Summer Wrap-Up/Fall Goals

SQUEE!! It's my favorite season of the year! I love the temperatures, the colors, the everything of fall!!!

~Writing~

1. I won Camp NaNo. I set a really low goal this time around (690 minutes) because I knew I was going to be traveling a lot and that a good bit of July would be focused on getting ready for Realm Makers. So anyway, I worked on draft 7 of The Dawn of a Hero, replotted The Rise of the Prisoner (the third book in my trilogy), and outlined an upcoming novel.

2. I pitched my book to two people at Realm Makers. It actually wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be, so that's nice.

3. I almost finished both the 7th draft of The Dawn of a Hero and the rewrite of The Fall of Chemmit. I have to put both aside for a little while as I work through a bumpy patch in life. 

~Reading~

I read 12 books in the past three months, which kind of blows my mind. You can read my mini-reviews of them here.

~Life~

June:

1. Joe and I went to a nearby lake with some friends and spent a few hours on the water. Despite putting sunscreen on, I still burned. My body's habit of spite burning is just annoying. 

Afterwards, we decided to be spontaneous and go see Men in Black: International, which was a fun time. It felt more like a TV show episode than a movie, but I still enjoyed it. Joe and I both agreed that the original movie was better, though. 

July:

1. Dad, Joe, and I went on our traditional 4th of July trip to Atlanta to run in the Peachtree Road Race. Well, in the case of dad and I, we did more of a run/walk, which was more than either one of us could have asked for.

As I mentioned in my last wrap-up, I was recovering from a knee injury. Days before the race, my left foot decided it was a great time to develop tendinitis. So I spent a few days hardly being able to put any weight on it.

On race day, my foot hurt quite a bit, but once I got to the start line, it pretty much faded away. I had planned to only walk the whole thing as I hadn't been able to train at all the past few months. Turns out, I was able to do a solid run/walk and kept up a 15 minute/mile pace, which was awesome. The fact that my feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk afterwards is irrelevant. But all that cleared up in a few days, including my tendinitis.

The flag at the start is super cool!

Post run coffee: Posed photo
vs.
Candid

Yes, I really did feel that dead

2. I went to Realm Makers!!!

This was such a dream come true. A year ago, I felt rather discouraged that I wasn't able to go. I talked to my mom about it and really prayed about it. The Lord opened up so many doors to make it possible for me to go this year. I had several jobs come my way that helped me make enough money to pay for it, which I'm so excited about. And it's looking like He's making a way for me to go again next year, which makes me so excited.

I also didn't have a book ready to pitch last year, so I'm glad I wasn't able to go until this year. I'm finally at a point with The Dawn of a Hero where I feel like it's nearly ready. Yes, there will always be things that I can work on, but I'm proud of where it's at.

I won't ramble on too much about it, as I've already written a wrap-up post about my experience there. I was so thrilled to meet several of you this year and I really hope I'll be able to meet more of you next year, Lord willing. And I think my brother plans to come too (look out, world!).

August:

1. August was... a roller-coaster. Both literally and figuratively. We'll get to the literally in a minute. There were doctor's visits that didn't go so well, a funeral, a wedding, helping a close family through a difficult time, and lots of goats and babysitting. It was a God-filled month. I mean, every month is, but there's some that just seem like they've got an extra dose. 

Anyway, it was an emotional month, but still really good.

2. I went to Carowinds with Joe, Jules, Evan, and some others! I was a bit worried beforehand that I wouldn't have a good time. Nights and heat are a bad combo for me, and with all of the emotional challenges, I thought I would just be a crappy drama-queen and ruin everyone's night. But that went away with the first roller-coaster. I had one of the best nights of my life. I rode two new-to-me coasters. I may have even found a contender for my favorite coaster. Also, one that I'll probably never go on again because it thrashed me around too hard (and apparently one of our group blacked out for a few seconds). 

Also, Chick-fil-a was included in our ticket and that, my friends, is a blessed thing. 

All in all, it was an incredible time and I had way too much fun. One of the best lines I overheard was:

Girl: Where's the bathroom?

Dad, pushing her along and clearly annoyed: It's that building over there with the biga** letters spelling "restroom"!

Joe and I looked at each other and started laughing our heads off. It was hilarious. 

I did not go on this one. Way too high.

~#Textchats~

My ongoing commentary to Jules
during my annual rewatch of Lord of the Rings

Prior to our day on the lake

They recently remodeled the local Walmart and I HATE it!

1. It really was that good
2. Can we just appreciate that he knows
this is going to end up on the blog?

~Fall Goals~

My goals for the rest of the year are going to be pretty simple as it's just wrapping up whatever I have left. 

1. Write my NaNo novel/win NaNo. I actually changed my project. I was planning on writing the first book in a MG fantasy series, but I've kind of ditched those ideas. They just aren't #onbrand. While I think they're cute and fun, that's just not the kind of story I write. 

Instead, I had an idea come to me back in June that really excited me. It basically popped into my head screaming, "WRITE ME!!" So write it, I shall. It's basically a companion novel to Simon Says. You'll hear more about it in the coming months through the various linkups surrounding NaNo. 

I'm also hoping to write some additional scenes to Simon Says. So essentially, I'm here for the half-crazed, broken souls this fall and I'm 100% okay with that.

2. I'm hoping to finish me rewrite of tFoC and my revisions for tDoaH.

That's all for now! Thanks for hanging with me while I figure this weird phase in my life out. I'm going to work hard on getting back to commenting on y'all's posts very soon. 

Onto y'all. How has your summer been? Filled with craziness? Relatively boring? How can I be praying for you right now? Whatever you feel like chatting about, let me know down below!