Weekly Goals 18-11-19

I'm surprised, but over the weekend I passed the 25K mark on my NaNo book.  Which means I'm pretty well on track for finishing on time.  Especially since I have two days this week and two days next week to write all day.

So obviously, this is my goal for the week: to write at least another 15K.

Which should be do-able.  And which will put me in a good position to finish the 50K by the end of November.  I don't think the book will be finished, but that's okay.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 15-11-19

This post is part of Lexa Cain's blog hop, Celebrate the small things. Head on over there to sign up!

What am I celebrating this week?

I am at the very last stages of the massive project I've been working on since June at work.  It should all be done and dusted by Friday next week.  And a second project I have been working on for several months is also just about at an end.

Which means I'm going to take some time off next week and the week after to write my NaNo book.  I was hoping to get a full week off, but because of meetings and various other things, I'm having to take two days each week instead.  But it still should work.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Broken Beautiful Hearts

I enjoyed this book.  It dealt with something I haven't come across in a YA book before - possibly because I don't read a lot of sports books - and it's something I think should be spoken about more.  I won't say what it is here, because that will ruin part of the plot and I don't want to be one of those people.

When up and coming soccer star Peyton falls (or is pushed) down a flight of stairs at a party, she's terrified that her future is over.  With a cloud of suspicion hanging over her now ex-boyfriend's head, and even her best friend doubting her account of what happened that night, Peyton agrees to go an live with her uncle in the country while she recovers.

But there's drama even in the small town and Peyton soon finds herself in the middle of it, thanks to her twin cousins, heroes of the local football team.  And things get even more complicated when she meets Owen, a sweet, sexy guy whose dedication to his own sport is as great as her own.

I'm not particularly interested in sport, so it's unusual for me to pick up a book about sports.  But I do love passionate people who dedicate themselves to being the very best at what they do.  And this book is full of people who fit that profile.

Owen is a great love interest too, even if he does seem a little too good to be true.  But hey, it's fiction, and if you can't invent the absolutely perfect boyfriend in fiction, there's no point.  And as it turns out, Owen isn't quite as perfect as he seems...  Aren't all people like that?

It isn't a hard read, but it's an interesting one and the characters are fun to spend some time with.  There's enough tension and intrigue to keep one turning the pages without anything being too anxiety inducing.

So I'd recommend this one.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Her heart has to break before it can open.

When star soccer player Peyton Rios receives an offer from her first-choice college, senior year starts off exactly as planned. But when Peyton uncovers her boyfriend’s dark secret, she confronts him―and finds herself falling down a flight of stairs. Peyton’s knee―and maybe her dream of going pro―is shattered. Everyone is talking: Was she pushed, or did she fall? Peyton knows the truth, even if no one believes her.

He has to let someone in before it’s too late.

With her future on the line, Peyton goes to stay with her uncle in a small Tennessee town to focus on her recovery. Dating is the last thing on her mind―until she meets sweet, sexy Owen Law.

But Peyton doesn’t trust her heart, especially when she senses that Owen is hiding something. When their secrets are finally exposed, Peyton has to decide if love is worth fighting for.

Weekly Goals 11-11-19

I had another fairly productive weekend writing and added about 5K to my MS. I feel like a lot of what I'm writing is a little pointless and will probably get cut way down when I'm editing, but at least the story is getting onto the page.  I feel like I will be in good shape when I get to have my week off to write.  I was anticipating having to get through 30K that week, but it may only be 25K.

So my goal this week is to just keep going.   See how much more I can do during the week, and do as much as possible in the weekend.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 8-11-19

This post is part of Lexa Cain's blog hop, Celebrate the small things. Head on over there to sign up!

What am I celebrating this week?

The usual things...  It's the weekend!

I have almost finished my giant project at work, so things should calm down a little by the end of the week.  And I hope to take the following week off to finish my NaNo book.  I am so looking forward to being able to immerse myself into my story for a week.

NaNo is going well so far.  I wrote 10K last weekend, and then have only managed another two since.  But I hope to get at least 5K in this weekend, if not more.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - November

It's early November, so it must be time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!  And this month's question is a good one:

What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?

I've Googled some really odd things over time, and learned a lot from my research.  I often end up going down rabbit holes for hours on end, so if I have limited time, I tend to just leave myself a note if there is something I need to Google, and do it later.  But sometimes you just need to do that research because you can't move on with the story until you know that specific fact, or how that thing actually works.

I think the weirdest thing I ever Googled (and the thing that might get me in trouble if anyone ever needs to do deep forensics on my computer for some reason) was for Stumped. I was looking for clinical research or medical papers about amputees and sex so I could inform some of Ozzy's experiences better.

There are a lot of weird people out there, and some equally weird fetishes...  Who knew there were so many porn sites offering amputee sex?  It was quite disturbing, especially discovering there are people out there who fantasize about this stuff.  Maybe one day I'll use this knowledge in a character. But probably not...

What's the weirdest thing you've ever Googled?  Did you find what you were looking for?

Weekly Goals 4-11-19

So...  After saying I didn't think I'd get a lot of writing done this weekend, I actually wrote almost 10K.  I knew this story was just itching to come out.

So I'm feeling pretty good about that.

The goal is to try and write some words every day during the week, and then next weekend I will try to have another manic burst of activity.

After not really writing anything new all year, it's amazing how good it actually feels to just sit down and let the story pour out.  I know it's going to be garbage, but at least it's words on a page.

What are your goals this week?