New Year's Resolutions 2022

1. Get at least one piercing
2. Get at least one tattoo
3. Add 20,000 words to my WIP novel
4. Write 30,000 words for National Novel Writing Month 2022
5. Break in all my Dr Marten shoes properly
6. Get a new job
7. Learn to drive
8. Get a new car
9. Sew a garment
10. Learn how to crochet
11. Learn how to cross stitch
12. Read 100 books
13. Watch 100 films
14. Go to the cinema 5 times
15. Go to Longleat Safari Park
16. See a show on stage

I also have extra mini goals like getting a bit fitter and clearing my Gmail and Outlook inboxes. Gmail is where Quora stuff gets sent (it was a little bit of an obsession for a while) and Outlook is Pinterest emails. Both require more time dedicating to them than I usually want to spend on them. I have been making progress on the Pinterest ones this week though, no money to shop with (£10 til PayDay) and bank holidays meaning not many working days this week meant I've had a little more computer time, in between colouring my calendar for this year.

Then of course on top there are the extra "need to buy" goals. I need a new laptop, I'd like to go old school and get an old iPod Classic for my music. We need a new carpet in the living room, we need to vinyl in the hallway and kitchen. I need a new desk chair. We'd like to re-replace the sofas for comfier ones. (Background - one of the old sofas broke so they were emergency replaced last September but the only ones we could afford turned out to not be overly comfy.) We both need new beds and probably mattresses.

All in all a lot of reasons to need a new job with more hours/more money. Sigh.

I also need to catch up a lot with my NetGalley books. I've decided to put a pause on requesting for a bit to give myself time to catch up a little, I have over 300 that I need to read and that's on top of my existing reading lists for this year. I've thought up a 22 in 2022 list plus I want to try and read the alphabet as well. Anyway this is long enough now so I'll leave it there.

Stef Out x

New Years Resolutions 2018

So I thought last year's resolution list of 22 was more manageable but I still only achieved 6 and a bit. The bit was to read 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and I did start it but I'm on book 3 part 1 so I've put on this year's list to finish the series. The one thing I failed that shocked me was that I didn't read my 100 books! That's something I do every year without fail. I guess puppies take up more time than you realise... So here goes:

1. Lose at least two stone.
2. Get at least one piercing.
3. Get at least one tattoo.
4. Refine my clothing style, focus more on quality pieces.
5. Learn to drive.
6. Buy a new car.
7. See at least one stage show.
8. Got to Longleat Safari Park.
9. Get a second dog.
10. Read 100 books.
11. Finish 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series.
12. Watch 100 films.
13. Watch at least 5 films at the cinema.
14. Complete NaNoWriMo.
15. Finish the first draft of a novel.
16. Learn to draw dogs.
17. Improve my equine anatomy.
18. Buy a tablet.
19. Buy an iPod Classic.
20. Find a new career.

The trickiest things are going to be seeing a stage show, that depends on if there's anything decent on. The annoying thing is Wicked is on from pretty much now until March but we don't have the money for tickets at the moment and if we get the money then they'll probably have sold out so we'll see what happens. Shrek is on later in the year so that's a possible, as is the Take That one they did the TV show for.

NaNo is always tricky (this time I burned out and only wrote about 9,000 words) but I have a different plan in mind for 2018. Google docs or something similar on a tablet with a keyboard case. Hopefully that combination will fix the problems I have with speed and portability/ease. I can type faster than hand-writing but my laptop is a bit big and clunky to be bothered with and slower to start up whereas tablets are pretty much instant.

The other troublesome one is likely to be finding a new career. The thing is I'm starting to hate my job more and more. Retail is killing my soul and I don't know how much longer I can stick it. I'm 27 for Christ's sake this is not where I saw my life being, the thing is I've never had any clear idea of what I want to do. The only possible thing I did think of recently was dog grooming but I don't know if the market is too saturated where I live, are there too many? Are there any jobs? I need to research what's available locally in general - next town over is also possible once I learn to drive - and then see if there's anything that will suit me aka not retail, cleaning, office or reception (I struggle with telephones and 'perky face') that doesn't require masses of expensive training.

I'm shocked that I haven't already learned to draw dogs anyway but this year an idea for a project came to me themed around dogs, and then my brain literally just spoke and said why not do a series and include cats and horses too so that'll keep me busy for a few years hypothetically. Equine anatomy always needs improving in my art, I want dynamic, realistic poses!

I know an iPod Classic is an odd thing to want especially as Apple don't even make them any more but the storage size has always appealed to me. I debated just putting a super large SD card in my phone since my Nano died but the music app on my HTC phone is crap and some songs that I know are on the SD card just won't show up in my library which is weird. I even downloaded a music player thing from the app store and even that's not showing them. I don't get it.

I've already lost some weight but recent health crap at the doctors means that losing some more would be a good idea, also I want more freedom of clothing. I don't want to cross-examine a top or dress and debate whether or not it's going to fit me. I also want to buy more things that suit my rainbow goth style. As for piercings and tattoos they're a constant that keep getting pushed each year. Although saying that I did get a tattoo last year, even if it was only because a friend of mine is an apprentice and was doing them for free, I still love it anyway. It's a mandala style moon on my right shin.

Oh something I didn't put on my resolutions list but want to do is figure out a direction for this here blog. I'm thinking maybe more of a book/film review type thing with occasional writing bits thrown in. I originally started it with the intentions of it being a fashion blog but most of the time I'm in a t-shirt and skinny jeans or jogging bottoms because of walking the dog. I did try and take an outfit photo with my new camera a while back but I couldn't get everything in focus so I'm not sure how people who do it solo manage...

Anyway I've written enough for one day so I will leave it there for now.

Stef Out x

Long Time No Post + NaNo Questions From PaperFury

So... It's been a while. That potential dog I was talking about? 

Meet Ryazan Fingal aka 'Forest'! He is a purebred Borzoi and at the moment he's 5 and a half months old. He was born 7th May and we brought him home 12th July! It has been a whirlwind and things haven't really stopped since then. We must be mad because we're now thinking about possibly putting or names down with a couple of sighthound rescues and hope they're OK with flats and enthusiastic puppies 😆 LOL!

So now onto the main reason for this post: the yearly tradition that is National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo! I attempt most years and have yet to succeed. Last year I got to 29k words which I was pretty pleased with and that was with a fairly solid idea and lots of laptop time. This year my idea is much more vague and I'm planning on hand writing so not exactly a recipe for success... But hey I'm gonna try!

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea? The base idea came to me as I was trying to get to sleep one night a couple of months ago.
2. Describe what your novel is about! It's about the truth behind family and heritage. There will be magic and faeries.
3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like! 
   
4. Introduce us to each of your characters! Lindy is the main character, she has black curly hair, ice blue eyes, tanned skin. She is queer and trans and love goth/strega fashion. Her mum is Andrea, who is pale, blonde and petite and they look nothing alike (sets off story). Sadie is Lindy's supportive best friend who has red frizzy hair and loves research. Onyx is one of the first figures Lindy meets on her journey, she is not human and has very dark skin and white hair. Fennel is a pure white talking Borzoi (pictured above). Villains of the story are Mallick and Magda.
5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline,
   research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?) Come up with a vague plot and some characters, start writing, panic when things don't go to plan (I never properly plan because planned chapter 7 always ends up happening in chapter 2 and it's frustrating), drink copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate.
6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel? Seeing if I can actually tie this thing together into something that makes sense.
7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting. Forests that appear purple, crystal clear lagoons, British secondary school.
8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way? To find out the truth about herself, her whole identity is tied up in knots. Her mother is a primary block in refusing to tell her the truth. Mallick is the other block in her accepting her future.
9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel? She has matured, accepted her differences and even embraced them. She willingly takes the role she's meant to.
10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over? "Choice not chance determines destiny". I want them to be able to accept their differences as a part of them and embrace themselves.

New Years Resolutions 2017

Last year I had a massive list of 34 resolutions separated into 3 categories of which I achieved 7 and two of those were halves. *sigh* This year I have a more manageable list of 22.

1. Get my septum pierced.
2. Get my ear re-pierced.
3. Get at least one other piercing.
4. Get at least one tattoo - cover-up or otherwise.
5. Lose at least 2 stone.
6. Refine my personal style.
7. Learn to drive.
8. Get a dog (preferably a Borzoi - to be followed by a Shetland Sheepdog).
9. See a stage show.
10. Go to Longleat Safari Park.
11. Go out for a meal.
12. Read at least 100 books.
13. Read 'A Song of Ice and Fire'.
14. Watch at least 100 films.
15. Buy a new camera.
16. Buy an iPod Classic.
17. Buy some New Rock boots.
18. Buy new wardrobes.
19. Buy new sofas.
20. Finish the first draft of my novel.
21. Blog once a month.
22. Improve my art.

So that's my list. I haven't even bothered to categorise it like last year. I've also left off some of the less achievable things like 'go on a date' XD knowing my history that's kind of unlikely. And things like art goals tend to get forgotten. We'll just have to see what happens.

National Novel Writing Month 2016

So I'm sure a lot of people reading this (if anyone reads this that is XD) have heard of National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo as it's commonly abbreviated which is the aim to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I've tried a few times, the site has me registered as a member for almost 7 years, but as for attempts I only have obvious evidence for 2013, 2015 and this year since they're the only ones that have been typed up.

In the past I've only owned a desktop computer so I've had to attempt to hand write my novel and then type it up to get an accurate word count. Needless to say that hasn't been an overwhelming success. In fact in 2013 I only achieved 8,365 and 2015 was even worse at 1,020. I don't think it helps that I usually 'pants' it aka flying by the seat of your pants aka writing whatever comes.

This year a few things changed. I had an unexpected tax refund. Well I say unexpected but I knew I'd paid too much tax a couple of years back and it was something I kept meaning to sort out but never got around to it and in the end the sent it before I got a chance. So I decided to spend some of it on something I'd wanted for ages to help with my writing - a laptop!
               
I got an Acer Aspire ES 15 since it was on offer at Argos (bigger hard drive than the one I'd originally picked). It can be sluggish if you have a lot of browser windows open for some reason. It doesn't bother me too much though. The first photo is it wearing it's lovely sticker from Amazon. The owl case in the second picture is also from Amazon - it has handles. :)

So back to NaNoWriMo the laptop made things much much faster and less hand crampy. I ended up having to miss a fair few days thanks to work, I just checked and it looks like I missed 7 days completely although there was also one day I only wrote 100 or so words so I'm not sure how much that counts LOL. Regarding work I have some awkward shifts like 2pm-7pm which when you get up doesn't give masses of time for writing nor when you get home. I also did about 4 or 5 Saturdays overtime over November all 2pm-6pm so again not masses of time. Really for me - a retail worker - October would be the better month for NaNoWriMo, although saying that I did do a lot of overtime in October this year including working every single day of the half-term week. Great fun.

So what was/is my novel about and how many words did I write in the end? The working title is 'Healing Hayden' but I don't know how well it fits because even though Hayden goes through the most trauma he's not the only character. The other main is his identical twin brother Jasper. Both have their secrets but while Jasper is generally happy with himself and just needs to figure out timing, Hayden is very unhappy with himself, not helped by bullying at school and later a serious assault. He does figure things out eventually but I'm not at that point yet. Currently he's in hospital following the assault. And as of last night my word count is 29,534 words. My aim was to get to the 30,000 mark but I was a little blocked and it was getting late so I called it a night.

Overall although I didn't make the 50,000 words I'm incredibly proud of myself because 29,534 is the most I've ever written for one story and I think it's a story with potential. My main worry regarding eventual publication would be the assault scene - it's pretty graphic... Eh, I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

Stef Out xx

The Ultimate Book Tag

Stolen from Oh Leona!

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
I don't know about the car these days. I used to get travel sick really badly with everything but then bus journeys to school helped me get used to that.

2. Which author's writing style is completely unique to you and why?
Probably Terry Pratchett, I haven't read much of his books yet but his world and his characters are so unique and his writing style is really cool too in a way I am rubbish at trying to describe.

3. Harry Potter series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
Harry Poter
1. The world is more complete with the schools and the ministry. Twilight is set completely in our world.
2. The characters are more well-rounded, they have flaws, they are ultimately human.
3. The fandom is so amazing and all the thought that goes into what could have happened outside the main books.

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books...)?
I don't carry a specific book bag but I often carry a bag which may or may not have a book inside. Other things I carry are usually my work stuff, umbrella, diary, water, tissues etc. Basic things.

5. Do you smell your books?
If they're new then yes. I'm not a fan of old book smell.

6. Books with or without little illustrations?
I like it when books have little extras but it doesn't make much of a difference either way.

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn't quality writing? 
The Twilight Saga. I loved them while reading them and I do still enjoy them but as I've got a bit older (I first read them when I was 18 and I'm now 24) I've started to realise that the writing quality isn't the best and the characters are very one-dimensional.

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
Sadly no :(

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?
Probably the Harry Potter companion books. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is very skinny.

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?
Probably The City of Heavenly Fire, it's tall and fat and annoyingly doesn't match the rest of the series so it has to stand alone >.< Also The Green Mile.

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
I do! I'm procrastinating on writing a fantasy trilogy and I have loads of other ideas too, plus I've just started a Harry Potter Alice in Wonderland crossover fanfic but I don't know how far I'll get with that. I would love to be a published author like JK Rowling :D

12. When did you get into reading? 
I've always loved reading, my mum jokes that I used to climb over the other kids in nursery/school to get to the reading corner.

13. What is your favourite classic book? 
Black Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. And I'd say Harry Potter is a modern classic.

14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?
I'm guessing Language Arts is another name for English Literature i.e. all your Shakespeare and stuff... I wasn't very good at that. I was a bit better at English Language as that was more creative. But my best GCSE grades were actually for Art and History.

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated... what would you do?
If it was someone I knew really well then I'd be honest. Depending on how long ago I'd read it I might try re-reading it to see if my opinion had changed. Beyond that I'm not sure.

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games? 
Children of the Red King by Jenny Nimmo has similar themes to Harry Potter with boarding school, magic and sinister threats. They're targeted at a slightly younger audience, maybe 8-12 or something like that but I still love them. As for the Hunger Games, Divergent is another dystopian trilogy but of course fairly popular.

17. What is a bad habit you always do (besides rambling) while filming?
N/A

18. What is your favourite word?
I don't really have a favourite but I quite like magic, freckles, kitten, tree.

19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
A bit, yeah :)

20. Finally, full on romance or action-packed with a few love scenes thrown in? 
I can feel in the mood for both but on majority I prefer action-packed with a few love scenes.

New Years Resolutions 2015

Personal - Appearance

1. Lose a bit more weight, minimum 1 stone by moving more and eating better.
2. Get my right ear re-pierced.
3. Get my septum pierced.
4. Get both ears pierced again.
5. Start stretching bottom holes once healed.
6. Put dreadlocks in my hair once long enough - may be extended until 2016.
7. Refine my style.
8. Find a new purple hair dye - my current one isn't purple enough. Feel free to suggest, permanent colours only - less upkeep.

Personal - Other

1. Get my provisional license.
2. Learn to drive.
3. Decide a career.
4. Train for career if necessary.
5. Get a better job.
6. Help mum find a new job.
7. Write (finish!) a novel.
8. Go on a date.

Material

1. Buy new phones for mum and I.
2. Buy an external hard drive.
3. Buy a new desktop PC.
4. Buy an iPod Classic - used since they are now out of production (I hate years of bad finances).
5. Buy a Kindle.
6. Buy a laptop.
7. Upgrade the car.

Goals

1. Read at least 100 books.
2. Watch at least 100 films.
3. Finish the Gossip Girl series.
4. Read A Song of Ice and Fire.
5. Read Under the Dome.
6. Discover at least 2 new shows.
7. Discover at least 3 new bands/singers.
8. Improve my equine anatomy.
9. Improve my humans.
10. Draw a self-portrait.

Update April 2015:

A few things have been crossed off which I'm quite pleased about since we're only a few months into the year.

Update November 2015:
I've managed to cross some more things off but as we are now approaching Christmas I probably won't be able to cross off any others. The frustrating one is the weight loss one. I did manage to lose a bit but I've put it back on plus a little bit I think. *Sigh*

Blogtober Day 16 - Do You Have Any Hobbies?

Yes I have a few hobbies. All quiet ones due to being an introvert. Firstly I'm a writer. I have a multitude of novels in the works in my brain, it's just getting them down on paper that I struggle with XD

Secondly I'm an artist. Mostly of equines with the occasional human or other animal thrown in. I am not where I want to be artistically but that's primarily because I don't devote as much time to it as I could. This handsome fellow is Maksim. I did draw him, he's not my best or my worst.

My last main hobby and the one that I consistently devote the most time to is reading. I've always got at least 2 books on the go, usually 3, sometimes 4. Depending on the length and the story content I can read a book or several in a day. I don't limit myself to age, my main area is Young Adult e.g. Hunger Games but I also still have and read my childhood Animal Ark and Babysitters Club books and I also have books for adults like Jodi Piccoult and Stephen King and I also share my mum's books and will read them someday and that includes authors like Tess Gerritsen.

Someday I plan on taking photos of my bookshelves and showcasing on the blog. I did have pictures already but they've quickly become out of date thanks to new additions and re-arrangements. I am very fussy about how my books are arranged and it's very frustrating when publishers will release a book in a different style as in the last book of the Mortal Instruments series, it has to go on a separate shelf due to the massive size >.<