September Adventures and Episodes

I figured it was time for me to create my own monthly "doings" and "happenings" title... as I've been using Deborah's monthly-wrap-up format for over a year now... and while I may still refer to these posts as such, I wanted to make a nifty graphic of my own, too. What do you think? Seems people like seeing what I've been up to each month, so here is the new version of "ishness" here on the blog. I'm not sure I like it... we shall see if it sticks around.So... what was I up to in September?The Author Life For Me - Adventures in WritingLots of editing. Much editing. All the editing, all the time. I edited Minstrel's Call chapters 31 - 42... and then I hit a major blockade. One portion of the ending needed a ton of work and re-writing, and it has bled over into every other aspect of the ending of this novel... which means that the final chapters are proceeding extremely slowly. I sort of ground to a halt for the last two weeks of September and lost all the momentum I had built up through the summer... and got discouraged, disheartened, and depressed about the entire project.But I can't stay in that place for long, and after taking a week or two off, I am getting back into the swing of things. I spent some time mulling over the plot points of the last 10 chapters with Derek and formed a new outline for them, an outline that helps me see where I need to re-write and where I can leave what I have. All this re-writing means that I am going to have to do another pass through the book on my computer just READING through and making sure it all flows well before I can even think about ordering a hard copy to proofread... but that is okay. I knew that a 2017 deadline wasn't going to happen... and while I would love to be able to offer you this book as a potential Christmas gift you can give to family and friends... or ask for for yourselves... I do not believe I am going to be able to make that deadline. I need to be able to spend the time to make sure that this book is the very best it can be, and unfortunately, that takes time. Which is a bit of a rare commodity these days.I do think it will be worth the wait, though.Bookwyrm AdventuresI finished reading The Lunar Chronicles and started reading Fairest, which is sort of part of the Lunar Chronicles, but also more of a side-story. I will do a series review of all the books when I have finished them.I read White Wolf and the Ash Princess with the Fellowship of Fantasy book club and much enjoyment was had.I also read The Great Turkey Walk out loud to the kids for school - which was super fun. And I read Castle Behind Thorns, which I enjoyed even more than the first two Merrie Haskell books I've read.We finished Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose, which was everything I expected it to be. Beautiful and heart wrenching. I also learned some details of the story I hadn't known before.We also finished Wild Born, which was... ok. The story was fun, but the writing style did not lend itself to being a very good read-aloud. I'm not sure how to explain that, except that some books you can read aloud and not get annoyed, and others you can't. This was one of the latter types - I think it's a pacing and style issue.I also had the privilege of beta-reading "The Brightest Thread" by Tracey Dyck, which was SOOOO good... and I'm super proud of myself for getting it done in a timely fashion and not leaving it till the last minute. (I don't beta read much because: reasons, but every now and then I will make an exception for an author I already know I like or if it's a book where I just CANNOT WAIT for the release date). Am very much looking forward to buying the finished version of this someday in the (hopefully) near future!!!Adventures and Episodes on the Silver Screen We finished reading the first three books in a Series of Unfortunate Events, so we introduced the kids to the movie (the one with Jim Carrey in it). I think they enjoyed it.Derek and I have been catching up on the new Hawaii Five-O, which is fairly enjoyable. I love the snarky conversations between Dano and Steve.The kids discovered Mia and Me on Netflix and it is ADORABLE. All three of them love it, and I find it to be very cute and fun. It has a whimsical sort of feel to it, and is produced by a coordinated effort between Canada/Italy/Germany... which is cool.I... cannot remember what else we watched. It must have been extremely memorable. Maybe we just haven't watched much of anything else... oh... we are rewatching Star Wars: Rebels in preparation for the release of season 3!!! (Which I think has now happened... we need to get a copy).Episodes of LifeBrantland turned 3! And there was Paw Patrol and Batman and Optimus Prime and all sorts of rejoicing! And I learned that my husband's knack for picking up new talents is very nearly limitless as he made and decorated an AMAZING Batman cake. Seriously... look at this...What even?I am not jealous. I am perfectly happy to be surrounded by people who are good at EVERYTHING. (Actually, I am so glad that I have talented people around me... it means I get things like editing and cover art for free). *grin*We started school and have managed not to fall behind yet... and we're already 5 weeks in! That is encouraging.We have started working on costumes for Halloween. Brant decreed that we are all to be Star Wars characters... and nobody argued with him... so we're having fun piecing together costumes for everyone. Derek will be Darth Vader, Leiana will be Princess Leia (of course), Nathalie is going to be Ashoka Tano, Brant is Anakin Skywalker, Grayden will be Yoda, and I will be attending as Jyn Erso. The kids also found my copy of "Wookie Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook" and are busy planning a Star Wars themed party for the future. I am all for this!Future adventuresI really want to finish outlining Turrim Archive #3 and try to get the rough draft pounded out for Nanowrimo. I have been reading "Write 5,000 Words in an Hour" and really want to try some of the techniques and see if I can learn to draft faster... but I know I need to have a good outline ready to go first, or I'll run into too many obstacles trying to get the book written, and I don't know if I can work on outlining that while also trying to finish up this pass of edits on Minstrel's Call at the same time...And that concludes this episode of adventure recap. How was YOUR September, dear Reader? Are the temperatures cooling off, or are the leaves beginning to change colors where you are? Are you planning to do Nanowrimo this year? Are you working on a story for the Short Story Challenge? Are you participating in #Drachtober? I'd love to hear from you!