What I'm Reading
I finished The Archived by Victoria Schwab and even though it took me a bit to get into it, it turned into a great book! And such an interesting concept. Now I'm reading All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill and even though my reading has been slow of late, this book has had me from chapter one.
What I'm Writing
Nothing this month. I'm almost done reading On Writing by Stephen King (I may even be done by the time this post gets published) and then next up is Self-editing for Fiction Writers. I also read the December and January issues of Writer's Digest. The January 2014 issue especially had some great articles.
What Inspires Me Right Now
All this reading on craft is making me miss writing! I'm hoping that something, or better yet lots of somethings, stick in my brain when I start revising Eponine. (I'm thinking now I should have been taking notes because I have the worst memory ever.)
What Else I've Been Up To
Last weekend was my husband's family Christmas weekend in Edmonton. We ate some great food and swam a lot in the hotel pool and played lots of games. The kids had a great time doing a gift exchange and acting out the Nativity.
Also, I've been trying not to despair over all the things that have broken down recently. First, it was our Wii. Then the dishwasher. Yesterday, the snow-blower. Today, my husband's truck and our washer. Add in the fact that Christmas is coming plus two birthdays- one a week before Christmas, the other a week after- and I'm dying just a little bit. I feel like Ron Weasley: "Why is everything I own rubbish?" I have to remind myself that it's just things, just money, and that everything will work out eventually. Even if that means going to my sister-in-laws house every week to do my laundry. :/
AH! I hate when electronics and appliances start to fall apart. Our fridge recently gave us a scare! The Archived has been on my radar for a while, but I have yet to pick it up! I've heard All Our Yesterdays is amazing, gonna have to add it to my list! Glad you and your family had a fun Christmas weekend!
ReplyDeleteGreat use of Harry Potter references, even if the reason is definitely not great. That's so terrible, Melanie! I hope you're able to fix or replace everything without too much trouble. Still, the time is less than ideal. We've had a couple of those ill-timed expenses come up lately too. :/ With all of the snow we've been getting, I think I'd bump the snow-blower to the top of that list!
ReplyDeleteThe two craft books you mention are ones I have on my shelf. I've read ON WRITING, and part of SELF-HELP... Both are such great resources! Maybe I need to read more craft books to give me that push back to writing. Have a great week, Melanie (despite all the breakdowns).
I hate it when appliances break down! It always has the most inconvenient timing. I really enjoyed All Our Yesterdays - it's probably the best YA time travel sci-fi I've read! On Writing is a fantastic book. I always keep it by my desk for reference.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week! :)
Things always seem to break down in batches. It's so frustrating, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a fun Christmas weekend.
Hope revisions kick start a shiny new idea or two :D
Oh no things always go wrong around the house at the same time and they always pick the worst time to do it too! You must be feeling a bit stressed, hope you get it all sorted soon.
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas weekend sounds great though.
Have a good week!
We also experienced a rash of home stuff gone wrong. Never fun to fix appliances and things than it is to day, decorate a new room or buy new clothes. I keep wondering if I should subscribe to Writer's Digest. I have several writing books published by them, and a handful of issues I've picked up over the years. I have a lot of other magazines though.
ReplyDeleteI love when kids act out the Nativity! My church is doing it early this year--this weekend, I think, and I'm not sure I'll make it in to see it. We have a younger leaning church so there are always a lot of babies and toddlers, so it's really a gamble to begin with to get the kids in costumes and to stay put for ten seconds. :)
Sorry everything is falling apart around you. Just from reading your blog, it seems like your spirits are still intact. That's always a good thing. My personal life moto is "anything that doesn't kill you makes you still alive". You are still alive, and life must go on, doing laundry at your sister-in-laws.
ReplyDeleteI've heard such good things about All Our Yesterdays. Let me know how it is!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear it's been a rough month, but you are right--everything will even back out soon. Hang in there!
It seems like everything always breaks down at the same time. There must be nasty little elves out there that love to torment us by breaking our washing machines.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right, it's just stuff. They are just things. Don't let it ruin your happy. :)
And all that reading about writing, you are going to be all set for the New Year and amaze us with your brilliant words! (Don't argue, it's science) :)