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Books of 2016

Tracey Dyck 23 Comments

2016 was a cozy reading year. By that I mean it was smaller than usual–only 35 books, as opposed to last year’s 52–but it was filled with mostly good, solid stories. There were a few “meh” kinds in the mix, but nearly every month contained at least one wonderful book.

Bookdragons are notorious for their nosiness. Come now, admit it. We’re the sort who are drawn instantly to the bookshelf when entering someone’s home, the sort who click around Goodreads to see what our friends are reading, the sort who like reading others’ year-end book recaps . . . or writing our own, if we’re so inclined. So here’s mine!

(Click here to see my Books of 2015!)



January
Illusionarium // Heather Dixon
Shadowmancer // G.P. Taylor

Illusionarium was a smashing way to start off the reading year! Steampunk, airships, disease, creepiness, humor, precious characters, and snarky footnotes made this an instant favorite. Shadowmancer, on the other hand, was a sorry slew of poor writing, cardboard characters, and heavy-handed Christian themes.

February
The Invaders // John Flanagan
A Snicker of Magic // Natalie Lloyd
The Romeo and Juliet Code // Phoebe Stone
Artemis Fowl // Eoin Colfer

The Invaders was a fun Flanagan concoction of wit, cleverness, sailing, and–you guessed it–invasions. A Snicker of Magic was possibly the sweetest, spindiddliest middle grade book I’ve had the great pleasure of reading! The Romeo and Juliet Code painted a bittersweet picture of a little girl uprooted from home during WWII. Artemis Fowl was . . . quirky, I suppose you could say.

March
You Have a Brain: A Teen’s Guide to T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. // Dr. Ben Carson
Cinder // Marissa Meyer
Paige Turned // Erynn Mangum

In You Have a Brain, there are a number of stories about miraculous surgeries Dr. Carson performed, followed by some decent bits of advice for young people. Cinder sucked me into the fabulous world that is the Lunar Chronicles, and I don’t plan to leave anytime soon. Paige Turned proved to be the perfect bow on top of the fluffy romance trilogy featuring busy, sarcastic, 20-something Paige Alder.

April
Merlin’s Blade // Robert Treskillard
Knightley Academy // Violet Haberdasher
The Raven Boys // Maggie Stiefvater

I found Merlin’s Blade to be slightly underwhelming, but the protagonist’s blindness was a neat twist. Knightley Academy–ah, what an amusing romp of a school novel! And The Raven Boys was a piece of gorgeousness (minus a couple issues) that had me wanting to savor every sentence.

May
The Prayer Box // Lisa Wingate
Water Walker // Ted Dekker
Howl’s Moving Castle // Diana Wynne Jones

The Prayer Box was a sweet romance sprinkled with letters detailing a storyline from the past. Water Walker read like an extended parable, packing a solid punch with its vivid imagery and characterization. I finally read Howl’s Moving Castle, and it was another one of those insta-favorites that I know I’ll be rereading multiple times in the future.

June
Skeleton Key // Anthony Horowitz
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell // Susanna Clarke

Skeleton Key was pretty much a secret agent movie disguised as a middle-grade action novel. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell . . . now that was one of the most impressive novels I’ve read, rife with unexpected humor, striking descriptions, and complex characters.

July
Raising Dragons Graphic Novel // James Art Ville and Bryan Davis
The Shadow Lamp // Stephen Lawhead
Scarlet // Marissa Meyer

The long-awaited Raising Dragons Graphic Novel met my expectations and brought a hit of nostalgia as it retold one of my favorite books in comic book form. The Shadow Lamp, as the second-last book in the Bright Empires series, completely blew my mind with its rising stakes and seamless blend of science and fantasy. And then Scarlet proved to be a little less stunning than Cinder, but still a fun read.

August
The Realms Thereunder // Ross Lawhead
The Runaway King // Jennifer Nielsen
Peter Pan // J.M. Barrie

The Realms Thereunder had a great plot, but its characters weren’t quite as emotionally alive as I had wanted. The Runaway King made up for it with a fast pace and its characteristic humor–and also pirates. And then I read the classic Peter Pan at long, long last. Such a delightful little tale!

September
Five Enchanted Roses // Browning, Jezowski, Schmidt, Tsukioka, and Wand
The Calling // Rachelle Dekker

I discovered a well-rounded collection of Beauty and the Beast retellings within the beautiful covers of Five Enchanted Roses; and then followed gritty, brave characters through their battle with fear in The Calling.

October
The Dream Thieves // Maggie Stiefvater
Into the Wild // Erin Hunt
Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink // Gail Carson Levine
Eagle Strike // Anthony Horowitz

The Dream Thieves bore the same stunning writing style as the previous book in the series, along with some of the same irksome issues. Into the Wild was less gripping than I remembered it being when I was a youngster. Clear, concise, engaging advice on the craft was found in Writer to Writer. Eagle Strike took the Alex Rider series on a turn for the better, with a different plot than its predecessors.

November
Journey to the Center of the Earth // Jules Verne
Prophet // R.J. Larson

Journey to the Center of the Earth was a surprisingly interesting little classic. Prophet proved to be as pretty inside as it was outside, with lovable characters, a unique world, and thoughtful questions about free will and responsibility and mercy.

December
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children // Ransom Riggs
Cress // Marissa Meyer
Treasures of the Snow // Patricia St. John
Paper Crowns // Mirriam Neal

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was somehow less creepy than I’d expected, but still eerie and, well . . . peculiar. Cress became my favorite Lunar Chronicles instalment to date. Treasures of the Snow brought back fond memories of my childhood, and Paper Crowns made me grin with its cast of delightfully snarky, witty, lovable characters.

It also bears mentioning that I beta-read two novels this year as well: Christine Smith’s Beauty and the Beast retelling called Burning Thorns, and Emily’s high fantasy called The City and the Trees.

Stats!

(because numbers + books = fascinating, right?)

I read 35 books this year, an average of 2-3 per month. Paper Crowns was the shortest book at 190 pages, and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was the uncontested longest book at a humongous 1,006 pages. In total, I read 12,705 pages.

Here’s how 2016’s genres broke down:

It’s no surprise that fantasy once again dominated my reading choices! Sci-fi was a bit higher this year than it was in 2015 because of reading the Lunar Chronicles, and everything else was like little scraps in comparison. I’m a bit embarrassed at how few nonfiction books I read. Perhaps I’ll do better in 2017!

Since I joined Goodreads in 2016, I’ve started rating books. My average this year was 4.4 stars. What can I say? Either I just read a lot of good books, or I’m a forgiving reader. (Or both. I’m a paradox in how I judge a book–critical and forgiving at the same time. I think if a book works for me, I’m willing to overlook the flaws I notice?)

My most-read authors were Marissa Meyer (3 books) and Maggie Stiefvater (2 books). Didn’t take much to become a most-read this year, obviously!

My favorite authors that I discovered in 2016 were: Heather Dixon, Marissa Meyer, Diana Wynne Jones, and Mirriam Neal.

My least favorite book of 2016 was definitely Shadowmancer. Just . . . no. None of it worked for me–not the clunky writing style, not the unbelievable character motives, not the hit-you-over-the-head themes. Sorry.

My favorite books of 2016 . . . Well, given that half of them were five-star reads, I could list all of those, but I’ll shrink the list down a bit by mentioning only those that really stood out to me this year. Illusionarium, A Snicker of Magic, Cinder, Knightley Academy, Howl’s Moving Castle, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The Shadow Lamp, Peter Pan, Cress, Prophet, and Paper Crowns! Okay, that didn’t really diminish the list by much, after all.

And that, bookdragons, was an overview of my reading year! Now it’s my turn to get a glimpse at yours: what was one (or several) of your absolute favorite 2016 reads? Least favorite? What’s the most pressing book on your to-be-read pile? (I personally have Winter waiting for me. And Blue Lily, Lily Blue. And Reapers. And Five Magic Spindles. And waaaay too many others!)

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Subplots and Storylines – December 2016 // Year-End Recap

Tracey Dyck 16 Comments



O December, how paradoxical art thou

Long as the White Witch’s winter
Short as a bearded dwarf
Crowded on one end
Tranquil at the other
Thirty-one wonderful, taxing, joyous, exhausting, brimming days
Farewell 2016.*

*Starting out with free verse was not my intention, especially considering my sleepy brain is still trying to figure out where to take this post. But there it is, random Narnia reference included.

This really was an all-over-the-place month. My brother’s birthday . . . long, long, LONG volunteer days . . . family gatherings . . . more Christmas parties than I’ve ever attended . . . big projects . . . Needless to say, by the time I reached Christmas break, I was rejoicing!

Near the beginning of December, an honest to goodness snow day kept my brother and I home from school, and then the following day we had to battle slick roads, iced up windshields, and poor visibility. Fun, fun.

Upon request (thanks, Savannah!), here is
the tree ornament I received this Christ-
mas: an angel made entirely out of paper.
Besides presenting my second speech in my public speaking class, I also had the opportunity to speak (preach?) in two high school chapel sessions this month: one about standing up against familiarity, the other about three ways to improve family relationships, particularly over the holiday season. I received excellent feedback and constructive criticism, leading to visible growth in this area. It’s stretching me, but I love it! Honestly, after delivering the first chapel and realizing I could actually do it, I was on top of the world.
As a college class, our biggest project this month was running the Christmas hampers. My brother was put in charge, and I was one of two “assistant managers,” so to speak. Most of the work was placed in our hands–acquiring and wrapping boxes, making grocery and toy lists, overseeing the shopping and organization, and forming delivery teams. Though it was a lot of work, it was also so rewarding to see the joy on the recipients’ faces!
A second blizzard hit at the tail end of Christmas Day, and this one actually was fun. (Minus the fact that my car got stuck at the end of my driveway two days later. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors.)
Christmas itself was cozy and quiet, just the six of us at home. Nowhere to go, no one to see. Exactly what I needed. My family is an incredible blessing. Wherever they are is my favorite place to be.

movies



A wee bit of Once Upon a Time Season 1 with my parents and sisters, and a wee bit more of the same with my brother, since we finally roped him into the show. Season 5 showed up under the Christmas tree (!!!), so I watched one episode with my sisters too.



[source]



Princess Protection Program — Re-watched with my sisters. It was very . . . Disney-ish. Crazy to see Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez so young and innocent, though. This time around I recognized Jamie Chung, who also plays Mulan in OUAT.



[source]

Finding Dory — OH MY JELLYFISH, THIS MOVIE. It had the perfect balance of Finding Nemo nostalgia and new story freshness. Baby Dory was the most adorable animated creature to ever grace the screen. Watching her story play out was both hilarious and heartwarming. (My favorite scene is still when Hank the septipus–aka the seven-armed octopus–drives the truck.)



[source]

The Star of Bethlehem — This is more of a documentary of sorts that I first watched in class, and then showed my family on Boxing Day. It uses historical timelines, Biblical text, and the math behind the universe to pinpoint what exactly the Star was. Utterly fascinating! The symbolism is incredible, and I was touched by the way God set everything in motion with a perfect, precise plan to announce our Savior’s birth.



[source]

Civil War — Finally. I have been waiting and waiting since this hit theaters, and let me tell you, it was worth it! Y’all probably know by now that Captain America is my favorite superhero. This third movie does not disappoint. My incoherent reaction pretty much consists of: ALL THE FEELS EVERYONE’S FIGHTING LOOKIT THE ALLIANCES AND CHARACTER INTERACTIONS AND MORAL DILEMMAS AND EPIC ACTION AND FRUSTRATIONS AND SADNESS AND BUCKYYYYY.

books



Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children // Ransom Riggs
This pretty book was a birthday present, not like you were wondering. I found it to be less creepy, overall, than I had expected. The language was unfortunate, especially considering the protagonist’s young age. (I tend to think the protag’s age is a reflection on the intended audience. A 15-year-old should not be using those words, okay?) But the settings and characters were super fascinating, and I loved all the strange old photographs. Definitely a unique formatting style! I also would’ve liked a bit more explanation about certain things, but maybe the next two books will clear it up. Four stars.



Cress // Marissa Meyer
One word: awesome. And a few more words: amusing, intense, heart-wrenching. I’d definitely say Cress rivals Cinder for favorite Lunar Chronicles instalment thus far. Cress herself is adorably naïve, yet brilliant. Pairing her with cocky Carswell Thorne was a stroke of romantic genius: the two make a hilarious couple! Following the rest of the Rampion crew was way too much fun as well. Cinder and Kai continued to be precious, Scarlet and Wolf were better than in their own book, and Iko made me ridiculously happy.

I almost considered reading Winter immediately afterward, but decided not to on the singular basis that I probably couldn’t finish it before the end of the year, and then it would have to count toward 2017’s Goodreads challenge. (Yes, I am particular like that.)

(sorry for the fuzzy picture quality; this is the only
one I could find of my cover)



Treasures of the Snow // Patricia St. John
Rereading this childhood favorite right after Christmas was like sipping hot chocolate whilst bundled up in a cozy quilt. I had forgotten portions of it, but the general direction and feel of the book was very familiar. The themes were more overt than I tend to enjoy, but this book is a classic to me, and so for nostalgia’s sake I forgive it all. It really does have some profound things to say about forgiveness and pride. Five stars.



Paper Crowns // Mirriam Neal
I was surprised to find this little gem wrapped under the Christmas tree this year! I’ve been meaning to get it ever since my lovely blogger friend Mirriam announced it was being published. I’m not quite to the end–though I hope to finish tonight–but so far it’s been a light, fluffy, adorable book! I adore Hal. And Azrael. And Salazar. And basically everyone but Maven. I know I’ll be giving this four or five stars.

I was blessed by an EPIC Christmas book haul: Paper Crowns, Quiet (a nonfiction book about introverts), The Calling,
Reapers, Five Magic Spindles, and Golden Daughter. ^_^

writing

11,734 words in The Prophet’s Quest this month! Most of that, as you can imagine, was done in the latter half of the month. I have for sure crested the halfway point. It’s a relief to bring all the characters back to Demetria at last. I’m hoping the return to a purely fantasy setting will help the words flow better in the future.
I had plans to hit 80k before Christmas holidays, and then use my break to reach 100k. I’m behind schedule, since I didn’t hit 80k in time, but I still want to write as much as I can while I have time. Without running myself ragged, that is. I do need to rest during this break as well.

This recap will cover only life-y stuffens and writerly stuffens. (That is my own invented word, if you were scratching your head and wondering what sort of typos this supposed ‘writer’ just made. It’s more fun to say than stuff, don’t you agree?) I almost decided to list bloggy stuffens, too, but decided those highlights would be better saved for the next blogoversary celebration. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Books of 2016 post, though!
 
For now, prepare for lists! Because lists are life. And lists are easy to write, easy to read. Lists keep overweight blog posts from becoming positively obese.
 

2016 life

  • was a bridesmaid at a best friend’s wedding
  • watched Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time
  • went on a young adult/youth retreat in the spring
  • bought my first car
  • got promoted at my job
  • went to a Piano Guys concert
  • started college, which included . . .
  • another retreat (much more intense than the other one)
  • public speaking
  • projects (like chapels and hampers)
  • volunteering
  • youth ministry
 

2016 writing

Things I Did:
  • finished some minor edits in The Prophet’s Quest
  • researched some literary agents and some book stuff (like psychology, delusions, airplanes, and exotic locations)
  • discovered my novella, The Brightest Thread, was a top ten finalist in the Five Magic Spindles contest
  • bought and started Ted Dekker’s The Creative Way writing course
  • revamped my publishing plans
Things I Actually Penned:

It’s been quite the year! Don’t let me give the false impression that 2016 was one glorious highlight after another, though. Monotony, weariness, and blandness made their mark on a number of days in between.

And yet the storyline weaving through the last twelve months was undeniably one of growth. The fast, painful, stretching kind . . . and the slow, gradual, imperceptible kind. The sandpaper days are smoothing a few of my rough edges, and yet the more I learn, the more rough edges I discover.

I’ve become a more confident person.

I’ve become a better writer, largely through the sheer keep-on-keepin’-on element of my writing life lately.

I’ve become a better public speaker, even though I’m still working on inflection and talking more slowly.

I’ve invested into myself.

I’ve been learning how to work hard, and how to keep working hard when I think I’m too tired to go on.

I’ve been learning how to rest, and not feel guilty for resting.

I’ve been learning that excellence is doing the best I can with what I have, and that there’s no reason to beat myself up when I can’t do more.

I’ve seen how very patient my Father God is with me. How faithful His love is, even when I am not. How deep His grace is, how perfect His plan is.

2016 was not an easy year by any means. But looking back over my shoulder, I can see that it was good. It was sandpaper to raw wood, fire to a forge, and in between, it was breath to oxygen-starved lungs. 2017, you will be even better.

How was your December? And your entire year? Highlights, lowlights? In-between-lights? Life is hard sometimes, so let’s find empathy and encouragement in each other’s company!

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Subplots and Storylines – November 2016

Tracey Dyck 23 Comments

I don’t know how it’s physically possible, but somehow this month seems even fuller than the last!

November opened with my birthday, which I celebrated a bit differently than other years in order to fit with my school schedule. Later on in the month, we also celebrated my lil’ sister’s birthday.

I grew a bit more in my public speaking skills: I was called to answer Q&A in one of our communicators meetings, I was the timer for another meeting, and a classmate and I got to preach a mini message to the youth volunteers.

My class and I helped build our church’s float for the city’s Santa Clause Parade, which was so fun, especially because we also got to participate in the actual parade, walking alongside our beautiful float.

There was a last-minute event I volunteered at, a youth worship night, a youth talent show, Christmas shopping, friend stuff, and my first exam of the year.

And through it all, my little corner of the world disguised itself as London, with miserable rain mixed with melting snow, and some of the densest fog I’ve ever seen.

Movies

Very little this month. I watched the last episode of Once Upon a Time Season 4 with my sisters (oh my goodness, THAT ENDING) and saw some more of Season 1 with my parents.

Books

(I searched high and low for an image of my copy. This ain’t it.)

Journey to the Center of the Earth // Jules Verne
I wanted to read one of the unread, second-hand books on my shelf, and randomly picked this one. It was more enjoyable than I expected, quite honestly. I remember not totally loving Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea during high school, and while Journey does pause now and then to dump facts on the reader, it keeps a good pace overall. And it was funny! Axel and his enthusiastic uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, make an amusing pair.

[Professor] “Do you remember a visit the famous English
chemist Humphrey Davy paid me in 1825?”
[Axel] “No, I don’t. For the very good reason that I wasn’t
born until nineteen years later.”

Was the book scientifically accurate? Probably not, seeing as it was written in the 1800s, but it was still fun to pretend that Verne’s theories could be true, to envision a whole new world beneath the earth’s crust. My biggest quibble was the ending. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but let’s just say the characters didn’t accomplish quite as much as I expected they would.

Prophet // R.J. Larson
I loved it! I haven’t read very many fantasies with a Biblical type of setting, so that was neat. I found it especially intriguing to follow Ela’s journey as a Prophet of the Infinite, to see how it mirrored real prophets in the Old Testament. She was so compassionate even when she had to communicate the Infinite’s judgment on people who deserved it. (That compassion is a trait I need to grow in.) I adored Kien, a charming ambassador who spends a goodly amount of time in prison and has a strong appreciation for food. Ela’s little sister, Tzana, was sweet and sympathetic.

The plot slowed down a bit once or twice, or maybe that was just me taking a long time to finish the book. There was another seventy-ish pages after the big climax, so I was expecting a plot twist, but instead I got an abrupt segment of story that might have been better left for the beginning of book two. I also had some thoughts to sort through about the Infinite, who seemed loving but also enforced a works-based sort of faith among His people . . . but then I remembered that this is, in effect, the Old Testament, and a savior is not part of the story yet. (There might be one later in the trilogy?)

Don’t let either of those things stop you from reading, though! Prophet is a wonderful, refreshing book that took the fantasy genre down a less well-trodden path. Between readings, my mind kept going back to the story–definitely the mark of a good book.

Writing

I felt a lot more productive this month than I have in quite a while! I wrote a poem for the first time in forever,* and wrote 9,497 words in The Prophet’s Key. That’s more than I’ve written since college started, so I was happy. I’m close to the halfway point in my outline, too. The villains are gaining the upper hand, so the whole situation is about to change for the worse for my protagonists!

*breaks into song (I listened to the Frozen soundtrack earlier this week, okay?)

I’ve also set my writing goals FOR THE REST OF 2016 (and a little bit more), so I am super pumped. I want to reach 80k by Christmas, which means writing almost 10k in three weeks. Then the goal is to utilize my Christmas break to add another 20k, which will bring the book to 100k. Then if I can finish the whole first draft by springtime/the end of college/sometime around there . . . I just may have enough time to rewrite The Brightest Thread into a full novel so I have something to pitch at the Realm Makers Conference.

O.O

Yeah.

I’m that crazy.

And as I look at the things filling up my December calendar, I’m questioning the sanity of that plan even more. But if you shoot for the moon and miss, you still land among the stars and all that jazz.*

*Except not really. Because the stars are light-years away. So if I miss the moon, you can find me floating aimlessly in space or headfirst in a crater on earth somewhere.

Learning



Just trying out a new feature in S&S. We’ll see if I have enough material for it each month.

I learned about the DISC personality system in college, and found out that I’m a CSD. To give you some background, D=dominant/driver/determined, I=influencing/inspiring/impulsive, C=compliant/correct/cautious, and S=supportive/stable/steady. A CSD is otherwise known as a Contemplator. Basically, I like to get things done, and get them done well. I’m detailed and logical; have high standards; precise but competitive; sensitive to others around me; a natural peacemaker; etc. Reading through the full descriptions, I was amazed at how accurate most of it was! Now that I know the personalities of my other classmates, I hope to develop better ways to communicate with all of them.

I started experimenting with bullet journaling in an old notebook of mine, just to see if I like it. So far I do, though I’m not quite happy with the layout. Hence the term experiment. Come the new year, if I’m still enjoying the practice, I’ll start fresh in a brand new notebook and go from there.

So how was your November? Anything out of the ordinary, or perhaps ordinary but still worth mentioning? Have you ever taken the DISC test? All ye lionhearted NaNo’ers–how did it go? And who’s all cranking the Christmas carols now that we’re in December?

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7 Ways to Write More Words and Read More Books

Tracey Dyck 19 Comments

Before we dive in, I’d like to highlight some great editing tips Jenny Frietag @ The Penslayer compiled this week. You can read the post HERE. I was thrilled to see a piece of my own advice included!

The end of November is drawing near, folks, in case you haven’t noticed. Which means thousands of writers are striving to meet their fifty thousand word goal in the days remaining. I am not among that huge tribe of crazy (that is, crazy awesome) people, but perhaps I’m absorbing some of their excitement, because I’ve been more productive this month than I have been in the last two months combined. Hooray!

Whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo or not, if you’re a writer, you probably want to write. (I should hope so, or else why call yourself a writer?) And quite possibly, you want to write more than you are currently doing. But life is busy, isn’t it? How do you find the time?

However, not all of you reading this are writers. But there’s a 98.239% chance that you are a reader.* Life is busy for you as well. Things like school and work and obligations crowd out less urgent things like reading.

*I would be surprised if this blog attracted someone who didn’t care for books in some way.

So what are we busy readers and writers to do? I can’t promise a magical solution to clear your schedule, but I do have some lil’ tips to share that can help you put more time into your creative pursuits.

Step 1: Recognize that time is not a thing to be found or made.

You can’t find time–you already have it. Nor can you manufacture time. You have twenty-four hours every day. No more, no less. The most productive writers and most prolific readers out there don’t have more time than you do! They’ve just found a way to manage their time wisely.

Time is a resource, just like health or finances. So evaluate where you’re putting it. Figure out what’s nonnegotiable, such as sleep, work, school, time spent with God, building and maintaining your relationships, etc.

Step 2: Manage your free time.

Everything outside of those nonnegotiables can be moved around or minimized.

I keep my Goodreads status updated, so obviously I have time for it. Likewise with the shows I watch, blogs I read, and YouTube videos I consume. All good things, but also all potential time-suckers.

For a few days, pay attention to all the little things you do, then decide whether those are things you want to spend time on. Trust me, I’m as guilty of wasting time as anyone else. (I’m trying to break some bad phone habits, to be honest.) But you might be surprised how quickly those little things add up. Five minutes on your phone five times a day is twenty-five minutes, you guys–almost half an hour.

Step 3: Find the blank spaces in your day.

This will look different for everyone. For me, I read during my lunch breaks at work, even if it’s only a few pages. My brother and I take turns driving to school, which gives me forty free minutes to read when he’s the driver. Three days of the week, my college schedule is such that I have a couple free hours over suppertime, so if I don’t have homework, I usually answer emails and blog comments, draft a new post, or write.

If you’re in a waiting room, that’s another chance to read. If you have a few minutes between activities, you can scribble out some plot points so that later, you can jump right into your next writing session without staring at a wall for ten minutes.

Step 4: Carve it out of your schedule with a ruthless knife of terror.

If you’ve done all of the above and you STILL DON’T HAVE TIME (oh, excuse me, haven’t managed the time) . . . you may have to carve out a block of your day to curl up with a book or write a few pages. Don’t feel bad if you have to schedule this stuff in.  If to-do lists and planners are your thing, penciling in your hobbies might be the trick to finally doing them.

Step 5: Hold yourself accountable.

Whether it’s the satisfaction of checking off that box or buying a new book once your current read is finished, find a way to reward yourself for sticking to it. Writers, what motivates you? Some of my writer friends like to forbid themselves from using the internet until they’ve written X amount of words each day–for them, social media is a nice little break before jumping back into their manuscript. Or maybe taking a walk, playing with your dog, grabbing a snack, or indulging in stupid YouTube videos is what will drive you to reach a daily goal.

It’s also a good idea to find someone who will keep you accountable, someone who will ask you what you’ve written this week. Knowing you have to report to them will give you that extra drive to keep going.

Step 6: Short stuff.

Obviously if you read shorter books you’ll read a larger quantity of books, and if that makes you feel better, no problem. But that’s not really the point, because you’re still not reading more pages . . . So I guess that’s not super useful! But reading in short bursts whenever you have a minute helps.

In writing, don’t underestimate the power of word sprints/word wars. I’ve found that I can write more if I set myself a series of ten or fifteen minute sprints, with the simple goal to see how much I can write during that time.

Something the 100-for-100 challenge taught me was that even if you’re crazy busy, you can still write a little bit. And we all know that a lot of little bits add up to a big bit.

Step 7: There’s a time to just do it, and there’s a time to relax.

Sometimes you have to work at getting around to the things you love. Silly, I know, but that’s how life is. And if you’re fighting to guard your reading/writing time, great. But don’t become so task-oriented that you suck the joy out of those things. Don’t write just because you scheduled it 7:30-8:30 every Wednesday night, and you have to write five hundred words or ELSE. Don’t read just because you have to get through six books a month to meet your Goodreads challenge.

Do it because you actually want to.

Really, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to shut off your brain after a long day, and watching a movie instead of writing. You need to unwind too, or your writing will suffer. And don’t be so wrapped up in making progress that you kill the book you’re reading. It should be recreational, after all! Take it easy now and then.

All you NaNo’ers: this is the month to power through and meet those goals, yes! But don’t do it at the expense of your health or peace of mind. Take a day off if you need to, even if it means working extra tomorrow to make up for it. The world will not end if you don’t write 1,667 words today.

So why are you still hanging around Adventure Awaits? Go write that book! Or read it, whichever you choose.

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