Hello, all you beautiful people! ^^ I’ve been wretchedly busy as of late and deep in the trenches of rewriting Island Keepers, but I wanted to pop in here to give you a small little update on how writing’s going, as well as what books I’ve been reading this month! (Hence, the title, The Bookshelf. I have, however, realized that it is precisely the same name that Beth Brower uses for her newsletter… XD I swear this wasn’t intentional at all.)
Ahem, anyway. I hope you’ve been having a splendiferous October so far, and I hope you enjoy this little rambly update! ^^
~ the books i’ve been reading ~
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega.
This was a fun middle-grade fantasy read! I’d heard so much this book, though I never really got around to reading it, so I was delighted to pick up a copy of it! The cover is gorgeous, and the characters so much fun. Though it wasn’t my favorite read ever (for various reasons) it’s still a cute, fun book!
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.
This is technically a re-read of it, but this is a book that is so very close to my heart (as I suspect most of you probably already know by now. Given the fact that i’ve mentioned this one… or two… hundred times…. *coughs awkwardly*). Had we a physical copy of this book it would’ve been worn to tatters by now, I think…
I do now though! ^^ Have a physical copy of this book, that is. And I cannot wait to settle down to read it sometime this fall!
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I heard this book recommended to those who enjoyed the Emma M. Lion series, and it has intrigued me ever since. I adore books set in the 1800s and 1900s and especially those told in a journal format, and I’m most excited to dive into this one as well! A woman whose family is living in a crumbling castle? Sign me up!
A Storm Inside Her by Lola Mae
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book from the author, and it is such a lovely middle-grade fantasy!!! I finished reading it last night, and this is SUCH a delightful book! ^^ It’s so full of heart and magic and friendship, and it reminded me of Wings of Fire, almost! Wolves, songs, prophecies, family… It is just such a wonderful book, and the writing is beautiful too!
It releases on October 17th, and I have a review of it coming out this Monday!! So keep an eye out for that!
~ what i’ve been writing ~
It’s been going…
Messily?
Busily?
Chaotically?
Most definitely chaotically. But I’ve been making a great deal of progress! There’s still much to untangle — the villain, for instance. I don’t know why I struggle so very much with villains and stakes in my first draft — but I’m most grateful to be writing consistently every day. <3 It was such a struggle for me at first, but I think I’ve started healing from burnout, and it’s slowly getting easier to combat my perfectionism!
I’m nearly at the Midpoint of this novel now, and I am SO excited for it!! Alas, I cannot say much because spoilers, but THINGS ARE COMING TOGETHER AAAAH!!!
I’ve been writing a few, occasional chapters from my villain’s POV! Which I’ve actually never done before. (Save for a few dream sequences in Enchantria where Elenora dreams of Ravena and her twisted plans, but I don’t think those quite count, since it’s still Elenora’s POV.) Tis been most interesting! And I’ve discovered that my villain hates birds, for some reason…
All jokes aside though, tis been such fun, and I might even end up keeping some of those chapters when it comes to the final draft! So if any of y’all have been struggling to figure out your villains’ dastardly plans, I’d highly recommend writing a few bits and pieces from their POV! You never know what you might discover.
I’ve also been working on outlining — yes, outlining. How shocking for me — the second draft of my cozy MG fantasy, in the hopes of working on it for Novel November! I’m very much a pantser and I confess, I cannot bear the thought of ever outlining for the first draft. Outlining and me… We are very much like Gollum and sunlight.
However, there always comes a point where, once I’ve got the basic bare-bones of the story down, I need to put some actual structure into the story so that it’s not floundering all over the place.
And, alas, that time has come.
Ta-daaa!!! STICKY NOTES!
So while I don’t enjoy outlining in the first draft, I do find it quite fun to do so in revisions! ^^ Also, I just love sticky notes. XDD They’re such fun. Even if mine keep falling from the board… I’ve taken much of my outlining method from this video by Natalia Leigh.
I’m also hoping to announce the title of this cozy fantasy soon! Tis probably going to be the final title, actually. It’s so very rare (for me at least!) for a working title to actually end up being the final title, so that’ll be exciting!!
And there you have it, folks!! A little reading & writing update from the corner of my writing shed! (Quite literally, actually. XD I have this room in our apartment that I just call my writing shed and I have my desk tucked away in the corner of it.) Do let me know down in the comments how your own writing is going or if you’ve read any good books this October! I love hearing from y’all!!
Till next time and wishing y’all a splendiferous week,
-Isabelle
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