5 Followers! and a sausage-boy reference deleted

Okay, so this is a milestone for me, albeit a silly one to someone who doesn't have a blog maybe. But its huge to me!

Thank you. My heart did a little jig when I logged in today. I really do appreciate it!

At work, where you'll find me 3.5 days out of the week (short work week, long work days to compensate, so don't get jealous.), it's the last day before a long weekend. Now you may be jealous. 4 day weekend with nothing solid planned= my favorite.

I intend to type in my edits today but this weekend I want to finish what i have. This week I haven't done a thing on it. Instead I got distracted by a new idea and bought a notebook.

Writers, writers blogs, etc have told me for the past 2 years that they always have a notebook with them, always writing in a notebook, always needing to get a new one but this is the first time I have understood the importance.

I always brushed them off. "Oh I'll remember whatever i want to get down when I get to my computer." "oh, please, I'll never read through my scratch of notes." I suppose that is the generation I grew up in. Technology FTW!

And today I want to slap my past self right in the mouth. I love love love my little notebook! I have been plotting out, researching, and theorizing all week in it! My advice for anyone starting out: Get a notebook! (and don't roll your eyes)^_^

This chick cracks me up.
My special favorites are: "Stare at the internet" and "53. realize you've written another 100 pages OH GOD WATCH OUT ROWLING" XD

Bed situation still sucks. Hopefully will force my husband into going shopping with me but that isn't looking promising. He seems to be under the impression that I am hard to shop with. Donno why...can't possibly be my fault he feels this way. Leaning toward another memory foam (toxicity be damned) or pillow top.

Book shopping must be done this weekend too. Getting so many recommendations for some great YA. So many being released I have had my eye on. Its ridiculous how much I love reading YA. And It's getting hard to keep up with all the books coming out, which is incredibly wonderful that there are so many great YA reads!

Have you read about Steph Su's Banned Book Challenge yet? Looks amazingly fun! Debating joining in. Going to do a little looking into it today and see what I can come up with for my goals. Keep you posted on that.

For someone who said they had no weekend plans, I sure have made quite a few in the past half hour.

I want to mention quickly that my first book, he-who-shall-not-be-published-ever, I took the "if I write like a 100 year old English professor I'll surely be seen as knowledgeable and exceptionally brilliant writer!" My gosh, I wrote that whole novel like a creepy old man.

Don't. Especially when writing YA. What kid wants to read something written that way? NONE. Most kids i knew DIDN'T read unless forced. Why would you make it harder to get kids to love to read? If they don't recognize the voice/language, if they can't relate to vocabulary or understand big unnecessary words, they aren't going to keep reading you. You'll be lucky if they don't use your book for Mr. Pebbles the hamsters shavings.

A lesson I learned the hard way. I didn't understand what it meant by using your own voice. But it makes life for a writer SO much easier to just write like themselves. It was 10x harder to be a fake professional than writing my way.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!