Helen Power

Scribbler & Scholar

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Tag: holidays

August 27, 2019 Helen

“It’s that Time of Year” to be published in horror Christmas Anthology

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Day 18: Dedicated to... . I'm not quite sure who I'm dedicating this one to yet. I have decided that if I ever get a book published, whichever book is my *first* published novel, it will be dedicated to my mother. She's always the first to read my writing, and she’s always been so supportive. I let her read the prologue of this novel, even though I didn’t think it was the best it could be. She loved it so much she immediately called her brother and read it to him! 😂 She keeps asking to read more chapters, but I'm waiting until my first draft is finished and I've had the chance to go over it to make sure the grammar is grammaring well. 😜 hmmm 😂 . I got a lot of writing done yesterday (over 6000 words!) AND I put up my Christmas tree. I'm going to put up the rest of my decorations and then post some pictures in my story soon. Or maybe I'll do a future #NaNoOrNot19 picture in front of my tree. I'm currently at 38,344 words, and I finally wrote the super intense scene I was really excited about. I was worried I might lose momentum, but I already know what my next three scenes will be, so I'm going to spend an hour or two tonight writing under the Christmas tree. . So how about you? It's the third week of #nanowrimo. Are you still grammaring well? . . . . . . #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #nanowrimo2019 #dedication #writersofig #writing #keepwriting #wip #writenow #author #authorsofinstagram #authorsofinsta #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #goals #grammar #novel #fiction #update #wordcount #amwritingfantasy #fantasy
It's another #SockSunday! Today I'm going to be writing like a fiend in the morning and early afternoon, then I'm going to watch Christmas movies and put up my Christmas tree! Unless, of course, I get super caught up in writing, and then I'll just have to leave putting up the tree to next weekend! . Day 17 of #NaNoOrNot19: Favorite genres . I'm a sucker for genre-blending, which is one of the reasons why I'm writing a fantasy/mystery (And I'm currently reading this self-published fantasy/mystery/romance? and it's really good!). It's hard for me to define a favourite genre, especially since I took the readers' advisory course in library school, and I understand that what I like about a book isn't necessarily the genre, but the appeal factors. I like a book that has an intelligent plot with relatable characters, but not too much introspection. If the book is primarily character-driven, I'm likely to lose interest (unless the character is unique/interesting in some way--like with The Rosie Project or the Dexter book series, although they both have fast plots as well). . I do tend to prefer speculative fiction, because its so interesting to find different worlds that I can immerse myself in--even if they're the exact same as our world but for a few little differences (like with urban fantasy). . While I love romantic elements in my books, I rarely read romance, unless it's funny. I need some suspense or comedy to keep me turning the pages! (Romantic suspense is a genre that I absolutely adore for this reason). . QOTD: What's your favourite genre to read or write? . . . . . . #amreading #socksunday #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #readersofinstagram #amreadingfantasy #fantasy #cozy #lazysunday #whattoread #goodreads #bookstagram #bookphotography #booksbooksbooks #booknerd #Bookdragon #booknerdigans #booksinbed #socks #readingsocks #booklover #Bibliophile #writersofinstagram #currentread
Day 16: #NaNoOrNot19Writing buddy shout out. . This little buddy has been with me the whole time! I just love how she's presenting me with a leaf as my prize for completing #nanowrimo this year! I’ve also been doing virtual write-ins with @torisstoriess and we keep each other on our toes! Tori if you’re reading this—get off Instagram and write. 😜 . QOTD: What do you use for inspiration? . I'm currently at 28, 893 words, and the day has just begun! (Ish, I slept in). I'm looking forward to a super intense scene that's coming up. Hopefully I"ll get to it today or tomorrow! Tomorrow I'm going to decorate for Christmas! (And maybe I should clean my apartment a bit too, but we'll see if there's time for that #priorities). . . . . . . . #amwriting #nanowrimo2019 #amwritingfantasy #author #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #writer #keepwriting #wip #productivity #inspiration #workspace #bookstagram #novel #fiction #fantasy #wordcount #writerscommunity #writingcommunity #writersofig #update
New Book Review: Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer, which comes out next week. Thanks to #netgalley for the arc to review. . Synopsis This book is marketed as a dark thriller. I mean, look at that cover (Which, by the way, is not the cover it had when I requested it through NetGalley. That cover had cute cyber-kitties on it). Doesn’t this cover make the book look dark and spooky? Even the description and the initial reviews made it sound like a dark thriller about an AI that goes off its rocker. On the contrary, this is a light book about a girl who’s always been on the run with her mother. They always have to move to different towns, so Stephanie doesn’t have any friends–in the real world. She has friends in CatNet, a chat room where pictures of cats and other adorable animals are like currency. It’s quickly revealed that one of these friends is an artificial intelligence, and this AI wants to come out of the closet. Meanwhile, Stephanie will do whatever it takes to keep from having to move to another town, because there’s a girl in her class who she isn’t ready to leave. Plot This book has a lot of great ideas, but I was disappointed in the execution. I’ll start with one of my favourite parts. In school, the students are expected to learn sex education from a robot, because adults find that topic uncomfortable. This part had me laughing (and a little angry, because it’s so darn accurate), and every time students would ask an unsanctioned question (about LGBTQ+ issues, for instance) the robot would tell them to ask their parents. This was a hilarious and interesting projection of the current political climate, and I do wish this book had had more of these types of funny (yet upsetting) insights. I absolutely loved the metaphor of the AI coming out as an artificial intelligence. However, for a book that is very Social Justice Warrior-y, the characters were often insensitive, and a lot of the metaphors really didn’t work. Stephanie should not have been running around telling everyone that [spoiler] was an AI, because that ruins the metaphor. It was the AI’s choice to tell people, not Stephanie’s. *Sigh* . Read the full review at (link in bio) - ht
Day 14: Word Count Update . Thanks to last weekend, I've been on a roll! My word count is now at 27000. I have some exciting scenes coming up, and I'm excited that I get to write them on the weekend and take my time with them. . Work at my job has been going really well! I've had so many meetings this past week, but things are going to let up (a little) next week. There are still a lot of people to meet and things to learn, but I'm loving every minute of it! . . . #nanoornot19 #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #amwriting #keepwriting #wip #writer #writersofinstagram #writersofig #author #shelfie #authorsofinstagram #tbr #update #writerscommunity #writingcommunity #bookphotography #bookstagram #bookstagram #fiction #fantasy #booksbooksbooks
Day 13: #NaNoOrNot19 Traditional or Indie publishing? . I can't speak to traditional publishing (or what it's like to publish a full-length novel--someday soon, I hope!), but I've been involved with some really great independent publishers for my short stories. They work so hard to make the story the best it can be, and they really genuinely care about quality over just profit margins. . As for a Nanowrimo update, I wrote a lot this weekend and I'm elbows deep into the story now. I often struggle to write during the week (especially since I have a new job!), but last night, despite working through lunch and being *exhausted* when I got home, I still wrote 1600 words! I officially introduced Ember to her love interest. She's definitely intrigued by his bad-boy vibe and his love of literature! But nothing is as it seems, and I can't wait for things to continue to go downhill for poor Ember. (Mwahahaha) I mean, I have to give her some ups so I can tear her back down, right? It's only good writing. . . . . . . #amwriting #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2019 #writer #author #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #amreading #shelfie #typewriter #goodreads #ampublished #canadianauthor #whattoread #anthology #shortstories #keepwriting #wip #writingcommunity #writersofig #writerscommunity #writenow #writing #amwritingfantasy #authorsofinsta
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