I can’t believe it’s already almost 4 o’clock here on the east coast and I’ve only read a little over 3 hours. I did have the unexpected delivery of an AC (which I installed today too) and some other little things pop up.
I’ve just finished reading my second book and it was fantastic! I can’t wait to tell you guys about it in my recap!
How is everyone else doing today? What’s the best book you’ve read so far today?
Howdy? How’s your readathon going? I needed to get up and move around and get my brain awake! I just cracked open my second pepsi of the day. It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down and read this much all at once! I’m half way through my second book and it’s great so far!
I finished my first book of the day and was settling into the second when the Fedex man show up. He brought my new AC! Thought I was gonna kill myself getting it into my bedroom, but I survived! lol
Now to cool down (I needed the AC!) and then get back to reading. I’ll probably have lunch first, though. It’s almost time! This was a welcomed interuption!
There’s half an hour until I dive in nose first to a book! I’ve gathered most of my supplies. I’ve left most of my snacks in the kitchen – fruit and prepreped meals. I didn’t want to let this fun reading party knock me off my healthy eating stride! It’s about the books not the food! But… If I run out later I’ll likely grab some chips! lol I’m only human yet to evolve into a unicorn who can read all day without chips!
Books: I’ve added more since I made my TBR list. Also, my kindle is charging and the Christopher Rice series I listed on my TBR post are e-books! I’m not sure how many I’ll get through today, but I will post updates as the day goes on and a recap when the readathon ends.
Treats for the Pup: Treats and a raw hide for the pup today! He won’t be missing out on his morning walk (already done!) but he’ll likely lose out on some playtime. Hopefully, the raw hide will keep him busy (he likes to toss it in the air and chase it around when it falls.) and make him forget I technically ignoring him to play with a dead tree with symbols on it.
Pepsi and Tea: I promised myself today I wouldn’t go hog wild on the soda! So, I have extra tea instead! One’s even caffiene free! Don’t worry, this isn’t much more than I normally cosume in a day.
Nicotine Gum and Hard Candy: My normal quit smoking supplies within arm’s reach! I’m 82 days quit. Yeah, I’m still working on cutting down on the gum, but that’s a topic for another day!
My Go-to Slytherin Mug: I bought this mug as a gift for myself after publishing Omega Magic. It’s been my go-to ever since!
Notebook and Pen: I’m a writer! I never know when an idea will smack me upside the head! It’s also useful for tracking the time I actually read too. lol
Little Sticky Page Markers: Just in case I misplace a bookmark!
Well, just 20 minutes to go now! Are you ready to read? If not put your pajamas back on and grab a book!
Good morning! It’s about 5:30AM at the time of writing this. So, just a little less than 3 hours until the readathon starts. I won’t be trying for the full 24 hours this year. Camp Nano is in full swing and I don’t want to beat up my sleeping schedule too much. I figure I’ll go to bed at my normal time and if I wake up early enough tomorrow I’ll squeeze in some more before the end.
I’m up watching Golden Girl’s reruns and wondering if I’m turning in Sophia before my time.
That and ensuring I can read uninterrupted for the most part. Though, if tracking is right Fedex will be delivering my new air conditioner today. Which is quicker than I expected since I only ordered it yesterday! Though, if it arrives I’ll take the interuption and beat the heat and help my allergies all at once!
Due to starting the O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon I’ve switched up plans a little bit, but I’ll give a full recap of my reading experience after Deweys ends.
Who’s reading with me today? What’s your first book this morning?
Seriously! I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this readathon before today! (Well, likely yesterday by the time you read this!) Seriously! I’m psyched! As some of my readers may or may not know I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd! J.K. Rowling and Anne Rice were the first series writers I read and fell in love with! I’ve been a proud Slytherin for many years now! So, I really can’t believe it took me this long to discover this readathon!
For the full details watch this video by BookRoast. She’s an awesome person and since this is her brain child she’s the best one to explain in detail! Also, all of the important links are in the description below her video if you just want to skip to reading the details I don’t mention in this blog.
The basic details of the readathon is that it is a two parter hosted in April and August. April is for O.W.L.s and August is for N.E.W.T.s this year they’ve added the addition of career paths. Both of these tests are set to measure magical accuracy and are set up to be particularly challenging.
Basically each subject has a prompt correlated to the subject and to achieve each ‘career’ you must complete those prompts. You can always be an overachiever and complete more, but you may be more like Fred and George.
I’ve read the Wizarding Career Guidebook (2019 Addition) cover to cover and have decided this year I best make sure my career can translate when I move to the Wizarding World. So, I will be pursuing the Writer/Journalist career path.
So I will be focusing on the following 3 requirements so I can keep up writing if I ever find my way into the Wizarding World:
History of Magic : Read a work published at least 10 years ago
Muggle Studies : Read a contemporary book
1 Other Subject of my Choice: I’m going with Charms which is performing the age line spell (Reading an adult work of fiction.)
Of course, I’m a classic overachiever so if Camp NanoWrimo leaves me with time I’ll be aiming to fulfill some more of the requirements for other exams as well. I’ll post updates as I pass exams. Tomorrow, I’m reading a book that meets my Charms requirement!
Are you taking the O.W.L.’s this month? Let me know how you’re doing!
At 9:46 AM this morning I felt like I was chronically running behind schedule from a much needed lie in this morning. I was up and eager to get plotting. My first step to finalizing and tweaking my plot was to read through what I’d already written. I knew any of my official word count today would come from this and I had to walk to the fine line of only fleshing out what was necessary to connect the beginning to the plot that was to come.
What I accomplished today:
What I learned from Bane and Lee is that quitting smoking changed the way I write and plot. I now divide my plots into 3 sections. (Yep. The 3 Act Formula). Today I finalized the plot for the first 3rd of the book. This means there will be more days of plotting in my future, but I think overall it saves me time on tweaking a million times throughout the process.
Snags Along the Way:
My biggest snag was that I was breaking my normal schedule of writing and rest. I usually write for 3 or 4 days and then take a day off. It was day 5 of working straight and my brain was ready for a day of reading and just not thinking about the book. In the spirit of camp and with the promise of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon tomorrow (Well, today by the time you read this and if you’re reading this why not participate? Reading is a great way to spend a Saturday!)
The other snag was simply having too many ideas of how to take Blake and Jonah from point A to point B. Before I ever sit down to write a book I know two things: Where my characters start and where I want them to end up. The middle is a riddle until the first few chapters are written and I finalize a plot. I also had this problem with Bane and Lee in Healer’s Oath.
Bane and Lee taught me a few things, though. There are many roads to travel and as a writer plotting I should take the most direct path that also has the most interesting sights to see. Yesterday I wrote a scene where Bane interacts with Blake and Jonah and I missed him so much. He was one of my favorite Alphas to write. Maybe I need to read this blog post again myself. As evidenced below of what I caught myself typing. It was meant to be Blake, but I typed Lee. lol
How today went:
Starting Word Count: 11,053
Total Words Written: 143
Ending Word Count: 11186
After thoughts:
I’m enjoying camp so far, but I am so ready for the break tomorrow brings! I’m ready to shove my nose in the book and refill my fingers with some words!
Happy writing fellow campers!
Maggie Hemlock Books 