I’ve put my blog in the backseat for the past few weeks because I’m just exhausted. I’m tired of juggling everything, and really, I needed a break. Now we’re in the homestretch, the election is so close, and I am trying to stay positive, but damn, is it hard.
This month I have been revising my novel, really trying to tighten it up and bring it to life. I think I’ll have one of my best drafts completed by October 1st, and I’m excited.
Poetry? I’m trying to write more, but I have less energy to work on poems lately. Between revising my novel full-time and my new remote job, I don’t have a lot of energy left to work on poetry, but hopefully, that will change next month.
I’m focusing on reading these two books right now:
I’m looking for a contemporary poetry book or collection. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d be very interested to know what they are.
When it comes to world events, or I guess, in the U.S. The decision for the Breonna Taylor case is devastating and a complete disappointment. Another soul-crushing failure, and I can’t believe the response the Louisville police had, arresting protestors before the curfew on the day they announced the outcome of the case. Just total bullshit. Another blow.
I am so tired.
Stay positive, my friends, and reach out if you’d like to talk about books, writing, or anything else on your mind. I am here and happy to chat.
These are my latest four stories. Check out my Medium profile here.
What is coming:
Another “Life During COVID” blog post this week
Podcast sesh #3 (by next week)
Poems (I will start to post poems again. I haven’t since March)
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Stay safe and stay healthy!
Cheers,
Alina
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The intended goal is to write a 50,000 worded novel over the course of the month of November. Each day your writing goal is around 1,600 words in order to accomplish this. So far I have about 3,700 words written and I need around 1,700 written today to keep up.
I love to write Horror, scary stories, fiction in general with disturbing twists and turns that dabble with the strange, unusual, and surreal. For this NaNoWriMo I have decided to try my hand at realistic fiction. Keeping it in the ‘real’ world the best I can. So, of course, the book I’m working on right now is a Mystery/Crime/Thriller. Let’s see if I can pull it off.
What I’m listening to:
Pinterest Board/Inspiration:
Thank you for following me! And coming along on this new and exciting journey!
The famous line from the movie, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” was nowhere in the book. A creative add-on by Kubrick.
The Shining
Yesterday, I finished reading Stephen King’s classic THE SHINING. At about four-hundred-something pages this novel took me on the ups and downs of the Torrance family at The Overlook Hotel. What I loved about the book that was different from the movie (directed by Stanley Kubrick) was the building of tension between the characters through their POV’s. Seeing The Overlook from the perspectives of all the important characters added to the sheer terror of their situation while emphasizing how malicious the hotel really is. Plus the character of Danny Torrance is captivating, a clever little boy born with second-sight who has to fight evil forces to try and keep his mom and dad alive. This was a quick read for me and now I am planning on devouring DOCTOR SLEEP before the movie comes out at the end of the month, or at least before I see it.
Halloween
This year I haven’t done any ‘Halloween’ themed posts. To be honest, it is because I haven’t had any time. A little over a week ago, I finally quit my internship as an Intern for SG BOOK SCOUTING. After a month of working (unpaid) some 25-30 hours a week, I was worn out, irritated, and found myself with little to no time for my own writing or reading. Initially, the internship was for three months but I barely made it over one month. I found myself doing anywhere from 2-8 hours of work a day as an intern. On Fridays I would be given an assignment due on Monday morning, usually, this was to read an entire book (around 50,000 words or more) and write an extensive review. This weekend assignment wasn’t too bad except that I usually do doubles on the weekends at my job working 9-12 hour shifts, leaving me with little time to do the assignment. Since quitting, I’m less stressed out and I have had time to catch up on my daily writing and read whatever I want. I have been incredibly happy, enjoying my freedom again and I have decided that for the future any internships I apply to will have to be paid. My time is too precious for me to work for free.
I’m not sure if I’m going to have any time to write a few Halloween themed posts before the end of the month but if I do, chances are they will be centered around movies (of course).
My Novel
The last time I took a look at my novel it was September 9th, according to my google docs. Now I’m going to take another crack at it. Whenever I approach my novel, again and again, I do a read through from start to finish. Doing my best not to edit or change anything. I want to read it just to read it. When I go back over it to start the second reading, I will edit part by part (so far it’s three parts). I want to get a good portion of this done before November because I think I’m going to try to write another book (totally unrelated to the one I’ve been working on) for NaNoWriMo this year. I have a few story ideas and weird plot lines shifting around in my head and I think what I’d work on would be realistic fiction. A change of pace, something different, from the weird supernatural stories that are always floating around in my head.
I will keep you all updated and expect a new post soon in MY FIRST NOVEL series.
