Imogen Elvis: Gossiping with Dragons: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Recently Added To My TBR List

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Top Ten Tuesday: Resolutions I Have For 2016

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Photo credit: Evelyn Flint (Daydreaming Images) via Foter.com / CC BY

The beginning of a new year brings a fresh start, and most people, me included, start taking a close look at what worked in the previous year, as well as what didn’t, and make resolutions to achieve specific things in the upcoming year. This week, in the spirit of the new year, I’m participating in the Top Ten Tuesday link up, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, which is all about our resolutions for the new year. So, here are ten of my writing/book related goals for 2016.

1. Send Song Of The Crystal Tree to Beta Readers

I’ve been working on this book for over three years now, and I still haven’t managed to get this book to the stage where it’s ready to go out to beta readers yet. It is getting there, just very, very slowly. This year, I’m resolving to edit it to the point where I’m ready to have other eyes than mine look it over and give feedback.

2. Edit a Book During Camp NaNoWriMo

The ability to edit during Camp NaNo rather than drafting something new, is a relatively recent addition to the event, but it’s not one that I’ve taken advantage of so far. But I’m at the point with my writing where I have so many books waiting to be edited that I really don’t need to draft yet another new one, despite the fact that I always have dozens of ideas for books hanging round. So instead, I’m setting myself the challenge of editing for a month instead of writing something new.

3. Write Book 4 in My Retelling/Superhero Series

It may be a highly impractical goal, seeing as I haven’t yet edited the first three books aren’t edited yet, but I would like to write the 4^th book in the series anyway. I’m pretty passionate about this series, and I’d like to keep writing them, even just for myself. I’m excited to see where the overall story is going, and I have so many ideas for it that I really just want to write the next book already.

4. Read More Books

I’m not setting a specific number of books for myself to read this year yet, mostly because my reading habits are terrible. I used to read an awful lot, right up until the second half of last year really, and then everything got busy and reading went out the window. So I really want to try and get back into better reading habits and make time to explore more books this year.

5. Create a Better Blogging Schedule

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you probably noticed that things have been all over the place for a while now, with patchy uploads, mixed content, and general confusion. One of the big things I’m trying to do is to create a better blogging schedule that will allow for forwards planning, variety of content, and regular posting. A win-win for everyone! (You can help me with this by taking my survey here.)

6. Comment on Blogs More

I read almost all the blog posts on the blogs I follow, and often start my day with a mass blog reading session. But you’d never tell that, because most of the time I don’t end up leaving a comment, even if I loved the post and promised myself I was going to leave a comment later on. Actually remembering to comment is one blogging thing I mean to greatly improve on in the coming year.

7. Spend Less Time Procrastinating On YouTube

I love YouTube. All the music, the funny videos, and movies trailers. Glorious. I can spent literally hours lost in a maze of videos. Which is great, until I realise six hours later that I really should have been writing and editing and doing useful things with my life. This year, I’d like to move YouTube watching around so that I don’t give up my fun time, but also make sure that I actually get some other things done as well.

8. Worry Less About Being like Other Bloggers

Sometimes, I have to admit, I get envious of other bloggers. They have fantastically regular content, a really strong, unique blogging voice, and awesome content. And honestly, sometimes I want to be just like them. This year, I’m resolving to work on the identity of my own blog and concentrate on finding my own voice, rather than wasting time and energy trying to be someone I’m not.

9. Be Proud Of My Creative Achievements

Creative achievements are very personal. I know, for me, it’s hard to share my writing because it’s so personal to me that I worry about what people are going to think, rather than being proud of the things that I have achieved. And being a creative person is hard enough as it is, without more self-doubt being lumped on top. So this year, I want to make a conscious effort to stop and actually be proud of what I’ve done.

10. Be A Writer

This year, I resolve to be a writer, connecting with other writers, sitting my bottom in a chair with my fingers on the keys, even when I don’t feel like it, putting words on the page and bringing worlds to life. I resolve to finish things, and to be proud of my profession, no matter what. I’m a writer. And I’m going to act like one.

These are some of my goals for the coming year. What resolutions have you made? Are any of your goals the same as mine? Are you participating in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Leave me a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit you!

books

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Wishes I'd Ask The Book Genie To Grant Me

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Photo credit: azrasta / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

I’m pretty sure all booklovers have a secret list of bookish wishes they’d love to have granted. This week I’m once again joining up with the Top Ten Tuesday link-up, where we’re sharing that list of wishes. If only there was actually a bookish genie around to grant them for me, I think my life might be almost complete. So, without further ado, here is my list of ten wishes I’d ask the book genie to grant me.

Wish 1) A library like Belle’s. I’m pretty sure every book lover wants a library like the one from Beauty and the Beast. But that magnificence! The vast acres of books! The enormity of the room! The oceans of books! Did I mention the books? All it needs it an automated tea system and I think I could live in there forever.

Wish 2) The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. Also, Winter by Marissa Meyer. And The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan. And basically all the books being released next year that I’d much rather be reading at this very moment. I don’t wanna wait! I want to devour them all NOW.

Wish 3) For reading to become a legitimate career choice. Imagine how many books you could read in your life if it became a job. Getting paid to read all day, have imaginary adventures and explore the amazing worlds other writers have created without even being required to review the books? Sign me up!

Wish 4) An endless book budget. As a penniless student, buying books is a rare occasion for me. I generally have to rely on unpredictable library catalogues, birthdays, and Christmas presents in order to find new books to read, let alone buying any to keep forever as my preciouses.

Wish 5) The ability to do without sleep. Just imagine how many more books we could all get read if we didn’t have to do the whole sleeping thing. Eight hours or more just wasted due to the need to rest. What if we could utilise that time for gobbling up more books? Those TBR piles would be going down quick. (Or up faster as we’d get more ambitious).

Wish 6) A signed collection of all of Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant books. Or any of Rick Riordan’s series. Or Maggie Stiefvater’s books. Basically all the signed books from all my favourite authors ever. Because the only thing better than owning all the books is having them all signed as well?

Wish 7) The ability to get into a story world. Because the only thing better than reading a book would be to experience it. But it needs to come with the ability to get out of said story world again. It would be rather awkward to be stuck in the middle of a hundred year war with no way out except certain death after all. There are some adventures best not experienced. The rest however…

Wish 8) To meet Shannon Hale. Because her books are absolutely gorgeous to read, and she seems like the nicest person ever based on her Twitter and basically I just want to hang out with her and ask her all the questions and find out the secret to how she writes such beautiful novels.

Wish 9) The ability to not look out of place in the Young Adults section. I can get away with it for now, because I’m not yet twenty one and I honestly don’t look or act grown up most of the time. But in the future, I can see a lot of weird looks being thrown my way as I continue to clear out the YA section in my fifties.

Wish 10) A comfortable armchair and an endless supply of tea. Does this even need explaining? All books are better when accompanied by a nice chair and a hot beverage.

What wishes do you wish the book genie would grant for you? If you could meet any author, who would it be? Are you participating in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Link me to your posts!