March 11, 2023

Hello there,

Wanted to jump on and talk a bit about how things have been going.

WRITING PROGRESS

It seems February was full of twists and surprises. I expected to have more time to write starting early in the month but then got hit with life. A close family member had a severe, life altering, health issue. As it goes, the past month or so has been a lot about adjusting and rebalancing my efforts.

Happily I can say that despite it all my book writing has been coming along. I have been doing a lot of work with theme and character development.

INSPIRATION + LEARNING RESOURCES

A couple of things that have been motivating me and helping me along in my writing journey recently have been:

1. The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin.
2. Dan Brown’s Writing Thrillers MasterClass

I am not surprised that this book has been on the New York Times bestseller list as it is chock-full of advice, thoughts, medications, tips etc about the creative process, art, and artist. If you identify as a creative person, are interested in the topic, or would like to develop these skills this book is for you. I really like how the content is broken up into many short blurbs of sorts that discuss a variety of topics on creativity. It makes the reading go by so quickly. Also there are brief little intros or section breaks that are presented almost like poetry. I really enjoy that.

To be frank I have been rationing this book out to myself, only reading a few sections at a time since I find it so satisfying to read. I want it to last me a good while since I find it so energizing for my writing work.

I have been getting in the habit of reading it in the morning as I am getting ready to write and find that it really gets my brain going, dreaming up all sorts of things.

•Dan Brown’s Writing Thrillers MasterClass•

This course has been great! Listening to Dan Brown talk about his approach to writing has been awesome. The way he explains his process is very approachable and easy to understand. He goes beyond giving the generic “write what you know” advice to actually providing some very practical tips.

If you are in the market for an accessible course I definitely recommend this one.

CURRENTLY READING

At any given time I shuffle through about 6 or so books of all kinds. The fiction book that has currently popped into the front of my reading shuffle is

…drumroll please…

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

This book is expected to be available to the public on March 28th, 2023. I was lucky to snag an advance reading copy and would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to go out and buy it when it comes out.

I will be honest, I am not really a horror fan and for some reason I thought this book was going to be scary. I think Good Reads has one of its tagged genres as horror so maybe this influenced my thinking….

Anyway, point being that so far I have gotten some subtle creepiness in the beginning of the story that hints at a possibly more terrifying discovery later on but it hasn’t been anything that scared me or that has turned me off from continuing to read at all. In fact, I have found that I am really enjoying this author’s writing style. I find her voice to be very approachable and entertaining. I love all of the little asides and bits of inner commentary she adds, it gives the reading experience a sense of closeness with the protagonist. Sam, the heroine, feels like somebody I know and I really like that.

This is the first T. Kingfisher book I read and am so happy to be enjoying her writing style. It makes me curious about her other books. Definitely considering picking one up in the future.

EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN

There are a couple of things that I have been getting into this month. New to me, very familiar to others….

1. Manga
2. Magic the Gathering

•Manga•

Manga books are very popular and well loved by many. I had never really taken the time to explore this area of written work and so to feed my curiosity, I finally took the dive. I picked up two different manga series to get my feet wet and find out more about what makes this such a well-loved space in the literary world.

The two series I purchased are 1) Komi Can’t Communicate and 2) Death Note. They are very different from each other but I did that on purpose. I wanted to get a taste of the different variations in the manga world.

I started with Komi Can’t Communicate. So far it’s been pretty enjoyable. I have enjoyed looking at the cool artwork that makes this genre what it is. It has also been fun reading the book from right to left. Reading Komi Can’t Communicate has been an interesting experience. I think the combination of artwork and written words almost feels like I am watching an animated movie. It’s been a cool experience. I’m definitely glad I ventured out of my comfort zone to experience manga reading for myself.

•Magic the Gathering•

Another “adventure in things unknown to me” was my entrance into the world of Magic the Gathering. I have been aware of the game and card collection hobby for a while now and had been curious to know more.

This month I purchased my fist few card sets 1) Phyrexia: All Will Be One Collector Booster Card Set and 2) Dominaria United Gift Bundle Set.

I also picked up a deck box to store my cards, some themed card sleeves, and a card binder. I really like looking at the artwork on the different cards and look forward to collecting more in the future. I know I want to buy a Game Night boxed set so I can play with my husband and have already eyed other themed card sets I want to collect.

I am very excited about building my card collection and flipping through it periodically. What can I say? I like the artwork 🙂

FINISHED READING

Alright, I’ll wrap up this long post by sharing a book I recently finished.

In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing by Elena Ferrante

There are some books that I like to spread out as much as possible. They are like a rich treat or meal that you savor and save for special occasions. This was one such book, it is a fairly small one at 111 pages published here in the states on March 15, 2022.

I picked it up in early November 2022 and made it last through the end of February. I gotta say this book was pretty great. I loved the way Elena Ferrante shares her perception of what it means to write. I don’t think this book is for everyone but if you are a person who enjoys literary criticism or literary theory you will enjoy reading this book. It definitely game some food for thought that I nibbled on and really enjoyed. I really like books like this one, books that challenge your thinking and help you to see things differently or expand and deepen your understanding of a subject you love.

Well, thanks for sticking around until the end!

See ya next time.