E-govaned friends! Welcome back!
At the time of writing this, I personally have been on “quarantine” for almost two months. While it is certainly frustrating to be trapped at home, this time has actually proved to be quite useful to me, both in unwinding after an extremely busy season and in finishing multiple projects I needed to make time for.
My life before quarantine had been packed. Babysitting jobs every day, volunteering time, and lesson-planning squeezed into every spare moment of my week. In my prayers, I’d been begging God for a break.
Whoops.
Be careful what you wish for, because I was suddenly faced with no excuses to not do the things I’d been procrastinating on.
Some projects I have managed to finish in the past months. Some are still works in progress. But either way, this extra time to breathe has really invigorated me for the big changes coming up in my life. It’s also given me the time to contemplate the person I’ve become, and look for the next steps to improve myself for the future.
But enough of that sentimental nonsense: let’s get to the fun stuff!
Reading!
Let’s not beat around the bush: when I get busy, I don’t read. And when I don’t read, I get sad. So in this extra time I made a point to pick up some books, new and old, to enjoy!
The first book I picked up to read was a brand new one I had bought from my local bookstore called The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. It’s a mystery/thriller, and I picked it up because that’s a genre I’m trying to get back into. I loved mysteries throughout elementary and middle school, stuff like Nancy Drew and the American Girl Mysteries. But as I got older, I found that I didn’t know where to start with the adult mystery genre. So I’ve just been picking up whatever seems interesting, and this book checked off that box. (Make sure to leave me some mystery suggestions if you have any you like!)
This book was fast paced and gripping: I read the entire thing in one sitting. I found myself sympathizing a lot with the main character, and her struggles were really compelling. Most of the story was written in first person from her point of view, and for the the majority of the book, she filled the “unreliable narrator” role, which while a little cliche (I’ve read at least three books of this genre with an unreliable narrator element), was still interesting and compelling.
Those were probably my favorite things. I found the plot to be extremely repetitive, and the twists left me disappointed rather than surprised. All the other characters in the book were extremely vindictive and rude, unnecessarily so in my opinion. They had abrupt mood shifts and unclear motives, so I couldn’t really bring myself to care about any of them.
With that in mind, if you’re interested in a quick, gripping read, I’d give it a shot. But honestly, you could probably skip this one: it was a bit of a dud for me.
The other book I’ve actually finished during quarantine is Dracula by Bram Stoker. I had actually started it months ago, but in the business of my life, I forgot to pick it back up.
That was a big mistake on my part.
This classic horror novel is one of my new favorites, both in the plot and characters, but also in the prose itself. It is written as a collection of journal entries and newspaper clippings from multiple characters, who all end up coming together near the middle of the book. While the twists may not come as a surprise to a modern audience (who is familiar with the vampire lore from this story), it still manages to captivate as you unravel this terrifying mystery alongside a very fun cast of characters.
It starts out fairly slow, the science is outdated, and the dialogue can get long-winded at times, but I still found it thoroughly enjoyable and quite charming!
Currently, though, I am working on reading two books, the first being Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It’s a story I’m familiar with from plays and movies, so I thought it’d be a good place to start as I’ve never read a Jane Austen novel before. So far I am loving it, and the original text certainly outshines all its adaptations! The witty dialogue is easy to get lost in, and all the characters are extremely engaging and compelling! I cannot wait to finish it!
The other book is one I am re-reading, and one that is dearly close to my heart. My sister and I are reading The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien together, I myself annotating as I just bought my own copy, while she is using my dad’s.
I’m only three chapters in, but I don’t have the words to express my love and appreciation for this book. It shaped the way I create stories, the way I read, and even the way I interact with others. The prose and themes not only hold up but surpass my expectations every time I read it. It’s truly an incredible book that I want everyone in my life to have the joy of experiencing. I could go on, but instead, I charge you with a mission.
Go read it. I know you have the time.
I know you do.
Anywho, let’s move on, shall we?
Writing!
I have three writing projects thus far that are all suitably long, and of good enough quality for me to consider important. The oldest of these is Learning: a science fiction novel I probably started about five years ago.
And just now finished.
No need for applause, but thank you. I appreciate it greatly.
Now, the procrastination on this project traces back to one of my least favorite qualities: I’m a perfectionist in my writing, and when I reread my work, I have a compulsive need to edit. And when you have one project spanning over years of you gradually improving… you’re going to eventually hate going back to it.
And I really did. I’d sit down to write a chapter, reread the last few I had written, and cringe. It would zap all my motivation, and I just wouldn’t do it.
Thankfully though, I also like to finish what I start, and my perfectionist nature finally had to bend over to that. Multiple times I set the goal to finish. I’d get closer, but never quite cross the finish line. This story was my baby, and I didn’t want to just cut it off too soon. So I took my time.
Far, far too much time.
But it’s finally finished. I wrote the words “The End” and closed the google doc.
Probably forever.
Don’t get me wrong: I love this story. I poured my heart and soul into it, I researched countless hours for it, wrote up timelines, drew maps, brainstormed, planned, and typed out each incessant word.
But in that long amount of time, I think I’ve moved on. Moved on to better projects, and newer ideas… ones I’ll be motivated to finish a little bit sooner.
Speaking of which, we’ll move on to talking about my most recent project: Carnifex.
Carnifex was my NaNoWriMo 2019 project that I completed in the month of November at 50,395 words.
I really, really, really loved this project.
It was fun to write, and as I continued to look over it, I found it fun to read (which was exciting for me, as previously established). I quickly sent it off to my writer friends (shoutout to Claire, Kayla, Abby, Madelene, and Charlie: you guys are awesome!) and got tons of helpful feedback and critiques. I spent the last month restructuring and replanning, and I was ready to start draft number two!!
This still honestly excites me. I’ve never cared enough about a project, or thought it was good enough to warrant a second pass. But in this story I saw potential for something even greater, and I’m ecstatic to bring it to a whole new level!
This month has been my NaNo part 2, and I’ve been working on my Carnifex edit every day. It’s a struggle sometimes, but my excitement is still managing to push me forward, and hopefully I’ll have a second draft ready to read by June!
I had more stuff to put in this post, but I seem to have rambled a bit. I suppose I’ll just leave it at that then.
Use this time to contemplate life, and in between, read a book! Or better yet, write a book! Enjoy the break: life is going to get busy soon enough! 😉
Namárië! Until next time friends!
