Saturday, November 8, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 8

Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions.
Paulo Coelho

Well it's day 8 and yes, it has been a few days since I posted up. And yes, I did say I would post up everyday but honestly, I've been so busy with school and work, that all I would have written is two lines dedicated to my word count goal and actual work count so I didn't see a point in wasting everyone's time. So perhaps if I have nothing more to offer, I will be skipping a a few days here and there. However, that's not to say that I've been slacking in my writing. 

With that out of the way, let's get to the numbers!

Word Count Goal: 13,328
Actual Word Count:13,599

As can be seen, I've been keeping up. Unfortunately, I'm closing into unknown territory in my story as I have no idea what my third act details. So far, I've outlined and plotting my first two acts but this third one is a slight mystery to me. I know how my story ends but I haven't quite figured out how to connect the dots to get there so who knows that will happens to my word count in the upcoming days.

Until next time, ciao!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 5

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
It's day 5 and I will admit that my lack of sleep is really catching up to me. So once again this will be a short and concise post on my word count. 

Word Count Goal: 8,330
Actual Word Count: 8,388

Still managing to stay ahead. I'm hoping to get plenty of sleep and writing done this weekend so I can push even farther ahead but until then, I will have to try to maintain the lead I currently have.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to bed so I can try to get some sleep before I get up at 6:30am.

Ciao.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 4

When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.
Ernest Hemingway

It's almost the end of day 4 (well at least where I live in the States) and I made it on to update my word count!

Word Count Goal: 6,664
Actual Word Count: 6,701

Still staying ahead but lacking in the sleep department but I will assume that is the norm for most during this competition. Sorry for the short post but it's almost midnight and I wanted to get this in so a quick and fast post will have to do. With that, I will be heading off to bed.

Ciao.

Monday, November 3, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 3

"All that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost"
- J.R.R. Tolkien

It is day three and I will admit, it was harder today but come up with the words than the previous two days. I'm trying to flesh out as much of what I have written already before I continue on with the story but it's looking like the well is running dry. So onto the word count!

Word Count Goal: 4,998
Actual Word Count: 4,998

Yes, my count and the goal are the same. Too extra words for today but at least I'm not falling behind. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. I might want to skip around in the story and fill out parts farther along in the story rather than writing in order as I have been so far.

So that is all for today. Until tomorrow, ciao!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 2 & My Birthday!

You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream
- C.S. Lewis

It's Day 2 of NaNoWriMo!

Oh….and it's my birthday! Another reason that I love November. Spent the morning writing so I head off to Denver to do some birthday shopping. It was a fun day but I have to buckle down for not only NaNoWriMo but also my classes.

So today's post will be short and sweet. The word count need for today: 3,332 words

How many words I currently have: 3,522 words!

I'm still up and hopefully going into the week, I can maintain while juggling my classes, internship, and part-time job. We shall see….


Until next time. Ciao.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

NaNoWriMo Day 1


If a story is in you, it has got to come out 
- William Faulkner

Like I said I would, today is November 1st and that means it is the beginning of NaNoWriMo. 

I am writing a Young Adult/Fantasy novel by the working title of The Tales of Elysian. I've been holding onto this story for about two years and by hopefully completing NaNoWriMo this year, I will finally have a rough draft of the story. 

To give you a little sneak peak into my novel: 

It was about a 15 year old girl who would rather escape into fantasy, adventure novels than partake in the real world. However, one day while browsing an old bookshop, she is drawn to a unique book by the title of The Tales of Elysian. Unlike any ordinary book, this one holds a secret and through this secret, the girl finds herself transported to the world of Elysian.

That is all I have say for now. 

As of right now, my word count is at: 1,759 words

The goal for the day was 1,666 words, so fortunately I have gone over today's goal. Hopefully I can keep this up to help myself out when I am struggling to get to the word count. 

So that will be all for today. I will see you all tomorrow with the new word count and my progress!

Ciao.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

NaNoWriMo Survival Kit

The countdown continues as we are three, yes THREE, days away from NaNoWriMo! As this challenge will be taking over the entire month of November, I thought it would be in my best interest to prepare not only for the writing, but also for the whole "I'm barricading myself in my room until I finish this!" situation. The last thing I want to happen is to be distracted by something like lack of food, energy, or warmth. I wanted to tackle these  potential scenarios before they arrive so I can write in the best possible environment. 

So here is a list of what I would considered my Survival Kit:
- Macbook 
- Word processor (Previously, I used Microsoft Word but from watching a few Youtubers, I decided to try out Scrivener)
- A plethora of coffee/tea/chai (hello Starbucks!)
- Notebook and mechanical pencils (for jotting down ideas when I'm not near my macbook or iPad)
- iPad (easy to jot down things as well as useful apps, such as Pandora or Pinterest) 
- Earbuds 
- Playlists: Pandora/YouTube (created story soundtracks with both to help set the tone for my writing)
- Pinterest (created a board focused on my story)
- Chocolate/Sweets (I mean, come on! This should be a given!)
- Flash drive (To back up my story, just in case a disaster strikes)
- Comfy clothes: basic tees, leggings, and oversized cardigans
- Candles (currently burning sweet cinnamon pumpkin from Bath & Body Works)
- Water bottle (necessary to stay hydrated!)
- Snacks (banana chips, wheat thins, almonds, yogurt, granola, etc.)
- Posts-its
- Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com on hand

I will also be taking on the challenge of blogging everyday during November, updating on my word count, my feelings about my writing for the day, as well as other random things. It's going to be interesting how I'm fairing on November 30th. 

Well that's all from me until November 1st. See you then!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Challenge Accepted!


We are five days away from NaNoWriMo! For those of you who don't know what this is, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is an annual novel writing project, where the goal is to write 50,000 words between November 1st to November 30th. 

Yes, it's a crazy challenge, but it is doable as each year there are winners. It's not my first year trying. I did attempt it in 2012 but I lost momentum and gave up halfway through. I didn't participate last year as work and school were preoccupying my life but this year I have made the time and I am really excited about my story. It's a story that I have been trying to write for over two years and I'm hoping during NaNoWriMo, I will be able to complete a rough draft of it.

I'm trying to set myself up for success by prepping before November 1st. By prepping, I mean outlining my story, creating character profiles, and world profiles. I've also been reading blog posts and watching YouTube videos on NaNoWriMo prep.

I'll be posting later this week about my survival kit I'm making for the month as NaNoWriMo will be taking over my November. But for now, I will leave some links for those interested in doing it and/or those who want to check out the prep videos and blog posts I would recommend.

Ciao!


Blogs




WriteWorld (I recommend the whole site! Just check it out for plot and character development, inspiration, and what not)


Vlogs



How I Outline! [3 Acts: 9 Blocks: 27 Chapters] ---> This is the outline template I'm currently using!



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

A small break...

So it's been about a month since my last post. Time really flies sometimes. Grad school and work just take up huge chunks of my days so the first thing I'm thinking when I get home is sleep. Unfortunately, I've been lacking in the sleep department as well as I tend to go to bed late and get up early as I'm more of a morning person.

Luckily, I was able to have the whole weekend off. Well that may only apply to work, I was able to take some time off from my paper writing as well.

Since I'm still knew to Boulder, I decided to go hiking as I live only minutes away from the foothills of some beautiful mountains. So on Saturday, I got up early, had a big breakfast, and went out, hoping to be victorious as I hiked up Flagstaff Mountain.





To make a long story short (if it ever was a long story to begin with), I made it to the summit.


The view from up there was just as amazing as I thought/hoped they would be.


It was a lovely 3.5 hour trek and I was so proud of myself that I made it up there that I decided to treat myself to something marvelous.


This, my friends, was a delicious Pumpkin Pie Smoothie from Nekter Juice Bar. And yes, it tasted exactly like Pumpkin Pie. It was so true to taste that it felt almost as if the employees were placing pies in the blender and just blending it up. Not that I would mind if that was the case but it is an intense smoothie so be prepared to be satisfied!

While I allowed myself to be a little lazy on Saturday, I had to buckle down and get some paper writing out of the way on Sunday. However, after I finished up for the day, I took a walk around the CU campus to take in the fall atmosphere.


I love Fall for so many reasons: football, cool temps, changing colors, cardigans, corduroy pants, pumpkin flavored foods, hot coffee, oh and my birthday (Nov. 2nd!). It's just such a fantastic season. The only downside is that not all Falls are created equal and when Winter comes sooner rather than later, it's quite disappointing.

Well I'm halfway through the semester so if you see me disappearing again for long stretches of time, I think you'll know why. I'm hoping I can do a post or two but the last half of the semester is chalk full of assignments so you never know.

Until we meet again!

Monday, September 22, 2014

The Introduction

As my first post only illustrated what this blog is about so this post will be mostly focus around me with the who, what, where, how, why. 

I'm currently finishing up my last semester in my Master's program for Library and Information Science. Overall, I have enjoyed my experience in the program but I am enthusiastically looking forward to graduating this December and being on the hunt for my first professional library position.

During this semester, I'm taking two courses, a practicum, and a capstone project. It's a tall order but since I performed well during the past two semester taking three classes with a full time job, I feel like I can handle it.

Since I'm looking to work in an academic library, the logical choice for me was to do my practicum at an academic library. As I've been doing my MLIS program as an online student, I wanted to go somewhere that I felt would give me the best experience, both professionally and personally. After narrowing down my choices and emailing some schools, I chose the Norlin Library at the University of Colorado - Boulder and I'm so glad I did. Though I'm only starting my fourth week of my practicum, I feel like I'm learning so much from the hands-on experience as well as enjoying the city of Boulder itself. I'm originally from the Midwest and have spent the last four years on the East Coast so this is the furthest out west I have ever been and so far, it's been fantastic!

So that's it for now. I will be posting about my stay in Boulder, my practicum, and probably class work from time to time.

Until next time, ciao!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Welcome to the beginning….

This will be the first blog post of "the daily life of a traveling bibliophile". I've been reading blogs for so long that I felt it was time to finally take up the challenge. The posts on this blog will mostly revolve around my daily life, as it states in the title, which includes my love of books, travel, food, learning, and whatever else I decide to post up!

I'm looking forward to the journey ahead and I hope you will join me!