This week was a good week (winter storm aside). I wrote every day, and only one day did I write less than my goal of 1K words. It was Saturday, and I really wanted to write that day. I managed 200 words, it was late at night, and I was so exhausted from a long day, but I have to admit, I just quit. I flopped down on my bed and I said, “I can’t do it.” Which was WRONG, I could have done it. So I’m going to try really hard not to do that again. Overall, I wrote over 13K words this week, which is over my goal of 7K. So I’m pretty happy with that. As for the gym goal… Let’s not even talk about that one. I hope to do better with that next week too.
Today, the snow kept falling. And will keep falling. This was the view out of my day-job-office window. Yikes! Good thing I LIKE to stay in and write.
This week I’ve been working on the draft of Twisted Currents, which will wrap up the Black Depths Universe before NaNoWriMo 2016. I had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday, which made me feel really good about where I stand with this project. I’m also going to start my NaNo prep next week, after the Thanksgiving long weekend, during which I’m sure not to get much work done at all. Though I do hope to do a lot of reading.
So how about you? Do you have writing goals? How are they going?
I’ve already been blogging for a few weeks about how much I love fall. I’ve been collecting pictures of all kinds of fall goodness that I want to share with you. Enjoy!
My favourite Pumpkin Spice Latte all cozied up in one of my favourite scarves.
Colourful Displays
Pumpkins
Leaves
Pumpkins, leaves, and colourful displays, oh my!
Trees, trees and more trees.
Birds!
And my absolute favourite tree. I wish they came in this colour all year round!
Over the past weekend I was very busy participating in the 3-Day Novel Writing contest, which was awesome. I expunged an idea that occurred to me a while back. It felt good to get it out and put me way up on my 1,000 words a day goal. I wrote 22,000 words over the weekend, so I guess now I don’t have to write until September 23rd, but that’s not the point. The point is to write 1,000 words per day until next September. I’m hoping it really is habit forming, and that the year will teach me just to get it done!
Today however, I headed out on a five hour trip for my day job (almost all writers I know have one). I kicked it off by getting a pumpkin spice latte and browsing the bookstore. I did not, however, buy any books because my shelf is overwhelmed with books right now. But I am pretty tempted to pick up Empire of Storms on ebook.
I am currently in my hotel room, ready to wind down after spending 5 hours listening to the audiobook of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. I actually am excited for my 5 hour drive home on Thursday because of this book! I’ll post a review on the weekend.
Oh, and last but not least, Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch is on tour this week, with reviews and some guests posts. If you haven’t seen them yet, here are a few links:
Well, I finally did it. I finally read those last ten pages of The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey. Yay. It might have taken me forever, but I loved this book. I really wish that life hadn’t been so full of interruptions and that I could have read The Shadow Hour (associate link) in a shorter time frame, since I hate when I begin to forget what’s happening.
I read Girl At Midnight last summer, and ever since I’d been looking forward to the sequel, and it didn’t disappoint. Echo is a lovely heroine, the right amount of fierceness and vulnerability. The characters are all stars, really, but Jasper was my favourite in this book. Full of action, The Shadow Hour didn’t disappoint. There were a few nit-picky things about it though, like the purposeful use of cliches’ that grated my nerves just a little bit, but for the most part, I could forget about these lines and move through the story. There was a lot happening, and rarely a slow moment, so it was easy to keep moving (when life didn’t interrupt).
Now, the only thing I hate about reading new releases is how long you have to wait for the next book in the series. Summer 2017 can’t come fast enough, I can’t wait to read more of Echo’s adventures.
5/5 Stars
JEH
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Broken Tide, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, was released April 1, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.
I haven’t been a student for a long time, but September has continued to feel much more like a New Year to me than the much more celebrated date in January. Maybe it has something to do with the season change come September, or all the new school supplies I still buy (hello, notebooks!), but I just love this time of year. Fall always brings with it a new start, and this year I’ve decided to set some new goals. I’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now, and as it’s almost the end of August, I’m finally going to tell you just what it is I’m planning.
Here’s my cat sitting on my goal book. Is he trying to deter me? I won’t let it happen!
I’ve been getting busier and busier. I’m getting ready to wrap up the Black Depths Universe (for now, at any rate), and have new drafts that need rewriting. I also have a storm of ideas in my head that need writing. This all adds up to one thing: I need to get to work!
So here’s what I’m going to do:
I’m pledging to myself that I will write 1,000 words everyday, for a total of 365,000 words from September 1, 2016, to September 4th, 2016. Why September 4th, you ask? Because that will be the end of the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest 2017, which—just in case I fall behind on this massively huge goal—will give me the chance to make a mad dash to the end. But, I’m truly hoping that pledging to write a modest 1,000 words a day will become habit, and therefore highly achievable.
I will use that 365,000 words to finish 5 pre-determined projects which have been banging around my space in various stages of completion for the past couple years. I’m not coming up with anything new in the next twelve months. Or rather, I’m going to keep new ideas to simple jot-notes and very vague detailing. I’m not going to get sidetracked *firmly crosses-arms*. I’m going to stay ON TASK.
I will go to the gym once a week (or run). Yeah, this has nothing to do with writing. But I’m putting it down here anyway because it’s important. And I’m only pledging once a week because I do have 1,000 words to write a day. Also, going from 0 to 1 seems like a pretty big jump, I’ll have to see how I handle it.
I will check in on my blog once a week to update my goal progress (I’m shooting for Thursdays—we’ll see how that works).
Alright, those are my goals. As I’ve said, i’ll update here once a week to make sure I stay on track. If you feel crazy enough to join me in any or all of the above goals, comment on the post, and after each weekly post you can check in, too.
Next week, after a massive start doing the 2016 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, I’m going to update about one of those 5 pre-determined projects. Now, Ready, Set, Write!
JEH
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Broken Tide, the first two books of the series can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, was released April 1, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.
Well, here I go again. Ten years ago I participated in my first ever 3-Day Novel writing contest. I wrote, I hiked Lake Louise, I stayed up all hours of the night, and I got something done. I loved it. But it was a crazy and insane three day week. So I’ve decided to do it again.
Yep, you heard right, and it all has to do with my September New Year plan that I’ll be revealing next week. And also to get out this little idea I’m calling The Crazy Lady and The Crow, or maybe, The Crooked Lady and the Owl, or possible, The Twisted Hag and the Spin of Fate…. So many possibilities.
Want to share about of the craziness, have an idea you want to get out? Check out the 3-Day Novel Writing contest Website and all it has to offer. My favorite is the survival guide.
Then go get yourself some supplies, you want it.
JEH
J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. The first three books of the series: Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, Broken Tide, and Dark Shores can be found on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.
I’m back. It was a long, and wonderful vacation, full of writing conferences, visiting with old friends, nature, and even a bit of fishing and dinosaurs…
Sadly, there was barely any reading, we just had too much to do. And now I’m home and there’s a disaster waiting for me to clean it up…
I’m hoping that somewhere under all of this mess is The Shadow Hour, a great book that I’ve been trying to finish forever so I can post a review. I think I only have about twenty pages left, so I’m really hoping I can find it soon and that the mischievous house sprites that like to misplace my things haven’t lost it forever…
When the book shows up, I’ll finish it and post my review here. If I haven’t been lost in the mountain of stuff that needs putting away. Once I’m done with the reading and the cooking I’m going to begin my new year listing (I’m much more a September New Year person than I am a January New Year person). I’ve come up with a writing challenge for myself, which I will post more of here in the next week, as well as some updates regarding the Black Depths Universe. Meanwhile, I hope you’re all enjoying these last few beautiful weeks of summer. What have you been up to?
(associate link) in a shorter time frame, since I hate when I begin to forget what’s happening.
J. E. H U N T E R 