December has been a fun month. I read some great fantasy books, and I made some breakthroughs in plotting my WIP.
Books I Read
- Mad Ship (Liveship Traders #2) by Robin Hobb
- The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black
- A Hero Born (Legend of the Condor Heroes #1) by Jin Yong
- Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders #3) by Robin Hobb
- The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) by Brent Weeks
- The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Last month, I mentioned that it looked like I would be able to read 200 books in 2019. However, I picked the beast that is The Way of Kings for my 199th read and it ended up being my last. I have no regrets. It’s a fantastic book.
Plus, I don’t shelve web novels, and I often forget to shelve manga . . . so I know I read more than the equivalent of 200 books even if Goodreads doesn’t know it.
In My Writing Life
In December, I wrestled with my extended outline. Having learned more about my characters, I realized that my original plan wasn’t going to work. My main characters simply weren’t going to be ready to tackle the things I had in store for them. I returned to the plotting stage, and a few days ago I finished my new extended outline. It’s imperfect—it’s clear that I don’t know some characters as well as others—but it’s better than before, and I’m happy with the results.
Now it’s time to return to my character charts and worldbuilding. Then it’ll be time to revisit my outline and begin working on a scene-by-scene play of events. (As I mentioned in my NaNoWriMo reflections post, I’ve learned that I’m very much a plotter. While I’m open to discovering new things about my characters and world as I go, an outline keeps me focused.)
Reading Challenges
In 2019, I completed the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge and the Audiobook Reading Challenge.
Modern Mrs. Darcy
- A book you’ve been meaning to read: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
- A book about a topic that fascinates you: Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
- A book in the backlist of a favorite author: Mistborn #2-5, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
- A book recommended by someone with great taste: The Invasion (Animorphs #1) by K.A. Applegate
- 3 books by the same author: I knocked this out several times over! Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #1-5, Skyward, and The Way of Kings), Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy), K.A. Applegate (Animorphs #1-17) . . . not to mention all the manga I read.
- A book you chose for the cover: Briar & Rose & Jack by Katherine Coville
- A book by an author new to you: Quite a few qualify for this listing. I’m going to go with a book that I recommend: Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
- A book in translation: The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi, A Hero Born by Jin Yong
- A book outside your (genre) comfort zone: Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida (horror)
- A book published before you were born: The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Audiobook Challenge
- The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
- The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
- Son by Lois Lowry
- Messenger by Lois Lowry
- Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
- The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
- Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
- The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (reread in preparation of book #2)
Puppy Shenanigans
On Christmas Day, we took Skylar out for a long walk at a local nature preserve. You can see the energy level differences between photo #1 and photo #2.
Photo #1 Skylar wasn’t looking at the camera, so I said, “Look here. Look here!” Skylar, being Skylar, quickly swings her head to look out the window. You can see her straining to see what caught my attention. (Is is a squirrel? A bunny? Another dog???) And there’s my brother in the background laughing as I try to get Skylar to look at the camera.
Photo #2 Sleepy Skylar after a nice long walk. She had a lot of fun meeting new friends and sniffing around the trails. (She’s a big sniffer.)
theorangutanlibrarian says
haha that’s a really funny picture of skylar!
Crystal (Kester) says
Skylar’s a fun puppy!
Danielle Hammelef says
Thank you for sharing your writing process. I haven’t written in too long now and used to outline my chapters too. Now I’m trying to focus on my favorite books of all and I’m finding them difficult–picture books. I struggle with how much of the story should the illustrator show and how much I need to put into words. It’s my dream. I wish you the best as you pursue yours. I also enjoyed your Skylar photos and used to enjoy long walks with my pup.
Crystal says
Thank you, Danielle. Best of wishes with your writing journey!
Helena @ Fictional World Dreamer says
That beast of a book The Way of Kings is! But super awesome that you finished it. I still need to read it.
Also congratulations on your plotting your story, thats a great accomplishment .
And Skylar is adorable.
Hope the rest of the New Year sees you well.
Muah 💋 Helena
Crystal says
Thanks, Helena. The Way of Kings is fantastic. I hope you enjoy it!
I hope you have a wonderful New Year.
Lisa @ Reading, Writing, and Random Musings says
Awwwww….Skylar looks like such a sweet dog! Sounds like you made a great deal of progress on the writing front! Keep up the hard work!
Crystal says
Thanks so much, Lisa!
Sophia Rose says
Way to go on finishing your challenges and even the GoodReads challenge unofficially. You did great with the Mrs. Darcy and all the difficult prompts.
Ahhh, Skylar is adorable and just like an animal when it comes to helping out when its picture time. 🙂
Crystal says
Thanks, Sophia! Skylar has such a fun personality. It does mean that it’s difficult to take photos when she’s in a playful mood!
Becki says
Your puppy is so cute! And yay for plotting out your book. I am awful at planning to write. I just write to write, so nothing ever gets done 😉 Now I stick to reading. Happy New Year!
Crystal says
Thanks, Becki. I think writing to write is perfectly fine. How we go about the process changes depending on what we want to get out of it 🙂
Happy New Year!
Aj @ Read All The Things! says
Aww, look at the tired dog. She looks like she had a good walk. Congrats on finishing 199 books! That’s impressive. I hope you’re having a nice January.
Crystal says
Yes, Skylar had a great walk! Thanks, Aj. January has been wonderful so far. I hope you’re having a nice January too!
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out says
Congrats on your 2019 reading achievements and good luck with your 2020 reading goals.
Wishing you a great reading week
Crystal says
Thanks, Shelleyrae! I hope you have a wonderful reading week too!
Sam@wlabb says
Well, 199 books is a fantastic accomplishment, and how wonderful that your last book of the year was a great one too! Love the pictures of the pup, too, and great job with the reading challenges.
Crystal says
Thanks, Sam! It’s always great to end the year on a high note 🙂
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction says
I find character development to be the most difficult challenge of writing. It’s something I’m always working on!
Crystal says
Yes, especially since characters are so pivotal to the overall work! Unless I figure out my characters, I can’t move on.
Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books says
Ahh congratulations on your writing progress this past month, this is great 🙂 figuring it all out is so frustrating at times ahah, I’m happy you made some progress and wish you all the best for the next steps 🙂
Crystal says
Thanks, Marie! Yes, it can be frustrating figuring things out, though it’s definitely worth persevering! That’s why we write, after all 🙂 Best of wishes with your writing as well!