins when she auditions for the part of the Illusionist and shocks everyone with her skill.

The imagery in this book is incredible. I felt as if I was swept up in the magic as I read, and I lost all track of time and what was really going on around me. I was, for a time, transported to the Night Circus, where dreamers are welcome.

Honestly? I don’t think I can adequately describe this book for you. The best thing I can do is to say GO READ IT. This is one of the best books, possibly the best, that I have read in the last year or so. I’m giving this 5 out of 5 cups of coffee and I’ll be anxiously waiting to find out what else Erin Morgenstern does.

For all of your writers out there, especially the Wrimos, guess what? Erin is one of us. This novel came into being because of her participation in NaNoWriMo. I don’t remember the whole story, but if she ended up with an incredible gem like this? Well, I’d say there’s a lot of hope for the rest of us! Dreamers who happen to write.

~ Ruthie ~

The Hunger Games - Minimal Spoilers

I've had several people ask me about the Hunger Games book trilogy lately, along with the frequently stated, "They sound kinda disturbing." Since I saw the movie yesterday I thought I'd take a few minutes to explain why I like the books so much, and of course, tell you what I thought of the movie!

First of all, yes, the concept behind the Hunger Games Trilogy is disturbing. For those of you who still know nothing beyond the title, the Hunger Games takes place in an undefined future in which the land has been divided up into districts after a great war. Each district is responsible for one aspect of industry, and they are all ruled from the Capitol. Seventy-four years ago District 13 revolted and was destroyed, and now in order to keep the rest of the districts cowed the Capitol hosts an annual Hunger Games. Each district is required to provide one boy and one girl, ages 12-18, to participate in a contest to the death, with the winner being rewarded with unbelievable riches, and their district receiving many important benefits as well. The books follow one girl, Katniss Everdeen, who competes in the Hunger Games after volunteering to take her little sister's place.

These Hunger Games are incredibly barbaric, and made even more so by the fact that the citizens of the capital see them as the highlight of the year, placing bets and throwing parties and generally having a great time while children die. Honestly? When I first heard about the books and saw them showing up all over the internet I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like them, but I picked the first book up because I was seeing them all over the place and I didn't want to join the internet discussion without having an informed opinion.

I was blown away by the books. They are very well written and not at all what I was picturing. Yes, there is violence and parts that are horrible, but the focus of the books isn't on the violence, it is on the girl, Katniss Everdeen, and actually? Considering the topic, they are no where near as violent as they could be.

I loved the books because they are about people. People that you get to know and love. The author uses the Hunger Games, which are horrific, to highlight how valuable human life really is, which is something missing from a lot of the media today's teens are exposed to. That's not the only good message in these books either. They highlight how ridiculous the obsession with fashion can become, talk about staying true to who you are when others try to change you, and the importance of friendships and family.

Having said how much I like the books, I have to admit I have really mixed feelings about the movie. I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong! I think they got a lot of things right. There were a few things they left out, but most of it wasn't that big of a deal, and I think they did a good job at maintaining the integrity of the story. They managed to maintain the important messages in the book, they did a great job with the costumes and bringing to life the images in the book, and the actors did a great job.

Still, I think they could have done a better job with it, the most important thing being that it was a better movie for the fans than it was for people who've never read the books. There were things that I understood, knowing from the books what was going on, that left my husband completely confused.

I also really didn't like the camera work. They used a shaky "realistic" style of camera work in many places that was designed to make you feel like you were looking at the scene in first person. I haven't seen Saving Private Ryan, but my husband tells me it was a lot like that style. I would have been fine with it if they only used that technique a little bit, but I think they over did it. It also left me with a horrible migraine, which is just no fun.

Bottom line? It's was better done than Twilight but not as good as the later Harry Potter movies. If you love the books (and don't get migraines easily) by all means, go see it! You will probably really enjoy it. If you haven't read the books, well you might not like it as much, but it's still not a bad movie.

The Luck of the Irish - Creative Writing

This week's Creative Nudge was:

Theme: The Luck of the Irish

Genre: Any

Other Requirements? None

Here's what I wrote up :)


Patrica Ann O'Conner (Patty to her friends) was Irish to the core, and her parents would never let her forget it.

Neither would her friends.

Patty supposed that she would have liked being Irish if things had been a little less, well, Irish in her life, but there was no hope of that. First there was her red hair. It was actually a good shade of red, but her friends never got tired of making jokes about how she was the most Irish person they had ever met, and if she got grumpy, teasing her about the inevitable temper that an Irish red-head was bound to have. She also kinda hated how badly she burned in the sun.

Neither of those was as bad as her parents though. They weren’t just Irish, they were Irish and they reveled in it. Her house was done in a thousand shades of green. Green grass that was fertilized to keep it's healthy color. Green plants. Never a flower in the flower bed because, well, they weren't green. Light green paint with darker green trim on the outside. Paler green on the walls inside, accented by the furniture, the dishes, the carpet, the pillows, the nick-nacks, and even her parents, all in shades of green.

The sole exception to this green paradise was her room. Patty did her room in purples when she was 12 (much to her parents dismay, but they had let her pick out the paint) and accented it with silver, white, and black. She owned green clothing, but only because her parents bought it for her, and she shoved it to the back of the closet so that the only time green ever really invaded her home was when her parents would come in to talk to her.

Don't even get Patty started on St. Patricks day. Seriously. Don't.

If an unfortunate person were to make the mistake of asking her about the quintessentially Irish holiday they would be subjected to a lengthy rant about the improbability of St Patrick actually having anything to do with snakes, let alone eliminating all of them from an entire island, how society currently used it as an excuse to get drunk (and if that wasn't a stereotyped way of portraying the Irish she didn't know what was), and her parents. Her parents, you see, took the holiday as an excuse to throw open the doors of their home to any reveler passing by who might like a pint of guiness in the most Irish household in Sacramento. It was embarrassing really.

Her friends didn't get of course. They thought her parents were weird but cool (especially around the holiday not to be mentioned) and loved how her Mom showed up at school every year with green cupcakes for Patty's birthday. This tradition lasted until Patty's first year of high school when Patty threw a legendary tantrum in which she threatened to dye her hair black if her Mom ever crossed the threshold of her school for anything but a parent teacher conference or otherwise normal reason. Her friends didn't understand why she fussed about it (and why anyone would reject cupcakes) and it was about this time that Patty decided she might need new friends. Not coincidentally, she also began introducing herself as Ann and refused to answer to anything else.

Others might thinking Patricia Ann O'Connor was lucky for being born with into her heritage, but honestly? Sometimes it sucked being Irish.

I had a lot of fun writing this! It was definitely influenced by all the young adult fiction I've been reading lately, and it was fun to try something that I haven't done before! I might try more of it in the future. We'll see.


Did you write up a response to this week's Creative Nudge? Leave me a comment and tell me about it! 


~ Ruthie ~

WIP Update - Constructive Destruction

***Warning, today's blog is full of pictures, but worth it!***

Thursday I posted about finishing the outlining process for my current WIP. I had gone through, marked each scene, and created flash cards to go with them. This is what happened next:

That's my book! Laid out scene by scene! All 91 scenes originally written! The reason there are some gaps is that some scenes did not contain complete pages. While this looks pretty, I quickly discovered it took up too much space to be practical. The goal was to lay out the book in order to contemplate the order of scenes and chapters, and while I might have been able to do that if I had laid it out on a bunch of tables (maybe set up in a square with me in the middle?), my floor just wasn't cutting it. So I gathered them back into a pile,  but I was still thinking the floor, so I spread them out a few scenes at a time around my knees.

That didn't last long. My joints don't like the floor that much, and I realized that I only needed to look at a handful of scenes at a time, so a table would do. Gathering up my supplies, I moved again.

A few scenes laid out to work on.

Like the card table? It's probably from the 70's... 

I used my tray table to put the manuscript piles. 

On the right, scenes to work on, on the left, completed ones paper clipped into chapters.

I loved watching the second pile grow!

In the middle of moving things around.

Since I don't outline first, I found this process really helpful. Especially because I wrote the first draft using alternating points of view (POV). It worked well at first, but by the time I had added in the rest of the adventurers, it just wasn't working well. I also realized, as I was reading through it, that I changed POV way too frequently. It felt like good long breaks in between each character as I was writing it, but reading? I'd change almost every page! That's just too confusing! 

I'm switching to using an omniscient narrator for at least the majority of the book, and that means I need to reorganize the order of some of the early scenes (where my characters were in two different places) and there was a little bit of shuffling through out the rest as well. Mostly in the chapter breaks. I kept my chapters at a pretty consistent word length during writing (it helped me to set goals and meet them) and had some horrible breaks as a result. I know that these might not be the "final" chapter breaks, but I think how I have them divided up currently will make the editing process much easier. Want too see how the final chapters look?

Isn't it pretty? Each chapter is marked with a sticky note in the top right, and has the 3x5 cards that matched the scenes in the top left corner. I'm currently working on taking the original draft and copying it into pages in a new Scrivener file in the order that I've rearranged things. Then I'll edit it chapter by chapter, with the old text and the new text in side by side windows. I have a list of things I want to remember in this edit, and I'll include those the best I can while changing the point of view. It'll be challenging, but it's also fun to watch the book evolve!

I'll probably do this with future WIP's as well, although hopefully they will need a little less work between first and second drafts! It still helped a lot with chapter and flow, and I liked being able to pick things up and move them around. I think a longer table would be nice though. Maybe I'll get a study room at one of the libraries next time!

~ Ruthie ~ 

Ps. How are your WIP's going?

Creative Nudge #7 - Luck of the Irish

Cool Project for a Leprechaun Catcher

I haven't done a creative nudge in way too long, but now that life seems to be settling back into a routine, I'm excited to post them on a weekly basis again! I'm really excited about this one, I actually got the idea for it last night as I was going to sleep, and I'm going to go write up my own response to it as soon as I'm done posting this! 

The Creative Nudge

Theme: The Luck of the Irish

Genre: Any

Other Requirements? None

How it Works

Take a few minutes to write up a short story based on the prompt.

Post it on your blog.

Come back here and leave me a link in the comments so I can read it!

I'll post my own response on Monday.

Have fun!

~ Ruthie ~ 

Friday's Feature: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Book Review

I picked up this book because of the movie hype. If I know a movie is connected to a book, I like to read it! I’m just a book-nerd like that. It helps that I had seen this book around on shelves at the grocery store and popping up in advertisements. Plus, I love dragons and tattoos, so right there we have at title worth looking into.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson” is one part murder mystery, one part thriller, one part psychological intrigue, and one part love story. Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist who, at the beginning of the book, is being indited for libel and defamation of the business mogul Hans-Erik Wennerstrom.

The situation is complicated. Mikael had published his story in good faith, only to have his world crumble. We don’t actually find out until the end of the book exactly what happened, so I’ll leave that up to your imagination. One thing that is firmly established is that Mikael is a good guy in a bad situation.

Then Mikael is summoned to mysterious meeting with the aged head of the Vanger family. There he is presented with the opportunity to write a novel based on the complex and disturbing history of this family who has made their mark in Swedish industry, and at the same time attempt to solve a 40 year old murder mystery. If he writes the book and gives the mystery his best effort, he’ll not only be remunerated generously, he’ll also be given telling information about Wennerstrom.

It’s a crazy proposition, but Mikael is at a place in his life where he needs to take what he can get, and the thought of being able to tackle Wennerstrom at the end makes it worth it.

He has no idea what he’s getting into.

I found the murder mystery compelling. I’ve read my fair share of murder mystery’s, both the classics like Agatha Christie and more recent works, and Larsson left me completely in the dark about the solution. Oh I was able to pick up on pieces along the way, but the final solution evaded me until the end.

I was fascinated by the girl with the dragon tattoo herself, Lisbeth Salander. She’s an investigative hacker who probably falls somewhere on the autism spectrum. Larsson does an incredible job at bringing us into her world as she first is skating around the edges of Mikael’s mysteries, and then becomes an integral part of the investigation.

I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 cups of coffee with the following caveat: the book tackles some brutal topics and contains the imagery to go with it. It’s brilliant writing, meticulous and containing an incredible amount of detail, while still keeping you captivated. However, if you have too vivid of an imagination and don’t handle the exploitation of women well, don’t read it. I believe he handled the topic well, as in there was closure and the wrongs were avenged, but it is a pretty hard core book at times.

I haven't decided if I'm going to watch the movie (either the Swedish or the America version) just because of the brutal imagery used in some places in the book. I handle that kind of thing much better in book form than movies. If I do end up watching them - I'll write up a review!

~ Ruthie ~

Happy Dance Time!

See that? Those are all the 3x5 cards I made for the different scenes in Misfits! (91 in total) Phew. I am so excited that's done! It was a lot more work than I was expecting, and I hit a lot of real-life speed bumps, so I thought I was going to be done with this step a loooong time ago. Now that I have it all organized...its time to tear it apart! I'll explain more about that on Sunday (with pictures!) That's tomorrow's project - and I've been looking forward to this since sometime in November when I wasn't even done with the story yet.

I'm also super excited because I made some real progress in reaching a title for the story, and in figuring out the sequel, all this morning! It's been a big day obviously.

I've known all along that this book was ripe for a sequel, and as I wrote the last couple of chapters it became clearer than ever, but I've never really known what the sequel was going to be about. Today, as I reread and outlined, I found several things that were just too much new information to be including in the last chapters of the book, especially with all the other realizations my characters were coming too. I started jotting down things like "use in the next book," and before I knew it, I realized I just given myself a major driving force for the sequel.

This book is all about my characters finding each other. Yes there's a quest that they're on, and that's very important too, but the quest is really there to drive them getting to know each other and learning to work together. The next book is also going to have some sort of quest to it (that part isn't figured out yet) but the focus for the characters is going to be growth. I'm going to have each one of them gain new abilities (some magical and some probably not), and grow as individuals along the way. I don't know much more than that, but that's more than enough to get me excited!

I've also figured out that Misfits (which is what my band of adventurers is) will be part of the series title. Each book title will have something to do either with the quest, or with the personal challenges facing the group. I know that sounds vague, but it's still a big step forward! I'll keep referring to this draft as Misfits for the time being, just to avoid confusion, and let you all know if I get something more concrete.

~ Ruthie ~

Ps. How is your writing going?

Fear

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Fear. It's something we all deal with. Some of our fears are irrational (there probably isn't a monster in the closet, unless my husband is about to scare me again) and some of them are quite rational (yes, avoiding black widow spiders is smart). There are fears that we have because of a lack of information, there are fears we have based on past events, and fears that are related to current events in our lives. Lots and lots of fears that people deal with in one way or another.

For most writer's there is a fear that we all share. Namely, that our work isn't good enough. 

Now I know that this isn't a fear unique to writers, but I am writer, and I know many of my readers are writers (or artists) and will identify with what I'm saying.

When you write something (or create a work of art) you invest a lot into it. You put in your time and effort, but more than that, you put a piece of yourself into your work. So this fear of not being good enough is very, very personal. 

I have struggled with this fear many times in my life, and most recently, as I've been working on outlining Misfits, the book I wrote during NaNoWriMo last year. (note: Misfits is a working title) I look at this piece of work in front of me and I see all its messy flaws, and believe me, it has a ton of them. One of the characters starts out talking in full sentence and later in the book he only speaks in choppy, broken sentences. One of the character speaks like a normal person and I need to fancy up his language and give him lots of big words to use. There are plot holes. Places where I made things work so I could keep writing and it's just quite frankly not believable. The conversations in places are so stilted it makes me cringe. 

It would be really easy to stop right here and say, "This is never going to be worth the effort. I should do something else." It is going to take a LOT of work to make this book at all readable and, after all that work, what if it's still not good enough? 

Here's the thing though. I can't worry about that yet. As my brother reminded me yesterday, Misfits is a 71k book that I wrote in 29 days. Of course it has lots of problems! Since I've never completed an entire first draft of a novel, and I wrote this one in a very short period of time, there is absolutely no way that the first draft could be anything but a mess.

And so I go on.

I'm 75% of the way through outlining the book, and when I'm done I'm going to spread the manuscript out on the floor, scene by scene with it's matching index card, and make some hard decisions about what needs to be done from there to fix it. I'm committed to bringing this book to a complete second draft, and my fears be damned. I can't let them rule my work or I'll never get anywhere.

Sure, there's a chance I'm investing all this time and effort and I'll decide, in the end, that this book isn't worth publishing, and that's ok. I'll have learned a lot through the process (and believe me I am!) and the next one I write will be better. I have to believe that, or I might as well stop writing. So adios fear, you can pack your bags, I'm not going to listen to your seductive voice.

~ Ruthie ~

Awards!

I'm terrible with awards. People give them to me, I book mark the blog...and then forget. Oopsie. As a result both of these are waaaay over due! If I've given you one of these awards please don't feel like you have to blog about it. We all forget or don't have time or whatever, so no pressure ok?

The Thumbs Up from Skunk award, from Trisha at WORD + STUFF

What it's about: It's named 'The thumbs up from Skunk award' since "we all feel like stinky, stinky skunks some days" and there are people who "make us feel (and smell) a lot better".

What I have to do: Name one thing that you love about yourself, then pass on the award to as many bloggers as you want to! 

One thing I love about myself is that I'm creative. I write, make jewelry, play with yarn, and much, much more. 

People who Make Me Smile:

1. Kayla at The Eclectic Element

2. Jenni Merrit - Author of Prison Nation

3. Jessica of Nayu's Reading Corner

4. Meri of Elbit Blog

From Kayla at The Eclectic Element

1.) Link back to the person who gave it to you! (See Above)

2.) Share 10 random facts about yourself!

1. I'm a little OCD - but not in any of the normal ways - and I think it actually is a really good trait for me as a writer (most of the time).

2. I have two manuscripts in progress. One that still needs the first draft completed and one in editing.

3. My super power is the ability to hurt myself in new and entertaining (at least to others) ways.

4. I started dating the guy who is now my husband because of my super power.

5. I was induced over a month past my due date. Apparently I was stubborn even in the womb... and nothing has changed! 

6. I've seen almost every single one of my internal organs on some sort of scan/test or another (and many of my bones). Yes, that list includes my brain, I do have a brain! (or did)

7. I'm easily distract....ooo butterfly!

8. I tend to adopt people.

9. I can make my eyes look in different directions. 

10. I'm a giant nerd.

3.) Pass on the award onto 7 other people!

1. Trisha of WORD + STUFF

2. Kim of Words and pictures from my mind to yours.

3. Aubrie Anne of Who's Your Editor?

4. Sharla of the BeadedTail

5. Meg of Little Studio

6. Edi of Memories for Life Scrapbooks

7. Kate of Om Shanti Naturals

4.) Follow the person that gave you this award-CHECK!

~ Ruthie ~ 

I'm Baaaack!

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I've missed blogging! Actually I've missed a lot of things. I've been sick for weeks... and before that life was insane because someone I was close to was in crisis and...yeah. It's just been crazy but I'm getting better slowly but surely and I'm happy to blogging again! 

Yesterday was the first time in a month and a half that I had sat down to work on Misfits, my NaNoNovel. That's just sad. I have done writing here and there in the mean time, book reviews, a few writing exercises, but not touched the book. I know that the stress I've been under is a big part of it, but I also think that part of it comes down to scheduling.

I hate schedules, which makes it very hard for me to put myself on any kind of one. Part of it is that I can be very ADHD, so schedules tend to annoy me because I have a hard time focusing on what I'm supposed to be focusing on when I'm supposed to be focusing on it. So for a long time I've given myself a schedule of "you must do this and this at some point in the day" and just tackled it in whatever order felt "right" to me that day.

The problem with that is that the things I want to do, or have motivation to do for whatever reason, get done. The things that I don't want to do? Not as much. 

So I'm trying out a new schedule. It still has a lot of flexibility to it, but I'm assigning chunks of my day to certain tasks (like writing!) and then leaving some vagueness to how I approach the use of that time. I've also put into my new plan time for me to get sick or have migraines (which I do a lot) or for other things to disrupt my schedule. I'll let you guys know how it goes! 

~ Ruthie ~ 

February in Review: Trials and Tribble-ations

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For the non-geeks, "Trials and Tribble-ations" was the 100th episode of Deep Space 9 in which they pay homage to The Original Series episode about tribbles. 

February was full of Trials, in fact, they were almost multiplying at the rate of tribbles! Not quite though, fortunately, or I would have been completely buried. Between myself and my friends we had 2 ER trips, a hospital stay, car accidents, parasite infections, and a multitude of housing problems. Ugh. Just ugh.

Because of this, February was less than stellar. I got a little bit of writing done (10,233 words) but no where near as much as I had hoped. This month, instead of focusing on the writing part of the equation, I'm going to focus on editing. I'm doing NaNoEdMo - National Novel Editing Month!

What's that? Well NaNoWriMo is for writing the novel, NaNoEdMo is for editing it! 50 hours of editing in one month, which really shouldn't be as bad as doing NaNoWriMo. I know I put in more than 50 hrs in November! On the other hand, editing is harder, so maybe it will be just as hard. I have no way of knowing. I've never done this before.

I wasn't really planning on doing NaNoEdMo because I thought I'd be far into the editing by now. But, well, the last two months haven't exactly gone the way I expected. And I work better under a deadline! 

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In other news - I read 14 books this month (15 if you count the beta read I did for a friend) although that number doesn't show up on the good reads tracker yet. I have a couple books to put reviews in on the site still. At 30 books for the year I'm right on track for my 180 this year! Which is just a silly challenge to myself, but still fun.

I'm not really "back" to blogging yet. The parasite I mentioned up there? Yeah, um, that was me. *sigh* I'll be fine in the long run, but really still not feeling good, so I'm not going to commit to blogging regularly again until I know I'm better, and that I'm well in the groove for NaNoEdMo. See you next week maybe? 

~ Ruthie ~