Welcome to WIPpet Wednesday! This is a weekly blog hop hosted by yours truly. If you’re a writer, you are very welcome to join us by posting an excerpt from your WIP that somehow relates to the date. You can click the blue guy on the right of this blog to be taken to the link up.
I’ve finished the first draft of Memories and Magic! The last chunk is a bit haphazard, as I realised I need to fix some structural issues in the third act before I can make it run smoothly, but I sort of have a whole A – Z progression. In this scene, Clara’s memories of being a princess have just been restored after several months of her living with some false ones.
The scene didn’t change for several minutes. Finally, the blue of the rune faded and the ink on the wall disappeared, as usual. All eyes turned to Clara. She wavered on her feet for a moment.
“Huh,” she said weakly before passing out on the floor.
Yep.
My last assignment for the semester is due on June 09, so writing will go on the backburner for the next couple of months. It’s kind of a good time to finish a draft, as I’ll actually be distracted from wanting to start revisions too soon. I’ll still try to have something to share each Wednesday, even if it’s just something I’ve slapped together on the day.
Sort of on that note, a random writing observation: I realised the other day why I’ve never successfully written a contemporary. It’s because pretty much all ideas and characters I have for contemporary stories are based on my own experience, to the point where writing them in the third person feels weird and distant. Even though that’s what I write everything in, so it is kind of my default. Now that I have realised this, though, I’m going to try writing in first person and see if that helps.
And now it’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.
What have you recently finished reading?
I finished Soulless by Gail Carriger and reviewed it here. It wasn’t my favourite but it was amusing enough. I would have preferred a bit more urban fantasy and a bit less comedy of manners in the end.
I also finished The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil. I fell in love with it on page one and stayed in love right to the end; not really a big surprise given how much I’ve enjoyed Keil’s other books. If you read YA and were ever a geek at school, you should read them. She nails it. It doesn’t read like she’s even trying, it just feels completely authentic.
Okay, I’ll stop gushing now. 😛 My review of that one will be up on Friday. If you’re interested, I also posted a review for The Man from Snowy River by Elyne Mitchell over here.
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading The Asp of Ascension by B. R. Meyers, which I requested from Netgalley because I feel like there aren’t enough books that use Ancient Egyptian mythology as their basis and this one sounded fun. When I started it yesterday, I was fairly bored but I’m about halfway through now and it has grown on me.
What do you think you’ll read next?
Next I will be reading The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie. I have the sequel waiting for me on NetGalley, but I don’t think it’s one to read out of order. I’ve kind of hyped this series up in my head because it’s premise is lady pirates fighting genetically-engineered monsters in a dystopian future and also there’s LGBT representation, so it’s got huge potential. I just hope it lives up to it!
What are you reading this week? 🙂
I didn’t flip over ‘Soulless’ either. ‘The Abyss that Surrounds Us’ looks really interesting! I think I will add it to my tbr.
I didn’t do a WWW Wednesday this week, but I am reading ‘Shadow Scale’ (Seraphina book 2) and ‘The Star-Touched Queen’ – both are interesting so far.
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How are you finding Shadow Scale? I loved Seraphina, but I know a lot of people found the sequel really unsatisfying, so I’ve avoided it so far.
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I’m only partway in and while I think the writing is really good I am wondering if the plot will hold my attention. I think one of the most interesting aspects of the first book was that she was trying to keep her parentage a secret. Now that the secret is out the stakes don’t seem as high.
I am curious about Jannoula(?) the one she keeps locked away in her mind. I hope they will meet in real life, that could be awesome if it is done right.
I’m also wondering how the romance will resolve.
I will let you know how it goes! ☺
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I absolutely loved The Abyss Surrounds Us. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Never good when you pass out. Hope Clara will be okay.
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I’m so excited for it! I really hope it gets five stars from me, too.
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Oh I really want to see what you think of The Abyss Surrounds Us because I’ve been considering picking that one up for a while now!!
Here’s my WWW Wednesday; http://dualreads.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/wednesday-catch-up-19th-april-2017.html
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My hopes are probably unfairly high for that one, but I’m optimistic that it’ll live up to them.
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Congrats on finishing your draft! 🙂
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Thank you! 😀
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Great line up. Here is my post
http://totallyaddictedtoreading.blogspot.com/2017/04/what-are-you-reading-wednesdays-8.html
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DAMN The Abyss Surrounds Us sounds amazing! :O I’ll pop it on to my tbr list, I’ll look forward to reading what you thought.
The Secret Science of Magic sounds intriguing, too. I’ll have to look it up later.
Thanks for visiting my WWW: https://sarinalangerwriter.com/2017/04/19/www-wednesday-19th-april-2017
Happy reading, Emily!
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I changed my later novels to first person, after coming to that same realization about the experiences I shared, many of which had happened to me and people I knew. Now I find that perspective very comfortable.
Thanks for sharing, and someday, I might actually read some fantasy again. Enjoy, and here’s MY WWW POST
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That’s really cool that The Asp of Ascension included Ancient Egyptian mythology. I don’t think I’ve read a book with that before. I hope you love it!
My WWW Wednesday.
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Great to hear you enjoyed The Secret Science Of Magic that much! I will be looking forward to your review on that one. Happy reading!
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Huge congratulations on finishing your first draft!
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Writing in first person feels very natural for certain characters, but as you start delving deeper into secondary characters… and those start taking over books as mine always seem to do, I have found the shift back to third person not only comfortable, but necessary. I hope you find your balance point too.
Oh, and how you are gushing about The Secret Science of Magic. 😀 Sounds tempting!
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Oh, I LIKE the quote! And hooray for getting done in time to focus on your assignment, too!
I didn’t use to write contemporary for the same reason. I did shift to first person for some stories – but the truth is when I get into the story, the characters take over and their story diverges enough from my reality that I no longer feel like this is MY life.
I’m currently writing a draft based on a very painful personal experience: the death of my first fiance of cystic fibrosis when I was 25. Already, the shero in this story is very unlike me, and the circumstances of her life are different than mine. The male lead is quite a bit like my late fiance, but also not, because he wouldn’t fit as well with her as he did me, so he’s shifted to be the guy for her.
See you next week, and good luck with the assignment!
Slices of an Unschooling Life
@shanjeniah
Indie Writer, Mom-in-Chief, and Joyful Learning Facilitator
Shan Jeniah’s Lovely Chaos
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Congratulations on finishing the draft!
Great snippet. I think I’d probably faint too.
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Congrats on finishing the draft! It’s always a great feeling! Poor Clara, although I sense I’d probably react in a similar way.
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Congratulations on finishing the draft, and good luck with your assignments! I love the snippet. I’ve grown very attached to Clara! Can’t wait to read it when you get there. 🙂
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The Abyss Surrounds Us and The Secret Science of Magic are going to jump onto my TBR now 🙂
Happy Reading!
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Congrats on finishing the draft! And that was a great snippet. I absolutely loved Soulless and the rest of the series. Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series is also a lot of fun and they are also very quick reads.
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