NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS // 2017

*barges in with carols and cookies and Christmas trees* MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Yes, I know there are still twenty-three days until Christmas, but who doesn't love a little extra Christmas cheer? 

At least I need some extra Christmas cheer. Even though it's December, it doesn't feel like Christmas. All of the snow we had on the ground melted, I haven't listened to much Christmas music, and our tree isn't even set up. O.O (not to mention all of the cards and presents I haven't started on... *cries because I am the worst gift giver*)

ANYWAY, I'm here to talk about the highlights of November, so let's get into them!

THE INFINITY WARS TRAILER. PLEASE TELL ME YOU'VE SEEN IT SO WE CAN FREAK OUT TOGETHER. (here's the link if you haven't) I've already watched it five times and have freaked out every time. I only shed a couple tears out of excitement, so be proud. *absolutely cannot wait* (only 152 days away!!) It's been fun to see the internet explode with the conjoined excitement for this movie. :D

Speaking of movies, I watched more movies than I read books this month. (can I even call myself a bookworm?? o.o) It was a good mix -- Wonder, Thor: Ragnarok, Murder on the Orient Express, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, and Wonder Woman. I feel like there was maybe one other I watched, but my mind is blanking, so it must've not been that memorable. :P

The other "big happening" of November is that I repainted my room! Guys, painting takes so long. It took several days of me working from after lunch until nine at night to complete this project, but the finished result was worth it. *happy squeal* (is it okay if I dump a few pictures on you? Because that's totally what I'm going to do)

There aren't as many highlights as usual, but it's proving difficult to think past, "wait, I did other things than write this month??" #NaNoWriMoProbs

The Book of Lost Things [3.5/5] - for some reason I thought this was a middle grade book, but... #nope It was kind of a mashup of fairytales, each of them taking an unexpectedly dark twist. Very unique! But also somewhat scattered.

Eliza and her Monsters [5/5] - THIS BOOK. *hugs it* It's about a webcomic writer whose work goes viral, and how she deals with the confusing meld of her online life and "real" life. I really, really loved it and could relate. <3

The Girl Who Drank the Moon [3/5] - I wanted to love this book, but... it kind of dragged on and on and not much happened. :/

December is going to be my month of BOOKS. I have a long list on my phone of books I want to read in December, so we'll see if it's possible to get through all of them. Renegades is my next read! Also look -- I received pretty buttons for preordering it. <3

*tries to refrain from mentioning the obvious* *fails* So, NaNoWriMo happened. (duhhh) Instead of repeating more rambles about the insanity, here are the links to my wrap up posts:

Week #1 - I Broke My Coffeemaker And Might Be Going Insane

Week #2 - 50,000 Words And My First Write-In

Week #3 - Thor: Ragnarok, Less Words, More Sleep

Week #4 - Lots of Movie Watching and I Wrote "The End"

If you don't want to commit to reading through all of those posts, here's a short rundown:

• Coffeemaker broke 
• Sadness over coffeemaker
• New coffeemaker bought!
• Words written
• Lots of words written
• Words deleted (not on purpose. bothersome crashing computer -.-)
• Some despair
• Some excitement
• MORE words written
• YAY I HIT 50k
• So many characters, much character problems
• Strange lacking of pizza eating
• Lots of yawning
• Lots of staring at the ceiling
• Lots of procrastination
• LOTS OF WRITING
• Wrote The End!
• Time to sleep
• Poor sore fingers

I saw this challenge below on my Facebook feed and couldn't help but participate: Scroll through your manuscript. Let the cursor fall where it may and you have one terrible title.

1. Weak Attempts At Talking

2. The Bottom

3. A Strange Experience

4. Kind Of A Mess

5. Screamed And Dropped

6. I Could Fly

7. Her Parents' Planters

8. Worrying About Life 

It's so hard for me to even choose a favorite. The last one is hilariously and unfortunately relatable, but "Kind Of A Mess" describes the novel's current state well. xD

What's next for me writing-wise? I usually take a writing break in December, but I'm so eager to start editing Where Shadows Lie again that I might just take it slowly. I ordered a coil-bound draft from Lulu for making scene edits which should be super fun. I've never edited on paper before. o.o

And I also ordered my first-draft copy of my superhero novel! (when I first wrote that sentence I accidentally wrote first draft coffee. #fail) I cannot wait to add it to my collection. I don't think I ever shared this in my NaNo posts, but there's a really special significance about my superhero story that I just realized. The whole concept is about superheros losing their powers at age eighteen, yeah? It's all about growing up and moving on from childhood, which is crazy because this is my last novel I wrote as a teen. o.o *sniff* I just thought that was really special. <3

Congrats to all the NaNoWriMo winners! It was neat scrolling through Twitter and seeing all the "winner" badges. But honestly congrats to anyone who managed to write words during this crazy month. You guys are all superheroes. <3

December is my annual blogging break! Which is sad, but I am looking forward to a break. Here's what the month will look like:

2nd - this post! yay for monthly highlights!

9th - a lovely guest post by a certain lovely author. (there may or may not be a giveaway, so be here for that!)

16th - no post! 

23rd - no post, but ON THIS DAY THERE WILL JUST BE TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS. o.o

30th - end of the year wrap-up post!

I hope you all enjoy your December! This is the last month of the year, so let's try to make it count. 

<3,
katie grace

so. how are you nanoers?

what did you come up with in the "terrible title" challenge? xD