Revisiting My 2014 Resolutions

At the end of 2013 I made 5 resolutions for 2014.

Was I successful at meeting them? I'd say both yes and no. Here's why:

Resolution #1: Finish TGITP

I did not meet this resolution. However, at the beginning of last year I had only about half of the book written, and not very well. Throughout this year I've rewritten the first half (getting rid of a lot and writing a lot) and I've done a lot of research into story structure and character development that's helped me write.

Resolution #2: Query at least one agent

I really shouldn't have made this resolution, since it hinges on me completing the first one early, and perfecting a query letter.

Resolution #3: Attend a conference or workshop and give someone a business card

While I didn't meet this resolution, I did join/start a writing critique group in February. We started with 5 members and we're now down to 2, but we've met and critiqued a scene or chapter from each other's WIP almost every week since then. It's really helped to keep me writing and keep me accountable this year.

Resolution #4: Read 52 books. (Unless 5 are the GOT series, aka what happened to me in 2013)

Now here's a resolution I not only met, but exceeded! I read 65 books this year. Woo!

Resolution #5: (This is somewhat of a given) Graduate college.

Of course I did meet this resolution. Not only that, but I also got a full time job teaching 4th grade.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate my successfulness at about a 7. I really could have finished my WIP if I'd put my mind to it.

Books I Sent to the Graveyard - 2014

Here are all the books I started reading in 2014 and didn't finish. Some of them I intend to finish (***) at some point, and a few I don't. 

Black Ants and Buddhists***

Feeling Good***

Mindset***

The Grapes of Wrath: (Maybe I'll finish this someday...)

The Raven Boys***

Reading Like A Writer***

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: I read the 7 habits of teens when I was younger and loved it. Something about this book was off-putting to me though.

The Best of Me: Saw the movie and loved it. The book was eh. Nicholas Sparks's books are kind of going downhill...or maybe I'm just getting older. 

The 14 Best Books I Read In 2014

1. 

2. 

3, 4, & 5.

 

6, 7, & 8.

9. 

 10.

11 & 12.

13. 

14. 

Here are all the "contestants" ;)

Random House Reading Bingo 2014 - Complete!

 A few days ago I took stock of where I was in the challenge and found I had 2 books still left to read: a YA graphic novel and a YA novel set in Paris. I read
Anya's Ghost

and Die for Me,

completing the challenge! So here's the final breakdown of the books I read to complete each challenge.

Shadow and Bone: A book with a female heroine;
Before I Fall: A book set in a high school;
Allegiant: The last book of a trilogy;
The Silver Chair: A book with a colour in the title;
The Summoning: The first book in a series;
The Registry: A book set in the future;
An Abundance of Katherines: A book with a break up (understatement);
Legend: A book without a love triangle;
If I Stay: A book that became a movie;
Die for Me: A book set in Paris;
A Corner of the Universe: A book set in the past.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A book with magic.
The Moon and More: A book set in the summer;
A Light in the Attic: A book with a dragon;
We Were Liars: A book that made you cry;
Anya's Ghost: A graphic novel;
Sabriel: A book based on a myth;
Alanna The First Adventure: A "Classic" YA Book;
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: A book with a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe;
Maze Runner: A book with an incredible fight scene;
This Is How I Find Her: A book you heard about online;
Sea of Shadows: A book set in another world;
The Reckoning: A book with an epic love story;
Delirium: A book with music;

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: A book with more than 500 pages; (A few others were 

          close. Feeling Good is over 700 pages, but I don't know if I'll finish before the year 

          ends). 

The Whipping Boy: A forgotten classic;

Divergent: A book that became a movie;

We Were Liars: A book published this year;

The Fundamental Five: A book with a number in the title;

Legend: A book written by someone under thirty;

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: A book with non-human characters;

A Light in the Attic: A funny book;

Sea of Shadows: A book by a female author;

The Maze Runner: A book with a mystery;

Allegiant: A book with a one-word title;

Shards and Ashes: A book of short stories;

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A book set on a different continent;

Plot versus Character: A book of non fiction;

Before I Fall: The first book by a favorite author;

The First 50 Pages: A book you heard about online;

Delirium: A best-selling book;

Shiloh: A book based on a true story;

Sabriel: A book at the bottom of your to be read pile; (A lesson in not judging a book by it's 

          cover, because said book was awesome). 

Alanna The First Adventure: A book your friend loves;

The Handmaid's Tale: A book that scares you. 

A Corner of the Universe: A book that is more than 10 years old;

The Awakening: The second book in a series;

Wintergirls: A book with a blue cover;

I can't wait to see what Random House has for us in 2015!

Still Alive / Reading Bingo

I'm still here! Let's just say that my first semester teaching was one long, busy whirlwind, but I'm finally getting the hang of things. Since the year is almost over, let's see how I'm doing on Reading Bingo!

YA first:

Shadow and Bone: A book with a female heroine;
Before I Fall: A book set in a high school;
Allegiant: The last book of a trilogy;
The Silver Chair: A book with a colour in the title;
The Summoning: The first book in a series;
The Registry: A book set in the future;
An Abundance of Katherines: A book with a break up (understatement);
Legend: A book without a love triangle;
If I Stay: A book that became a movie;
A Corner of the Universe: A book set in the past.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A book with magic.
The Moon and More: A book set in the summer;
A Light in the Attic: A book with a dragon;
We Were Liars: A book that made you cry;
Sabriel: A book based on a myth;
Alanna The First Adventure: A "Classic" YA Book;
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: A book with a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe;
Maze Runner: A book with an incredible fight scene;
This Is How I Find Her: A book you heard about online;
Sea of Shadows: A book set in another world;
The Reckoning: A book with an epic love story;
Delirium: A book with music;

It looks like I just need to read a graphic novel and a book set in Paris in the next, oh, 8 days in order to black out this board.

All genres:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: A book with more than 500 pages; (A few others were 

          close. Feeling Good is over 700 pages, but I don't know if I'll finish before the year 

          ends). 

The Whipping Boy: A forgotten classic;

Divergent: A book that became a movie;

We Were Liars: A book published this year;

The Fundamental Five: A book with a number in the title;

Legend: A book written by someone under thirty;

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: A book with non-human characters;

A Light in the Attic: A funny book;

Sea of Shadows: A book by a female author;

The Maze Runner: A book with a mystery;

Allegiant: A book with a one-word title;

Shards and Ashes: A book of short stories;

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A book set on a different continent;

Plot versus Character: A book of non fiction;

Before I Fall: The first book by a favorite author;

The First 50 Pages: A book you heard about online;

Delirium: A best-selling book;

Shiloh: A book based on a true story;

Sabriel: A book at the bottom of your to be read pile; (A lesson in not judging a book by it's 

          cover, because said book was awesome). 

Alanna The First Adventure: A book your friend loves;

The Handmaid's Tale: A book that scares you. 

A Corner of the Universe: A book that is more than 10 years old;

The Awakening: The second book in a series;

Wintergirls: A book with a blue cover;

Got all of these!

This was a good reading year for me. I read 61 books, and I'm about to finish 2 more. If you add the graphic novel and book set in Paris, that will be 65 books read this year total. Much better than my 52 book goal. Maybe I'll aim for 70 in 2015?

A list of my favorites is soon to come, as well as a list of books that were sent to the graveyard :/. 

What I Read Wednesday - This Lullaby and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Super late since I've started teacher trainings and I'm still getting the hang of things, sorry!

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Still working through this one...I need more time to read!!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (audio)

I finished this book this week. I loved being able to listen to it as I began to put my classroom together. 

By the way, I'm still updating my word count on the bar to the right every day. My goal is to reach 40,000 words written in July and August by August 31st!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - This Lullaby, Dream Class, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

A little late because I just got back from a vacation to Big Bend National Park and the McDonald Observatory :).

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Just started this one last night! It's a reread for me (I've read all of Sarah Dessen's books), and I'm reading it because my main character has a similar arc and I wanted to take another look at how Dessen handles her character's arc. 

Dream Class by Michael Linsin

Finished this one yesterday! I love how practical the advice is, and it fits in perfectly with my views on classroom management. Now I just need to figure out my procedures and practice them ;). 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (audio)

Finished this one yesterday too (I love road trips). It was a little strange compared to his other books...reminded me a bit of The Odyssey because it went from adventure to adventure. 

What I'm Reading Wednesday - If I Stay, Outlining Your Novel, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Picked this one up again and I'm really getting into the back and forth between what's currently happening and what already happened. 

Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

Kind of sort of slowly finishing this. 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (audio)

New audio book!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Siege and Storm, Outlining Your Novel, and Prince Caspian

 Sorry this is late! Too much nano-ing and procrastinating going on at the moment.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Loved the first one so much I got my hands on the second. I put off reading If I Stay to work on this series. 

Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

I loved the articles on her blog so much I got both of her books and decided to start with this one. So far it's not organized as well as I'd hoped but it's giving me some good ideas. 

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (audio)

Just finished this one yesterday and I've downloaded The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to start soon! (I've got to have an audio book at all times guys...it's critical). 

Oh Yeah! Camp NaNoWriMo Day 3

I forgot to post on here, but I've decided Camp NaNoWriMo is just the thing to get my butt in gear and help me finish my first draft before I start new teacher orientation in August. My goal is 1,500 words a day, or about 45,000 words for the entire month. If I keep the pace up through the middle of August I should finish just in time.

So far I've done okay.

Day 1: 756 words. Only half way, but I did spend a few HOURS plotting haha. It will be much easier to keep up this pace if I have a plan to follow.

Day 2: 2256 words (total). Hit exactly 1500 words yesterday, and stopped in the middle of a sentence so it was much easier to pick back up today!

Day 3: 3792 words (total). It was hard to finish today since I'm staying with family, but I'm proud to say I did it! 3 days down, 28 days to go.

What I'm Reading Wednesday - If I Stay, It Starts With Food, Write Your Novel In A Month, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I am writing this post from a Starbucks at Target, because I've suddenly found myself without internet for a week :(. I expect I'll get a lot of reading done. 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I'll admit I haven't really gotten that far into this one, I've been more focused on reading It Starts With Food this week. But since I finished that this morning hopefully I'll have more time for this one. 

It Starts With Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig

Just finished this morning! This is a reread for me, however this time I'm actually doing the whole 30 and not just considering it. Day 9 and I'm already starting to feel like I have more energy. We'll see. 

Write Your Novel In A Month by Jeff Gerke

Trying to finish this one quick in preparation for Camp Nanowrimo. I've decided it's just the thing to kick me out of this writing rut I've fallen into (aka I feel like my writing will never be as good as my favorite authors' and therefore I just give up trying. Not good.)

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (audio)

This has been a savior since I don't have internet! This morning I just sat on the couch, snuggled up with my dog and a cup of coffee, crocheting and listening to Harry Potter. While it was storming outside. It was pretty amazing and cozy. 

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Shadow and Bone, Write Your Novel In A Month, and Prince Caspian

I'm typing this from the beach in Florida. This is my view from our balcony when I write at about 7 in the morning. Love it.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Love love loving this book. I started it yesterday and I'm already over halfway through (though the whole reading on the beach all day thing helps with that). 

Write Your Novel In A Month by Jeff Gerke

Jeff Gerke's books about writing are always extremely informative and helpful. I'm also rereading his book, Plot Versus Character, at the moment. 

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (audio)

This is great for when I'm lying on the beach and just want to close my eyes and read at the same time.  

What I'm Reading Wednesday - The Fault in Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Prince Caspian

I'm typing this from the airport in San Antonio, about to fly to Florida to see my little sister graduate high school! :D

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'm rereading this one in preparation for the movie coming out this weekend! Can't wait!!!!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

What can I say? I was in a John Green mood this week. 

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

My audio version of this expired a week or two ago but I finally got another copy so I can finish it now!

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (audio)

My audio book for the week :). This series is much easier to get from the library than Harry Potter.