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Subplots & Storylines – September 2017

Tracey Dyck 26 Comments
And all at once, summer collapsed into fall. -Oscar Wilde



That about sums it up. September was beautiful and crazy and challenging and good. School (and the ensuing homework) has swallowed up much of my time. I’m doing better in my Financial Accounting class than I thought I would, Math is a challenge, and both Business Communication and Intro to Canadian Business are still my favorite classes. Everything else is a bit meh, but I know I’m learning useful skills. Still, I’m glad that after laying a foundation this year, I’ll get to choose a more interesting course load next year.

Anyway, many of you are up to your ears in schoolwork as well, and probably don’t want to hear any more on that subject! So let’s move on.

In between classes, I’ve been enjoying the beauty of autumn. My cousin got married, my parents celebrated their wedding anniversary, and . . .

I went to a Skillet concert with my brother! (For those who may not know, Skillet is a Christian rock band.) Now, truth be told, I’m not much of a concert-goer. In fact, this was only the second real concert I’ve ever been to. So I felt like a shocked little old lady when the volume skyrocketed and rattled my eardrums. My ears were still ringing the next day, haha! But once the two opening acts–which involved much more screaming and much less intelligibility than I prefer–were over, I loved seeing Skillet perform. They’re kind of amazing. I’ve had Comatose playing in my head for weeks since then. If you’re looking for story inspiration, a ton of their songs are great for that!

Here it is–the blurry, sat-in-the-top-balcony proof that I was there!

Screen Subplots

finished Once Upon a Time Season 2 // started Once Upon a Time season 3

If you guys get tired of seeing OUAT mentioned in every. single. S&S post, I wouldn’t blame you! But I’m still watching/re-watching it, so you’re going to keep hearing about it. Currently enjoying Neverland and lots of friction between characters!

started The Flash season 3


Oh my gracious goodness, I love this show. I’ve only seen a couple episodes, but I’m excited to see where it goes! Much heart-wrenching-ness has already happened.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

So this was really wild and fun! Not quite as good as the first one, and it took a while for the plot to get moving, but it was still entertaining. (I could’ve done without the crude jokes, though.) But BABY GROOT. HE IS THE REASON I WATCHED THIS MOVIE.

The whole crew, really, is awesome together. They fight and call each other names and hold grudges, but in the end, they do love each other and stick up for one another. I loved how they played on the “typical North American family drama” you see in a lot of movies, yet it was in an intergalactic, superhero context.

Other things I liked: Rocket is terrible at winking. Drax is as guileless as ever. Baby Groot is the best thing to grace the silver screen. Yondu is grouchy and awesome. (“I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!”) Gamora has sister issues. Star Lord has daddy issues. Okay, pretty much everyone has issues.

How dorky can Peter Parker get, you ask? (I can relate, though, because
I have definitely waved to people who aren’t waving to me.)

Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch)


Yes, the old one. Yes, the cringey-but-still-adorkable one. This was the first time all of my siblings have watched a superhero movie together. I remember loving this one years ago, but now I just laugh at all the cheesiness! (Sorry, Maguire, but Garfield and Holland are my favorites.)

Page Subplots

This was the month of Sleeping Beauty retellings! Which sounds like I read a pile of them, but in actuality, it was only two books.

Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer


I was really looking forward to reading this one, especially because I’ve got my Spidey sense tuned into the fairy-tale retelling market (wink wink, The Brightest Thread) . . . but sadly, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

One of my main problems with it was small, yet it affected everything: the tense. Spindle Fire was written in third-person present tense. Like this:

Aurora is startled from fitful sleep by a loud rustling of feathers . . . and a voice. “Evening, caged bird,” it says.

I don’t mind present tense at all–I’ll admit that past is my favorite, but I often forget about the tense when the story sweeps me away. Problem is, pretty much all of the present tense books I’ve read are also first person. Third-person present just felt . . . odd. Lurching. At times, it read more like a long synopsis than the kind of narrative I’m used to. There were a handful of truly beautiful moments and snippets of enchanting prose. But then I would feel jerked out of the story again by the way it was written, or by some out-of-place modernism. Obviously, not everyone will feel that way! It could very well just be me who didn’t like that aspect!

But on to the story itself. This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling in which Aurora has a half sister, and both of them are missing senses that were tithed to fairies. Aurora is mute and has no sense of touch; Isabel is blind. So alternating between their viewpoints was very intriguing! And reading about a strong sister relationship is so, so refreshing in YA.

The romantic relationships were pretty good. I kind of feel like Isbe (a.k.a. Isabel) got over something a tad too quickly, but I love a certain prince that gets involved later. And Heath and Aurora were sweet together.

Oh, that brings me to another thing! Aurora winds up in a dream realm . . . except I couldn’t quite figure out if it was a dream realm? It seemed more like a real kingdom trapped by an enchanted wall, and it was even on the map at the front of the book. I’m a little fuzzy on those details. Despite my confusion, it was a chilling setting with some lovely little illogical things you’d expect from a dream.

I will credit the author for making the world feel incredibly real! Despite experiencing half of the book through a blind girl, I do feel like I was right there on the wintry seacoast of Deluce and the green meadows of Aubin. Loved that.

This is turning into a long ramble of random things I liked and didn’t like, but here’s one more: the fairies were quite interesting. It’s hard to like any of them, since most fall somewhere between selfish and downright evil. But they were quite fascinating. (Caution: one fairy, who takes people’s sense of touch, lives a very loose lifestyle. Her flagrant ways are referenced several times, and a scene or two takes place in her brothel-like house, thankfully from blind Isbe’s point of view.)

Anyway, I should wrap this up. Books that give me conflicted feelings are the hardest to review! Three stars.

Five Magic Spindles by Rachel Kovaciny, Kathryn McConaughy, Grace Mullins, Michelle Pennington, and Ashley Stangl


I plan to post a full review on this in the near future, so I won’t say anything now except that this was a positively delightful collection! Five stars.

Writing Subplots

Wonder of wonders, I actually managed to write during the college life! Here’s a peek into what happened on my side of the computer screen:

  • I brainstormed my Snow White novella for Rooglewood’s Five Poisoned Apples contest.*
  • I plotted Snow White. Briefly. There are holes. But there’s also a basic framework in place, so hooray, I know what I’m doing. (Not really.)
  • And I wrote close to 8,000 words of Snow White! Almost halfway!

*The deadline is December 31st, 2017. All you incredible writers out there who are even considering entering: there’s still time! For one of these contests, I wrote my entry in a month. Not advisable, but still possible.

The novella still has no title, and the plot is a skeleton I’m joining together bone by bone. But I can tell you that it’s a Nordic-inspired fantasy setting, it may or may not take place in the same world as The Brightest Thread, and winter is coming. There’s creepy mirror magic, hunting, and BFFs that won’t admit they love each other. Oh yes, and everything you know about Snow White actually happened in the past.

On another note, beta feedback on The Brightest Thread is trickling in (you readers are amazing!), and I’m excited to see where the novel is working and where it needs some tune-ups. Getting fresh eyes on a story is so helpful, guys. I polished that novel as best as I knew how, but now I’m starting to know more–so there’s additional work to be done. And that’s exciting, because it means TBT will improve!

I suppose it’s almost worth mentioning school papers I’ve been writing in the meantime. Besides practicing writing memos, business emails, and informational reports, I actually got to write a letter from the perspective of a young Titanic survivor. That exercise nearly brought tears to my eyes.

[Pinterest]

Onward to October

Life moves in seasons, much like the earth spins, and I’m learning to be content where I am. This month was harder in that regard, as school pulled me away from so many of the things I love. (And many of my monthly goals for September remain unfinished.) But I have to remember that I’m in college to equip myself to do the things I love better. And I’m thankful for family and friends and God who all love me through my frazzled moments and remind me that seasons do change.

What sort of adventures have YOU been on this autumn? Are you back in school? Writing something new? And obviously the most pressing question: what are your thoughts on third-person present tense?!

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Subplots and Storylines – August 2017

Tracey Dyck 49 Comments

I think I’m stuck in a Donkey Kong game.

You know, where he hops into a barrel cannon, and it shoots him into the next cannon, and that shoots him into the next? That is Donkey Kong, right? (Correct me if I’m wrong.) This whole year has been a series of cannons–all very good ones, though not necessarily all easy–and despite feeling full to the brim, 2017 is only two-thirds done.*

*Pshh, “only.” I feel like it should still be April, thank you very much.

But for the most part, August gave me a chance to catch my breath. The day after I returned from Realm Makers, my family and I packed up and headed south of the border again for a week of much-needed vacation at a cabin! It was so, so good to not have anywhere to be, anything to write, or any deadlines to meet. Just wide open hours to swim and kayak in the lake, soak in the sunshine, devour books, eat too much food, stay up too late, and sleep in every morning. Just amazing. And I loved spending all that time with my family!

The next couple weeks were the steady as she goes kind, during which I:

  • tried (and failed) to clean my room
  • took my youngest sister out for fun stuff like riding a tandem bike for the first time ever (we didn’t die! and it was so much fun!)
  • had a video chat with a dear friend who lives miles away
  • went to orientation day for college
  • had a campfire with another friend who lives a lot closer but is leaving for university
  • ate fresh corn on the cob from the garden
  • met yet another friend for root beer and a catching up

And now summer feels like it’s officially easing into autumn. The days are getting a little cooler already and parts of the garden are being harvested, but the biggest indication that summer is over is this:

I started college this week!

Which is kind of a big deal. I’m adjusting to a new schedule, figuring out how to stuff as much homework as possible into the nooks and crannies of my days, getting to know my teachers, and finally experiencing a public school classroom.*

*Some classes are great. Others feel like a waste of time because hi, I was homeschooled, and I’m used to just reading textbooks for myself, no need to read it to me, thank you, good-bye. Okay, it’s not all that bad. Besides, it means less school reading at home later.

Oh, yes, I suppose I should mention this is for a two-year business admin diploma! I sincerely hope to keep up with Adventure Awaits in the meantime. That may mean shorter posts sometimes, or even some Sunday posts instead of Saturdays, but I’ll try to keep things as normal and scheduled here as possible.

Subplots on Screen

Mostly rewatches this month!

The Flash season 2 – rewatched three episodes
My family was watching it while at the cabin, so hey, why not join them? I was missing Barry Allen and Co.

Once Upon a Time – rewatched some of season 2 + 3 and finished season 5
My siblings and I are almost through season 2, and with my parents we’re well into season 3. But my two sisters and I FINISHED SEASON 5. IT BASICALLY BROKE MY HEART AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
My sisters pulled me into it, and so far I’m only three or so episodes in. Aang is cute and the episodes are nice and short.

The Maze Runner – rewatch
Also a holiday movie. My sisters had never seen it before, so it was super fun to see it with them and my brother.

Storylines on the Page

books read on holidays

August was a great reading month for me, thanks to vacation!

Ink and Bone // Rachel Caine


Ink and Bone is . . . how to describe it? Aesthetic. Rich. Colorful. Raw. It feels like dusty old books and hot Alexandrian sun and rattling trains and bloody, muddy war. It wasn’t the fastest read, but that was okay because I wanted to be immersed like that!


I loved the vaguely steampunk setting, the school aspect, and the way Jess is the son of a black market book smuggler. Instant cool points! Wolfe, the ruthless teacher, was someone I hated at first, then slowly grew to love. I also loved the premise of the library of Alexandria still being around!


Unfortunately, there was a bit of language and one homosexual subplot off to the side that I didn’t care for.


Still, I gave the book 4.5 stars! Read my full review on Goodreads HERE.

The Penderwicks // Jeanne Birdsall

This book came highly recommended by several friends, and it did not disappoint!

Think back to your fondest childhood summer, sprinkle it with imagination and adventure, and mix it with a dash of humor and buckets of warm fuzzies. That’s pretty much The Penderwicks. Like Peter Pan did for me last summer, it transported me back to childhood in a way that made me smile and want to live at Arundel with these kids just a little longer. Seriously, if you haven’t read this yet, GO DO IT.

5 stars! Read my full review on Goodreads HERE.

The Fatal Tree // Stephen Lawhead

The Fatal Tree ended the Bright Empires series differently than I expected, but it was still really, really good. I can say very little without plunging straight into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say that:

a) I love the crew, especially Kit, Cass, Mina, Etzel (dear, dear Etzel!), and Gianni.
b) I am endlessly fascinated by this multiverse of ley lines and by the topics this series has examined, such as time, the humongous effect everything and everybody has on everything and everybody else, redemption, human will, and WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE UNIVERSE STARTS TO SHRINK.
c) That beautiful cover.

5 stars! Read my full review on Goodreads HERE.

Some Kind of Happiness // Claire Legrand

I bought this on a whim, and by the time I finished I was a small mess of feelings. Which may have been the point of the whole story. Despite it’s title, Some Kind of Happiness deals with a lot of sad topics: depression, cancer, broken families, secrets. (It’s labeled MG, but I probably wouldn’t give it to a reader that young.) However, it was a powerful, beautifully written story packed with my favorite kind of imagery and grand adventures shared by a pack of rambunctious cousins and their friends.

But to back up a little–the whole premise of this book is amazing. 11-year-old Finley deals with her sadness by writing stories about a place called the Everwood, stories that mirror her own struggles. So it was cathartic and affirming to see how her life inspired her writing, and how her writing, in turn, helped her real life!

4 stars! Read my full review (including my favorite quote from the book) on Goodreads HERE.

The Five Times I Met Myself // James L. Rubart

I actually met Jim Rubart at Realm Makers, and he is one of the kindest, most encouraging authors I’ve talked to!

The Five Times I Met Myself is a trippy, introspective book dealing with regret and second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances. At first, the concept of Brock’s lucid dreaming and actually talking to his younger self was a bit hard to believe, but the concept was so interesting that pretty soon I didn’t care. Especially when Brock’s attempts to improve his life by getting his younger self to make different decisions start making everything worse.

4.5 stars! Read my full review on Goodreads HERE.

The Beast of Talesend // Kyle Robert Schultz

Another author I met at Realm Makers. You might recognize his name from the Silmarillion Awards this summer, because he hosted the award for Most Incompetent Henchman!

I’d heard great things about The Beast of Talesend as well, the highlight of my friends’ reviews definitely being the humor. And it was quite an amusing tale! The dialogue is one of this novella’s greatest strengths for sure. I also really liked the 1920’s alternate history setting, where fairy tales actually happened long ago, but magic has since faded into obscurity. Except for instances like this one, where Detective Nick Beasley happens to turn into a beast . . . despite the fact he’s spent his whole career disproving magic! His brother, Crispin, and the unstoppable Lady Cordelia prove to be entertaining sidekicks on their little quest.

My only quibble would be the writing. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t particularly arresting either, and I found the sentence structure repetitive now and then. Nevertheless, this was a good, quick read! Kind of a fluffy cupcake sort of thing, and–oddly enough–something that reminded me of Adventures in Odyssey radio dramas (even though the two aren’t related in the slightest).

3.5 stars! (As of right now, I haven’t reviewed this on Goodreads yet.)

Subplots on the Writing Desk

After the intensity of May-July, followed by no writing during vacation, I’ve been taking it easy in this department. I received an amazing, thought-provoking critique of The Brightest Thread’s first chapter at Realm Makers, so I spent my writing time this month brainstorming ways to incorporate that feedback.

I ended up experimenting with chapter one and trying different approaches. My first attempt flopped halfway through. With tea and prayer, I tried again, and it went a lot better . . . though that version of chapter one is really long. Then I wrote yet another version, which was much shorter. I haven’t yet decided which approach is best.

But TBT is currently in the hands of betas, so I’ll see what they say!

Oh, and I updated my Writings page here on the blog! That was a long overdue change.

I had planned to brainstorm a novella for Five Poisoned Apples in August, but that didn’t happen. Hopefully this month! There are only four months left of the contest–yikes.

What about you, valiant adventurers? How was your August? Are you going back to school? What was your best summer memory?

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Subplots and Storylines – July 2017

Tracey Dyck 33 Comments

(I almost wrote 2018, you guys. Scary.)

Hello! Whew, it feels like a massive party has been happening around here, what with the fantastically epic SilmAwards going on! I hope you’ve been having as much with it as I have. (If you missed it, click HERE to check out who won the Wisest Counselor Silmaril.) The awards take a break over this weekend, but then on Monday, the next post will go live!

If you’re looking for a schedule of the awards presentations, Deborah has a handy one right here.

In the meantime, S&S is coming to you a week early. “What!” you say. “July isn’t over yet!” I know, but in a matter of days I depart for Realm Makers (which will require a recap post, trust me). And after that’s over, I’ll be away on family holidays and shan’t return to the internet until sometime during the first full week of August. Hence the early post.

July thus far has been a little less crazy than previous months. We celebrated Canada’s 150th and my dad’s birthday. One afternoon, I went out for a spontaneous coffee date with two friends I hadn’t caught up with in a long time, and it was good to step away from writing for a couple of hours. I spent a fun day shopping in the city with my mom and sisters. The week after that, I took my brother to the city too, and we enjoyed shopping, watching Spider-Man Homecoming, having milkshakes, and listening to a super long, super amazing playlist he put together for my novel The Brightest Thread. (I love my family, guys.)

Another highlight was strawberry picking. Come on, who doesn’t love getting down on their hands and knees between the rows and hunting down the brightest, reddest berries? But the best part is eating them afterward. Strawberries everywhere–with cream and sugar, with ice cream, with yogurt, with cake, with waffles and whipped cream, with French toast. EVERYTHING. Strawberries have a way of making it feel like summer (so does pea shelling, which we’ve also been doing).

(*looks at above paragraphs* Apparently I can talk about food for just as long as I can talk about life happenings. Ha.)

Oh! Before we move on, I have to share one of the biggest things that happened this month. You know how I applied for college this fall? Well, recently I was told that I was put on the waiting list–I would have to wait a full year to get in. Needless to say, I was disappointed. But all the delays in my life thus far have ended up being really good things, and God has used them to take me down better paths than I had set out for myself. So I was resigned to spend a year working at my job, trying to get my writing out there, and seeing what unexpected opportunities God might bring my way.

But a week after getting that email, I got another one saying I’ve been accepted after all! A few students dropped out, making room for me this fall! Classes start at the end of August (which is ridiculously close, you guys). It’s a two year course in business administration. I never would have thought of taking something like this, but I’ve come to realize that a) this can help me start a financially stable career, and b) this will also help me in the writing/publishing field, because authors are essentially small business owners! Anyway, this is a big answer to prayer! And life is going to be changing yet again in just over a month.

On the Screen

Yep, you guessed it again: more Once Upon a Time. Still slowly going through seasons 2, 3, and 5. After a decidedly blegh episode in season 5 (called Ruby Slippers, for those who may be wondering), the season is looking up again. Or rather, looking very bleak for the characters, but much more exciting for me. Can’t wait to see the last few episodes!

I mentioned it above, but I must say it again: I saw Spider-Man Homecoming in theaters and LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! There was a tad more language than I expected, but other than that, this was the perfect Spidey flick. I love Tom Holland’s performance, because we finally have a Peter Parker who looks and acts exactly like a high school teenager. Don’t get me wrong, Andrew Garfield was fantastic (and Tobey McGuire . . . eh, he gets points for being cheesy and nostalgic), but Tom Holland brings out the things that make Spider-Man Spider-Man.


The movie was funny, endearing, down-to-earth, and still had its intense moments. I was literally on the edge of my seat near the end. That plot twist. Wow. And it was so great having Tony Stark around for a bit. I love seeing him play mentor. The villain had a more grounded/realistic backstory than some, the high school dynamics were the best, and Ned was a hilarious best friend/”guy in the chair.”

I wish I had a more cohesive mini review to share, but my thoughts are all over the place. It’s one of those movies I have to see again!

On the Page

Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz
Probably the best Alex Rider book yet! It still feels like a kid playing James Bond, but this book had a more complex plot. I think Alex is growing up. He discovered more about his father, was faced with some pretty difficult choices, and had to get out of even worse scrapes than before. My favorite scene was near the beginning when he’s stuck in a flooding prison cell in Venice! Kind of reminded me of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation a little bit.
Four stars.
Solitary by Travis Thrasher (audio book)
I read started reading the Solitary Tales back in 2013. I remember loving it back then. The writing style isn’t particularly beautiful or complex, but that’s why it’s so easy to fly through. Listening to the audio book over the last couple months (what can I say? my drive to work is too short), I couldn’t speed through the story, but it was cool to “reread it” now that I know how the whole story ends.
I’d forgotten how dark and hopeless it gets, but I don’t mind because I know that Chris, the main character, is embarking on a journey to find light. Even if he doesn’t know it by the final page of book one. Meanwhile, the web of secrets strung over the little town of Solitary is intriguing and terrifying. It’s still suspenseful the second time around, because I don’t remember all the ins and outs.
Anyway, back to the audio format: four stars for this one. The book itself gets five stars, but I enjoyed the narrator of the last audio book I listened to (Crazy Dangerous) more.
Reapers by Bryan Davis

I’m in the middle of it right now, and expect to finish before I leave. I’ll have more thoughts to share in next month’s S&S post, but for now I’ll say that the pace is picking up, and I’m quite enjoying myself! Phoenix is a very different protagonist than most of Bryan Davis’s. He’s still principled, but not to the extent of someone like Billy Bannister or Adrian Masters or Nathan Shepherd. (Although I’m still figuring Phoenix out, so don’t take that as my final say on the matter.) I look forward to seeing where the second half of the book goes!

On the Writing Desk

As you know, the Silmarillion Awards have been going on this month, which sort of counts as writing–at least part of it.

Other than that, I clocked my writing time again this month: about 30 hours spent writing and/or editing The Brightest Thread. As I edited, I wrote in a few new scenes and added touches of description, contributing another 6,665 words to the manuscript. Now it stands at precisely 68,727 words. Not quite as close to my 70k goal as I wanted, but at this point that’s all I have in me to add. After days of slow progress, including taking my laptop along on the drive to and from church a few Sundays, just to get more writing time in, it’s a relief to be done!

I think The Brightest Thread is the strongest novel I’ve written to date, despite the fact that it’s also the shortest. I’m excited to pitch it next week and see what kind of feedback it gets! Even an unfavorable reaction is a learning experience, so it’s impossible to lose out.

In other writing-related doings, I finished up session 12 of The Creative Way (the writing course by Ted Dekker I’m slowly going through). I also designed business cards and wrote up a one sheet for the conference!

Farewell for now, my friends!

Although I’ll be using the internet whilst at the conference, after that I’ll be unplugging for a week. You won’t see me around here for a little while. However, I hope to schedule a few posts to go up during my absence, so it won’t be completely quiet on Adventure Awaits.

One of the scheduled posts will be for the end of the SilmAwards on July 29th. All of you are welcome to join in as well with your own posts (blog or otherwise) to celebrate all things Tolkien and fantasy! There are no rules. Feel free to write a tribute to Tolkien, pen an ode to Samwise Gamgee, start a discussion about favorite elements of fantasy, share a collection of quotes, include a gif or two (or three hundred) from Lord of the Rings, make a list of favorite fantasy novels, or whatever you like! (Remember to use #SilmAwards2017 on social media!) I’ll catch up on it all when I return.

Take care, my friends! I look forward to sharing my adventures with you! And if any of you are coming to Realm Makers–I’ll see you there.

How has your July been? I hope you’re having a fantastic summer. Bet you’re craving strawberries now, thanks to me.  If you’ve seen Spider-Man Homecoming, what did you think of it?

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Subplots and Storylines – June 2017

Tracey Dyck 35 Comments

What ho, questing June bugs! I’m pretty sure June was struck by lightning when the particle accelerator exploded, because it went by in a flash.*

*Ahem. Lame reference to The Flash show. I couldn’t resist. Also I have no idea why you are June bugs today. I had coffee this morning, so I guess you have my cup of joe to thank for the offbeat humor.

Happy Canada 150, by the way, to all my fellow Canadians!
(graphic made by little sis, lostfairy)

It’s crazy! We just flipped the calendar page yesterday, didn’t we? And now we have to flip it again? I’m constantly amazed at just how much can transpire in just thirty days.

The month started off with Rooglewood Press announcing their fourth and final fairy tale retelling contest: Five Poisoned Apples! I have yet to develop even a sliver of an idea, but I would love to enter later on this year. That cover is drop dead gorgeous. A few friends of mine are starting to work on some seriously incredible entries too, from what I’ve heard.

Some of my college classmates and I spoke at an elementary school chapel, even though college is over by now. It was supposed to be our teacher’s thing, but we students had come up with the lesson before grad, so some of us decided to participate anyway, even though we weren’t required to be there. Lots of fun! The best part was an object lesson involving blenders.

Afterwards, I spent the day catching up with a dear friend. Pizza in the park, rants about the trials of customer service, smoothies, and a heart to heart = my kind of outing.

I somehow managed to lose my voice, but just for a day. A stupid cold lingered all during the month of May, but then it came back over a weekend this June–a weekend I was working, a weekend the store had a big sale . . . so that means trying to talk to lots of customers. The old folks couldn’t hear me, one guy asked if my voice always sounded like that or did I have a cold, and several ladies gave me tips to get rid of it (tea, sleep, a cold drink–I think she meant alcohol??–vitamins, honey, etc.). All in all it was quite amusing, although manning the till was not a good idea.

Later in the month we threw a belated party for my mom’s birthday! I haven’t planned or hosted a party in ages, but it ended up a success anyway, and we had the perfect weather for eating outdoors.

Father’s Day also happened–rather low key this year, but still very good.

This week I took my middle sister to the city for a girls day out. We spent over an hour in a bookstore (I bought The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall and Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand–thank you for the recs, my Goodreads friends! I can’t wait to read these summery slices of goodness) . . . went for pizza . . . explored walking trails in the park because when it smells like rain, it’s the best time for adventures . . . and ended off the day with London fogs and macarons in a cutesy little tea shop while it began pouring outside. A lovely time!

And last but not least, I finally sent in my application for the college I want to go to this fall.

Storylines on the Screen

Once Upon a Time – parts of seasons 2, 3, and 5
Still watching it in three different groups: season 2 with all three siblings, season 3 with my parents and sisters, and season 5 with just my sisters. (I’m reminded of how Neverland is one of the best parts of the show EVER. The character conflict is spot on, and Peter Pan is fantastic.)
Rogue One
My second-ever Star Wars movie–go me! I knew in advance that this would be a feelsy movie. Let’s just say it lived up to those expectations, and maybe even surpassed them. There goes my heart in a million pieces on the floor, guys. Jyn, Cassian, and Bodhi were my favorite characters, so if you’ve seen it, you know why I had to sweep up the pieces! And now I can’t decide whether I like Rogue One or The Force Awakens best.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
I rewatched it with my whole family. It didn’t make me cry this time, but it was still gorgeous. For more thoughts, visit Subplots and Storylines – April 2017.

Storylines on the Page

The Shadow Throne // Jennifer A. Nielsen

Within fifty pages, I was scared for every single character on the good side. I loved how this book–and the whole Ascendance Trilogy–managed to be witty, intense, and still have a heart. As always, Jaron is full of sass and clever plans. At one point, when asked what he has up his sleeve, he replies, “Catastrophic levels of bad behavior.” And that about sums it up.

Okay, but before I move on, it bears mentioning that while I did predict the twist at the end, I still loved this final instalment! If you’re looking for a romping, sarcastic fantasy adventure with a handful of great plot twists, look no further.

The Reluctant Godfather // Allison Tebo

What a delightful, hilarious take on the Cinderella story! Check out my review for more thoughts.

The Raven King // Maggie Stiefvater

(Apparently all the books I read this month have matching titles!)

I’ve had difficulty reviewing all four books in the Raven Cycle, but this one was the hardest. In The Raven King, there’s a sharp dichotomy between the magical prose and subtle character development (which I adore), and the frequent swearing, elements of the occult, and now homosexuality (which I cannot endorse).

Without spoiling who or what, I’ll just say that one of my favorite characters was ruined by the gay relationship added to the book. It was saddening.

The ending was also kind of anticlimactic after all the buildup, but in a way it was supposed to fall a little flat. And yet because of that, it didn’t fall flat enough for a long enough time, because by the very end it felt like pretty much everything was solved. The sacrifices made didn’t have the lasting consequences I expected. Certain threads weren’t wrapped up satisfactorily, either.

But the things I did like are Blue’s very relatable longings/frustrations, her developing relationship with Gansey, Gansey’s backstory, more explanations for magical things, and the way that Maggie Stiefvater made me feel things without outright telling me what to feel. Her prose, while not quite to the level of the previous three books, is downright amazing. Plus the cover is gorgeous.

In conclusion . . . I don’t really have a conclusion. This book left me feeling something, left me thinking about it long after I closed the cover, which is the mark of an impactful book. Now if only I could figure out just what kind of impact it had.

(for a few more thoughts, including some spoilers, check out my Goodreads review)

Storylines on My Own Pages

This was the month I planned to add 50,000 words to The Brightest Thread! To keep myself on track, I logged my progress both in words and in time spent writing. This month, I spent over 43 hours on TBT and added 29,238 words to the manuscript. This brings it up to 62k . . . not quite what I’d aimed for, but it was still the best writing month I’ve had this year!

I continued going through TBT from start to finish, basically retyping a mix of the very first novella draft and the polished novella draft, while adding in new stuff along the way. Buuuut by the time I reached the end, the story was still only 55k long. So I took half a week to read over what I had so far and gain a wider perspective. And then I jumped right back in, working on some spot cleaning sort of editing here and there, incorporating a few small subplots, etc. That’s where I’m at right now.

I originally wanted to get this novel up to an 80-90k length, but considering how I feel like I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas at the moment–and considering the fast approaching deadline called Realm Makers–I’m aiming for 70k.

It seems a bit low for the genre, but I’ve been scouring lists of typical industry standard wordcounts. YA, it seems, ranges anywhere from 55-80k, though some lists mention the genre is tending to run longer these days. Fantasy in general ranges from 90-120k. My questions is: what about YA fantasy??? A 70,000-word novel ends up under 300 pages, if I estimated that correctly. And I can’t remember the last time I picked up a fantasy novel that small. However, I think that for the sake of having something to pitch at the conference, a 70k novel isn’t bad, and if an agent shows interest but suggests lengthening the book, that can be done at a later date.

(For all of you nonwriters, I’m sorry for the boring stats and wordcounts. Such is the writer life.) (I also apologize for taking longer to reply to comments this month. When I’m focused on something, I’m obsessively focused.)

Anyway, it’s been a very intense month of patchwork writing/editing, and I really, really hope that the result turns out well. It would be nice if I had time to send the story to beta readers before I leave for the conference, but that will have to wait until afterward. In the meantime, my July writing plans are to:

  • write those last 8,000 words
  • do a quick round of editing
  • prepare a pitch (along with written material such as a query letter to hand out)

Farewell to June and hello to July

The first three weeks of July will be full of TBT work and conference prep, and then at last I shall fly to Nevada for Realm Makers!

And here on the blog, I’ll be posting mostly on Mondays instead of Saturdays, because a certain special thing is going on in July, and you all get to be a big part of it!

That’s right, it’s the second annual Silmarillion Awards!

I would explain all the rules here, but this post is getting long enough. Come back on July 3rd, however, and the fun will begin! In the meantime, start thinking of all your favorite fantasy characters!

How was your June? Is it just me, or is summer just flashing by? (Oops, another Flash pun. After finishing the second season last month, I must be suffering withdrawal.) How many of you will I see at Realm Makers? How many of you are pumped for the Silmarillion Awards?!

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