Updates and January-February 2017 #writing #reading and #movies!

It’s been a while since my last update post! All of those holidays kept getting in the way, you know. 😉 Time to catch you guys up-to-speed on things!

I’m still peddling away at the bike, like I’d hoped to do in my 2017 resolutions, and as far as finding new foods goes, I’ve added baby kale to my diet (which isn’t bitter at all, yay!), and raw honey in my tea and coffee in place of sugar. Thai rice noodles have become my favorite replacement for spaghetti, since I can’t eat wheat, and they’re so good I’d eat them even if I could have wheat! They’re great in soups, or served as spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese.

Keeping fit and healthy helps the brain perform better, which in turn helps this writer keep on writing. 🙂 Other than that, things haven’t changed much in the offline life.

WRITING

Strayborn is under revisions! It was read by a few beta readers, for the first time back in October/November, and since then I’ve received their feedback and have been reworking, tweaking, and polishing away! You could say that I’m at Step #7 on the Revising A Manuscript Is Like Cleaning A Castle blog post. 😉

So far, this step has been slow-going. Not as slow as the first couple of rough drafts, but it’s taking a lot of brain power as I’m doing more “thinking” than editing: Reading bits of feedback and thinking of ways to tweak the story, accordingly. Stepping back and looking at the book’s story as a whole. Analyzing the plot, to check if there are any better ways to rework it. Looking at the character’s arc separate from the story’s arc. And on and on and on… So, that is where I am at! I’ve also managed to cut back on Strayborn’s wordcount (currently 107,500 words), and will continue to cut away!

READING

I finished two books this past month (reviews linked below). Currently, I’m reading “The Vanishing Throne,” and “Throne of Glass.” (I am crazy for reading 2 at the same time, right?)

Books I recently finished are:

• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Click on the links to read my reviews. Both books got a high rating from me!

MOVIES

Rogue One

So good, and sad, and realistic! This story takes you back into the old Star Wars vibe, but with a much more serious note. It’s about the unseen, unknown heroes who made the fall of the evil empire possible. Without them, Luke would not have been able to destroy the Death Star. I enjoyed this movie for how different and real it felt from the main series. So, whether you’re a fan of Star Wars or not, you’ll most likely enjoy this story.

The Queen of Katwe

Based on a true story about an African girl who learns to play chess so that she and her family can escape the slum poverty around them, by entering into chess tournaments. This movie was touching in so many ways, and disturbing in some parts as you see what life is really like in the poorest places of Uganda, the every day dangers their young people face.

Trolls

Fun, lots of singing, and a lesson about where happiness really comes from. Kids will love this colorful tale, and most adults will get the sometimes crazy humor! I had fun watching these troll dolls come to life in a computer-animated film; it was like going back in time to those childhood days, you know? 🙂

How has your January-February been? What movies have you seen, and books you’ve read?

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*This post is also a part of the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up link up by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

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