December is supposed to be a fun month. It's when (in my family) we get Hannukah and Christmas. I have the entire month free from grad school (thank you, quarter system!). Throw in extra days off work for the holidays and a general slow down of life in general as the year wraps up, and you have a recipe for relaxation.
Except in my case. Instead, I'm antsy for the new year. I'm ready for newness and fresh experiences and the promise of excitement. I want to get this show on the road and have it be January already.
I'm really excited about getting this blog rolling and getting some reviews up. I'm currently reading Incarceron by Catherine Fisher and loving it. I also just purchased Matched by Ally Condie and read the first few chapters. I can't wait to devour the rest of it.
The NaNoWriMo high has convinced me to really push myself next year. I am capable of the loftiest of goals, if I set my mind to it. One of the best ways to improve as a writer is to keep reading, and I really want to increase the number of YA books I read. Now that I have found some good resources to scope out the new books, I have no more excuses.
I am going to set a personal goal to read 100 books next year. As part of that goal, I am going to participate in a couple of book blogging challenges. The first is The Story Siren's 2011 Debut Author Challenge, where I will be reading at least 12 YA books by debut authors in YA literature. The second is YA Bliss's YA Historical Fiction Challenge, where I will be reading 15 YA historical fiction novels. I love historical fiction, so why not go all out and do Level 3? As December unfolds I will start posting lists of the books I am anxious to get my little greedy paws on, and as I finish I will be posting reviews.
In the meantime, I am going to be working on the 3rd Annual International Plot Writing Month aka PostNaNoPlotPerfection run by the fabulous Plot Whisperer. I love that her formula involves me not reading my novel, but instead focusing on where it needs to be. This way the crushing depression and humiliation inherent in reading through the manuscript can be saved for January, when my mood will be balanced by the thrill of all these new challenges.
4 comments:
I actually liked the premise of Incarceron. It's very literary, but it fell apart toward the end for me. Anyway, I stumbled upon your blog through Book Blogs. If you ever need a critique partner for your novels, let me know. I'm a YA writer as well.
Thanks Kate! I really enjoyed your blog. I may take you up on the critique partner gig. :)
Thanks for joining! Good luck ;)
thanks so much for joining the challenge!! happy reading and good luck!
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