IWSG Day, 85K90, Poetry and Liebster

Happy IWSG Day! Can you believe it’s already our fourth one of the year? And there’ll be many more to come. As old and new friends come together to show support and share our woes on our writing journey. Thanks for making all this possible goes to ninja extraordinaire Alex Cavanaugh.

Thanks also goes to the awesome co-hosts for today are: Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Renee Scattergood, and Tamara Narayan!

Interested in joining us? Click on the badge above. Our Twitter hashtag and handle are #IWSG and @TheIWSG.

So what’s going on with me this month?

As I’m writing this post I’m using April to catch up on the remaining word count I need to make the 85K goal. So from now until the end of April I have 26 days to write 30, 785 words.

Which means I don’t have the time to do my annual 30 poetry blogs posts to celebrate National Poetry Month. I’ve still haven’t taken part in taking part in NaPoWriMo, a writing challenge to write 30 poems in 30 days. I usually take part in the challenge in a poetry group forum on Scribophile. It’s making me uneasy so chances are possible I’ll end up writing a few poems to catch up since I’m behind.

In the meantime I can’t wait for May to come to start my blogging break. It’s also when the editing part of the 85K90 writing challenge begins. Plus I’ll be using my blogging break to revise/edit my WIPs. Only thing left to do during that time is to decide if I’ll only post twice a month. Or continue posting four times a month when I come back from the break in September.

Another thing going on with me is that I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award!

I was nominated last week by Jess Moore. Thanks Jess! Now Jess has asked me three questions to answer then I’m going to pass on three new questions for my own nominees. Here goes.

Describe the most important book for teenage-you.

The most important book for teen-me? Hhhmmm…it would have to be Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I first read it in 7th grade. It was the first classic I took out from the library and read that wasn’t part of the reading curriculum. Curiosity made me pick it and I wanted to challenge myself because of its length. But what made it important was how it grabbed the attention of a teacher during reading period. I hadn’t made any friends after transferring from Catholic to public school. I was an introvert who always had her nose in a book. Anyways, the English teacher saw me reading Dracula and praised me for choosing to read such a book. And in recognizing a fellow bookworm he made me feel not so alone.

What smell brings back great memories?

The smell of a book. Some of my greatest memories happened in a library. It was my home away from home. Being at the library centered me. I was at a place where the people who worked there loved books as much as me. They were never surprised to see me in the middle of the day during lunch time. Always welcomed me with a smile. Always ready to help me find a particular book and recommend me one. Of course it was their job to do all those things. But I felt a sense of comradeship. And to this day I still consider the library as my special place.

What’s the most binge-worthy show on television?

To me the most binge-worthy show on television are no longer airing. Roswell, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Charmed and 3rd Rock from the Sun. As for the one’s currently airing… Black Lightning, The Shannara Chronicles season two, DC Legends of Tomorrow season 3 and Stranger Things.

My nominees, should they accept, are:

Lauren

Heather

Olivia

Kristen

And here are the official rules. Their three questions:

Why did you start blogging?

Who do you admire and why?

If you were stranded on an island which fictional character would you choose for company?

April 4 question – When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

I usually go back to basics. Pen and paper. It’s much easier than banging my head on the computer screen. And crying ‘get out,’ ‘get out,’ ‘get out.’

But joking aside I find I’m able to paint my thoughts better this way. Whatever I’ve imagined or wherever my imagination takes me is more clearer. Sharper. And I’m faster in capturing it on paper with a pen than on a screen with a keyboard.