Writing Update 2 | Small Victories

Yeah, it’s about that time again guys. So here is another writing update for you. I think I’m going to be doing these weekly now. I should have an update posted every Friday or Saturday.

This week things really took a sharp turn in the right direction for me.

Over the past year or so my writing has suffered dearly. I had been feeling unmotivated, I wasn’t writing consistently, and I just wanted to give up.

However, like I said this week a big change happened. I started writing everyday, even if it was only for a few minutes. Not only am I feeling ten times better because I’m doing what I love to do, but I am also getting closer and closer to completing this book with every passing day. Since my last post I have managed to completely overhaul the first five chapters in this book, come up with a new title, and add 1700 more new words. Which has brought this WIP’s word count up to 9.7k words.

For some thats nothing, they could accomplish all of that in their sleep, but for me it’s a big step. I’m hoping that I can continue to be more productive as time goes on.

On Writing | 6 Reasons Why Reading Is Essential For Writers

If you guys had followed my previous blog than you will know I had a series of blog posts under the series title of On Writing. This here is a continuation of that.

I’m sure you all have heard that in order to progress as a writer you must read. You might think that it isn’t as nessecary as everyone makes it out to be, but I can assure you that it one of the best things you can do to improve your craft.

Why reading is such an important part of being a writer goes much further than you might think.

Here are some key point to keep in mind of why it is so important.

• You are exposed to many different genres
• You are exposed to many different styles of writing
• Say you wanted to write a book but didn’t know exactly how, you can get ideas from the way other authors have written similar topics
• Reading can inspire you
• Reading can widen your vocabulary
• You can find popular tropes within your niche

Those are just six examples of why reading is important to us writers, but the list goes on and on. There are so many benefits to it.

Speaking from experience I feel like reading has genuinely helped me better my writing skills. If you follow me on here quite regularly then you know I read a lot of different books. I think that’s another key factor. If you read “easy” books, or those within your comfort zone, it is harder for you to grow.

I hope that some of you found that this post helped you in some way. If it has let me know! I love connecting with fellow writers.

TV Shows I Ate In February

Hello everyone! I have seen this kind of post going around on various social media platforms, so I thought why not join in.

In this post I’m going to be sharing with you the TV shows that I watched throughout the month of February.

Did I like them? Did I hate them? You’ll just have to read on to find out.

First off,

LOST

Description:

The survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 were 1,000 miles off course when they crashed on a lush, mysterious island. Each person possesses a shocking secret, but they’ve got nothing on the island itself, which harbors a monstrous security system, a series of underground bunkers and a group of violent survivalists hidden in the shadows.

My Thoughts:

All throughout February I was obsessed with this show. To be honest I still am. It’s just that great.

In Lost a plane crash lands on, what they think is, an abandoned island. The survivors have to learn how to survive on this island while dealing with constant threats.

Currently, I am on season three. It just keeps getting better and better, in my opinion. I can definitely see myself continuing on with this show until the end.

At the moment this show can only be streamed on Hulu. Which is a total bummer, I’m not sure they removed it from Netflix, but if you have a Hulu membership definitely take advantage of it to check out this show.

The next show I ate this month was,

THE STRAIN

Description:

Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the CDC’s New York-based Canary Project, is called upon to investigate when an airplane lands with everybody on board dead. What his team discovers is a viral outbreak that has similarities to an ancient strain of vampirism. As the virus begins to spread, Goodweather works with his team and a group of the city’s residents to wage a war that could hold humanity’s fate in its hand. The show’s executive producers include Oscar-nominated writer Guillermo del Toro and Emmy-winning producer Carlton Cuse.

My Thoughts:

Can you guys tell I’m really into science fiction? LOL.

I feel like The Strain is one of those TV shows where you either like it or you don’t. In my case I like it, not as much as LOST, but, it’s still good.

What kicks the whole show off is a plane making an emergency landing completely unannounced at a New York  air port. Only everyone on the plane is dead. Or so they thought.

It’s another show that if you like suspense, and being on the edge of your seat the whole time, you’re going to love. I feel like with every episode so much happens, and it’s never boring for me. So if you like blood sucking mutants that take over cities go check it out.

Right now this show is available to stream on Hulu.

That’s it?

Yup, that’s it guys. Those were the only TV shows that I really watched for the whole month of February. So, be on the look out to see what I watch next month.

In the meantime what shows did you guys eat up in February? I’m always looking for new recommendations, so comment below.

Catch ya later,

Sara

 

 

Writing Update 1 | The Struggle Of Finding Time

Hey everyone I just wanted to pop on here to give an update on the status of my writing. If you have followed me on twitter, or my previous blog, you will know I’ve been at it for quite some time now. I’ve been writing, but no where near as much as I would like to be.

I’ve been struggling to find the time to write. I’m working on two undergraduate degrees, working full time, and to top it all off my husband and I are trying for are first child together.

School demands a lot of my time, and so does my job. I easily spend 40+ hours at work every week. Also when we decided to start trying for a baby I didn’t foresee all of the doctor appointments to figure out why I’m not pregnant yet.

So my free time at the moment is stretched pretty thin. But I’ve been managing 10-30 minutes a day for my writing. Some days it goes great and I can hit over a thousand words in that time frame. Other days I’m lucky if I can get a couple hundred.

My original goal was to have the book I’m currently working on finished by the end of February. Clearly that hasn’t happened. It’s discouraging, but I’m going to keep at it.

I want to self publish. I want self publishing to be my full time job one day. Writing is what I love doing, so I can’t back down now.

Book Review | Kodiak’s Claim by Eve Langlais

Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links. For more information visit my Disclaimers page.

Where To Buy:

Amazon // Barnes&Noble // Kobo // Google Play

Goodreads

Title: Kodiak’s Claim

Series: Book one in the Kodiak Point series

Author: Eve Langlais

Publisher: Self-Published July 24, 2014

Genre: Romance // Paranormal Romance // Fantasy

Source: Amazon

Blurb:

A BIG Bear Romance.

He might growl, but she’s not afraid to bite.

Hands full taking care of his clan, the last thing this Kodiak bear needs is a woman poking her cute little nose into his affairs. But when she refuses to back down–and shows the courage to stand up to him–he can’t resist the allure of a curvy city girl.

She’s mine. All mine.

And when a rival clan thinks to use her to force his paw, he’ll show them why you never piss off a Kodiak, or threaten what’s his.

Tammy is convinced all men are scum, even gorgeous ones like Reid Carver. She knows he’s hiding something. Something big. She just never expected a real freaking bear hid underneath all those yummy muscles. But when the truth comes out and he tries to scare her off with a roar, she shows him not just bears have bite.

Review:

When I first started reading this book I had no prior interest really in shifter romances. I knew that they were popular, but I never thought that they would be, well, my thing. My shifter experience was limited previously to werewolves and that’s about it.

After talking with some other writers, I figured I would check out a shifter romance to see what all of the hype was about and to see if I would be interested in writing in the genre in the future.

What grabbed my attention for this book specifically was that it was set in Alaska. Which, if you don’t know, happens to be one of my favorite places in the world. Therefore, I was already sold on trying it out.

Before I started reading it I was kind of worried that it would be just sex, sex, and more sex. However, that was not the case with this read. Yes there were some sexy times, but they were built up to very nicely.

Our author here, Eve Langlais, writes very strong lead characters. Tammy, our heroine, and Reid, our hero, are very much that. They are very well developed, and from the first chapter I knew that I was hooked. Simply because I had already started to love Tammy.

Tammy work for an insurance company, which is how she meets Reid. She was sent out to Kodiak Point, Alaska to investigate a claim that his company had filed with her agency. Throughout the entirety of the book Tammy was my favorite. Her character seemed so real, and I could relate myself to her on many occasions while reading. She’s not your typical girl next door, she has voluptuous curves that set her a part in a very good way.

So did I end up liking the whole shifter romance thing? Yeah I really think that I did. I wasn’t so sure about the whole werebear/bear shifter thing at first, but it really wasn’t that different from books about werewolves. I think that it was all just in my head. This is a read I would recommend to any of my friends, and I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads.